Let’s see: CBS in the past has rejected ads from the United Church of Christ promoting gay rights, from PETA and from Moveon.org. But it has no problem running a pro-life ad by Florida quarterback Tim Tebow paid for by the anti-gay hate group Focus on the Family. I wonder why?
CBS’ decision on the Tebow ad comes as networks and TV stations have struggled for revenue amid a weak advertising market. Until recently, networks were routinely able to command higher rates each year for Super Bowl commercials, but that ended with the recession. CBS has been selling 30-second spots in the Feb. 7 Super Bowl for about $2.7 million each — slightly less than NBC was able to command for last year’s game — and still has some advertising time left to sell.
CBS says its standards have changed. It seems to me, though, that CBS’ bottom line has changed, so all of a sudden any group willing to pony up some dough will get a chance to air its views. My problem here is not Tebow’s right to hold any belief. It’s instead with CBS, which has one set of standards for some advocacy ads and another set for others.
In the ad, Tebow’s mom, Pam, describes the choice she had to make when carrying Tebow during a difficult pregnancy and rejecting an abortion. The Washington Post’s Jonathan Capehart wonder whether a pro-choice group will run a counter-ad:
Focus on the Family is touting Ms. Tebow’s right to choose while trying to deny the same opportunity — the same right — to other women. Whether CBS is right to run this advocacy ad after rejecting others in the past, I’ll leave to others for the moment. But abortion rights advocates, such as the National Organization for Women, would do well to point out this hypocrisy with an ad of their own.
on Jan 27th, 2010 at 7:43 PM
Why not? We care about the deaths of people we don’t know in Haiti, yet we disregard a baby thrown in a trash can here in the US. All lives are valuable. Period. Obviously, this womans’ decision made a huge impact on a lot of lives. Should we disregard this for the sake of some peoples conscience? I think not.
on Jan 28th, 2010 at 12:26 AM
UCC tried to place its “advocacy” ad in 2004 when the Republicans were in power and homosexuality was being used by that party as a wedge issue to assure re-election; Michael Powell, Colin Powell’s son, was head of the FCC (remember the phrase “wardrobe malfunction”?). CBS, and the rest of the MSM (Main Stream Media) were lapdogs, taking dictation from the White House. Now, in 2010, with another party in power, CBS is taking a different tack to the change in political winds.
on Jan 28th, 2010 at 12:52 AM
CBS has to clock them dollas! I thought I ran across news reports that some companies, like Pepsi, aren’t paying for airtime during the primo Super Bowl slots…
on Jan 28th, 2010 at 3:07 PM
It frosts me that groups like Focus on Family exist, never mind that they plan to use the Super Bowl as a pulpit.
They ignore scriptures that advise not to work on the Sabbath, not to eat shellfish, not to lie with a woman after her period, etc. But they use other scriptures to justify their anti-gay rhetoric and hatred. In a just world, you wouldn’t be able to have it both ways.
CBS should have the common sense not to run any advocacy commercial on the highest rated program of the year.
on Jan 28th, 2010 at 5:16 PM
Does anyone know how I can get hold of elesa so I can smack the shit out of her for using the phrase “yet we disregard a baby thrown in a trash can here in the US” to justify robbing women of their right to control their bodies?
I might then smack her a second time for not knowing how to spell “woman’s”…