CBS Shows Ultra-Violent Serial Killer Drama Dexter in Prime Time
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Volume 10 • Number 3
™
®
CBS Shows Ultra-Violent Serial Killer
Drama Dexter in Prime Time CONTENTS
On February 17th, the CBS broadcast by the very fact that it is choosing to air Dexter ● Page 2
network aired the first episode of Dexter, in the first place. Unfortunately, CBS’ local From the President:
a graphically violent, sexually explicit and affi liates followed the network’s lead, ignoring Why Dexter Must Be
profanity-laden program featuring a serial the pleas of parents and members of their local Stopped
killer as its hero, at 10:00 p.m. ET (9:00 p.m. in communities. Most of these local stations hid
the Central and Mountain time zones). Dexter behind the argument that they have to air CBS ● Page 3
has previously aired on the premium cable network programming and don’t have any The Science of TV
network Showtime for two seasons, where choice in the matter. But this is wrong. Violence: Why
Dexter is Harmful
its viewership was confined to adults who Local broadcasters are required by
chose to purchase Showtime in addition law to preempt network programming ● Page 4
to their other cable channels. But CBS, that does not meet their community’s Excuses, Excuses:
demonstrating blatant disregard for the standards. And some stations even How CBS Tries
public interest, chose to air this graphic defended Dexter‘s graphic violence To Defend Airing Dexter
drama intended for adults at a time as being “artistic,” comparing the
when there were millions of children brutal serial killer drama with The ● Page 5
in the viewing audience. Mary Tyler Moore Show! Take Action!
The PTC has boldly opposed CBS and its affi liates used any Against Dexter
CBS’ airing of Dexter ever since the excuse to rationalize Dexter’s ● Page 6
network first announced its plans grotesque, graphic and gratui- PTC In The News
last November, and has mounted tous violence and dark, disturb-
a major campaign to keep Dexter ing themes. Clearly, CBS and its ● Page 7
off the public airwaves. In January stations do not care about viewers, Channel Surfing:
PTC President Tim Winter called children, community standards or Sex and Torture
on CBS to drop Dexter from its the law of the land. in Prime Time
prime-time schedule, and asked We must not allow CBS to use
● Page 8
each individual CBS affi liate Dexter as the new standard for Dollars & Sense
to refuse to show the program CBS, the network that once what is an acceptable level of PTC’s Donor
brought us Touched By An
in their local market. The PTC violence for the public airwaves. Legacy Program
Angel, now gives American
also contacted advertisers, families a highly disturbing The PTC’s national campaign
informing them of Dexter’s and ultra-violent show where against Dexter is just beginning!
graphically violent content and a serial killer is the hero. We will continue our outreach
urging them not to support to CBS affi liates, urging them
the program. And the PTC’s 1.2 million to uphold their community’s standards and pull
grassroots members encouraged Americans to future episodes. We will continue to encourage
stand up for their right to programming safe advertisers to stop sponsoring Dexter’s explicit
for children. content. And our 1.2 million members will
®
The CBS network has completely ignored continue to urge the broadcast networks to turn
its responsibility as a broadcaster to use the away from graphic violence and show more Because Our Children
publicly-owned airwaves in the public interest responsible programming. Are Watching ®
THE MONTHLY NEWSLETTER OF THE PARENTS TELEVISION COUNCIL™
Letter from the President
®
Dear Friend of the PTC,
If there’s a TV Hall of Shame, CBS deserves a place of honor in it. This is the network that brought us the
Super Bowl halftime show in which Janet Jackson bared her breast; that gives us an annual prime-time airing
of a Victoria’s Secret peepshow; that shows Big Brother, a series whose sole purpose seems to be catching
couples having sex on camera…and the list goes on and on. But last month, CBS hit an all-time low.
On February 17th, CBS began showing Dexter — a TV series with a psychopathic serial killer as the
hero! Using the TV writer’s strike as an excuse, CBS decided to bring this horrific pay-cable series into your
living room on broadcast TV...in prime-time, where your children can see it!
CBS claimed that the program would be edited for broadcast, but the biggest problem with this series is
something no amount of editing can fix: by making him the hero, the series forces the viewer to cheer for
a serial killer and hope he succeeds in his attempt to commit a vicious, premeditated murder. But whenever
the PTC made this point we were attacked, with those in favor of Dexter ’s graphic violence saying, “Doesn’t
the PTC realize it’s just a TV show?”
Just for the record, of course the PTC doesn’t believe that everyone who watches Dexter is going to
turn into a serial killer. But there’s no denying that TV has an influence. Why would advertisers pay tens of
billions of dollars each year to air 30-second commercials about their products, if what people see on TV has
no influence on them? TV’s influence is particularly powerful with children; and when a show centers on a
serial killer, it encourages young viewers to see his actions as exciting and heroic. Even CBS President Les
Moonves agrees this is true: after the tragedy at Columbine, Moonves said, “Anyone who thinks the media
has nothing to do with this is an idiot.”
The bottom line is this: Dexter does not belong on prime-time broadcast TV. The PTC has no desire
to prevent an adult from viewing what they please. If CBS kept Dexter on premium cable, where the show’s
audience would be confined to adults, we would not be raising such a ruckus. But we can’t sit idly by and
let CBS abuse the publicly-owned broadcast airwaves by turning a ruthless serial killer into a hero for our
children. We can’t allow CBS to define a new level of graphic violence as “acceptable” for broadcast TV. And
if parents don’t stand up now, CBS and the other broadcast networks will use Dexter-levels of violence as the
new standard that they will attempt to push past with their next violent show.
Friends, the major point of my message last month was that activism works!
I urge every one of you to write or call your local CBS station and the advertisers who
sponsored Dexter, and make your voices heard. We can, and must, stop the networks
from showing Dexter and other programs like it – for the sake of all our children.
Until next time,
Tim Winter
President
2 WWW.PARENTSTV.ORG® PTC INSIDERTHE SCIENCE OF TV VIOLENCE:
Why Dexter Is Harmful
Violent television programs can cause long-term and “Nearly 40% of all the violent incidents
irreparable harm to children. Thousands of pediatricians, on television are initiated by characters
psychiatrists and child experts have come to this consensus, who possess qualities that make them
attractive role models to kids. More than
and their conclusion is borne out by scientific research.
half of these incidents feature physical
The correlation between violent media aggression that would be lethal or
and aggressive behavior is “stronger than incapacitating if it were to occur in real
that of calcium intake and bone mass, life.” — Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, West Point
lead ingestion and lower IQ, condom psychology professor and author of On Killing:
non-use and sexually acquired HIV, and The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War
environmental tobacco smoke and lung and in Society.
cancer…all associations that clinicians Science has found three levels in the link between
accept as fact, and on which preventive
violent television programming and aggressive behavior
medicine is based without question.”
— Dr. Michael Rich, Director of the Center on in children. First, if there are no consequences for violent
Media and Children’s Health at the Children’s acts seen on television, children learn that violence is
Hospital of Boston the most effective answer to
difficult situations or confl icts
Children are especially with others. Second, in many
vulnerable to being influenced TV shows the hero is rewarded
by depictions of violence on TV. for acting violently. This
Laboratory studies have shown teaches children that violence is
that violent behavior is more legitimate and worthy of reward.
likely to be imitated by children Finally, children who watch
if their role models – whether real violent TV become desensitized
or fictional – are not punished (or and feel that violence is a fact
are even rewarded) for aggressive of life. This can lead to what
behavior. some psychologists have called
The November, 2001 issue “mean world syndrome,” causing
of the medical journal Pediatrics children to become more callous
stated that more than 3,500 research studies have examined toward the suffering of others.
the relationship between media violence and violent behavior,
“Dexter contains all the elements of
and all but 18 of those studies showed a positive correlation. violence that would make it particularly
(Put another way, literally 99.5% of the studies found that detrimental for children to watch. The
media violence and violent behavior are linked.) violence is perpetrated by someone who
Before the age of three or four years, children cannot is portrayed as a hero doing good for
tell the difference between fantasy and reality. During society. The violence is graphic, explicit,
their most impressionable years, children understand most and brutal. The hero shows no remorse
or concern about his violence. The hero
of what they see on television as being factual in nature.
is rewarded for his violent behavior. All
By age eight, most children have begun to understand the of these factors are likely to maximize
difference between right and wrong, and will not become the influence it would have in stimulating
more aggressive themselves if the violence they see on violent behavior in the children and
TV is portrayed as evil, as causing pain to others, or as adolescents who watch the program
resulting in punishment or disapproval. However, they are regularly. Parents should not allow children
especially likely to show increased aggression from watching or adolescents to watch it. CBS should not
present it at a time when children are likely
violent television if they believe the violence reflects real to see it, and CBS should not promote it
life, or if they identify with a violent hero. Identifying for children and adolescents.” — L. Rowell
with one of the characters strongly determines whether a Huesmann, Professor of Communication Studies
child will be influenced by media violence. How the child & Psychology Director, Research Center for
reacts will therefore depend on which character the viewer Group Dynamics Institute for Social Research,
identifies with. The University of Michigan
PTC INSIDER WWW.PARENTSTV.ORG® 3Excuses, Excuses:
How CBS Tries to Defend Airing Dexter
CBS’ airing of Dexter is the first Dexter is “edited for television,” It’s parents’ job to keep their
time that a graphic, adult program and everything harmful has kids from seeing harmful
has gone directly from premium been cut out. programs on TV.
cable straight to prime-time Editing does not make Dexter appropri- Broadcasters are required by law to
broadcast television. CBS must ate for young viewers. The biggest consider local community standards
know the harm it’s doing by airing problem with Dexter is something that when deciding what they show on the
such a violent and disturbing no amount of editing can get around: publicly-owned airwaves. Broadcasters
program; but instead of choosing the fact that the series forces viewers have a unique obligation to act
not to show Dexter, CBS has to cheer for a serial killer and hope he responsibly — that’s why they need
instead offered one feeble excuse doesn’t get caught. licenses from the FCC to operate.
after another. This article debunks
the most commonly-heard excuses Dexter is shown in the last hour Dexter is no different from Law
CBS and its affiliates have offered of prime time. & Order, Criminal Minds, or CSI
for offending the public interest. Scheduling a program later in the – it’s a crime drama about law
evening doesn’t ensure children will enforcement and forensics.
not be exposed to it. Most 10:00 But unlike those other crime dramas,
p.m. dramas are viewed by hundreds the hero is not a police officer trying
of thousands of children under the to capture criminals so they can be
age of 18, some as young as 2-11, brought to justice; Dexter himself is a
according to Nielsen Media Research. cold-blooded serial killer!
And 10:00 p.m. in the Eastern and
Pacific time zones is still only 9:00 p.m.
Dexter is an award-winning,
in the Central and Mountain time zones
— an hour when many children are still critically acclaimed series.
Our local station is under awake and watching TV. So what? The fact that a tiny clique of so-
called critics like a program does not mean
contract with CBS and has to air it’s appropriate for children to see, or that
Dexter. Dexter is appropriately rated, it should be shown on broadcast TV in
Former Viacom President Mel Karmazin and parents can just use the prime time.
testified before Congress in 2004 that V-Chip to keep their kids from
CBS’ affi liate agreements do allow local seeing it. All in the Family was about a
stations to pre-empt programming that In fact, CBS rates Dexter TV-14 — bigot. The Mary Tyler Moore
the station manager believes will offend appropriate for young teenagers -- and Show was about a single woman
his local community. Furthermore, not the appropriate rating of TV-MA
the law covering broadcast licensing who had affairs with men.
(for mature audiences only). Apparently,
requires local stations to preempt But both are now considered
CBS believes that any program it chooses
programming that does not meet to show in prime time deserves a TV-14
classics of TV.
community standards. This is a ridiculous argument — but one
rating, no matter how violent, sexually
CBS station manager actually made it.
explicit, profane or disturbing it is. The
The TV writer’s strike forced Neither All in the Family nor The Mary
broadcast networks constantly misrate
Tyler Moore Show upheld or rewarded
CBS to put Dexter on. their own programs so as to draw a
behaviors destructive to society. Dexter
All the other broadcast networks also larger audience — and larger numbers
does. (Archie and Mary weren’t serial
faced a shortage of shows because of the of viewers for their commercials. (The
killers, either.)
writer’s strike, but none of them decided PTC has documented this practice of
to air explicit adult programming. For under-rating programs in its study The
example, Fox didn’t start showing Nip/ Ratings Sham II: TV Executives Still You can’t judge a show until you
Tuck in prime time. If none of them had Hiding Behind a System that Doesn’t see it.
to, why did CBS? Work.) We’ve seen it.
4 WWW.PARENTSTV.ORG® PTC INSIDERTAKE ACTION!
You Can Help Us STOP This Serial Killer
The hero on Dexter is Dexter Morgan, a blood spatter
expert working for the police — who is also a vigilante serial
killer. Dexter’s adoptive police officer father discovered
Dexter’s psychotic tendencies early on, and turned them to
“good” by teaching Dexter to kill criminals who have evaded “I think the show very much aspires to a moral
justice, and also taught him how to cover up his crimes to avoid ambiguity. It’s not black. It’s not white…[The viewer
getting caught. Frequently Dexter stabs his victims before is] rooting for someone who is doing something
dismembering them. Sometimes he dismembers them while that, on paper, is reprehensible.” — Dexter star
they are still alive.
Michael C. Hall (ETonline.com, October 13, 2006)
Here are examples of the program’s graphic violence from
only the FIRST EPISODE of Dexter:
Dexter: “I’m not sorry either.
WARNING: Graphic material below
Dexter stands over Jawarsky and swings a meat cleaver at him.
☛ Dexter pins Mike against a wall. Dexter demands that Dexter is shown putting bloody body parts in a row on a table,
Mike open his eyes to “see what you did.” Dexter tells Mike to holding an ankle and piece of a foot. Dexter is covered in blood.
open his eyes or Dexter will cut his eyelids off. Mike opens his
☛ Dexter drives down the road. A woman’s severed head
eyes and sees the battered, decomposed bodies of the young
bounces off Dexter’s car and into the street.
boys he murdered. Mike starts saying the Hail Mary. Dexter
slaps him.
Dexter: “That never helped anybody.” Hold Advertisers Responsible!
Mike cries and says that he couldn’t help himself. Dexter Write, phone or e-mail these sponsors. Ask them why they
says he understands because he can’t help himself either: choose to associate their products with Dexter’s explicit content.
Dexter injects Mike in the neck with a syringe and ties Intuit Inc.
him to a table with gauze in his mouth and tape around his William V. Campbell, Chairman
Brad D. Smith, President and CEO
forehead. Dexter is dressed in a rubber suit and holds a scalpel. 2632 Marine Way • Mountain View, CA 94043
Dexter slices Mike’s cheek, leaving a trail of blood. Phone: 650-944-6000 • Fax: 650-944-3699
Dexter: “Soon you’ll be packed into a few neatly wrapped www.intuit.com
investor_relations@intuit.com
Hefties and my own small corner of the world will be a neater,
happier place. A better place.” Capital One Financial Corporation
Mike is tied to a medical table. His head is bound with Richard D. Fairbank, Chairman, President, and CEO
clear tape. There are strips around his shoulders, his crotch, 1680 Capital One Drive • McLean, VA 22102-3407
his hands and his lower legs. Mike is nude but his genitals are Phone: 703-720-1000 • Toll Free: 800-801-1164
www.capitalone.com
obscured. Dexter brings a saw over to the table and turns it on investor.relations@capitalone.com
as he stands over Mike. Mike cries out in fear.
☛ Dexter leaves his date with Rita to view a murder scene, Pfizer Inc.
Jeffrey B. Kindler, Chairman and CEO
where a bloodless, dismembered corpse was found. Body parts 235 E. 42nd Street • New York, NY 10017-5755
are in brown paper and tied up like butcher’s packages. Phone: 212-573-2323
Angel: “He took the freaking head.” www.pfizer.com
Dexter: “Damn, this guy is good.”
Dexter returns to Rita and enthusiastically tells her about PROTEST TO CBS!
the murder, saying that the killer is an artist. Aroused, Dexter Networks pay close attention to the mail they receive. Write to
touches Rita’s upper thigh under her skirt. She becomes CBS’s president and demand that CBS remove Dexter from its
nervous and hurries away. schedule!
Les Moonves, President
☛ Dexter has Jawarsky tied to a table. Jawarsky tells Dexter CBS Entertainment
the he killed Jane Saunders in a snuff movie. 7800 Beverly Blvd • Los Angeles, CA 90039-2112
Jawarsky: “I’m not sorry.” Phone: (323) 575-2747
Dexter cuts Jawarsky’s cheek, causing it to bleed.
PTC INSIDER WWW.PARENTSTV.ORG® 5PTC In The News
Newark Star-Ledger
OneNewsNow.com
The Oregonian
News media coverage of the PTC’s opposition to CBS’ broadcast of Dexter Orlando Sentinel
was widespread. Here are just some of the news organizations that discussed Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
the PTC’s battle against the network’s prime-time airing of the graphically
violent and disturbing serial killer drama:
Philly.com
Riverfront Times
AdWeek.com San Francisco Chronicle
Albuquerque Journal
Arabelle’s Alley (blog)
The New York Times San Jose Mercury News
Arkansas Democrat Gazette February 20, 2008
Buddy TV.com Some critics believe [Dexter] does not
BuffaloNews.com belong on broadcast television, with
Wichita Falls
The Celebrity Café.com or without the edits, for a fundamental Times Record News
Chicago Tribune reason: the storyline encourages view- FEBRUARY 14, 2008
The Christian Post ers to root for a mass murderer. “They Janice Tidwell, a licensed
Colorado Springs Gazette intend to air material that effectively counselor in private practice
Contra Costa Times celebrates murder,” stated the Parents in Wichita Falls, belongs to the
Daily Local.com Television Council in a message to Parents Television Council and
Denver Post members two weeks ago…[The PTC] said she has been asking people
Des Moines Register has rallied supporters to call their lo- to let the network know that they
Film.com cal CBS affiliate and file complaints. do not want Dexter on network TV.
“Being a counselor, it caught my
Florida News-Press It says it has collected 17,000 com-
attention,” she said. After seeing
Florida Times-Union plaints in the past two weeks.
the previews for the show and how
Fort Worth Star-Telegram Dexter warns that “the police better
Galveston Daily News catch him (the bad guy) before
Houston Chronicle I do,” she said she thought, “I’m
sorry, but that’s one of the sickest
08
b log ) February 6, 20
li ne ( situations. Kids glorify what they
bu rgh R ad io & T V On anding that
see,” Tidwell said.… “Kids don’t
Pitts rents’ Telev
is ion C ou ncil is dem
show on bro
adcast separate fiction from reality. It’s one
of the Pa exter… “A priate for of the reasons we have the things
e P it tsb u rgh chapter e Sh ow ti me drama D le r is not appro
T h
not air re ru n s o f th
ith a se rial k il
of two from we have now,” she said, referring to
K DK A-TV to empathize w h D ell, mother
at asks v iew er s r D eb o ra school shootings and other violence
television th pter directo
co m m u n it y,” PTC cha committed by youth.
air in our Scott] Tady.
et hel P ark , tells [reporter
B
KTAR.com • February 7, 2008
Dexter is a serial killer cop who kills other South Bend Tribune
Human Events.com killers. Gavin McKiernan with the Parents
Television Council said it’s not only too St. Petersburg Times
Illinois Daily Herald
graphic for TV, but sends the wrong message Tacoma News Tribune
Inside Bay Area
to kids. ``The problem with the show is that Time.com
Iowa Telegraph-Herald it’s not just about the gruesome killings, it’s Toledo Blade
Jossip.com that you empathize with the killer. He’s a
TV Guide.com
Los Angeles Times great guy, you want to pal around with this
guy, you’re rooting for him…To bring this on TV Newsday
Louisville Courier-Journal Variety
to broadcast television where any child can
Mayor of Television (blog) witness it, the possible harmful effects, is The Virginian-Pilot
Media General News Service something the average person really needs The Washington Post
Media Life magazine to take notice of and stand up to stop,” said
The Washington Times
McKiernan.
Media Week.com The Watcher (blog)
Miami Herald.com Willamette Week
6 WWW.PARENTSTV.ORG® PTC INSIDERFlipping through television channels is no to take off his pants.
longer a safe way for families to pass the They produce jumper
time. Here is a sampling of the offensive cables and prepare to
and disturbing content PTC analysts saw attach them to T Bag’s
recently: genitals.
T Bag: “There’s no
need to re-fry my
NBC hacks through Lipstick Jungle beans.”
Based on a book by former sex columnist Candace Bushnell, guard: “Always with the wise talk. Never saying anything we
Lipstick Jungle is the latest attempt by a broadcast network want to hear. Now all I want to hear are your screams.”
to rip off Bushnell’s HBO series Sex and the City. Though The episode also featured a number of shootings and
being on broadcast TV keeps it from being quite as explicit attempted murders. With its newfound emphasis on torture
as Sex and the City, Lipstick Jungle makes do by showing during the Family Hour, Fox is once again proving itself the
multiple graphic scenes of adulterous sex. On the February network least friendly to families and children.
14th episode, airing at 10:00 p.m. ET, Nico and Kirby
continue their affair. Nico becomes obsessed with Kirby and Debauchery checks in to Paradise Hotel
questions the “practicality” of monogamy. Throughout the
episode, Nico has The bottom-feeding MyNetworkTV took America another
step closer to cultural collapse on February 4th at 9:00 p.m. ET
flashbacks to sex with
with its premiere of Paradise Hotel 2. The smarmy reality show
Kirby. The viewer
promoted hedonism with partial nudity, lap dancing, graphic
is repeatedly shown dialogue and a hopelessly shallow judgment of individuals
Kirby ripping open based on their “hotness.” Sex-crazed twentysomethings are
Nico’s panty hose and paired with strangers and forced to sleep in the same bed
caressing her thighs together, with the unfortunate odd girl out tossing and turning
as she falls back on in her underwear while moaning, “I just want to have sex!”
the desk and moans; Nico and Kirby in bed having rear- The cast was also shown stripping down to their underwear
entry sex; Kirby stripping for Nico at his photo studio, then and drinking heavily
undressing her; Nico and Kirby having sex on a table covered together. The most
with food, as Kirby removes her panties and kisses her upper disturbing scene
thighs; and Kirby taking nude pictures of Nico after sex, then featured a female
e-mailing them to her. While Lipstick Jungle may delight a contestant confiding
tiny minority, most other viewers would likely prefer a drama to her female co-
offering something more than tawdry wall-to-wall sex. contestants that she
is still a virgin. The
other girls grimace
Beatings and torture on Fox’s Prison Break and say “eww,” as if being a virgin is the equivalent of having
Fox’s gritty and graphic drama Prison Break has never been a sexually transmitted disease. Once again, MyNetworkTV has
for the faint of heart, but the February 11th episode (8:00 p.m. demonstrated that it is capable of scraping the underside of the
barrel in its search for ratings.
ET) featured brutality shocking even for this show. Prisoners
Lechro, T Bag and Bellick are captured, and are subjected
Be the first to know what’s happening in the fight
to explicit and horrifying levels of torture. One guard beats
to improve entertainment. Get regular PTC E-
Bellick, hitting him in the stomach and the mouth as blood Alert bulletins delivered to your e-mail. Go to:
spurts from his nose and gushes down his face. Later the
www.parentstv.org/PTC/publications/ealerts/welcome.asp
guards beat T Bag, hitting him in the stomach with a baton
and sign up today!
and forcing him to double over. The guards then order him
PTC INSIDER WWW.PARENTSTV.ORG® 7DOLLARS & SENSE
Fulfill Your Passion for Charitable Giving ®
We all have a group of people we call A planned gift, such as a bequest
our friends, but usually one or two stand in your will or revocable living trust, the L. Brent Bozell
out as our “best friends.” We share a amount remaining in your retirement Founder
special connection with them. Likewise, plan or a gift of life insurance, ensures Timothy F. Winter
among the charitable organizations the PTC will have the funds needed to President
you support, perhaps you feel more of grow with ever-expanding ideas. Robert V. Shear
a personal connection to one, or more We, in turn, will keep you informed Vice-President and
Chief Operating Officer
passionate about the work of another. of the progress of our mission — the
Mark Barnes
Our most loyal donors are the ones success that you helped make possible.
Senior Consultant
that have found that connection with the Stretch your own influence by
Melissa Henson
Parents Television Council. They know including a charitable component in Director of Communications
they can rely on us to provide exemplary your estate plan. and Public Education
work, and we know that we can count Through a planned gift to The Christopher Gildemeister
on them to partner with us on different Parents Television Council, you become Senior Writer/Editor
projects. This makes an ideal relationship a valuable vested partner in our mission Casey Bohannan
through giving. to serve and to promote and restore Internet Communications Manager
Often the biggest obstacle to the responsibility and decency to the Michelle Jackson-McCoy, Ph.D.
success and implementation of our entertainment industry. Director of Research
programs is access to sufficient funds. For more information, please Aubree Bowling
Through financial contributions, you can contact: Senior Entertainment Analyst
actually be involved in the fulfillment of Julie Feuerbacher, Caroline Schulenburg, Josh Shirlen,
our mission. PTC Director of Development Adam Shuler
Entertainment Analysts
The easiest way to show your support (800) 882-6868
is through outright gifts. Whether you Christopher Laurenzano
choose gifts of cash, stocks or personal Legacy@parentstv.org Research Associate
Dan Isett
property, these types of gifts are generally www.parentstv.org/
Director of Public Policy
used to serve our immediate needs. PlannedGiving
Gavin Mc Kiernan
National Grassroots Director
Kevin Granich
Help the PTC Grow! Assistant to the Grassroots Director
Glen Erickson
What people see on television does have an influence.
Director of Corporate Relations
And scientific studies have shown that children in
Lauren Perry
particular can be negatively affected by violent or
Assistant to the Director
sexual program content. The Parents Television of Corporate Relations
Council demands responsible behavior from the
Julie Feuerbacher
entertainment industry by holding advertisers accountable for the negative Director of Development
programming they sponsor, and encouraging them to support family-friendly
Marty Waddell
entertainment; by advocating consumer Cable Choice, in which viewers only
Senior Development Officer
pay for those channels they want to watch; by mobilizing our grassroots
Larry Irvin, Nancy Meyer,
members to take action locally; and by urging our government to enforce the
Sean Sanchez
broadcast decency laws supported by the American people. But the PTC can only Development Officers
accomplish these goals through the committed support of individuals like you.
Tracy Ferrell
Please share this newsletter with your friends and family, and encourage your
Development Coordinator
parents and grandparents, friends and colleagues, to join our effort… because
Brad Tweten
our children are watching.
Controller
It’s easy to join the PTC. Log on to www.parentstv.org/ptc/joinus/secure.asp. Jane Dean
Or mail this form to: Parents Television Council, Attn: Gavin Mc Kiernan, Office Administrator
707 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. 2075, Los Angeles, CA 90017 Esi Tetteh
Accounting Assistant
NAME: ________________________________________________________
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✃© 2008 Parents Television Council, All Rights Reserved; PTC, Parents Television Council, Because Our
7NLM2008
research and education foundation.
© Copyright 2008 • Parents Television Council
Children are Watching and PTC Insider are trademarks of the Parents Television Council. No one may www.ParentsTV.org ®
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