{"id":546,"date":"2011-07-12T14:22:06","date_gmt":"2011-07-12T18:22:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/faithandjustice\/?p=546"},"modified":"2011-07-11T14:32:03","modified_gmt":"2011-07-11T18:32:03","slug":"nbc-pledge-snafu-will-not-be-repeated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/2011\/07\/nbc-pledge-snafu-will-not-be-repeated.html","title":{"rendered":"NBC: Pledge Debacle “Will Not Be Repeated”"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>It’s a victory for the Pledge of Allegiance and for the American people – including the tens of thousands of you who stood with us in support of the Pledge and the phrase “one nation, under God.”<\/p>\n

You’ll recall on the final day of the U.S. Open Golf Championship in late June, NBC aired what was supposed to be a feature story designed to pay tribute to America.\u00a0 But, as you know, that feature story had been edited – and the phrase “under God” removed from the story. Not once, but twice.<\/p>\n

You can watch the clip here.<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=yq8tydBo5RI<\/a>\n

We immediately addressed the issue<\/a> and within just a matter of days, tens of thousands of you signed on to our Letter of Protest – demanding that NBC put in place a policy that ensures when the Pledge airs, so do the words, ‘under God’.<\/p>\n

We were not alone. Led by Congressmen J. Randy Forbes (R-VA) and Mike McIntyre (D-NC), more than 100 members of Congress – including many members of the Congressional Prayer Caucus, signed on to a letter expressing the very same concerns we did to NBC.<\/p>\n

In a letter responding to those concerns, Kyle McSlarrow, President of Comcast and NBCUniversal addressed the issue in detail:<\/p>\n

“Unfortunately, a serious error in judgment was made by a small group of people. To be absolutely clear, this was not an ideological decision by the company and it was not discussed with or approved by any senior NBCUniversal official. We have made quite clear \u2013 internally and externally \u2013 that the employees who made this decision were wrong. Not only were countless citizens justifiably upset, but also the actions of this small group cast a negative light on NBCUniversal, NBC, and NBC Sports, as well as our partners at the United States Golf Association. It was an inexcusable mistake in judgment and it will not be repeated.”<\/p>\n

And, NBC now says it is addressing the chief concern: putting a policy in place to keep this from happening again.<\/p>\n

“We are taking steps to prevent similar mistakes in the future. The employees involved have been reprimanded. And we have already implemented a new checks and balances process for preproduced pieces, ensuring that nothing will go on the air without senior-level approval, including and up to the executive in charge of production at any event. We are confident that taking these steps will prevent further incidents and we are hopeful that our apologies will be accepted.”<\/p>\n

The complete letter is posted here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Millions of Americans understand that the Pledge – including the phrase “under God” – is part of our nation’s history and heritage. Let’s hope NBC got the message.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s a victory for the Pledge of Allegiance and for the American people – including the tens of thousands of you who stood with us in support of the Pledge and the phrase “one nation, under God.” You’ll recall on the final day of the U.S. Open Golf Championship in late June, NBC aired what…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":401,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[164,17],"tags":[743,121,187,120,137,188,189,186,20,119],"class_list":["post-546","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-freedom","category-pledge-of-allegiance","tag-aclj","tag-congressional-country-club","tag-congressional-prayer-caucus","tag-nbc-sports","tag-pledge-apology","tag-rep-j-randy-forbes","tag-rep-mike-mcintyre","tag-u-s-golf-championship","tag-under-god","tag-usga"],"yoast_head":"\nNBC: Pledge Debacle "Will Not Be Repeated" - Faith & Justice<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/2011\/07\/nbc-pledge-snafu-will-not-be-repeated.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"NBC: Pledge Debacle "Will Not Be Repeated" - Faith & Justice\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It’s a victory for the Pledge of Allegiance and for the American people – including the tens of thousands of you who stood with us in support of the Pledge and the phrase “one nation, under God.” You’ll recall on the final day of the U.S. Open Golf Championship in late June, NBC aired what…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/2011\/07\/nbc-pledge-snafu-will-not-be-repeated.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Faith & Justice\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-07-12T18:22:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2011-07-11T18:32:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/faithandjustice\/files\/2011\/06\/shutterstock_75333544-150x150.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jay Sekulow\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"NBC: Pledge Debacle \"Will Not Be Repeated\" - 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He is also Chief Counsel of the European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ). Jay Sekulow is one of the leading defenders of constitutional rights and religious liberties in the United States. Over the past 25 years, Jay Sekulow has amassed an unparalleled record of accomplishment, arguing before the U.S. Supreme Court on 12 occasions. His aggressive litigation strategy before the Supreme Court has led to many landmark First Amendment victories. In his first case before the Supreme Court, Jews for Jesus, Jay Sekulow secured the right of religious groups to pass out tracks in airports. In Mergens, Jay Sekulow successfully protected the right of students to form Bible clubs and prayer groups on public school campuses. In Lamb\u2019s Chapel, Jay Sekulow cleared the way for churches to have equal access to public facilities in the same way that other groups are permitted to utilize those facilities. In the Bray and Operation Rescue cases, Jay Sekulow protected the free speech rights of pro-life advocates to be free from criminal prosecution for conveying their pro-life message. In McConnell v. FEC, Jay Sekulow protected the right of young people to engage in the political process by donating to the campaign of their choice. In Pleasant Grove, Jay Sekulow paved the way for governments to be able to display Ten Commandments monuments, and other monuments of their choosing, in public parks. Through the ACLJ, Jay Sekulow engages the political, legal, and cultural battles facing America today. He routinely works with Members of Congress, advising them on proposed legislation and representing them in critical legal matters. Jay Sekulow has also testified before Congress on the constitutionality of proposed legislation. Also, in addition to being a successful Supreme Court advocate, Jay Sekulow is a highly respected broadcaster. Jay Sekulow is the host of Jay Sekulow Live! which airs each weekday on over 850 radio stations nationwide, in addition Sirius and XM satellite radio. He brings insight and education to listeners daily through this national call-in radio program. He is also the host of the ACLJ This Week, the ACLJ\u2019s weekly television program. Jay Sekulow regularly appears on major media outlets, including FOX News, CNN, ABC, CBS, and NBC, where he is sought out for his vast experience in constitutional law and his unique insight into many of the pressing legal and political issues facing America today. He is frequently quoted in the nation's leading newspapers and often contributes opinion editorials to national publications. Jay Sekulow has also published numerous law review and other scholarly articles. Jay Sekulow has received numerous honors for his groundbreaking legal work in the area of free speech and religious liberties. The Legal Times has named Sekulow one of \u201cThe 90 Greatest Washington Lawyers of the Last 30 Years\u201d and the National Law Journal has twice named Sekulow one of the \u201c100 Most Influential Lawyers\u201d in the United States. In addition, TIME Magazine listed Jay Sekulow as one of the \"25 Most Influential Evangelicals\" in America. Jay Sekulow\u2019s legal work in defense of religious liberties and human rights extends beyond the United States, having founded the ECLJ in Strasbourg, France, which maintains consultative status with the United Nations. He has also opened offices in Pakistan, Africa, and Jerusalem, Israel. Jay Sekulow is a staunch defender of Israel, presenting arguments before the International Criminal Court at the Hague. His efforts in support of Israel\u2019s right to defend itself from terrorist attacks have been commended by Israeli government officials, one official stating, \"Jay was instrumentally-involved in projects that the President of Israel and the Prime Minister put on our national agenda.\" Jay Sekulow also has a passion for educating the next generation of religious liberty advocates. He is a member of the Regent University Law School Faculty as a Distinguished Professor of Law and routinely teaches courses on constitutional law and presents guest lectures. Jay Sekulow has also started educational programs in international human rights law in Strasbourg, France and at Handong University in South Korea. Jay Sekulow is a graduate of Mercer University, earning both a bachelor\u2019s degree and doctor of jurisprudence. Sekulow served on the editorial staff of the Mercer Law Review and graduated cum laude. He later earned a Ph.D. from Regent University, writing his dissertation on American Legal History. Jay Sekulow also serves on the Board of Trustees for The Supreme Court Historical Society in Washington, D.C. Jay Sekulow, ACLJ Chief Counsels full biography and video. Jay Sekulow on Facebook. Jay Sekulow on Twitter. Jay Sekulow on YouTube.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/author\/jay_sekulow"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/546","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/401"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=546"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/546\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":561,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/546\/revisions\/561"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=546"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=546"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=546"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}