Media's corporate irresponsibility
Media affairs dominate this edition of Corporate Watch.

In the wake of the Janet Jackson breast-baring episode during the Super Bowl half-time show, the spotlight is shining on the MTV television channel, which is owned by Viacom. The new website BoycottMTV.net has attracted more than 120,000 people, who say they will eschew a media outlet that, according to one British observer, has at one time or another broadcast artists who espouse sexually loose morals, homosexuality, misogyny, murder, killing of law enforcement officers and satanism.

That's in addition to the comments of the American Family Association, which says MTV targets young people with a diet of dishonesty, drunkenness, rudeness, rebellion and profane language. The AFA notes that MTV couldn't put such programming on the air if it weren't for the support of American sponsors such as McDonald's and Proctor & Gamble.

Meanwhile, the Parents Television Council says MTV's program The Real World - which is broadcast during after-school hours - celebrates drinking, immorality and other adult-themed behavior. It is pressuring sponsors such as Burger King and Frito Lay to reconsider their support.

MTV isn't the only television outlet coming under criticism. Focus on the Family blasted NBC for an episode of its crime drama Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, which discredited the concept that men and women can leave the homosexual lifestyle. The episode concluded with a therapist (who was dubbed "Dr. Homophobe") murdering his son's homosexual lover.

Over at CBS, last fall's Victoria's Secret Fashion Show was described as a "televised strip show" by the American Family Association, which filed a formal complaint about the program to the Federal Communications Commission. Another CBS program, Without a Trace, was reported by the Parents Television Council to have depicted scenes of teen group sex during prime-time hours.

In light of the media industry's overall depravity, it should come as no surprise that some of entertainment's glitterati are lending their support to a pro-abortion march this April. Actress Laura Dern is slated to attend, while singers Sheryl Crow and Melissa Etheridge performed at a recent Rock for Choice concert in Los Angeles. The Dixie Chicks' website has links to pro-abortion groups, including the Feminist Majority Foundation and the White House Project.

The Walt Disney Co., which is regularly featured in this column, may be undergoing some drastic realignments in light of the resignations of vice-chairman Roy E. Disney - nephew to founder Walt - and Stanley P. Gold from the corporation's board. In doing so, Roy E. Disney called for the resignation of chairman and CEO Michael Eisner because the corporation was, among other things, "rapacious, soul-less and always looking for the 'quick buck.'" He said later that the Disney brand "stands for families."

The resignations took place about the same time that Disney's Bad Santa film was released (featuring a drinking, robbing, swearing and sex-indulging Santa) and the Family Pride Coalition (which advocates for "lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgendered parents") announced it would be holding its first-ever gathering at Orlando, Fl.'s Walt Disney World June 17-20.

In other areas, the Hewlett Packard computer firm fired a Boise, Id. employee who posted biblical passages about homosexuality in his cubicle. Unfortunately, that move was upheld by a federal appeals court, in a decision described by an American Family Association spokesman as "loony."

The U.S. Survivors and Victims Empowered group is criticizing Amazon.com for promoting what it calls "profitable perversion" through its long-documented history of catering to homosexual pedophiles by offering links to books about "men loving boys."

Pro-abortion billionaire George Soros has pledged $15.5 million toward an effort to unseat pro-life U.S. President George W. Bush. Soros's critics cite the financier's "moral bankruptcy" and suggest his actions will prove disastrous for the Democratic party.

The U.S. Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights is pointing out that the Ford Foundation is the largest single U.S. donor to a group it describes as a "virulently anti-Catholic organization," Catholics for a Free Choice. The league charges that the foundation's "bigotry" is marring its reputation.

On the positive front, Life Decisions International has announced that 100 corporations have now ceased their funding of the Planned Parenthood organization, representing some $25 million in lost revenues to the abortion behemoth. Among the corporations that have changed direction for the better are General Mills, Target and AT&T.

On the local scene, the Pattison Outdoor billboard company announced it would take down all Hamilton billboards promoting an online sex paraphernalia store through the image of a man wearing boxer shorts and a woman sitting on a bed clapping, with the caption, "Put a party in your pants." A company spokesman said the move was in response to community concerns.

In Mississauga, Ont., efforts by Christian activists associated with the Pray Always Mississauga (PALM) Report succeeded in getting the La Senza lingerie firm to take down its advertising in bus shelters. They also were able to get the Mississauga Firefighters Association to cease its use of a "beefcake" calendar for fundraising, as well as the end of firefighters' involvement with the annual Everything to Do With Sex Show.