Mo. Democrats: Viacom Said No to Ad

[rodbarnett]

ST. LOUIS (AP) - The state Democratic Party on Thursday accused media giant Viacom of political favoritism and corporate censorship for backing out of a deal to sell billboard space for a political ad.

Party Chairwoman May Scheve Reardon said the ad was set to run for a month along Interstate 70 in predominantly black sections of St. Louis and Kansas City.

The ad, featuring a black man's face against an American flag, states: "Missouri Republicans have a plan. You are not a part of it."

In a letter Wednesday, Viacom Outdoor General Manager Kyle Dorton in St. Louis told party Executive Director Jim Kottmeyer the company viewed the ad as "negative."

Viacom spokesman Carl Folta said the company saw the billboard as an "ambush ad" that used race in a divisive way.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040227/D80VC9000.html

[Leados]

1. MO Republicans are a-holes

I imagine this is true... If you're not a WASP, you're definitely not "in."

[Robb]

2. the company viewed the ad as "negative."

Hell yes it's negative! What, you don't like the color of our money?

[dusty64]

3. Obviously not when its not

from the extreme right. The refusal to air the MoveOn ads while showing the taxpayer funded Medicare lie one is proof positive that there is wholesale propaganda going on in this Country.

[DiverDave]

4. Yeah, Lets not tell THE TRUTH!

Might rile up the great unwashed.:eyes:

[displacedtexan]

5. This calls for TAGGING!

It may be time for TAGGING our political ads! If done correctly (renting sides of buildings instead of illegally painting on private and public property), this could work... and it would employ street artists, who might just register and vote!

[maggrwaggr]

11. screw that. Just wipe out any billboard that says "viacom" at the top

Get out the chain saws, cut 'em down. Deface them.

Fuck these treasonous assholes.

[Fovea]

6. an "ambush ad" that used race in a divisive way. AHEM

Willie Horton Willie Horton Willie Horton Willie Horton Willie Horton
Willie Horton Willie Horton Willie Horton Willie Horton Willie Horton
Willie Horton Willie Horton Willie Horton Willie Horton Willie Horton
Willie Horton Willie Horton Willie Horton Willie Horton Willie Horton
Willie Horton Willie Horton Willie Horton Willie Horton Willie Horton
Willie Horton Willie Horton Willie Horton Willie Horton Willie Horton
Willie Horton Willie Horton Willie Horton Willie Horton Willie Horton
Willie Horton Willie Horton Willie Horton Willie Horton Willie Horton
Willie Horton Willie Horton Willie Horton Willie Horton Willie Horton
Willie Horton Willie Horton Willie Horton Willie Horton Willie Horton
Willie Horton Willie Horton Willie Horton Willie Horton Willie Horton
Willie Horton Willie Horton Willie Horton Willie Horton Willie Horton
Willie Horton Willie Horton Willie Horton Willie Horton Willie Horton
Willie Horton Willie Horton Willie Horton Willie Horton Willie Horton
Willie Horton Willie Horton Willie Horton Willie Horton Willie Horton
Willie Horton Willie Horton Willie Horton Willie Horton Willie Horton

Need I say more?

[Deege]

7. If they don't like the color of money.....

Viacom is vested in a lot of interests (see list below). Lots of letters to any of these will make an impact. My personal suggestion is to concentrate on the media outlets, see who the advertisers are for the Viacom owned stations and send lots of letters stating boycott of the advertiser's product. Mention the Viacom spokesman by name and the incident of censorship in Missouri. The only way to chip away at this is to hit them where it hurts, and that's their bottom-line.

Paramount Pictures
Paramount Home Entertainment
CBS Television
Paramount Television
UPN
Broadcast Stations:

UPN STATIONS:
WUPA-TV - Atlanta
*WSBK-TV - Boston
WWHO-TV - Columbus
*KTXA-TV - Dallas
*WKBD-TV - Detroit
WNDY-TV - Indianapolis
*WBFS-TV - Miami
WUPL-TV - New Orleans
WGNT-TV - Norfolk
KAUT-TV - Oklahoma City
*WPSG-TV - Philadelphia
*WNPA-TV - Pittsburgh
WLWC-TV - Providence
KMAX-TV - Sacramento
*KBHK-TV - San Francisco
KSTW-TV - Seattle
WTOG-TV - Tampa
WTVX-TV - W.Palm Beach
CBS STATIONS:
KEYE-TV Austin, TX
WJZ-TV Baltimore, MD
*WBZ-TV Boston, MA
WBBM-TV Chicago, IL
*KTVT-TV Dallas-Fort Worth, TX
KCNC-TV Denver, CO
*WWJ-TV Detroit, MI
WFRV-TV Green Bay, WI
WCBS-TV New York, NY
*WFOR-TV Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, FL
WCCO-TV Minneapolis, MN
*KYW-TV Philadelphia, PA
*KDKA-TV Pittsburgh, PA
KUTV-TV Salt Lake City, UT
*KPIX-TV San Francisco, CA
KCBS-TV Los Angeles, CA
SATELLITE
KCCO Alexandria, MN
KCCW Walker, MN
WJMN Escanaba, WI
KUSG Washington, UT
INDEPENDENT STATION
*KCAL in Los Angeles
*duopolies
Cable Television:
MTV
MTV2
Nickelodeon
BET
Nick at Nite
TV Land
Noggin
The N
VH1
Spike TV
CMT
Comedy Central
Showtime
The Movie Channel
Flix
Sundance Channel
Infinity Broadcasting
Viacom Outdoor
Blockbuster
Paramount Parks
Famous Players Theater
United Cinemas Theater
Viacom Interactive Ventures
Simon & Schuster
Viacom Consumer Products
Famous Music

[w4rma]

8. Viacom's agenda is becoming clearer. (n/t)

[Tiberius]

9. this is getting *really* scary

All of the big media conglomerates are becoming more transparent. These are all only test cases for the snowball of censorship rolling downhill toward November.

[maggrwaggr]

12. yes, this is only the beginning

and you can bet it's gonna get much much worse.

[underpants]

10. Not to bash Mo. but they did elect Ashcroft to the Senate right?

of course they saw the error of their ways and elected a dead man instead the next time.