by Allie Martin
A spokesman for the American Family Association says he is not surprised that a new study shows that sex, violence, and foul language still dominate the “Family Hour” on network television.
The study by the Parents Television Council found that between August 3 and November 10, network television has broadcast 3,885 instances of sexual material, foul language, and violence during the so-called “Family Hour.” The recent PTC report covering the 14-week period is a follow-up analysis to its August report entitled The Sour Family Hour: 8 to 9 Goes From Bad to Worse.
Ed Vitagliano, director of research for AFA, says the study confirms what many have known for a long time.
“Not only has nothing changed in Hollywood, but it is steadily getting worse,” Vitagliano says. “I think probably for most Christian parents, the television networks are a lost cause. I don't see them at any time in the near future — the writers, the producers, the directors of these shows — going back to promoting traditional values.”
Vitagliano says it is time for concerned Christians to take action. “There's no indication from prime-time television that there is any attempt to make it family-friendly,” he says. “As the Parents Television Council study demonstrates, even what use to be known as the Family Hour is basically non-existent anymore. But even in [the early] time slot, there is virtually nothing that a family can sit down and watch together.”
According to the PTC report, the least offensive network was the Pax Network, which offered only 43 instances of inappropriate material during the study period.
The Parents Television Council is a project of the Media Research Center and claims a membership of more than 650,000 families.
Case In Point
As an example of what he is talking about, Vitagliano notes the inappropriate sexual content of an recent prime-time broadcast on ABC. AFA is blasting the Disney-owned network for airing The Victoria's Secret Lingerie Show during prime-time television. The special ran November 15 and featured a runway show taped several days prior in New York.
Vitagliano says ABC executives show no respect for families with the airing of the fashion show. “The [special] is basically a lot of beautiful models walking around in underwear and sexy lingerie,” he says. “It kind of defies any justification on entertainment grounds — it's nothing less than a 'peep show'.”
November is “sweeps month” for all networks, the month when networks track viewers and set their advertising rates.
(This article courtesy of Agape Press.)
