The Parents Television Council applauded Fox News Host Bill O’Reilly for his straightforward and honest commentary about the entertainment industry’s negative influence on children as part of his Talking Points Memo on the July 22nd show.
Mr. O’Reilly said, “[T]the entertainment industry encourages the irresponsibility by marketing a gangster culture, hip hop, movies, trashy TV shows to impressionable children. In fact, President Obama has welcomed some of the worst offenders in that cesspool to the White House when he should be condemning what these weasels are doing. These so-called entertainers get rich while the kids who emulate their lyrics and attitude destroy themselves.
“And finally, challenging the entertainment industry to stop peddling garbage. Hey listen up you greed heads, if a kid can’t speak proper English, uses the “f” word in every sentence, it’s disgraceful, it’s disrespectful — it’s disrespectful in his or her manner. That child will never, never be able to compete in the marketplace of America… never. And it has nothing to do with slavery. It has everything to do with you Hollywood people and you derelict parents. You’re the ones hurting these vulnerable children.”
PTC President Tim Winter responded:
“We are grateful when prominent voices like Mr. O’Reilly’s call out those in the entertainment industry who profit from marketing harmful material to children. We couldn’t agree more with his assessment of the entertainment industry’s profound and potentially destructive influence on children, and we applaud Mr. O’Reilly for expressing such a strong opinion on this issue.
“Parents shoulder the greatest burden when it comes to protecting their children from negative influences in entertainment, but the industry itself also bears responsibility. More than fifty years of scientific research confirms what parents already know to be true: TV programming can have a harmful effect on children. The entire business premise of television is based on impacting the behavior of the viewer. If advertising were of no effect, there would be no sponsors. The influence on the viewer does not stop once the commercial concludes and the show comes back on.
“The PTC’s own research has documented the shocking volume and degree of nudity, gun violence, profanity, sexualization and sexual exploitation that is airing on primetime broadcast television shows — all of which has been rated by the TV networks as appropriate for children aged 14 and younger.
“Mr. O’Reilly referenced the artists who create and perform material that can be harmful to children. We would urge him also to hold accountable the corporations and executives that green-light the harmful material, steering countless millions of dollars in corporate resources to produce and market such content.
“We urge the entertainment industry to heed to the strong words of Mr. O’Reilly, as well as the voices of millions of parents and families across this country, all of whom are increasingly concerned about the health and welfare of America’s children and grandchildren.”
The Parents Television Council ® (www.parentstv.org) is a non-partisan education organization advocating responsible entertainment. It was founded in 1995 to ensure that children are not constantly assaulted by sex, violence and profanity on television and in other media. This national grassroots organization has more than 1.3 million members and 56 chapters across the United States, and works with television producers, broadcasters, networks and sponsors in an effort to stem the flow of harmful and negative messages targeted to children. The PTCâ„¢ also works with elected and appointed government officials to enforce broadcast decency standards. Most importantly, the PTC produces critical research and publications documenting the dramatic increase in sex, violence and profanity in entertainment. This information is provided free of charge so parents can make informed viewing choices for their own families.
Visit the new PTC Watchdog Blog at http://www.parentstv.org/blog/.
Follow the PTC on Twitter: @ThePTC.
