With the superbowl just around the corner, news has broken that CBS has decided to cleanse its ad breaks by not intending to air ads sponsored by moveon.org and PETA. This effort at censorship is not about keeping out issue ads however as CBS will be airing an ad produced by the White House.
Click below to read moveon.org’s statement.
During this year’s Super Bowl, you’ll see ads sponsored by beer companies, tobacco companies, and the Bush White House. But you won’t see the winning ad in MoveOn.org Voter Fund’s Bush in 30 Seconds ad contest. CBS refuses to air it.
Meanwhile, the White House and Congressional Republicans are on the verge of signing into law a deal which Senator John McCain (R-AZ) says is custom-tailored for CBS and Fox, allowing the two networks to grow much bigger. CBS lobbied hard for this rule change; MoveOn.org members across the country lobbied against it; and now the MoveOn.org ad has been rejected while the White House ad will be played. It looks an awful lot like CBS is playing politics with the right to free speech.
Of course, this is bigger than just the MoveOn.org Voter Fund. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) submitted an ad that was also rejected. We need to let CBS know that this practice of arbitrarily turning down ads that may be “controversial” ? especially if they’re controversial simply because they take on the President ? just isn’t right.
To watch the ad that CBS won’t air and sign the petition to CBS to run these ads, go to:
http://www.moveon.org/cbs/ad/
MoveOn.org will deliver the petition by email directly to CBS headquarters.
Thanks.
