Harambee Radio and Television Network
Harambee Radio & TV-Working Together For Progress
Microsoft Makes Right Decision in Dumping Fox's “Family Guy”
By Scotty Reid
A few days ago, it was reported that Microsoft was canceling the promotion of its launch of the new Windows 7 in partnership with the cartoon series “Family Guy”. Family Guy is a cartoon that airs on the Fox Television network that is anything but family friendly. Interestingly, the Black Talk Media Project/Black Talk Radio Network produced a program titled “Corporate Media Promoting a Culture of Corruption” in which a discussion was had on the impact of negative media on society particularly the impact of gangsta rap music on the Black community and its youth. According to information gathered by Stat Counter, someone from the Microsoft Corporation visited one of the web pages containing that archived podcast days before it was reported that "Microsoft was pulling out of its sponsorship of the upcoming "Family Guy" special on the grounds that the show's content "was not a fit with the Windows brand." .
While the FCC is in charge of policing the public airwaves and fining broadcast stations that pollute our culture with filth and garbage, it has failed to restrict content that is obscene to the broadcast hours specified between the hours of 10pm eastern and 6am eastern. The time between 6am and 10pm is supposed to be reserved for what can be considered family viewing because this is a time when youth are more likely to be exposed to content.
Obscene, Indecent, and Profane Broadcasts:
Consistent with a federal indecency statute and federal court decisions interpreting the statute, the Commission adopted a rule that broadcasts -- both on television and radio -- that fit within the indecency definition and that are aired between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. are prohibited and subject to indecency enforcement action.
Profane Broadcast Restrictions
The FCC has defined profanity as “including language so grossly offensive to members of the public who actually hear it as to amount to a nuisance.”
Like indecency, profane speech is prohibited on broadcast radio and television between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. Read More
The FCC has failed miserably in enforcing its own rules and broadcast corporations are allowed to air raunchier and raunchier content with no regard for its impact on society in general. If corporations that advertised on the radio and television airwaves did not support this programming with their ad dollars then we would see it go away but that normally has not been the case unless some socially conscious group mounts and effective campaign targeting advertisers as we are seeing with the Color of Change’s campaign against Fox’s Glenn Beck.
About Fox’s “Family Guy”, the Parents Television Council has a “Family Guide to Prime Time Television” and list “Family Guy” as not being suitable for viewers under the age of 18 years old.
PTC Summary of “Family Guy”:
Production Companies: 20th Century Fox Television
Producers: Seth MacFarlane, David Goodman, and Chris Sheridan
Creators: Seth MacFarlane
Family Guy centers on the family of Peter Griffin. Peter’s wife Lois tries, often unsuccessfully, to keep order in the house. Peter and Lois have three children, Meg, Chris and Stewie. Meg is an anxiety prone sixteen-year-old, while Chris is thirteen and extremely lazy. Stewie is only a baby, but is unusually creative and clever. Playing a large part in the series is Brian, the Griffins’ brainy and sarcastic family dog.
Family Guy is rated red for sex. Although the show is intended to be a satire of the American family, it depends heavily on oblique sexual innuendo and sexual themes such as incest, bestiality and pedophilia. The premiere episode of the show’s 7th season centered on Brian’s new girlfriend, who has sex with everyone but Brian. Violence can often be a problem in this series. In one episode, Peter and his friends grow frustrated with their friend Joe, who was formerly paralyzed but now has recovered. They attempt to beat him and re-paralyze him to get their old friend back. Language is a major issue, with words such as “ass,” “douche,” and “bitch” used in almost ever episode. Anatomical references are commonplace.
Family Guy is not recommended for viewers under age 18. Read More
Family Guy airs at 9pm eastern, which is a full hour before the 10pm rule set for obscene content per the FCC rules. However, Fox and other network television companies have aired questionable content and operated outside of FCC rules with no consequence.
The Microsoft Corporation is to be commended for rethinking it’s promotional strategy for Windows 7 and questioning whether or not they want their brand associated with a cartoon that anything but suitable for family viewing.
A few days ago, it was reported that Microsoft was canceling the promotion of its launch of the new Windows 7 in partnership with the cartoon series “Family Guy”. Family Guy is a cartoon that airs on the Fox Television network that is anything but family friendly. Interestingly, the Black Talk Media Project/Black Talk Radio Network produced a program titled “Corporate Media Promoting a Culture of Corruption” in which a discussion was had on the impact of negative media on society particularly the impact of gangsta rap music on the Black community and its youth. According to information gathered by Stat Counter, someone from the Microsoft Corporation visited one of the web pages containing that archived podcast days before it was reported that "Microsoft was pulling out of its sponsorship of the upcoming "Family Guy" special on the grounds that the show's content "was not a fit with the Windows brand." .
While the FCC is in charge of policing the public airwaves and fining broadcast stations that pollute our culture with filth and garbage, it has failed to restrict content that is obscene to the broadcast hours specified between the hours of 10pm eastern and 6am eastern. The time between 6am and 10pm is supposed to be reserved for what can be considered family viewing because this is a time when youth are more likely to be exposed to content.
Obscene, Indecent, and Profane Broadcasts:
Consistent with a federal indecency statute and federal court decisions interpreting the statute, the Commission adopted a rule that broadcasts -- both on television and radio -- that fit within the indecency definition and that are aired between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. are prohibited and subject to indecency enforcement action.
Profane Broadcast Restrictions
The FCC has defined profanity as “including language so grossly offensive to members of the public who actually hear it as to amount to a nuisance.”
Like indecency, profane speech is prohibited on broadcast radio and television between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. Read More
The FCC has failed miserably in enforcing its own rules and broadcast corporations are allowed to air raunchier and raunchier content with no regard for its impact on society in general. If corporations that advertised on the radio and television airwaves did not support this programming with their ad dollars then we would see it go away but that normally has not been the case unless some socially conscious group mounts and effective campaign targeting advertisers as we are seeing with the Color of Change’s campaign against Fox’s Glenn Beck.
About Fox’s “Family Guy”, the Parents Television Council has a “Family Guide to Prime Time Television” and list “Family Guy” as not being suitable for viewers under the age of 18 years old.
PTC Summary of “Family Guy”:
Production Companies: 20th Century Fox Television
Producers: Seth MacFarlane, David Goodman, and Chris Sheridan
Creators: Seth MacFarlane
Family Guy centers on the family of Peter Griffin. Peter’s wife Lois tries, often unsuccessfully, to keep order in the house. Peter and Lois have three children, Meg, Chris and Stewie. Meg is an anxiety prone sixteen-year-old, while Chris is thirteen and extremely lazy. Stewie is only a baby, but is unusually creative and clever. Playing a large part in the series is Brian, the Griffins’ brainy and sarcastic family dog.
Family Guy is rated red for sex. Although the show is intended to be a satire of the American family, it depends heavily on oblique sexual innuendo and sexual themes such as incest, bestiality and pedophilia. The premiere episode of the show’s 7th season centered on Brian’s new girlfriend, who has sex with everyone but Brian. Violence can often be a problem in this series. In one episode, Peter and his friends grow frustrated with their friend Joe, who was formerly paralyzed but now has recovered. They attempt to beat him and re-paralyze him to get their old friend back. Language is a major issue, with words such as “ass,” “douche,” and “bitch” used in almost ever episode. Anatomical references are commonplace.
Family Guy is not recommended for viewers under age 18. Read More
Family Guy airs at 9pm eastern, which is a full hour before the 10pm rule set for obscene content per the FCC rules. However, Fox and other network television companies have aired questionable content and operated outside of FCC rules with no consequence.
The Microsoft Corporation is to be commended for rethinking it’s promotional strategy for Windows 7 and questioning whether or not they want their brand associated with a cartoon that anything but suitable for family viewing.
Tags: family guy, fcc, fox, microsoft, television, windows 7
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