] The United Church of Christ (UCC) plans to run a major ad
] campaign in December to raise public awareness of the
] denomination. One of the ads is meant,
] in the words of a UCC press release, to convey the
] message "that -- like Jesus -- the United Church of
] Christ seeks to welcome all people, regardless of
] ability, age, race, economic circumstance or sexual
] orientation."
]
] You can see the ad here -- it features two burly bouncers
] turning various people away from a church service. And if
] you watch it you'll see that the broad message of
] inclusion over intolerance places a prominent emphasis on
] acceptance of homosexuals in the life of the church.
]
] Yet, according to a press release out this evening from
] the UCC, both CBS and NBC have refused to air the ad
] because the subject matter is "too controversial."

[ The UCC press release quotes CBS as saying, as far as I can tell, "because there's a passing reference to homosexuality, and the administration is considering an amendment banning gay marriage, we won't air the ad."

Why don't they just come out and say what they mean... "This commercial will enrage a large subset of our viewership, which would harm ratings and damage the company. In order to fulfill our obligations to stockholders, we cannot accept the risk inherent in running this advertisement."

I still think it's awful, but at least I could respect an honest statement.

I suppose CBS news will be happy to run a story on "the developing UCC controversy" sometime down the road. -k]

Talking Points Memo: by Joshua Micah Marshall: November 28, 2004 - December 04, 2004 Archives