GUEST COMMENTARY: Six years late and $2.8 million short

(RNS) In an attempt to address ad revenue shortfalls during a tough economy, CBS says it would finally accept a 2004 request from the United Church of Christ to air ads that advocate welcoming all people, including gays and lesbians, into the church. For the UCC, CBS’s decision comes six years late and $2.8 million […]

(RNS) In an attempt to address ad revenue shortfalls during a tough economy, CBS says it would finally accept a 2004 request from the United Church of Christ to air ads that advocate welcoming all people, including gays and lesbians, into the church.

For the UCC, CBS’s decision comes six years late and $2.8 million short, given the denomination’s current fund-raising priority focused on long-term recovery in Haiti.

Not surprisingly, the UCC doesn’t have extra millions lying around for Super Bowl ads. In fact, we never did.


Back in 2004, the church spent a full year in grass roots fund-raising — eliciting contributions from supporters and preparing our congregations — in advance of a media campaign intended to convey an all-inclusive welcome to people who feel marginalized by institutional religion.

After testing it widely on various channels in multiple markets, including CBS affiliates, we never heard even one peep of concern about our ad’s content or message. Then CBS dropped a bombshell only days before the ad was to air nationally:

“Because this commercial touches on the exclusion of gay couples and other minority groups by other individuals and organizations, and the fact the Executive Branch (Bush administration) has recently proposed a Constitutional Amendment to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman, this spot is unacceptable for broadcast on the (CBS and UPN) networks,” CBS told us at the time.

We were dumbfounded.

But now, CBS — which is in hot water for accepting a controversial Super Bowl ad from Focus on the Family — needs the money and announces a change in its policy, saying our ad is just fine. The UCC, meanwhile, has moved on to other mission priorities.

CBS’ about-face only underscores the arbitrary way the networks approach these decisions. The result is a woeful lack of religious diversity in our nation’s media. Such flip-flops only lead the public to believe that broadcasters own the airwaves — when, in theory at least, they do not.

The UCC encountered a similar situation in early 2005, when the denomination sought air time on the ABC network, only to be told that ABC did not accept any religious advertising. The very next month, Focus on the Family was allowed prime-time advertising on ABC’s “SuperNanny” show.


The denial of the UCC’s ad in 2004 prompted the church to file a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission — a petition that was never given full consideration by the FCC because it was dismissed by FCC staff in 2007. Obviously, broadcasters still stand in need of some clear FCC guidance.

What concerns us is the appearance that one religious viewpoint is continually accommodated by the TV networks. There is a common misunderstanding in this country that all religious people hold a monolithic view on certain issues, such as reproductive choice or same-gender marriage equality, but that is not the case.

This April, in an attempt to reach newer audiences, the UCC plans to unveil a new 30-second online commercial; however, our media-buying plan does not include national TV. Still, the larger issue of access remains — not just for the UCC, but for all religious groups.

When and if the UCC does return again to CBS or another network, will our distinctive religious viewpoint be heard, or will there be yet another policy change?

(J. Bennett Guess is director of communications for the 1.1 million-member United Church of Christ, based in Cleveland. A version of this column originally appeared in The Plain Dealer.)

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