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SFist Tonight
If the prospect of watching a gay pride parade on television thrills you, you'd better have cable -- because KRON, which has previously broadcast the parade over the air on channel 4, is this year bumping their coverage all the way up to Comcast's channel 99. KRON's broadcast license is up for renewal, see, and the chance of losing it over something unexpected during the parade is just too great. (You can read a highlarious lover's spat about it on our "contribute" page -- hey, folks, you know you can argue much more effectively in the SFist forums, right?)
The reason that the station can be put out of business for a single incident is because the FCC is charged with enforcing community standards. The airwaves belong to the public, and it's the government's job to make sure that broadcasters conform to socially accepted ideas about what's good and proper. But what could be more socially accepted in San Francisco than an unpredictable gay parade with a brief smattering of indecency? We ought to be complaining to the FCC that there isn't enough nudity on TV right now.
But KRON, our favorite scrappy underdog-station, doesn't have much wiggle room when it comes to license renewal. They've already been fined once -- a viewer complained when the station accidentally showed a brief glimpse of a dick during a segment about Puppetry of the Penis. (Why this delicate individual did not change the channel as soon as the subject of the broadcast was announced is unknown.) And some nutcases believe that swears and genitals have magic powers, like Medusa's head -- one glimpse, and you're polluted and impure. Somehow, those lunatics are in charge of the asylum these days; so until that changes -- which could actually happen soon -- that means the parade will have to be banished.
You can watch the parade live on channel 99 -- all your favorite KRON personalities will still be on hand to host the broadcast. You can also catch it online at kron4.com, and an edited version later that evening on channel 4.
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A perfectly good example of why so many folks I know no longer watch much TV... don't get me wrong, they still watch TV *shows* but they do it on itunes or DVD or other means... all of the content with half the bs.
Hugo Chavez refuses to renew TV license in Venezuela => OMG teh new Hitler!
FCC refuses to renew TV license in the US => yawn..
<snark>Gee, I once saw an athlete drop his shorts (in the background) during a locker room interview on TV. It must have been 25 or 30 years ago, but I am still traumatized by the horrible experience of seeing a blurry penis on TV. That must be why I turned out to be gay! I really need the government to protect me from the real world. </snark>
What could anybody possibly find offensive at the Pride Parade?? Would somebody give me just one example of an off color float or person, or an inappropriate costume?
Are those of us on DirecTV out of luck?
Damn tyranny of the minority.
What's really awful is that those folks (who make a big stink whenever something even remotely "objectionable" makes it to air) know they hold the power. They know the moral climate favors them and that they'll get their way, which is why they do what they do.
By the way, if anyone was traumatized for life by my use of the word "damn", I sincerely apologize. I realize the children are our future.
@Dave, there is usually some nudity at the pride parade. Some seem to find that a terrible thing.
All the press I've seen on this says it will air on Channel 99 on Comcast in SF, however there *is* no channel 99 on Comcast in SF. Not that I can find, anyway.
Remember the Onion article "Gay-Pride Parade Sets Mainstream Acceptance Of Gays Back 50 Years"?
The nature of the parade. which had a political agenda and was a threat and influential is now all about consumption of product$, tm, so it should be banned for irrelevancy but not 'cause some Gertie got her christian offended when she fantasized about herself, about shoving that rosary up there in the netherbits..
Only in America if you have a film where a woman's breast is slashed you get a PG-13 rating, but if she's getting her breast kissed you get R or NC-17. Quote from Jack Nicholson.
The FCC would pretty much like to use small H- bombs on the TV distribution transmitters in SF, and just not have to worry anymore.
Actually they would prefer to nuke the entire city with a neutrino bomb to eliminate all the pinko commie fags, leftie democrats and other undesirables.
Its all about Freedom and Rights.
You have the FREEDOM to show your skinny little penis in the foggy air and KRON has the RIGHT to believe it is in their best interest to not display your foreskin live. Rather than piss and moan about it, you should be glad they are covering your event at all! They have the RIGHT to totally ignore your parade. They, as broadcasters, daily make several decisions about which events and activities they will cover and the manner they will present them to their viewers. Other media do the same. Are you going to drop into a whine because National Geographic is not covering your tribal event? True, they (KRON)do not want challenges to their license, but prudish zealots have just as many RIGHTS to have their opinions heard as do you. Relegating TV coverage of your primal activities is not a threat to your FREEDOM. Is there a reason your parade should be covered more extensively than the annual Pet Parade? Keep in mind, our system of checks and balances does actually work, and generally to everyone's benefit.
Kenneth:
Do you have documented proof that KRON has shown penises and foreskins on past Pride parade telecasts? Have you even been to a Pride parade or watched KRON's telecasts in the past? How do you know that it's a "tribal event?" Or are you just a raging homophobe?
Oh yes, what's your opinion of African-Americans, Latinos, Asian-Americans, Native Americans, Jews, women and lesbians--as if we didn't already know?
mattymat,
If you are so interested in seeing dicks, just go to the parade yourself. Or you can just look in the mirror if you are feeling lazy.
Silly boy, dicks are for chicks.
It's true, dicks can be found just about anywhere. In fact, I think we just spotted one leaving a comment.
Are you talking about the mythical spotted-dick Matt?
Applying community standards, which are, by definition local, to the SF pride parade as shown by a local affiliate, I would REQUIRE nudity and loud and obnoxious gay PDAs.
*Oh yes, what's your opinion of African-Americans, Latinos, Asian-Americans, Native Americans, Jews, women and lesbians--as if we didn't already know?* This is what is known in logic as a RED HERRING
Are you trying to equate the racist judgment of African-Americans, Latinos, Asian-Americans, Native Americans, and Jews with the moral judgement of homosexuals? I think that you are mixing apples with your oranges.
Racists judge people based solely upon the color of their skin. A person objecting to homosexuality on moral grounds is objecting to the behavior of the person engaging in homosexual acts. These two types of judgments are not analogous.
Most people agree that it is unfair and wrong to judge a person simply because they have a particular skin tone. But we consistently judge people by their actions or behavior. For example, if a man engages in sexual relations with an underage female, our society has deemed that this act is unacceptable and therefore we judge this man in a negative manner. This is the type of judgement that applies to homosexuals (i.e. judgement based upon behavior).
Oh GOD. This is not going to turn into an argument about whether or not homosexuality is moral; we've all clearly made up our minds on that topic already, and a debate in the comments of some blog isn't going to fix anything.
Hasn't KRON been going down the toilet ever since they lost their NBC affiliation? I think it got even worse after they hooked up that "My Network TV" material that now promotes violence, sex, and cheap soap operas.
Akit:
What's your problem with the First Amendment?
And wouldn't conventional wisdom indicate that gays might embrace the MyTV novelas (which will be gone by the fall, at any rate) for their camp value? C'mon, Morgan Fairchild, for Chrissakes!
I think you've misinterpreted my statement.
I don't have a problem with the first amendment, but I just think that KRON's quality of programming is just going downhill. I think it would be great if they could broadcast the Pride Parade on normal broadcast TV. Just a month ago, a Chron writer that reviewed the TV networks replied to my e-mail and said that M.N.TV is "not even a network."
Do you watch their news broadcasts? I am amazed that I find typos in their broadcasts and the quality of their VJ stuff is just hitting rock bottom. No wonder why Vic Lee and Wendy Tokuda jumped ship.
In the midwest, a mother created a stink around Harry Potter books in schools as being coercive to the "dark forces" of witchery and sorcery and that they should be banned and burned. It only takes one zealot to complain to shut the whole thing down, but hundreds of petitions to keep it going. So much for checks and BALANCES. Are you really surprised there wouldn't be zealots with penile-phobia? [Mother] "Dirty dirty penis, don't touch that son, it must be scrubbed clean."
[Son] "Damn that feels good. Hmmmmmm......"
Do you think KRON4 will renew their FCC Licence after this year?
Let me know.