Durbin Blasts CBS for Ad Refusal
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/28/2004 5:02:00 AM
Calling it "Exhibit A in the case against media concentration," Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) used some floor time Tuesday to tear into CBS for rejecting a moveon.org ad in the Super Bowl.
Durbin claimed that CBS was not running the ad critical of the Bush administration’s fiscal policy in return for the White House’s support for a 39% ownership cap that allowed the network’s parent, Viacom, to keep all of its TV stations.
The ad shows children working in kitchens and assembly lines to help pay for the federal deficit they are projected to inherit. Durbin urged his audience, which included C-SPAN 2 viewers, to call CBS and complain.
"The CBS Eye has been closed to the truth and to fairness," he said. "CBS has a great, great legacy. It is a storied name when it comes to public information in America. This chapter is sad and disgraceful."
CBS executive VP Martin Franks responded: "I could not more emphatically and categorically deny any notion of a quid pro quo. It’s ludicrous." Franks says the network doesn’t take issue ads from any groups.
"I suspect that because moveon is seen as a left-of-center group, the liberal members of Congress are rising to their defense. They are the same members of Congress who would be screaming if we had taken ads from a conservative or right-wing group. We don’t think that those with deep pockets should be able to control the debate on vital matters of public policy."
Franks says the network’s affiliates and owned stations are not prevented from accepting the spots. "Moveon is free to buy in these local markets," he said.
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