At the recent Walt Disney Shareholders meeting, Tim Winter of the Parents Television Council said, "I think it is safe to say that no other company in the world has created more positive and wholesome entertainment for children and families than this company." However, he protests mightily the company’s legal actions to prevent the FCC from fining fleeting moments of indecency.
Winter told the gathering, "Joining a federal lawsuit that asserts a right to use the ‘F-word’ on broadcast television at any time of the day — even in front of children — is a contemptible step for a company named ‘Walt Disney’ to take. Yet when an actress recently used the ‘F-word’ during a live interview on Good Morning America, that was the course of action ABC chose, instead of offering a commitment to make sure it didn’t happen again. I ask that you reconsider suing for the right to air the ‘F-word’ in front of children on the public airwaves."
Winter was particularly critical of "Ugly Betty," but offered praise for "High School Musical 2."
RBR/TVBR observation: PTC is not the only group to take stock of a company — literally — and then use the shareholder meeting as a forum to air its opinions. Al Sharpton has done the same thing, and we have no problem at all with that. Just like at the ballpark, you pay your money to get in you get to say your piece.
But we reserve the right to consider ourselves the much more thoughtful, ticket-buying patron who is tired of listening to our neighbor’s rants. The public airwaves are far from being the open sewer PTC likes to pretend they are, and we happen to think that protecting the First Amendment is much more important than chilling free speech to prevent the occasional verbal slip-up from getting out over the air.
