This time the conservative Parents Television Council isn’t going after the content of a show — it’s going after the title.
Claiming CBS’s fall comedy “$#*! My Dad Says” violates Federal Communications Commission indecency standards, the group is threatening to challenge the broadcast license of every CBS station that airs the program or any promo for it before 10 p.m.
CBS announced Wednesday that the program is slated to air this fall at 8:30 p.m. slot.
PTC President Tim Winter in an interview said that though no vulgar word is actually shown in the title, the word’s presence is understood.
“It’s not a hint. It’s in your face,” he said in an interview. “Look at the characters. The ‘$’ and ‘#’ are the signs for ‘s’ and ‘h.’ It is intended to conjure up the [swear] word.”
He said changing the name to “Bleep, My Dad says,” a change CBS is rumored to be considering, doesn’t fix it.
“Any station that chooses to air it is a hypocrite about indecency.”
A spokesperson for the network defended the show, in a statement.
“The program is inspired by the wildly popular Twitter phenomenon, which now has more than 1.5 million followers and also has spawned a bestselling book of the same name,” the statement said. “It will in no way be indecent and will adhere to all CBS standards."
Winter said he also was concerned about the title’s impact on the V-chip. Normally programming featuring vulgar language has to carry a language descriptor.
“How does the parent have control if the title has [a vulgar word] but the content has no language descriptor?" Winter said. "It refutes the specious arguments the broadcasting industry has been making for years” about the v-chip being a substitute for FCC indecency regulation.
CBS insisted that parents "who choose to do so will find the show can easily be blocked using their V-chip.”
This time the conservative Parents Television Council isn’t going after the content of a show — it’s going after the title.
Claiming CBS’s fall comedy “$#*! My Dad Says” violates Federal Communications Commission indecency standards, the group is threatening to challenge the broadcast license of every CBS station that airs the program or any promo for it before 10 p.m.
CBS announced Wednesday that the program is slated to air this fall at 8:30 p.m. slot.
PTC President Tim Winter in an interview said that though no vulgar word is actually shown in the title, the word’s presence is understood.
“It’s not a hint. It’s in your face,” he said in an interview. “Look at the characters. The ‘$’ and ‘#’ are the signs for ‘s’ and ‘h.’ It is intended to conjure up the [swear] word.”
He said changing the name to “Bleep, My Dad says,” a change CBS is rumored to be considering, doesn’t fix it.
“Any station that chooses to air it is a hypocrite about indecency.”
A spokesperson for the network defended the show, in a statement.
“The program is inspired by the wildly popular Twitter phenomenon, which now has more than 1.5 million followers and also has spawned a bestselling book of the same name,” the statement said. “It will in no way be indecent and will adhere to all CBS standards."
Winter said he also was concerned about the title’s impact on the V-chip. Normally programming featuring vulgar language has to carry a language descriptor.
“How does the parent have control if the title has [a vulgar word] but the content has no language descriptor?" Winter said. "It refutes the specious arguments the broadcasting industry has been making for years” about the v-chip being a substitute for FCC indecency regulation.
CBS insisted that parents "who choose to do so will find the show can easily be blocked using their V-chip.”
