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Network Paranoia or Cheap Shot At Bush?
By Doug Patton
December 13, 2004

Something just didn't smell right about the ad in my local paper. It was a full-pager, and it began: "What if a church wanted to say 'everyone's welcome,' but CBS and NBC said 'No'? It's happening right now, right here in America. Both the CBS and NBC networks are refusing to air a new TV commercial produced for the United Church of Christ.

Now, I have read "Bias" and "Arrogance," Bernard Goldberg's two bestsellers about the elitism of the big three television networks, and I love to see these broadcast behemoths get their comeuppance whenever possible, so this ad naturally caught my eye. What had two of the big three done this time?

It seems the United Church of Christ wanted to run a television commercial, which depicts bouncers standing in front of a church, allowing some people, such as an upper middle class family, to enter, while barring others, including minorities.

The picture fades and these words appear: "Jesus didn't turn people away. Neither do we." A narrator then says: "The United Church of Christ. No matter who you are or where you are on life's journey, you are welcome here."

What could possibly make this message "controversial?" Boiled down to its essence, the issue is homosexuality, and the message is this: "Some narrow-minded churches actually condemn such conduct, but we here at the always-tolerant United Church of Christ do not, so come and worship with us. Aren't we wonderful?"

As with most stereotypes, the message itself is ridiculous. No true Christian church turns people away. Bible-believing churches, like Christ himself, minister to the needs of people while condemning sin and teaching repentance. That is the case in the church I attend. Everyone is welcome to come and hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ. However, unlike the United Church of Christ, which apparently feels compelled to affirm lifestyles clearly defined in scripture as sinful, our church tells homosexual sinners to repent and turn from their sin, just as they tell us heterosexual sinners to do.

But I digress, for this is not the true heart of this story. Why would CBS and NBC turn down these commercials? Television networks view programs as filler between their lucrative advertising spots. Why would they turn down revenue based solely on the fact that the United Church of Christ wanted to let the world know that unrepentant homosexuals are welcome in their church? Cable channels were running the commercial, and it's not as though the networks are shy about promoting homosexuality. They do it all the time, continually portraying "gay" characters it in a positive light.

CBS's explanation as to why they were refusing to carry the spot was curious. "Because this commercial touches on the exclusion of gay couples and other minority groups by other individuals and organizations," it read, "and the fact that the Executive Branch has recently proposed a Constitutional Amendment to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman, this spot is unacceptable for broadcast on the CBS and UPN networks."

At first, I thought that CBS was still in presidential campaign mode, fighting the last election, and was simply attempting to embarrass the President of the United States one more time. Can't you just hear them comparing notes? "Dan Rather couldn't bring Bush down with fake documents; maybe this will do it! No, wait...the election is over. Drat!"

But then I realized they were serious. After Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" at last January's Super Bowl, CBS really believes that the big, evil, fascist Bush Administration is going to fine them for violating public decency standards if they run this commercial from the United Church of Christ. They really believe this. They are so far removed from America, from decency, from reality itself, that they really do believe it.

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Doug Patton is a freelance columnist who has served as a speechwriter, policy advisor and communications director for federal, state and local candidates, elected officials and public policy organizations. His weekly columns are published in newspapers across the country and on selected Internet websites. Readers can e-mail him at dpatton@neonramp.com.

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Note -- The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, views, and/or philosophy of GOPUSA.