Accessible Airwaves

Once again, the United Church of Christ's inclusion-themed, 30-second TV commercial has been rejected by the broadcast networks and now cable network, Viacom.

The United Church of Christ's all-inclusive message has been deemed "too controversial."

It’s time for equal access.

1. Let Your Voice Be Heard - Send a Message to Viacom Viacom accepts ads laced with sexual innuendo, greed, violence, and the politics of personal destruction, while our message of openness and welcome is not allowed. Tell Viacom to make the airwaves accessible. 2. Tell Your Friends Broadcasters who use the public airwaves have a responsibility to operate in the public interest. Spread the word about our campaign!

Just what are the “Christians” saying in the news these days?

Last December, do you remember when 115 mainline religious leaders and church members were arrested in Washington, D.C., during a last-ditch effort to draw attention to then-proposed cuts to the Federal Budget that would affect millions of low-income Americans?

Of course you don’t remember. The major news networks didn’t cover it.

In February, during the World Council of Churches’ 9th international assembly in Brazil, do you recall when several mainline U.S. church leaders apologized to Christians around the world for not doing more to prevent the start of the U.S. war in Iraq?

Of course you don’t remember. The major news networks didn’t cover it.

And, last month, do you remember when a delegation of mainline religious leaders gathered in Washington, D.C., to demand an end to government attempts to curtail church-oriented travel to Cuba?

Of course you don’t remember. The major news networks didn’t cover it.

Or what about last week, when the mainline churches’ Church World Service, a broadly ecumenical humanitarian relief organization, called on the U.S. Senate to adopt a ‘compassionate’ immigration reform policy?

Of course, you don’t remember. The major news networks didn’t cover it, either.

Yet … two days ago, when the Religious Right leader Jerry Falwell chided a Minnesota city for allegedly evicting the Easter Bunny, Associated Press covered it.

And, also in March, when the Religious Right leader Pat Robertson called Muslims “satanic,” Newsweek covered it.

And, in New Orleans, despite the millions raised by mainline denominations and the hundreds, if not thousands, of organized work camps deployed to support rebuilding efforts, it was the Religious Right leader Franklin Graham who appeared on CNN’s Larry King Live (twice!) to talk about his ministry there, along with the Religious Right organization Campus Crusades for Christ, profiled on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 last week.

It’s time to “amplify the mainline,” and reclaim the mainstream voices in this nation’s newsworthy religious conversations.

Blessings,

BobThe Rev. Robert Chase
Director of Communication
United Church of Christ

Posted by The Rev. Bob Chase
3/29/2006 05:43:00 PM
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About OC Inc.

The Office of Communication of the United Church of Christ, Inc. is the media advocacy arm of the United Church of Christ, a mainline Protestant denomination of over 1.3 million members. The United Church of Christ was the first voice to demand that broadcasters who use the public airwaves have a responsibility to operate in the public interest. In the 1960s, the United Church of Christ earned its place in U.S. broadcasting history by successfully challenging the license of WLBT-TV in Jackson, Miss, for refusing to broadcast news and information about African Americans.