Small Steps
theophilus March 31st, 2009
At the end of American Idol tonight (yes, I do watch it with my family), I was met with quite a surprise. My Fox affiliate in Cincinnati announced that they were not going to air Osbournes: Reloaded in prime time.
WXIX announed that they were going to air the show after midnight on their website. They did not feel that the show was appropriate to air on prime-time, network TV, especially during the times when families would be watching.
After doing a quick Google search, it looks like that the Panama City affiliate beat my Cincinnati affiliate to the punch.
And, of course, we are already hearing cries of censorship.
All I can say is – bully for WXIX (Cincinnati) and WPGX (Panama City). It’s about time.
And before the hypocrisy of some gets too loud, let’s remember it’s this crowd that applauds when TV stations routinely refuse to run any program or ad showing the unborn child in the womb. Let’s also remember that the First Amendment pertains to government censorship, not self-censorship by a corporation or individual.
The bottom line is that, as a father, I spend a great deal of time screening shows to make certain they are appropriate for my kids. We have picked our Direct TV programming to make sure undue influences from the screen do not add to our already extremely difficult challenge to properly raise our kids in our toxic culture.
It’s nice to know that we finally got some help from the “free” TV that we can’t realistically shut out of our homes. It’s a small step, but a step in the right direction. If people really want to watch this programming, there are a hundred other venues for it, but “free” TV at 9:30, following a popular show among the young – no way.
A small step, yes; but it’s about time.
