{"id":666,"date":"2011-05-19T10:21:22","date_gmt":"2011-05-19T14:21:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/faithmediaandculture\/?p=666"},"modified":"2011-05-19T10:39:17","modified_gmt":"2011-05-19T14:39:17","slug":"media-matters-seeks-fox-news-shutdown-thoughts-on-cbs-fall-schedule","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/2011\/05\/media-matters-seeks-fox-news-shutdown-thoughts-on-cbs-fall-schedule.html","title":{"rendered":"Media Matters seeks Fox News shutdown + thoughts on CBS’ fall schedule"},"content":{"rendered":"

Emboldened Media Matters expands its campaign to control speech. <\/strong>From Hollywood Reporter<\/a>: Glenn Beck, <\/strong> it turns out, was just a warm-up for Media Matters. This week, the progressive watchdog group launched a campaign targeting all companies that advertise on Beck’s TV home, the Fox News Channel. <\/em>
\nHeadquarters for the campaign is a website called DropFox.com<\/a> that was unveiled Monday. Front and center at the site is the group’s first targeted advertiser: Orbitz Worldwide.<\/em>
\nNext to the Orbitz logo on Wednesday was a photo of Beck above the tagline, “Buyer Beware: Why Advertisers Should Still Be Wary of Financially Supporting Fox News.”<\/em>
\nClick Beck’s photo and it takes you to charts and data designed to show that a boycott of his TV show organized by Media Matters led to advertisers fleeing and Fox News ditching him, despite high ratings.<\/em>
\nOrbitz is a target at DropFox because the online travel company has embraced lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders, a community Media Matters says Fox News maligns.<\/em><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, some gays are taking offense at Chaz Bono (formerly Chastity Bono, the daughter of Sonny & Cher) for undergoing sex change surgery. Andrea Peyser of the New York Post offers this disapproving quote<\/a> from the gay site datalounge.com: “Whatever your opinion of her recent surgeries and hormone intake, Chaz Bono <\/a>says that she is no longer a gay woman, but is, rather, a straight man. Congratulations!…”Her presence will do nothing but confuse and alienate. For example, we are fighting to be allowed to get married. She can get married. Our agenda is no longer hers, but, because she likes the attention and the catering, she’s not gonna go anywhere. What can we do?” <\/em>Meanwhile, some of the comments at the site are nastier still<\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n

Perhaps Media Matters should organize a boycott against datalounge for being anti trans-gender. Where does it end? Conservative Christians could boycott Fox Broadcasting Network because of some of the sucker punches they feel they receive from shows like Glee<\/em><\/a> and Family Guy<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Ideally, everyone would respect everyone else’s lifestyles and belief systems and not go out of their way to insult people. Simple human kindness should always the carry the day. And, while advertiser boycotts are legitimate way for consumers to voice their beliefs, I believe they should be reserved only for extreme cases of persistent and deliberate vitriol. Otherwise, free speech itself becomes a casualty of political power plays.<\/p>\n

If you’re curious what all the fuss is about, here’s the trailer for Becoming Chaz<\/em>, airing this month on Oprah Winfrey’s OWN Network.<\/p>\n