Television Watch
Encyclopedia
Television Watch is an American
non-profit
, non-partisan organization based in Charleston, South Carolina
. The organization was established in May 2005 in response to the perceived increase in government regulation of television content. As an alternative to increased government control of the public airwaves, Television Watch promotes parental responsibility as the right way to protect children from inappropriate content on television.
in 2004. Dyke graduated from the University of Arkansas
with a degree in history. Presently, Dyke resides in Charleston, South Carolina
with his wife Dawn and daughter Emily. Dyke's favorite television programs include Arrested Development, Grey's Anatomy
, and Desperate Housewives
.
Dyke has appeared in numerous news programs on TV and radio, including The Early Show
, Hannity and Colmes, Live with Lester Holt, and Wolf Blitzer Reports
.
Organizations supporting TV Watch include the Center for Creative Voices in Media, American Conservative Union
, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
, and the United States Chamber of Commerce
. The TV networks CBS
, Fox
, and NBC
also back TV Watch.
's (FCC) regulation of broadcast television, as well as reports supporting such action. In their reports, Television Watch reveals the flawed logic in claims that the FCC should place tougher regulation on the broadcast airwaves, as the majority of American television-viewing households do not have a child at home, and therefore should not be subject to governmental censorship influenced by special-interest groups representing the minority of the television-watching audiences - families with children, which TV Watch has revealed represent only one-third of television-watching households in the United States. TV Watch research has consistently proven that most parents believe it is of their own responsibility, not of the government, to determine what is appropriate for their family. As a challenge to the PTC's claims that the V-chip is unworkable, TV Watch held a "parental control challenge", a V-chip setting contest to test if the device would block all or the majority of programs deemed inappropriate for children.
The Parents Television Council
, a media watchdog group noted for filing the majority of FCC complaints for controversial programs like the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show that featured the brief exposure of one of Janet Jackson
's breasts, is a frequent target of criticism by the group for inaccurate reporting on the media, support of increased government regulation of television, and using "sensationalism
" in their reporting to reinforce their views. TV Watch has also objected to the PTC's annual list of the "Best and Worst Shows for Primetime Viewing". In June 2007, the organization released an in-depth survey that concluded that most parents take their own responsibility for their children's TV viewing, thus challenging the PTC's views that most parents want increased government regulation of TV.
In addition, its home page contains a photograph of parents watching a certain show inappropriate for their children, with the children looking away from the television screen, which shows characters from the program as well as the cariacture of Uncle Sam
covering the screen. The screen changes when the user "refreshes
" the display on the Web browser
. Examples of characters used on the TV Watch homepage to illustrate government censorship of television have included Jack McCoy
, Ed Green
, and Nina Cassidy of Law & Order
, Homer Simpson
and the Simpson family
of The Simpsons
, Jack Bauer
and Bill Buchanan
of 24
, and American Idol
winner Taylor Hicks
.
and creator of Entertainment Weekly
, has asserted that although "Organizations like the Parents Television Council and the American Family Association come along and act like they're speaking for all parents,", he, "as an American parent, they're not."
The organization, however, has been criticized by Parents Television Council
founder L. Brent Bozell III, who called TV Watch "a collection of random citizen and public policy groups that have simply been hired and paid for by the networks to do their dirty work", going in defense of the PTC. When Bozell in September 2006 announced that he would resign from his position as PTC president, Jim Dyke of TV Watch stated that he believed "that the members of PTC and TV Watch do share some important common ground."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
non-profit
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
, non-partisan organization based in Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
. The organization was established in May 2005 in response to the perceived increase in government regulation of television content. As an alternative to increased government control of the public airwaves, Television Watch promotes parental responsibility as the right way to protect children from inappropriate content on television.
Leadership
Its Executive Director is Jim Dyke, an experienced communications and political advisor who served as communications director for the Republican National ConventionRepublican National Convention
The Republican National Convention is the presidential nominating convention of the Republican Party of the United States. Convened by the Republican National Committee, the stated purpose of the convocation is to nominate an official candidate in an upcoming U.S...
in 2004. Dyke graduated from the University of Arkansas
University of Arkansas
The University of Arkansas is a public, co-educational, land-grant, space-grant, research university. It is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a research university with very high research activity. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and is located in...
with a degree in history. Presently, Dyke resides in Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
with his wife Dawn and daughter Emily. Dyke's favorite television programs include Arrested Development, Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series created by Shonda Rhimes. The series premiered on March 27, 2005 on ABC; since then, seven seasons have aired. The series follows the lives of interns, residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital in...
, and Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives is an American television comedy-drama series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. Executive producer Cherry serves as Showrunner. Other executive producers since the fourth season include Marc Cherry, Bob Daily, George W...
.
Dyke has appeared in numerous news programs on TV and radio, including The Early Show
The Early Show
The Early Show is an American television morning news talk show broadcast by CBS from New York City. The program airs live from 7 to 9 a.m. Eastern Time Monday through Friday; most affiliates in the Central, Mountain, and Pacific time zones air the show on tape-delay from 7 to 9 a.m. local time. ...
, Hannity and Colmes, Live with Lester Holt, and Wolf Blitzer Reports
Wolf Blitzer Reports
Wolf Blitzer Reports was an afternoon/early evening newscast on CNN hosted by Wolf Blitzer that first aired on December 8, 2000 and last aired on August 5, 2005. The program focused on the day's top news, live interviews with top newsmakers and live debriefs with CNN correspondents around the...
.
Organizations supporting TV Watch include the Center for Creative Voices in Media, American Conservative Union
American Conservative Union
The American Conservative Union is an American political organization advocating conservative policies, and is the oldest such conservative lobbying organization in the country.-Organization:...
, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc., known variously as The Recording Academy or NARAS, is a U.S. organization of musicians, producers, recording engineers and other recording professionals dedicated to improving the quality of life and cultural condition for music and its...
, and the United States Chamber of Commerce
United States Chamber of Commerce
The United States Chamber of Commerce is an American lobbying group representing the interests of many businesses and trade associations. It is not an agency of the United States government....
. The TV networks CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
, and NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
also back TV Watch.
Mission
To promote their goal, the website of the organization keeps the public updated with news related to the Federal Communications CommissionFederal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
's (FCC) regulation of broadcast television, as well as reports supporting such action. In their reports, Television Watch reveals the flawed logic in claims that the FCC should place tougher regulation on the broadcast airwaves, as the majority of American television-viewing households do not have a child at home, and therefore should not be subject to governmental censorship influenced by special-interest groups representing the minority of the television-watching audiences - families with children, which TV Watch has revealed represent only one-third of television-watching households in the United States. TV Watch research has consistently proven that most parents believe it is of their own responsibility, not of the government, to determine what is appropriate for their family. As a challenge to the PTC's claims that the V-chip is unworkable, TV Watch held a "parental control challenge", a V-chip setting contest to test if the device would block all or the majority of programs deemed inappropriate for children.
The Parents Television Council
Parents Television Council
The Parents Television Council is a U.S. based advocacy group founded by conservative activist L. Brent Bozell III in 1995 using the National Legion of Decency as a model...
, a media watchdog group noted for filing the majority of FCC complaints for controversial programs like the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show that featured the brief exposure of one of Janet Jackson
Janet Jackson
Janet Damita Jo Jackson is an American recording artist and actress. Known for a series of sonically innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows, television and film roles, she has been a prominent figure in popular culture for over 25 years...
's breasts, is a frequent target of criticism by the group for inaccurate reporting on the media, support of increased government regulation of television, and using "sensationalism
Sensationalism
Sensationalism is a type of editorial bias in mass media in which events and topics in news stories and pieces are over-hyped to increase viewership or readership numbers...
" in their reporting to reinforce their views. TV Watch has also objected to the PTC's annual list of the "Best and Worst Shows for Primetime Viewing". In June 2007, the organization released an in-depth survey that concluded that most parents take their own responsibility for their children's TV viewing, thus challenging the PTC's views that most parents want increased government regulation of TV.
In addition, its home page contains a photograph of parents watching a certain show inappropriate for their children, with the children looking away from the television screen, which shows characters from the program as well as the cariacture of Uncle Sam
Uncle Sam
Uncle Sam is a common national personification of the American government originally used during the War of 1812. He is depicted as a stern elderly man with white hair and a goatee beard...
covering the screen. The screen changes when the user "refreshes
Memory refresh
Memory refresh is the process of periodically reading information from an area of computer memory, and immediately rewriting the read information to the same area with no modifications. Each memory refresh cycle refreshes a succeeding area of memory. Memory refresh is most often associated with...
" the display on the Web browser
Web browser
A web browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web. An information resource is identified by a Uniform Resource Identifier and may be a web page, image, video, or other piece of content...
. Examples of characters used on the TV Watch homepage to illustrate government censorship of television have included Jack McCoy
Jack McCoy
John James "Jack" McCoy is a fictional character in the television drama Law & Order, created by Michael S. Chernuchin and played by Sam Waterston since 1994. He is the second-longest tenured character on the show, after Lt. Anita Van Buren . On January 28, 2009, McCoy's character ended the longest...
, Ed Green
Ed Green
Edward "Ed" Green is a fictional character on the NBC crime drama Law & Order, created by Rene Balcer and portrayed by Jesse L. Martin.-Character overview:...
, and Nina Cassidy of Law & Order
Law & Order
Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
, Homer Simpson
Homer Simpson
Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
and the Simpson family
Simpson family
The Simpson family is a family of fictional characters featured in the animated television series The Simpsons. The Simpsons are a nuclear family consisting of the married couple Homer and Marge and their three children Bart, Lisa and Maggie. They live at 742 Evergreen Terrace in the fictional town...
of The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
, Jack Bauer
Jack Bauer
Jack Bauer is the main protagonist of the American television series 24. His character has worked in various capacities on the show, often as a member of the fictional Counter Terrorist Unit based in Los Angeles, and working with the FBI in Washington, D.C...
and Bill Buchanan
Bill Buchanan
Bill Buchanan was an American songwriter.-Career:His most famous composition took place in 1956, when he and Dickie Goodman created the sound collage "The Flying Saucer." After Buchanan and Goodman severed their partnership in 1959, Buchanan later wrote the song "Please Don't Ask About Barbara"...
of 24
24 (TV series)
24 is an American television series produced for the Fox Network and syndicated worldwide, starring Kiefer Sutherland as Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer. Each 24-episode season covers 24 hours in the life of Bauer, using the real time method of narration...
, and American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
winner Taylor Hicks
Taylor Hicks
Taylor Reuben Hicks is an American singer who achieved fame in 2006, when he won the fifth season of American Idol. Hicks got his start as a professional musician in his late teens and performed around the Southeastern United States for well over the span of a decade, during which he also released...
.
Reception
Many parents and figures in the broadcast industry have expressed their support for TV Watch and its cause. Jeff Jarvis, former critic for TV GuideTV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
and creator of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
, has asserted that although "Organizations like the Parents Television Council and the American Family Association come along and act like they're speaking for all parents,", he, "as an American parent, they're not."
The organization, however, has been criticized by Parents Television Council
Parents Television Council
The Parents Television Council is a U.S. based advocacy group founded by conservative activist L. Brent Bozell III in 1995 using the National Legion of Decency as a model...
founder L. Brent Bozell III, who called TV Watch "a collection of random citizen and public policy groups that have simply been hired and paid for by the networks to do their dirty work", going in defense of the PTC. When Bozell in September 2006 announced that he would resign from his position as PTC president, Jim Dyke of TV Watch stated that he believed "that the members of PTC and TV Watch do share some important common ground."
See also
- Censorship in the United StatesCensorship in the United StatesIn general, censorship in the United States, which involves the suppression of speech or other public communication, raises issues of freedom of speech, which is constitutionally protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution....
- Parents Television CouncilParents Television CouncilThe Parents Television Council is a U.S. based advocacy group founded by conservative activist L. Brent Bozell III in 1995 using the National Legion of Decency as a model...
- Parents Television Council controversies