Because it's time to stop watching NBC.

Why did NBC refuse to air these ads? Well, because they include the URL of Freedom's Watch website.. Which, according to NBC, is "too political."

WASHINGTON - NBC has rejected a TV ad by Freedom's Watch, a conservative group that supports administration policy in Iraq, that asks viewers to remember and thank U.S. troops during the holiday season.

NBC said it declined to air the ad because it refers to the group's Web site, which the network said was too political, not because of the ad's message.

{...}The spot was to be part of a seven-figure campaign that includes newspaper ads and television commercials. The ads are to run on CNN and Fox News Channel and are running in various newspapers. The New York Times ran a full-page Freedom's Watch ad Friday that said "Thank You!" and depicted a soldier reading a letter. The newspaper ad also contained the Web site address.

Alan Wurtzel, NBC's head of standards and practices, said the network decided not to run the Freedom's Watch ad because the group insisted that the spot contain the URL address of its Web site.{...}

What offense is to be found on Freedom Watch's website?

{...}It also contains a welcoming message that states: "For too long, conservatives have lacked a permanent political presence to do battle with the radical special interests groups and their left-wing allies in government."

"We have a policy that prohibits acceptance of advertising that deals with issues of public controversy," Wurtzel said. "This particular ad, in and of itself, is fine. It thanks the troops for their action overseas. We asked them to eliminate a URL address where a person is asked to contact elected officials and told not to cut and run on the war on terror."{...}

{my emphasis}

To be fair, a quick Google search will show you that NBC has refused to air any number of uber-liberal Moveon-dot-org ads. Yet, curiously enough, in the course of my search, I couldn't find any mention of NBC ever saying to Move on-dot-org, as they did to Freedom's Watch, "Hey, remove the political content on your website and we'll let the ads air."

What does that tell you?

Sunday, December 9th Update: NBC caved!

WASHINGTON -- NBC reversed course Saturday and decided to air a conservative group's television ad thanking U.S. troops.

The ad, by the group Freedom's Watch, asks viewers to remember the troops during the holiday season. NBC had refused to air the ad because it guides viewers to the Freedom's Watch Web site, which NBC said was too political.

But in a statement issued Saturday evening, NBC said:

"We have reviewed and changed our ad standards guidelines and made the decision that our policy will apply to content only and not to a referenced Web site. Based on these amended standards the Freedom's Watch ad will begin to run as early as Sunday."{...}

And NBC did, indeed, run the ad this morning---with the URL present and accounted for---during Meet The Press, or so the husband, who is the one person in the Cake Eater Pad who actually watches that show, informs me.

{ht: Ace}

Posted by: Kathy at 05:55 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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