Super Bowl Censorship

As millions of people get set to watch the 2010 Super Bowl in Miami, Florida, people may be unaware that the station broadcasting the football game will be allowing one controversial ad and censoring another.

CBS, which is one of the largest media conglomerates in the US, has decided it will air a Pro-life ad being paid for by the religious right organization Focus on the Family. The ad will feature former Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow and his mother talking about why she did not have an abortion.

Tebow not only is featured in this Focus on the Family ad, but the far right organization also promotes the football player’s foundation. CBS’s decision to air the controversial ad has been questioned by many national organizations such as the Women’s Media Center.

At the same time CBS is refusing to air another controversial ad, one that was submitted by a gay men’s group called Mancrunch.com. So why the double standard? Boston Globe writer Derrick Jackson points out that this is not the first time that CBS has rejected ads from groups supportive of LGBT rights. The national broadcaster rejected an ad from the United Church of Christ in 2004, which welcomed gay and lesbian people into their congregation.

Censorship usually doesn’t work as a tactic and will no doubt lead to more attention to the Super Bowl ad that was censored. GRIID encourages our readers to take action by supporting what the NARAL Pro-Choice America organization is advocating.

We also have posted the ad that CBS is censoring.