Rude TV in firing line again
Here we go again. Christian lobby groups take aim at the usual suspects on TV.
- Published by David Knox
- on
- Filed under News
The Christian lobby is apparently in the warpath against television it claims has ramped up sex and violence content.
The Australian Christian Lobby has launched the “Tame the Tube” campaign to combat what it says are industry attempts to weaken TV standards (Mary Whitehouse’s “Clean Up TV” campaign anyone?).
“Sex, violence and foul language are normal fare these days as TV networks push the boundaries,” ACL managing director Jim Wallace told the Daily Telegraph.
The group has also called for tighter restrictions on the promotion of M, MA and AV programs at times when children watch TV.
It claimed Underbelly should not be able to be advertised in earlier time slots.
Old targets Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares and Californication were also in the firing line.
Yet the latter two shows have barely been on air in 2009, with Californication only in late night repeats. Underbelly is the second most popular show on television this year, behind MasterChef Australia. Are so many other viewers so out of step with community standards?
The Herald Sun notes Family Voice Australia also wants change.
Free TV no longer publishes statistics on the most complained programs, choosing instead to cut the numbers by genre. CEO Julie Flynn said its yet-to-be-published 2008-09 annual report would show complaints had fallen to 807.
Nine gave an unusual undertaking to ACMA that it would not breach the Code of Practice for Underbelly this year, pledging sponsorship monies as penalties if it was found to have been breached. So far no breaches have yet been identified by ACMA.
ACL needs to address its issues to Senator Conroy or the Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice review, rather than targeting specific shows and networks. Of course that doesn’t read as well in the press as dropping TV titles. ACMA oversees our classifications and their definitions. The review will not effect change to ABC, SBS or Pay Television.
For such a vocal lobby on television standards it is also disappointing the ACL doesn’t address concerns other than classifications in mostly fictional programmes. Issues including the declining standards of current affairs programmes and duty of care in reality television are overlooked. Even a healthy debate about religious programming would be worthwhile (please ensure Peter Popoff never returns?).
In the Audience Inventory conducted by TV Tonight last month, viewers were more concerned about Banning Late Night Adult ads than they were Overhauling Classifications. Of the 800+ readers surveyed, only 11% voted it as a Very Important issue. 17 other Free to Air issues rated higher.
So what’s the real issue here? A few rude bits in an MA timeslot seen by consenting adults? Or that ACMA’s guidelines no longer apparently meet community standards?
All together now: “Won’t somebody think of the children?”
Source: Daily Telegraph, Herald Sun
35 Responses
Can i encourage all to make there point of view known to ACMA and that adults should be free to view what they want on TV..
A few crap ports are not gonna deny me the right to view realistic programming
im not religous in any way, but it is interesting how underbelly is allowed to air at 8.30 when shows such as californication and nurse jackie need to be aired after 9.30. underbelly has so much pointless nudity and has constant drug and sex scenes and the dvd was rated ma15+. when it was on nine, it was only rated M which is strange.
even abc are reluctant to show united states of tara before 9.30 due to its slight adult themes. it should be on at 9pm on abc2 as its comedy lineup is begins half hour earlier than wednesday night.
although everyone has the right to their opinion they don’t have the right to tell other what they can and can’t do just because its against their beliefs. i cant even image why someone would care about what tv shows someone else is watching
@Lou D. What a fantastic point! We should have religious programs that preach intolerance banned.
Does the ACMA cover such things?
Spewing hate and prejudice is far worse for society than a few boobs, which – awkwardly for wowsers – half the population seem to have.
Why should the opinions of religious fundamentalists matter?
I heard the representative on 3AW this morning complaining that things were “too progressive”… Errm, that’s the whole point really isn’t it – the rest of the world has moved on from such prudish thinking, yet these people think We are at fault…
Why is it that whenever Labor is in Power all these small minded groups come out of the woodwork??
We don’t want or need a ‘nanny type state’ we don’t want or need an American style of Parents Television Council trying to preach/tell us what to watch or do.
This is an absolute joke and why these people aren’t told to pull their head in baffles me, half the time they don’t even know what they are outraged about, they just agitate and try to beat us over the head with their fundamentalism.
Enough already.
I tuned into the early morning religious programming one night and all I heard were “don’t do this, don’t do that” and very fire and brimstone sermons, often on armageddon and how we’re all doomed if we don’t follow their god. Attacks on evolution, gays, non-believers, and anyone who doesn’t think like them.
What message are these religious leaders providing when they teach children to hate who are different from them?
I think someone needs to clean up their own backyard before they complain about anyone else’s.
If parents were that worried bout chldren watchin so called rubbish monitor what there kids are watching, and if they have digital use parental lock out system. To second that if you dont like a show dont watch it! I would have thought its that simple! I think its stupid that a small miniroty could possibly wreck something for the majourity
Ben
I always “think of the children” the off switch works on my tv, and the old but effective “off to bed now kids” seems to generally works in my house hold.
I really don’t like people going around saying stuff like this.
Whilst I don’t necessarily like the increased violence/swearing/sexual references, they are what modern society is. Would these shows be on if people didn’t watch them? Just look at how low-ratings shows get shuffled around.
People are just shifting responsibility from themselves to others. It’s like people complaining about how schools are to blame if their child is failing, but them not spending time to help their child at home.
Is it a few rude bits in an MA timeslot seen by consenting adults? No, it’s yelling comments about whales having sex at the top of one’s voice in a PG timeslot seen by anyone.
@Jason – but this isn’t 15 years ago. It is 2009. Attitudes and what is accepted are only going to change and keep on changing.
@Elkie – If there is something on at 830pm that you feel is too racy, turn over to another channel, go outside for some exercise, read a book or spend time doing something else. There is a lot of choice out there. Channels give plenty of warning on the content of a programme before it airs. Why watch a programme you know that is going to offend you?
These complaints are just getting ridiculous. If a show is being watched by over 2 million people, surely that suggests that people see it as fictional and entertainment. It always makes me laugh when the people complaining never watch the shows they complain about.
I also find it annoying that these lobby groups try to impose their morals on to me. They are entitled to an opinion, but keep it as an opinion. If they had their way TV would end signal at 730pm, everyone would say their prayers, say goodnight to Fat Cat and go to bed.
I got 3 words for you Christian Group.. Geta a life!
Well at least this task is more achievable than their aim to censor the internet to the standards of a 10 year old.
The ACL should stopped being taken seriously. They deal with moral panics and provide practically no factual basis for their claims, such as children going corrupt for seeing x, y, z content on television or the internet.
If you don’t want to watch a TV show with violence or swearing then dont watch it. If you dont want your kids to watch a TV show that you think is inappropriate then take away the remote or send them to bed.
This is just like the banning of fast food ads- just an excuse for lazy parenting.
I’m sorry but I totally agree with the ACL.
It is absolutely wrong that pornographic material should be shown at 8.30pm like in Underbelly. Swearing that has crept into earlier and earlier programming such as Idol and Masterchef.
I honestly believe that Underbelly was overrated rubbish. Australian’s cannot seem to produce movies or television that doesn’t involve swearing or sex. Real intelligent broadcasting.
I believe that FTA TV in Australia is way too liberal and the standards just keep getting lower and lower.
David, I agree with you regarding news and current affairs TV. If I see another story on fresh vs frozen vegetables, I’ll scream.
Firstly, I am not a chrisitian lobbyist, infact, they tend to spend a lot of time lobbying against my lifestyle. But, I do think that 8.30 pm tv has become a little to adult, 7 days a week. I think 8.30 is ok on the weekends to suit movies. I wouldn’t have a problem if they started the more adult shows at 9.30. Kids are overloaded with enough crap these days.
Bugger off bloody lobby groups. Bunch of nutjobs. Not all of us are religious lovers, so don’t think you speak for all. If you don’t like it don’t watch it and put on a nice dvd. I hate Underbelly so i don’t wathc it. Simple.
if they keep targetting shows that no one else seems to have a problem with and which barely even air on tv then people like me will always dismiss their views. if they want to be taken seriously they should campaign against the adult ads, then they will find that people other than their members actually agree with them on an issue. having some real people power rather than the usual fictional kind may result in something actually happening for a change and tv may actually become better for the majority of the viewing audience rather than the vocal minority.
I reckon they have a point, they may just not have the best examples. I think it’s not just the shows like Underbelly et al, but look at some promos for comedies or other dramas and things said are far more sex related and sometimes contain, edgy language that while not the F-bomb, certainly wouldn’t have been said on TV ads 15 years ago.
To me the spiraling sexual references in comedies is just awful. Imagine 2 and a half men or that David Spade comedy without stacks of sexual references and suddenly your show is about 2 minutes long. TV is just turning to the gutter for laughs now and they can do better. /rant
Here we go, once more all the good doers are out and about again !!
Free to Air TV is pretty good in the no rude bits department.
Better not let them see some of stuff on Fox channels late at night like ‘the naked news’ etc…..
The ACL are more out of touch with the community than TV. Its funny how groups like this perceive the way the community is but in reality, they only appeal to a small radical group in society that are too afraid to let go of the 50s (and their bibles).
Peter Popoff is nothing compared to the lies of charlatans like Benny Hinn. That thing’s a money-grabbing infomercial thinly disguised as a faux-religious stage play.
Oh, how I despise religions. All of them. I would kindly ask the ACL (and the various “family” groups, now that the word “family” apparently = religious nutters), as a lifelong atheist, that they discover the off switch and leave those of us without fairy fantasies alone.
Dear God the Children!
IMO it’s people with too much time trying to impose their moral values on others, yes there needs to be limits for some shows depending on classification but as the old saying goes if you don’t like it change the channel or turn off the TV!
And the fact they are targeting show like Californication (what do you expect with a title like that?) but it has barely been on and only late night. I’d be more worried by Little Britain US and wonder how long it will be before Nurse Jackie has a complaint.
If this goes through all it will do is push these shows on to PayTV which will be a massive loss to the local audiance that can’t afford Foxtel/Austar.