Parents Television and Media Council

# Parents Television and Media Council

## Abstract

The Parents Television and Media Council (PTMC), formerly the Parents Television Council (PTC), is an American media advocacy group founded by conservative political pundit L. Brent Bozell III in 1995, which advocates for what it considers to be responsible, family-friendly content across all media platforms, and for advertisers to be held accountable for the content of television programs that they sponsor. The PTMC officially describes itself as a non-partisan organization, although the group has also been described as partisan and socially conservative.

The PTMC produces reviews, research reports, and online newsletters that highlight television programs and other entertainment products (such as music videos and video games) based on their suitability for family viewing. The PTMC has advocated for cable television networks to be subject to the same decency rules as broadcast television, and for television providers to allow subscribers to purchase channels on an individual basis. The group has also been critical of the TV Parental Guidelines system, often deeming the ratings given by broadcasters to be inaccurate in comparison to their own assessments of a program's content.

It has mounted pressure campaigns against the producers, broadcasters, and sponsors of programming that they perceive to be indecent or harmful to children (such as those containing undue sexual content, profane language, and violence); these campaigns typically include the organized mass mailing of form letters and emails to advertising sponsors of unapproved programs, organized mass filing of complaints via the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) website complaint form, and direct threats of long, potentially costly FCC license challenges to local network affiliates planning to broadcast what the council considers harmful network programming.

Throughout its existence, the Parents Television and Media Council has been accused of promoting censorship. In 2004, the FCC reported that the group was the primary source of most content complaints received by the commission.

## History

In 1989, the Media Research Center (MRC) began monitoring the entertainment industry for alleged liberal bias through its Entertainment Division and newsletter TV, etc. MRC founder and president L. Brent Bozell III later felt that "decency" was declining on most prime-time television programming. The PTC began operations in 1995 following private planning meetings with Charlton Heston, Michael Medved, and others in the entertainment industry, who would eventually make up the advisory board of the PTC. After the release of its first annual Family Guide to Prime-Time Television following the 1995–1996 television season, the PTC hoped to hold the entertainment industry accountable for the indecency that it perceived to be prominent on prime-time television. By 1996, the organization had the support of several members of the U.S. Congress, including Joe Lieberman and Lamar S. Smith, and an estimated annual budget of $142,000.

By 1998, with an estimated membership of 120,000, comedian and former The Tonight Show host Steve Allen joined PTC as its Honorary Chairman, and PTC released a report questioning the accuracy of the TV Parental Guidelines ratings system and campaigning for advertisers to stop sponsoring programs that the PTC claimed were offensive. Allen launched a newspaper advertisement campaign promoting the PTC, which was published in many outlets including The New York Times. The PTC was noted for criticizing such shows as Ally McBeal, Dawson's Creek, Ellen, Friends, and Spin City. Its website was also introduced that year, and its annual budget had already surpassed $1 million. PTC rolled out another round of full-page newspaper advertisements in 1999; San Francisco Examiner television columnist Tim Goodman perceived Allen and the PTC of advocating complete censorship of television to allow only what PTC considered "Family-Safe TV".

The PTC lost nearly $1 million in 2008 and in 2009 received $2.9 million in revenue, a 29 percent drop from the previous year. In 2009 and 2010, the PTC cut its staff by 38 percent to save money.

On April 14, 2021, the organization changed its name to the Parents Television and Media Council "to better reflect its mission to advocate for responsible entertainment on all entertainment media platforms".

## Leadership

PTC was founded in 1995 by longtime political activist L. Brent Bozell III. Bozell is a prominent conservative activist who has, among other things, served as executive director of the Conservative Victory Committee, a political action committee that has supported the election of dozens of conservative candidates. He was also National Finance Chairman for Pat Buchanan's 1992 presidential campaign, and later president of the National Conservative Political Action Committee. Bozell was succeeded as PTC President by Timothy F. Winter. Winter served as executive director of the PTC for three years prior to becoming president. Prior to joining the PTC, Mr. Winter's 20-year career as a media executive included positions with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and NBC. Until 2015 when his position was terminated, Dan Isett, Director of Corporate and Government Affairs of the PTC, represented the PTC on the Consumer Advisory Committee of the Federal Communications Commission.

## Advisory board

The PTC also has an advisory board consisting of politicians and entertainers working to assist the council in their goal of protecting children against profanity and violence in the media. Notable members of the advisory board have included singer Pat Boone, former football player Mel Renfro, writer-producer Coleman Luck, country musician Billy Ray Cyrus, comedian and actor Tim Conway of CBS's The Carol Burnett Show, former U.S. Senator from Kansas and 2008 presidential candidate Sam Brownback, film critic Michael Medved, star of 1980s soap opera Dallas Susan Howard, and ION Television producer Gary Johnson. In addition, the PTC has established numerous local chapters for most American media markets. Notable former advisory board members include - both of whom are now deceased - comedian Steve Allen, original host of NBC's The Tonight Show, and C. Delores Tucker, participant in the Civil Rights Movement and activist against gangsta rap music; Allen is now given the title of National Honorary Chairman-Emeritus. Bahçeşehir University associate professor Christian Christiansen questioned the backgrounds of certain PTC advisory board members as not consistent with their stance on morality.

## Publications

### Columns and reports

The website of the PTC features reports on what the group says is harmful content on television and regular writings from its staff. Their research is done with the support of their Entertainment Tracking System, an archive of prime-time television programming that they claim is the largest in the world. Such publications include:

- "Culture Watch" – Throughout 2005 and 2006, the PTC published columns under this series authored by Christopher Gildemeister, covering the influence on American culture by entertainment as well as exposing the increase in sex, violence, and profanity in cable television and the methods used by advertisers and broadcasting companies to attract young audiences. In a December 2005 column of his, Advertising Age columnist Simon Dumenco criticized the PTC, arguing that the PTC is "very very afraid of gay TV characters". Gildemeister defended the PTC as being "not homophobic" but simply opposed to "sexual references or innuendo (of any variety, hetero, homo or other) aired where children might be exposed to them."

- "Parenting and the Media" authored by Rod Gustafson, where he offers advice on parenting children who frequent the media.

- "TV Trends" – Another column by Christopher Gildemeister, published since October 2007 intending to inform parents and TV viewers in general about what he determines to be "harmful or questionable prime-time programming." Hartford Courant television critic Roger Catlin quoted Gildemeister as criticizing ABC for having an "apparent fetish for transsexuals" in certain programs.

- Former president Bozell's weekly entertainment column, which it links to within the home page

In 2000, PTC's report What a Difference a Decade Makes allegedly stated that there was an increase in profanity, sex, and violence on television during the 1990s. The report also claimed that references to homosexuality increased the most during that decade – by a factor of 24. In 2002, the PTC released a report claiming that there was an increase in profanity on network programming shown during the first hour of prime time. In a 2006 report titled Wolves in Sheep's Clothing, analyst Kristen Fyfe reported an increase in violent, profane, and sexual content in children's programming. Among its results, based on research during summer 2005, the PTC stated that Teen Titans was the most violent program, and claimed Cartoon Network had the most violent incidents. Richard Huff of the New York Daily News criticized the report for misinterpreting an episode of SpongeBob SquarePants, " Sailor Mouth ", over its intent to satirize profanity implicitly.

Following the 2005–06 television season, PTC issued a report Faith in a Box that analyzed depictions of religion in primetime television. The study stated that most positive references to religion were on reality shows such as Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, while claiming that scripted shows tended to be more negative towards it. The report also ranked Fox as the "most anti-religious network", followed by NBC, UPN, ABC, CBS, and the WB. In 2008, PTC published a report titled Happily Never After, using analysis of several primetime shows early in the 2007-2008 television season that asserted that extramarital sex was more favored on television shows during that time period. Ian O'Doherty of The Irish Independent asked regarding the PTC's marriage depiction study: "After all, would you rather watch people having fun or would you rather watch a realistic depiction of marriage, which... would simply be an hour of two people sullenly chewing their food, pausing occasionally only to throw each other filthies and occasionally grumbling under their breath how the biggest regret of their life was ever setting eyes on you and that their mother was right all along?" PTC released a report in October 2009 stating that prime-time television shows on broadcast networks had twice as many depictions of violence against women in 2009 than in 2004.

In November 2010, the PTC released a study, Habitat for Profanity: Broadcast TV's Sharp Increase in Foul Language, which claims that there was a sharp rise in the usage of profanity between 2005 and 2010—during the 8 pm to 9 pm ET/PT time period commonly referred to them as the Family Viewing Hour, the PTC claimed that there were 111 instances of profanity during this hour in 2010 versus 10 in 2005; during all of prime time, 276 instances in 2010 against 11 in 2005. The study claimed that there was a 69.3% increase in prime time in general between 2005 and 2010, with the Fox network being heavily accused of bringing a 269% increase for the network during that period. The study also claimed instances in which there was profanity, but the offending word was bleeped out.

### Entertainment reviews and analysis

The PTC's activities extend to evaluation, rating, and educating around broadcast TV programs according to a traffic light system across three categories of sex, violence and profanity, accumulating to an overall rating based on the ratings of these three categories. The guide has been in use since the 1995–96 season using the traffic light system. In the PTC's definition of its traffic light system, green light indicates that the program is "appropriate for all ages", a yellow light indicates that the program "would be unsuitable for children under the age of 14", and a red light indicates that the program is "appropriate for adult audiences only".

Every television season since 1995–96, the council has released a list of the best and worst prime-time television programs for family viewing. The PTC's website includes the guide from the 1996-97 season at the earliest. Starting with the 2005–2006 season, their list was based on their traffic light system as well as Nielsen Media Research ratings of viewership among children ages 2–17 of certain shows. Popular shows that have frequently been praised as the most family-friendly programs on television include George Lopez, 7th Heaven, Touched by an Angel, Home Improvement, Family Matters, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Boy Meets World, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, NBC Sunday Night Football, Deal or No Deal, and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. Popular shows frequently named "Worst of the Season" include American Dad!, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, House, South Park, Two and a Half Men, Ally McBeal, Dawson's Creek, Grey's Anatomy, The Drew Carey Show, Family Guy, Friends, The O.C., Spin City, That '70s Show and Will and Grace.

On a weekly basis, the PTC publishes reviews of what they consider to be the best and worst television programming for family viewing, authored by the various entertainment analysts at the council. Seth MacFarlane, creator of Family Guy, compared the PTC's frequent negative reviews of the series to "hate mail from Hitler" and "They're literally terrible human beings. I've read their newsletter, I've visited their website, and they're just rotten to the core. For an organization that prides itself on 'Christian' values... they spend their entire day hating people." MacFarlane became a target again when the PTC protested the Academy Awards ' decision to have him host the 85th ceremony. "So You Think You Can Rate a TV Show?", the title being a play on the title of Fox television series So You Think You Can Dance, is a weekly column the PTC began in July 2007 to claim that networks inaccurately rate their shows based on the TV Parental Guidelines, whether the network applied the improper age-based rating (such as TV-PG or TV-14) or failed to include the proper content descriptors (such as "L" for language or "V" for violence).

### Seal of Approval

To recognize excellence in the media, the Parents Television Council awards its Seal of Approval to television shows, movies, home products, and advertisers that provide or sponsor content it deems to be "family-friendly". It is divided into two categories: Entertainment and Advertiser. Popular television shows that have been awarded include 7th Heaven, American Idol, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Everybody Loves Raymond, George Lopez, JAG, Reba, Smallville, Touched by an Angel, The West Wing, The Wonderful World of Disney, and most recently, When Calls the Heart. Also receiving the Entertainment Seal of Approval are TiVo 's KidZone television filtering service, The Jimmy Wilson Films Children's Adventure Series, the Sky Angel Christian television service, and the CleanFlicks DVD filtering product.

## Activism

### Broadcast indecency

In 2003, the PTC unsuccessfully campaigned for the FCC to take action against the NBC television network in response to the use of the word " fucking " by Bono, lead singer for the rock band U2, during the network's January 2003 telecast of the Golden Globe Awards. Among an audience of nearly 20 million, the FCC received only 234 complaints, 217 of which came from the PTC. In October 2003, the FCC decided not to fine NBC because Bono's obscenity was ruled as fleeting and not describing sexual or excretory functions, the FCC's standard for fining a network for indecency. After the PTC filed an Application for Review to the FCC, in March 2004 the FCC decided that the word was indecent by law but still decided not to fine NBC; however, the ruling was to serve as a warning to networks that there would be a "zero tolerance" policy towards obscene language willfully used during the daytime. However, the PTC's complaints about profanity used by presenter Nicole Richie in the December 10, 2003, broadcast of the Billboard Music Awards led the FCC to conclude that the language violated decency law.

The PTC began attracting more attention after it filed around 65,000 complaints to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) about the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show, in which one of performer Janet Jackson 's nipple shielded breasts, was exposed for 9/16ths of a second. FCC chairman Michael Powell stated that the number of indecency complaints to the FCC had risen from 350 in the years 2000 and 2001, to 14,000 in 2002 and 240,000 in 2003. It was also found that the PTC had generated most of the indecency complaints received by the Federal Communications Commission. In July 2008, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit voided the fine.

After the halftime show, the PTC launched five more FCC complaint drives, starting March 2004 with an episode of Fox 's That '70s Show titled "Happy Jack", which revolved around character Eric Forman being caught masturbating. The beginning of the 2004–2005 television season sparked four new campaigns, the first being against NBC's animated series Father of the Pride, stating that it contained a "barrage of sexual innuendo and profanity" while being promoted "from the creators of Shrek ", which they felt would potentially attract children to watching the series. That campaign led to over 11,000 email complaints to the FCC. Later, shortly after CBS broadcast the word " fuck " during an airing of Big Brother 5, the PTC took action again, this time claiming that CBS ignored a warning from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that there would be zero tolerance toward unbleeped profanity. However, those complaints became moot when Viacom, then-owners of CBS, settled with the FCC for $3.5 million regarding all allegedly indecent programming broadcast in the years around 2003 and 2004, including the Big Brother 5 episode in question. In March 2006, the FCC ruled that Father of the Pride was not indecent. Following were complaints about an October 2004 episode of ABC 's short-lived teen drama Life As We Know It, which the PTC felt was sexually charged.

The PTC started off 2005 with their campaign against the Without a Trace episode "Our Sons and Daughters", leading to CBS being fined for indecency in March 2006; the PTC objected to the depiction of teenagers participating in an orgy in that episode. CBS argued that the episode "featured an important and socially relevant storyline warning parents to exercise greater supervision of their teenagers." The FCC fined CBS $3.63 million in March 2006 for this episode, but after a court settlement, the network agreed to pay $300,000 in fines. At the end of January 2005, the FCC rejected a set of complaints that PTC filed between October 2001 and February 2004 for allegedly indecent programs such as NBC's Friends, the WB's Gilmore Girls, and Fox's The Simpsons. The FCC received complaints from the PTC in the summer over an unedited broadcast of the lyric "who the fuck are you?" in The Who 's song " Who Are You " from the Live 8 concert broadcast July 2, 2005, on ABC stations on the East Coast.

In 2006, PTC requested that the FCC deny broadcast license renewal for Salt Lake City CBS station KUTV because they felt that the broadcast of the Without a Trace episode that was ruled indecent violated community standards and that CBS failed to take action to reduce indecent content following the FCC fines. Subsequently, CBS agreed to pay the FCC $300,000 to settle the KUTV license challenge. Starting from December 2007, the organization demanded that CBS cancel its plan to rebroadcast an edited version of the Showtime drama Dexter, whose title character was a serial killer and police forensics analyst, because it felt that the program would glorify murder even with the edits. By early February 2008, the Council claimed to have collected 17,000 complaints to CBS.

On January 25, 2008, the FCC proposed an estimated $1.4 million fine against ABC for a scene of female nudity in the NYPD Blue episode " Nude Awakening " aired on February 25, 2003. Because the episode aired outside the indecency "safe harbor" in the Central and Mountain Time Zones, the fine applied only to ABC stations in those zones. The PTC praised the FCC's action. However, PTC president Winter condemned ABC's decision to appeal the fine in federal court. PTC has also criticized the Third Circuit Court of Appeals ' decision to void the FCC's fine for the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show. TV series that the PTC has targeted for FCC complaints in 2008 have included NBC's Today morning show and CBS primetime programs Big Brother 10, Survivor: Gabon, and Two and a Half Men. Profanity was the main concern for Today and Big Brother 10, the extremely brief exposure of contestant Marcus Lehman's penis for Survivor: Gabon, and a "lap-dance" scene for Two and a Half Men. The PTC's first complaint in 2009 was over sexual content in an episode of Family Guy titled " Family Gay ". Later in 2009, the PTC urged affiliates of The CW to pre-empt a Gossip Girl episode to be aired November 9; the episode would reportedly contain a threesome scene. In response to Adam Lambert 's performance of his song " For Your Entertainment " at the end of the 2009 American Music Awards broadcast on ABC, PTC urged viewers to complain to the FCC if living in an area where the performance was shown before 10 p.m. local time. PTC complained that the performance contained a simulation of oral sex. Lambert's performance reportedly was broadcast around 11 p.m. Eastern and Pacific time, "outside the FCC's usual 6am-10pm time frame prohibiting the broadcast of indecent material". ABC also received about 1,500 telephoned complaints.

In January 2010, the PTC launched a complaint campaign after the American Dad! episode " Don't Look a Smith Horse in the Mouth " aired in January 2010. The FCC fined Fox $25,000 on June 4, stating that they failed to respond to an inquiry of 100,000 complaints about the episode. A month later, Fox slammed the decision, claiming that it was "unconstitutional". On May 20, 2010, the PTC announced that it plans to target CBS and its affiliates after the network announced that the new sitcom $#*! My Dad Says was added to the 2010-2011 fall TV lineup. The PTC cites both the show's title and its Thursday 8:30 pm timeslot as reasons. The series is based on the popular Twitter account created by Justin Halpern, who also served as one of the co-producers on the show. CBS defended its decision and said that it was working with the account's creator and its content was toned down for the program before the series premiere in September.

In October 2010, the PTC targeted an episode of the Fox series Glee, stating that the episode featured outfits that were scantily clad and guest-star Britney Spears going shopping in lingerie, calling it, "an endorsement of narcotics abuse, public masturbation, and school-sanctioned burlesque." They were also criticizing it for making an episode idolizing Britney in the first place, stating: "Perhaps most troubling is the deification of a troubled popstar into a symbol of empowerment and self-esteem." On October 20, PTC criticized GQ magazine for featuring three Glee stars posing in risque outfits; the PTC statement said that the photoshoot "borders on pedophilia."

In January 2011, the PTC called on the United States Department of Justice and the Judiciary Committees of both houses of Congress to investigate whether MTV violated child pornography laws in casting teenaged actors in Skins, a remake of the British TV series of the same name. MTV rated Skins "TV-MA", meaning the show is not suitable for audiences under 17. The Los Angeles Times responded in an editorial: "...looking for government remedies is ineffective and unwise; we suspect the network's editors are smart enough to skirt prosecution. The Federal Communications Commission doesn't regulate the content of cable networks, and even if it did, a crackdown on shows like "Skins" would be a bad idea, because adults should be able to watch whatever they like on cable and federal attempts to protect kids from adult programming have never been successful."

In August 2020, the PTC requested that Netflix remove the film Cuties from its streaming service.

### Advertising

In May 2005 Carl's Jr. introduced its "Spicy BBQ Six Dollar Burger" in a television advertisement featuring celebrity Paris Hilton in a swimsuit, soaping up a Bentley Arnage while leaning on it, and then eating the burger. A similar ad with Hilton for Hardee's hamburger chain was aired in June 2005.The Parents Television Council and other media watchdog groups criticized the commercial for being shown during programs that were very likely to be watched by children. Melissa Caldwell, PTC research director, said, "This commercial is basically soft-core porn. The way she moves, the way she puts her finger in her mouth—it's very suggestive and very titillating." The group mobilized more than one million members to contact the restaurant chain and voice their concern and claimed that "f this television commercial were to go unchallenged it would set a new standard for acceptable television commercial content." Caldwell, then-president Bozell, and then-executive director Winter appeared on various news programs such as Good Morning America, Today, The Early Show, American Morning, and The O'Reilly Factor to discuss this issue. Andy Puzder, CEO of Carl's Jr., says the group needs to "get a life... This isn't Janet Jackson —there is no nipple shield in this," referring to the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime-show controversy. He continued, "There is no nudity, there is no sex act — it's a beautiful model in a swimsuit washing a car." In addition to featuring the ad on their web site, Carl's Jr. also set up another website playing a longer version of the commercial.

PTC accused television commercials for Hardee's "biscuit holes" food product of suggesting double entendres. The commercial featured consumers suggesting " A-holes " and "B-holes" as nicknames for the biscuit holes. Boddie-Noell Enterprises, which owned 350 Hardee's restaurants in four states, refused to show the ads in its respective markets. Ben Mayo Boddie, chairman of Boddie-Noell, wrote a letter to the PTC condemning the ads as well.

### World Wrestling Federation campaign and lawsuit

In 1999, the PTC launched a campaign against the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), now World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), complaining that their SmackDown! program contained levels of sexuality and violence unbecoming prime time programming. In the campaign, Bozell said that four children had been killed by peers emulating professional wrestling moves learned from the program. With these allegations, Bozell and various PTC members began meeting with representatives of the advertising departments of various companies that advertised on SmackDown! to persuade them to withdraw sponsorship. The PTC also suggested that between 30 and 40 advertisers had pulled their commercials from WWF programming, an assertion that was not true.

On November 9, 2000, the WWF filed a lawsuit against the PTC in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, claiming that the PTC's statements were false and constituted defamation. The WWF also filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against the PTC for using clips from WWF programs in their promotional videos. The PTC filed for dismissal of the suit, but on May 24, 2001, U.S. district court Judge Denny Chin denied the PTC's motion on the basis that the WWF's lawsuit had merit. The PTC and the WWF settled out of court and, as part of the settlement agreement, the PTC paid the WWF $3.5 million USD and Bozell issued a public apology, stating that it was wrong to blame the World Wrestling Federation or any of its programs for the deaths of children and that the original statements had been based on what was later found to be false information designed by people close to the Lionel Tate case to blame the death of Tiffany Eunick on the WWF.

The PTC would be satirized in WWF programming by The Right to Censor, a group of heels led by Steven Richards who objected to rowdy, risqué, and " hardcore " activities.

### In-flight entertainment

In September 2007, the PTC launched a campaign to get airlines in America to reduce the number of "PG-13" and "R"-rated films shown as in-flight entertainment. Consequently, Heath Shuler, Democratic representative of North Carolina, introduced the Family Friendly Flights Act of 2007 bill to require airlines to set aside "child-safe" viewing areas for families to sit in planes. The bill never became law.

### YouTube

Twice has the PTC targeted video-hosting website YouTube in its campaigns and statements. PTC called for NBC to reconsider uploading the uncensored clip of the Saturday Night Live novelty song " Dick in a Box " on NBC's site and YouTube channel. In 2008, the PTC released a report The "New" Tube: A Content Analysis of YouTube—the Most Popular Online Video Destination, which praised YouTube for filtering adult content but criticized the site for not filtering profanity and other explicit content from comments sections or videos.

### Ethics controversy

In October 2010, The New York Times reported that former PTC vice president of development Patrick W. Salazar had accused PTC of mishandling hundreds of thousands of mailings to donors and members. Based on Internal Revenue Service filings, the American Institute of Philanthropy rated PTC "C+" on financial efficiency. Salazar also disputed the PTC's official membership figure of 1.3 million and estimated that at most 12,000 people respond to annual fundraisers. Although Salazar stated that he left the PTC in November 2009, the PTC said that it fired Salazar and that Salazar was trying to extort money from the organization.

### Other

The PTC also criticized The Muppets for not meeting "family viewing" guidelines and suggested a boycott, based on the mockumentary format of the series including mentions of plastic surgery, "inside" business language being used in a crude manner, and the Muppets in a bar consuming alcoholic beverages.

The PTC also criticized WE tv 's Sex Box, deeming it "an affront to families, toxic to advertisers, and a clear demonstration of a badly-broken business model that forces every cable/satellite subscriber to pay for unwanted and unwatched cable networks."

## Viewpoints

On its website, PTC states that its mission is to "promote and restore responsibility and decency to the entertainment industry in answer to America's demand for positive, family-oriented television programming." The PTC believes that the entertainment industry—not only television but also music, movies, and video games as well—and its sponsors share responsibility with parents for children's television viewing habits. It therefore believes that television is harming children through a perceived "gratuitous" amount of sex, violence, and profanity. Its activism has influenced the removal of potentially objectionable content from certain shows, such as the fourth season of the popular CBS crime drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Increased government regulation of broadcasting is another viewpoint supported by PTC. PTC considers itself nonpartisan; others have considered the PTC to be bipartisan or socially conservative. Robyn Blumner of the St. Petersburg Times called the PTC "the Gladys Kravitz of public advocacy" in a column of hers and believed the PTC supported a federal policy on broadcast decency she called "Big Nanny run amok".

### TV Parental Guidelines

Since the introduction of the TV Parental Guidelines ratings system, the PTC has frequently accused the guidelines of having inaccuracy and low standards. In 1997, PTC was twice as likely to rate a show with the toughest rating classification, "red light" in the PTC's case, and "TV-14" in the Guidelines. Bill Berkowitz quoted PTC president Bozell as stating, based on PTC research, that "the current ratings system and V-chip are failures." In response to a V-Chip advertising campaign in the summer of 2006, Bozell proposed instead that cable companies either apply FCC-style broadcast television standards or offer choice in ordering channels. Television Watch considers PTC's reporting on the V-chip inaccurate and ideologically charged.

### Cable choice

The PTC is an avid supporter of " a la carte " cable television services to allow families to choose only the cable television channels that are appropriate for their children, and also impose the same decency standards already in place on broadcast television on cable channels. Frequently, the council has criticized programs on BET, Comedy Central, E!, FX, MTV, Spike, TNT, and VH1 because they claim some of the content aired on those channels is inappropriate for younger viewers. On the other side of the issue, the PTC has awarded its "Seal of Approval" to cable networks Disney Channel and Hallmark Channel for their original programs several years ago.

On June 14, 2007, United States Representatives Dan Lipinski (Democratic, Illinois) and Jeff Fortenberry (Republican, Nebraska) introduced into legislation the Family and Consumer Choice Act of 2007, which intends to allow families to choose and pay for only the cable television channels that they want to watch. In September 2007, the PTC launched a new website, HowCableShouldBe.com, to allow cable customers to see how much they are paying for their monthly cable bill currently.

In August 2013, the PTC released a statement criticizing MTV for the airing of a performance by Miley Cyrus during its Video Music Awards and urged Congress to pass the Television Consumer Freedom Act.

## Popular music

In April 2008, PTC released The Rap on Rap, a study covering hip-hop and R&B music videos rotated on programs 106 & Park and Rap City, both shown on BET, and Sucker Free on MTV. PTC urged advertisers to withdraw sponsorship of those programs, whose videos PTC stated targeted children and teenagers "with adult content... once every 38 seconds". PTC also warned radio stations about playing the Britney Spears song " If U Seek Amy " over concerns it contained an audible use of an obscenity. In response to the music video to Miley Cyrus ' song " Who Owns My Heart ", the PTC stated that it felt it was "unfortunate that she would participate in such a sexualized video like this one"; ironically, Miley Cyrus' father Billy Ray Cyrus sat on the PTC Advisory Board at the time.

In May 2011, the PTC took issue with Rihanna 's music video for her song " Man Down." In the video Rihanna portrays a woman who resorts to killing the man who had previously raped her. They claimed the video promoted gun crime and murder, while the pop star said she wanted to be a voice to victims. After the video became the most viewed YouTube video that week, she sarcastically used Twitter to thank the PTC in helping her make the video such a success.

## Criticism

The PTMC has been frequently criticized for hypocrisy, slanted reporting and only criticizing shows that are aimed at adults. Critics of the PTMC have alleged that it supports increased governmental censorship of television by lobbying the FCC for indecency enforcement for certain television shows and inaccurately reporting on the V-Chip in order to further their agenda.

Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane, who is frequently criticized by the PTMC, said in The Advocate

Oh, yeah. That's like getting hate mail from Hitler. They're literally terrible human beings. I've read their newsletter, I've visited their website, and they're just rotten to the core. For an organization that prides itself on Christian values—I mean, I'm an atheist, so what do I know?—they spend their entire day hating people. They can all suck my dick as far as I'm concerned.

Kurt Sutter, creator of Sons of Anarchy responded to Bozell's article that attacked the season 6 premiere of his show due to it including a school shooting scene, calling the PTC "a hate club" and Bozell an "idiot" as well as "a pathetic fucking douchebag and I bet your own kids fucking hate you.”

In January 2005, Bahçeşehir University associate professor Christian Christiansen questioned the backgrounds of certain PTC Advisory Board members, contending they are not consistent with their stance on morality. Christiansen's observations were as follows: L. Brent Bozell III as 'National Finance Chairman for the 1992 "Buchanan for President" campaign' of "neo-fascist Pat Buchanan "; Susan Howard 's portrayal of adulterous Donna Culver Krebbs on TV series Dallas, which series "was soaked in scantily-clad women, emotional cruelty, violence, alcoholism, and marital infidelity"; Coleman Luck as 'writer and producer'... 'on Otherworld, The Equalizer, Gabriel's Fire, Matrix, and The Burning Zone... included a fair amount of death and violence'; William Bennett as "a popular guest at a number of Las Vegas casinos"; Bruce Jarchow appearing in "less family-friendly products... such as The Puppet Masters, Mad Dog and Glory and Married... with Children; Billy Ray Cyrus, who starred in Mulholland Drive made by filmmaker David Lynch; and John Carvelli, 'who, in 1987, "took part in a fact-finding mission in Nicaragua and Honduras with the National Conservative Foundation during the Nicaraguan civil war."'

In a December 2005 column of his, Advertising Age columnist Simon Dumenco claimed that the PTC is "very very afraid of gay TV characters". Culture Watch columnist Christopher Gildemeister defended the PTC as being "not homophobic" but simply opposed to "sexual references or innuendo (of any variety, hetero, homo or other) aired where children might be exposed to them."


Smooth Chill

# Smooth Chill

## Abstract

Smooth Chill (formerly Chill) is a British digital radio station dedicated to chill out, ambient and trip hop music. On 3 September 2019, Chill was rebranded as Smooth Chill to align it with the Smooth Radio brand. It is owned and operated by Global.

Originally, the station broadcast solely online and in Greater London as well as on Radioplayer and Global's own Global Player, but was made available nationally on Digital One on 9 April 2020.

As of March 2024, the station broadcasts to a weekly audience of 402,000 listeners, according to RAJAR.

## The station

Originally, the station broadcast on DAB multiplexes across the UK and also through internet streaming services. The station's aim was to help listeners relax and put stress behind themselves. It broadcast 24 hours a day and until September 2019 featured no news bulletins or commercials with only some sponsored programming. Chill originally had no presenters, interspersing tracks with pre-recorded links featuring messages voiced by Davinia Palmer that reinforced the laidback atmosphere of the station. One of these described the station as " tai chi for your ears". The station encouraged interaction with its listeners, who suggested new songs and artists for the playlist, as well as relaxation techniques, via the Chill website and social media.

Global announced on 2 September 2019 that Chill would be replaced with a new station, Smooth Chill.

## History

The station was launched in early 2005, although it is claimed that Chill went live as early as December 2004, as a means of filling empty slots on DAB multiplexes owned by GWR prior to its merger with Capital Radio. Group Corporate Development Director Gregory Watson and Programme Director Bern Leckie devised a format for a relaxing, ambient station, aimed at 18- to 35-year-olds.

On the station website, the founders claim, "We used to make compilation tapes for ourselves and friends to chill out to. That's where the idea for our station came from, and we make it the same way we made the tapes – listening to lots of music, swapping ideas, seeing what happens."

In June 2006, Chill bid for its first analogue licence, for Bristol, citing the city's record in producing trip-hop artists such as Massive Attack, Portishead and Tricky in support of its application. However, in September 2006, Ofcom awarded the licence to Canwest and its Original 106 format.

In August 2006, the station launched its first regular programmes on weekday evenings, "The Garden of Delights", presented by Pete Lawrence and "The Deep End", presented by Paul Noble, two of the organisers of The Big Chill festival. It also introduced a nightly programme made up of listener requests, and inherited the Chiller Cabinet sequence from its sister station Classic FM, which plays "ambient soundscapes, movie soundtracks and classically inspired chillout music".

Late in 2006, Chill upgraded from a 32 kbit/s internet stream to a 128 kbit/s stream, offering internet listeners the same quality as the cable and satellite viewers.

The station stopped being broadcast on Sky and Virgin Media on 3 July 2007, with other GCap stations Capital Disney, Core and Classic Gold Digital Network. It is speculated that this is connected with cost-cutting measures under previous owners GCap. In November 2008, Chill reappeared on Sky and Virgin Media, following the closure of jazz radio station TheJazz, using its old channel numbers on Sky and Virgin Media.

In March 2009, Chill ceased to broadcast in Leicester, Nottingham and west Wiltshire due to competition regulator compliance following the takeover of GCapMedia by Global Radio.

In July 2009, Global Radio announced that Chill would lose many of its DAB slots on numerous local DAB ensembles across the UK to allow for an expansion of the Galaxy network, but would still broadcast in London, some parts of the West Midlands and central Scotland. A spokesman indicated that this move was also financially led.

It was announced on 28 August 2009 that Chill Radio would be replaced in Edinburgh and Glasgow by LBC Radio.

On 20 October 2009, it was announced by Bern Leckie that Chill Radio has moved from stereo to mono output on DAB Radio in the London area. However the range in which Chill can be heard has slightly extended to an extra 20 miles or so from London.

Rajar figures for the third quarter of 2009 showed an increase of weekly listeners by 9,000, bringing total listenership to 209,000. In March 2012 it attracted 229,000 listeners per week.

On 15 July 2010, Chill ceased broadcasting on Virgin Media channel 961. On 8 June 2012, Chill ceased broadcasting on the Birmingham multiplex, leaving London as the only area where the station broadcasts on DAB Digital Radio. On 24 August 2012, Chill ceased broadcasting on Sky channel 0177.

In September 2014, TuneIn Radio announced that Chill Radio had received the 100k 'follower' mark, one of the most listened-to UK and worldwide stations, via its various apps and websites.

In September 2015, Global Radio confirmed that Chill would return to DAB in Nottingham and Leicester, replacing XFM. This is because XFM would be re-branding, and launching nationally on Digital One. Since its return to DAB in Nottingham and Leicester, Chill can also be heard on DAB in Derby.

Global announced on 2 September 2019 the station would be replaced with a new station, Smooth Chill.

The station relaunched nationally on 8 April 2020 on Digital One broadcasting in 32 kbit/s DAB+.

## Music

The Chill playlist was largely drawn from the mainstream end of chill out and ambient music, mixed with downtempo rock, vocal jazz and lounge tracks, film scores and the occasional classical piece.

## Programmes

A notable programme was The Chiller Cabinet – from Arctic Circle Radio

## DAB multiplexes

- Chill broadcast on DAB using the London 1, Leicester and Nottingham multiplexes.

### Former multiplexes

Chill closed in March 2009 due to Office of Fair Trading ruling on the merger of GCap and Global Radio:

- Leicester

- Nottingham

- West Wiltshire

Chill closed from August 2009 on these multiplexes:

Replaced with Galaxy:

- NOW Bournemouth

- Bristol and Bath

- Cambridge

- Cardiff and Newport

- NOW Cornwall

- Exeter and Torbay

- Norwich

- NOW Peterborough

- NOW Plymouth

- Reading and Basingstoke

- Southend and Chelmsford

- NOW Sussex Coast

- NOW Kent

Taken off air:

- Coventry

- Wolverhampton, Shrewsbury and Telford

Replaced with LBC:

- Edinburgh

- Glasgow

Closed on the following multiplex in June 2012:

- Birmingham


Hits Radio UK

# Hits Radio UK

## Abstract

Hits Radio UK, formerly The Hits, is a British digital radio station based in Manchester and London, England, owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio UK as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts across the United Kingdom.

As of March 2024, the station has a weekly audience of 4.5 million listeners according to RAJAR.

The station provides the network feed for all Hits Radio network stations.

## Overview

The national station launched on 1 April 2003 as The Hits. The station was rebranded on 4 June 2018 as Hits Radio UK. It relays its programming to the Hits Radio network, opting out with UK wide news & information, traffic bulletins and advertising.

Hits Radio UK broadcasts on DAB in many parts of the UK and online.

## Technical

The launch of Hits Radio UK in 2018 saw the station added to DAB multiplex transmissions in a number of local areas - mostly those served by Arqiva 's NOWdigital multiplexes, as well as being made available on the CE Birmingham multiplex (replacing 'Magic Soul') and in stereo in London (replacing Kerrang! Radio and Absolute Radio 70s, which were removed on 23 May and replaced with a Hits Radio UK placeholder).

Hits Radio UK replaced The Hits on Bauer's DAB multiplexes and on the Arqiva-operated commercial Freeview multiplex. In addition, the new network was provided over the Sky satellite TV platform, on a channel previously occupied by Absolute Radio 70s.

On 13 December 2023, Hits Radio was removed from Sky, along with every other radio station owned by Bauer Media on the platform, including Absolute Radio, Absolute Radio 80s, Absolute Radio 90s, Absolute Radio Classic Rock, Hits Radio, Greatest Hits Radio, Kiss, Magic, Jazz FM and Planet Rock.

On 2 April 2024, Hits Radio was removed from Freeview, along with other Bauer Media radio stations on the platform, including Greatest Hits Radio, Kerrang! Radio, Kiss, Kiss Fresh, Kisstory and Magic Radio.


Michael Wincott

# Michael Wincott

## Abstract

Michael Anthony Claudio Wincott (born January 21, 1958) is a Canadian actor. His deep, raspy voice has often led to his being cast in villainous roles.

Some of his best-known roles include Guy of Gisbourne in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991); Top Dollar, the main antagonist in The Crow (1994); music mogul Philo Gant in Strange Days (1995); mercenary Frank Elgyn in Alien Resurrection (1997); hacker Adrian Cross on the TV miniseries 24: Live Another Day (2014); and cinematographer Antlers Holst in Nope (2022). He has frequently worked with directors Oliver Stone and Julian Schnabel, and appeared in films by Ridley Scott, Terrence Malick, Michael Cimino and Jim Jarmusch.

## Early life and education

Wincott was born in Toronto and grew up in an east-end suburb. His father is English while his mother was from Piacenza, Italy. Wincott also has two brothers, one of whom is actor and martial artist Jeff Wincott, a star of the late-1980s TV series Night Heat.

In a 2014 interview with L'Uomo Vogue (the Italian edition of Men's Vogue) Wincott said he fell in love with cinema as a young child and took drama classes in high school. He was educated at the Victoria University, a college of the University of Toronto. Then, in 1982, he enrolled at the Juilliard School in New York City, graduating in 1986. Wincott credited director Des McAnuff, as well as his father, with encouraging him to enroll at the prestigious acting school.

## Career

In 1976, Wincott starred in his first film, titled Earthbound, as Cole Buckley, a troubled teenager living in a small Saskatchewan town. Kate Reid and Gerard Parkes played his parents in the film. The film aired on CBC-TV 's Front Row Centre series in January 1977.

In 1979, Wincott starred in the Canadian adventure drama film Wild Horse Hank alongside Linda Blair. In 1981, he appeared in the Canadian drama film Circle of Two starring Richard Burton. He also appeared on two episodes of the Canadian TV Series, The Littlest Hobo in 1979 and 1981.

After graduating from Juilliard, Wincott was cast in the 1987 film, The Sicilian in the role of Corporal Silvestro Canio. That same year he was also cast in the Eric Bogosian play Talk Radio as a stoned heavy metal fan named Kent. The following year Wincott appeared in Oliver Stone 's film based on the play. In the 1980s he also appeared on such American TV series as Miami Vice, Crime Story and The Equalizer, as well as Canadian police drama series Night Heat —a series starring his brother Jeff.

Wincott's stage performances include the off-Broadway productions Road (1988) starring Joan Cusack and Kevin Bacon, and the Sam Shepard play, States of Shock (1991), starring John Malkovich. He appeared on Broadway starring in the play Serious Money (1988) alongside Kate Nelligan, Alec Baldwin and John Pankow, as well as appearing in The Secret Rapture (1989) starring Blair Brown.

Wincott again worked with Oliver Stone in 1989, appearing in the film Born on the Fourth of July as a bedridden Vietnam veteran, then yet again in 1991 in the film The Doors where he played the role of Paul Rothchild, the producer of The Doors ' first five albums. In 1991, he played Guy of Gisborne in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, a henchman of the Sheriff of Nottingham (Alan Rickman) who is also the Sheriff's cousin in the film.

In 1993, he appeared in the film Romeo Is Bleeding as Sal, a mafioso, and also played the part of Rochefort in the Disney film The Three Musketeers starring Kiefer Sutherland, Charlie Sheen and Chris O'Donnell. The following year Wincott starred as kingpin Top Dollar opposite Brandon Lee in The Crow. In 1995 he appeared in Dead Man with Johnny Depp. He played poet Rene Ricard in the 1996 biographical film Basquiat. He also played the role of mercenary Frank Elgyn in the 1997 film Alien Resurrection.

Wincott starred as a psychopathic kidnapper opposite Morgan Freeman in the 2001 film Along Came a Spider. The following year he played Armand Dorleac, a sadistic prison warden in the 2002 film version of The Count of Monte Cristo starring Jim Caviezel. In 2004 he played Julius Bicke, the brother of Samuel J. Bicke (played by Sean Penn) in The Assassination of Richard Nixon.

In 2006, Wincott appeared in the western film Seraphim Falls starring Pierce Brosnan and Liam Neeson. He also appeared in The Diving Bell and the Butterfly and What Just Happened in 2007 and 2008 respectively.

In 2009, he starred in A Lonely Place for Dying as CIA project manager Anthony Greenglass. In early 2012 he was cast as notorious serial killer Ed Gein in the biographical drama film Hitchcock.

In 2014, Wincott played hacker Adrian Cross in the miniseries 24: Live Another Day. The following year he starred in the Canadian western drama film Forsaken alongside Kiefer and Donald Sutherland. In 2016 he also played the role of Old Bill in two episodes in season 1 of the science fiction western TV series Westworld.

In 2017 he appeared in the MTG drama series Veni Vidi Vici. The Swedish series stars Danish actor Thomas Bo Larsen and centers around the porn industry. Wincott plays the part of Georgina, a transgender former porn director. The show was selected as one of the top new European series at the MIPDrama Screenings held annually in Cannes. The series was also streamed on Hulu in 2017. Wincott starred in Jordan Peele 's 2022 thriller, Nope, as Antlers Holst, a renowned cinematographer. In preparation for the role, Wincott shadowed the film's director of photography, Hoyte van Hoytema.

Wincott has also lent his voice to several characters in video games and animated features: In 2002 he provided the voice of Scroop, a malevolent spider/crab-like creature in the Disney animated film Treasure Planet; he also provided the voice of Scroop in the accompanying Sony PlayStation video game of the same name. In 2004 he provided the voice for the Prophet of Truth in the video game Halo 2. He also provided the voice of Mr. Big in the 2005 re-launch of the video game Narc. In 2012 he provided the voices for several video game characters: Jules Merit in the game Syndicate, Griffin in the interactive graphic novel Infex, and Death in the game Darksiders II.

## Filmography

### Video shorts

- The Treasure Planet Read-Along DVD (2003) – Scroop (voice)

### Thanks

- The Iceman (2012) – (special thanks)

## Theatre

- 1987 – Talk Radio – Kent

- 1988 – Serious Money – Grevett, Frosby, Jake Todd

- 1988 – Road – Eddy, DJ, Skin Lad

- 1989 – The Secret Rapture – Irwin Posner

- 1991 – State of Shock – Stubbs


Kipper (TV series)

# Kipper (TV series)

## Abstract

Kipper is a British preschool animated children's television series based on the characters from Mick Inkpen 's Kipper the Dog picture book series. Seventy-eight episodes were produced. Out of these, thirteen episodes - twelve of the first series, and the last of the third series, were written by Mick Inkpen himself. The videos have won awards including a BAFTA award for best children's animation. The show was released on VHS and DVD by HIT Entertainment.

## Summary

The series follows Kipper the Dog as he goes on many fun and exciting adventures in a variety of places throughout the English countryside with his friends, Tiger, Pig, Arnold, and Jake.

## Characters

- Kipper (voiced by Martin Clunes) is a fun-loving, caring and warm-hearted dog with a soft voice who is the titular character of the series. He embodies the true essence of what it means to carpe diem. He is also very selfless, even though he hoards lots of small belongings like books and toys. Kipper is a Jack Russell terrier who has many exciting encounters with his friends.

- Tiger (voiced by Chris Lang) is Kipper's best friend. He is more realistic, practical, and wise than Kipper with a tendency to think long term. Sometimes Tiger can be very smug and haughty, even though he really is a kind dog at heart. Tiger is a Scottish terrier.

- Pig (voiced by Chris Lang) is Kipper's second best friend. Pig is very outgoing, but loves normalcy and gets easily irritated by anything strange or mysterious. He likes to eat chocolate cake and biscuits.

- Arnold (voiced by Chris Lang) is Pig's toddler cousin and Kipper's third best friend. Even though Arnold cannot talk, he is actually more curious, observant, and intelligent than Pig. He can still say easy words like "duck", "kitten", and "igloo".

- Jake (voiced by Chris Lang) is a friendly Old English sheepdog who is Kipper's fourth best friend. He is a minor character in the first series who makes more regular appearances after joining the main characters in the second series where he, Kipper, and Tiger have had many adventures together.

- Mr. Frog (voiced by Chris Lang) is a magic frog who occasionally runs into Kipper.

- The Bleeper People (voiced by Chris Lang) are two space aliens who live on the moon.

- Mouse (voiced by Julia Sawalha, credited as Julie Sawalha in later appearances) is a young female mouse who lives with Kipper at his house. She speaks with an English accent and is the only female character who appears in the series.

## Broadcast

The series aired on CITV in the United Kingdom. In the United States, it aired on Nick Jr. and PBS Kids Sprout. It also aired in Canada on YTV around the late 1990s as a part of its YTV Jr. lineup.

## Home media

### UK releases

In the United Kingdom, HIT Video and HIT Entertainment PLC both released various VHS tapes and DVD releases of the television series.

### US releases

In the United States, VHS tapes of the show were originally released by Hallmark Home Entertainment through Family Home Entertainment, Artisan Entertainment, and briefly Lyrick Studios, and later on, VHS tapes and DVDs were released by HIT themselves.

### Digital download releases

This list is for videos that were never released on physical media and are only available on digital download in the US. There are currently only two. One is called "Tales of Adventure" featuring episodes already on other releases. The other is an alternate version of "The Visitor & Other Stories" in which the episodes are in reverse order as to how they are on the US VHS release.

## Reception

Common Sense Media gives Kipper four out of five stars, and it says the show's characters are positive role models, except Tiger, "but he always learns his lessons"; all the characters "do lots of exploring and learn lessons about friendship, kindness, and the difference between right and wrong". A list published by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute names Kipper as the top television show for two- and three-year-old children because of its focus on "developing social and emotional intelligence " through interactions among its characters.


2024 Go Bowling at The Glen

# 2024 Go Bowling at The Glen

## Abstract

The 2024 Go Bowling at The Glen is an upcoming NASCAR Cup Series race that will be held on September 15, 2024, at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York. Contested over 90 laps on the 2.45-mile (3.94 km) road course, it will be the 28th race of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season, the second of the 2024 NASCAR playoffs, and the second race of the Round of 16.

## Report

### Background

Watkins Glen International (nicknamed "The Glen") is an automobile race track located in Watkins Glen, New York at the southern tip of Seneca Lake. It was long known around the world as the home of the Formula One United States Grand Prix, which it hosted for twenty consecutive years (1961–1980), but the site has been home to road racing of nearly every class, including the World Sportscar Championship, Trans-Am, Can-Am, NASCAR Cup Series, the International Motor Sports Association and the IndyCar Series.

Initially, public roads in the village were used for the race course. In 1956 a permanent circuit for the race was built. In 1968 the race was extended to six hours, becoming the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen. The circuit's current layout has more or less been the same since 1971, although a chicane was installed at the uphill Esses in 1975 to slow cars through these corners, where there was a fatality during practice at the 1973 United States Grand Prix. The chicane was removed in 1985, but another chicane called the "Inner Loop" was installed in 1992 after J.D. McDuffie's fatal accident during the previous year's NASCAR Winston Cup event.

The circuit is known as the Mecca of North American road racing and is a very popular venue among fans and drivers. The facility is currently owned by NASCAR.

#### Entry list

- (R) denotes rookie driver.

- (P) denotes playoff driver.

- (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.

## Practice

Tyler Reddick was the fastest in the practice session with a time of 1:12.018 seconds and a speed of 122.469 mph (197.095 km/h).

## Qualifying

Ross Chastain scored the pole for the race with a time of 1:12.130 and a speed of 122.279 mph (196.789 km/h).

## Race

### Race results

#### Stage results

Stage One Laps: 20

Stage Two Laps: 20

### Final Stage results

Stage Three Laps: 50

## Media

### Television

USA covered the race on the television side. as part of a Radio style Broadcast for the race. Leigh Diffey and Steve Letarte called the race from the broadcast booth. MRN broadcaster Mike Bagley called the race from the Esses, Dillon Welch had the call from Turn 5 to Turn 9, and Jeff Burton called the race from Turn 10 & 11. Kim Coon, Parker Kligerman and Marty Snider handled the pit road duties from pit lane.

### Radio

Motor Racing Network had the radio call for the race, which will also be simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Alex Hayden, Jeff Striegle, and former crew chief Todd Gordon covered the action when the field raced down the front straightaway. Dave Moody called the race when the field raced thru the esses. Kyle Rickey wcovered the action when the field raced thru the inner loop and turn 5 and Jason Toy covered the action in turn 6 & 7. Steve Post, Brienne Pedigo, Chris Wilner & Jacklyn Drake called the action from the pits for MRN.


Bogić Bogićević (football manager)

# Bogić Bogićević (football manager)

## Abstract

Bogić Bogićević (Serbian Cyrillic: Богић Богићевић, pronounced; 18 April 1955 – 30 January 2017) was a Serbian football manager and player.

## Playing career

During his footballing career as a goalkeeper, Bogićević played for his hometown club Borac Čačak during the 1970s, as well as for Zemun during the 1980s, making eight appearances in the Yugoslav First League in the 1982–83 season. He also spent some time with Dinamo Pančevo and Bežanija.

## Managerial career

After hanging up his boots, Bogićević started his managerial career as an assistant to Đorđe Gerum. He later served as manager of numerous clubs in his homeland, including Donji Srem and Javor Ivanjica in the Serbian SuperLiga. Subsequently, Bogićević led Borac Čačak (2013–14) and Napredak Kruševac (2015–16), achieving promotion to the top flight with both clubs.

## Honours

Napredak Kruševac

- Serbian First League: 2015–16


National security

# National security

## Abstract

National security, or national defence (national defense in American English), is the security and defence of a sovereign state, including its citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of government. Originally conceived as protection against military attack, national security is widely understood to include also non-military dimensions, such as the security from terrorism, minimization of crime, economic security, energy security, environmental security, food security, and cyber-security. Similarly, national security risks include, in addition to the actions of other states, action by violent non-state actors, by narcotic cartels, organized crime, by multinational corporations, and also the effects of natural disasters.

Governments rely on a range of measures, including political, economic, and military power, as well as diplomacy, to safeguard the security of a state. They may also act to build the conditions of security regionally and internationally by reducing transnational causes of insecurity, such as climate change, economic inequality, political exclusion, and nuclear proliferation.

## Definitions

The concept of national security remains ambiguous, having evolved from simpler definitions which emphasised freedom from military threat and from political coercion. Among the many definitions proposed to date are the following, which show how the concept has evolved to encompass non-military concerns:

- "A nation has security when it does not have to sacrifice its legitimate interests to avoid war, and is able, if challenged, to maintain them by war." (Walter Lippmann, 1943).

- "The distinctive meaning of national security means freedom from foreign dictation." (Harold Lasswell, 1950)

- "National security objectively means the absence of threats to acquired values and subjectively, the absence of fear that such values will be attacked." (Arnold Wolfers, 1960)

- "National security then is the ability to preserve the nation's physical integrity and territory; to maintain its economic relations with the rest of the world on reasonable terms; to preserve its nature, institution, and governance from disruption from outside; and to control its borders." (Harold Brown, U.S. Secretary of Defense, 1977–1981)

- "National security... is best described as a capacity to control those domestic and foreign conditions that the public opinion of a given community believes necessary to enjoy its own self-determination or autonomy, prosperity, and wellbeing." (Charles Maier, 1990)

- "National security is an appropriate and aggressive blend of political resilience and maturity, human resources, economic structure and capacity, technological competence, industrial base and availability of natural resources and finally the military might." (National Defence College of India, 1996)

- " measurable state of the capability of a nation to overcome the multi-dimensional threats to the apparent well-being of its people and its survival as a nation-state at any given time, by balancing all instruments of state policy through governance... and is extendable to global security by variables external to it." (Prabhakaran Paleri, 2008)

## Dimensions

Potential causes of national insecurity include actions by other states (e.g. military or cyber attack), violent non-state actors (e.g. terrorist attack), organised criminal groups such as narcotic cartels, and also the effects of natural disasters (e.g. flooding, earthquakes). Systemic drivers of insecurity, which may be transnational, include climate change, economic inequality and marginalisation, political exclusion, and nuclear proliferation.

In view of the wide range of risks, the security of a state has several dimensions, including economic security, energy security, physical security, environmental security, food security, border security, and cyber security. These dimensions correlate closely with elements of national power.

Increasingly, governments organise their security policies into a national security strategy (NSS); as of 2017, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States are among the states to have done so. Some states also appoint a National Security Council and/or a National Security Advisor which is an executive government agency, it feeds the head of the state on topics concerning national security and strategic interest. The national security council/advisor strategies long term, short term, contingency national security plans. India holds one such system in current, which was established on 19 November 1998.

Although states differ in their approach, various forms of coercive power predominate, particularly Military Capabilities. The scope of these capabilities has developed. Traditionally, military capabilities were mainly land- or sea-based, and in smaller countries, they still are. Elsewhere, the domains of potential warfare now include the air, space, cyberspace, and psychological operations. Military capabilities designed for these domains may be used for national security, or equally for offensive purposes, for example to conquer and annex territory and resources.

### Physical

In practice, national security is associated primarily with managing physical threats and with the military capabilities used for doing so. That is, national security is often understood as the capacity of a nation to mobilise military forces to guarantee its borders and to deter or successfully defend against physical threats including military aggression and attacks by non-state actors, such as terrorism. Most states, such as South Africa and Sweden, configure their military forces mainly for territorial defence; others, such as France, Russia, the UK and the US, invest in higher-cost expeditionary capabilities, which allow their armed forces to project power and sustain military operations abroad.

### Infrastructural

Infrastructure security is the security provided to protect infrastructure, especially critical infrastructure, such as airports, highways, rail transport, hospitals, bridges, transport hubs, network communications, media, the electricity grid, dams, power plants, seaports, oil refineries, and water systems. Infrastructure security seeks to limit vulnerability of these structures and systems to sabotage, terrorism, and contamination.

Many countries have established government agencies to directly manage the security of critical infrastructure, usually, through the Ministry of Interior/Home Affairs, dedicated security agencies to protect facilities such as United States Federal Protective Service, and also dedicated transport police such as the British Transport Police. There are also commercial transportation security units such as the Amtrak Police in the United States. Critical infrastructure is vital for the essential functioning of a country. Incidental or deliberate damage can have a serious impact on the economy and essential services. Some of the threats to infrastructure include:

- Terrorism: person or groups deliberately targeting critical infrastructure for political gain. In the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, the Mumbai central station and hospital were deliberately targeted.

- Sabotage: person or groups such as ex-employees, anti-government groups, environmental groups. Refer to Bangkok's International Airport Seized by Protestors.

- Information warfare: private person hacking for private gain or countries initiating attacks to glean information and damage a country's cyberinfrastructure. Cyberattacks on Estonia and cyberattacks during the 2008 South Ossetia war are examples.

- Natural disaster: hurricane or other natural events that damage critical infrastructures such as oil pipelines, water, and power grids. See Hurricane Ike and Economic effects of Hurricane Katrina for examples.

### Virtual

Computer security, also known as cybersecurity or IT security, refers to the security of computing devices such as computers and smartphones, as well as computer networks such as private and public networks, and the Internet. It concerns the protection of hardware, software, data, people, and also the procedures by which systems are accessed, and the field has growing importance due to the increasing reliance on computer systems in most societies. Since unauthorized access to critical civil and military infrastructure is now considered a major threat, cyberspace is now recognised as a domain of warfare. One such example is the use of Stuxnet by the US and Israel against the Iranian nuclear programme

### Political

Barry Buzan, Ole Wæver, Jaap de Wilde and others have argued that national security depends on political security: the stability of the social order. Others, such as Paul Rogers, have added that the equitability of the international order is equally vital. Hence, political security depends on the rule of international law (including the laws of war), the effectiveness of international political institutions, as well as diplomacy and negotiation between nations and other security actors. It also depends on, among other factors, effective political inclusion of disaffected groups and the human security of the citizenry.

### Economic

Economic security, in the context of international relations, is the ability of a nation state to maintain and develop the national economy, without which other dimensions of national security cannot be managed. Economic capability largely determines the defence capability of a nation, and thus a sound economic security directly influences the national security of a nation. That is why we see countries with sound economy, happen to have sound security setup too, such as The United States, China, India among others. In larger countries, strategies for economic security expect to access resources and markets in other countries and to protect their own markets at home. Developing countries may be less secure than economically advanced states due to high rates of unemployment and underpaid work.

### Environmental

Environmental security, also known as ecological security, refers to the integrity of ecosystems and the biosphere, particularly in relation to their capacity to sustain a diversity of life-forms (including human life). The security of ecosystems has attracted greater attention as the impact of ecological damage by humans has grown. The degradation of ecosystems, including topsoil erosion, deforestation, biodiversity loss, and climate change, affect economic security and can precipitate mass migration, leading to increased pressure on resources elsewhere. Ecological security is also important since most of the countries in the world are developing and dependent on agriculture and agriculture gets affected largely due to climate change. This effect affects the economy of the nation, which in turn affects national security.

The scope and nature of environmental threats to national security and strategies to engage them are a subject of debate. Romm (1993) classifies the major impacts of ecological changes on national security as:

- Transnational environmental problems. These include global environmental problems such as climate change due to global warming, deforestation, and loss of biodiversity.

- Local environmental or resource pressures. These include resource scarcities leading to local conflict, such as disputes over water scarcity in the Middle East; migration into the United States caused by the failure of agriculture in Mexico; and the impact on the conflict in Syria of erosion of productive land. Environmental insecurity in Rwanda following a rise in population and dwindling availability of farmland, may also have contributed to the genocide there.

- Environmentally threatening outcomes of warfare. These include acts of war that degrade or destroy ecosystems. Examples are the Roman destruction of agriculture in Carthage; Saddam Hussein's burning of oil wells in the Gulf War; the use of Agent Orange by the UK in the Malayan Emergency and the US in the Vietnam War for defoliating forests.

### Energy and natural resources

Resources include water, sources of energy, land, and minerals. Availability of adequate natural resources is important for a nation to develop its industry and economic power. For example, in the Persian Gulf War of 1991, Iraq captured Kuwait partly in order to secure access to its oil wells, and one reason for the US counter-invasion was the value of the same wells to its own economy. Water resources are subject to disputes between many nations, including India and Pakistan, and in the Middle East.

The interrelations between security, energy, natural resources, and their sustainability is increasingly acknowledged in national security strategies and resource security is now included among the UN Sustainable Development Goals. In the US, for example, the military has installed solar photovoltaic microgrids on their bases in case of power outage.

## Issues

### Consistency of approach

The dimensions of national security outlined above are frequently in tension with one another. For example:

- The high cost of maintaining large military forces can place a burden on the economic security of a nation And annual defence spending as per cent of GDP varies significantly by country. Conversely, economic constraints can limit the scale of expenditure on military capabilities.

- Unilateral security action by states can undermine political security at an international level if it erodes the rule of law and undermines the authority of international institutions. The invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the annexation of Crimea in 2014 have been cited as examples.

- The pursuit of economic security in competition with other nation states can undermine the ecological security of all when the impact includes widespread topsoil erosion, biodiversity loss, and climate change. Conversely, expenditure on mitigating or adapting to ecological change places a burden on the national economy.

If tensions such as these are mismanaged, national security policies and actions may be ineffective or counterproductive.

### Versus transnational security

Increasingly, national security strategies have begun to recognise that nations cannot provide for their own security without also developing the security of their regional and international context. For example, Sweden's national security strategy of 2017 declared:

"Wider security measures must also now encompass protection against epidemics and infectious diseases, combating terrorism and organised crime, ensuring safe transport and reliable food supplies, protecting against energy supply interruptions, countering devastating climate change, initiatives for peace and global development, and much more."

The extent to which this matters, and how it should be done, is the subject of debate. Some argue that the principal beneficiary of national security policy should be the nation state itself, which should centre its strategy on protective and coercive capabilities in order to safeguard itself in a hostile environment (and potentially to project that power into its environment, and dominate it to the point of strategic supremacy). Others argue that security depends principally on building the conditions in which equitable relationships between nations can develop, partly by reducing antagonism between actors, ensuring that fundamental needs can be met, and also that differences of interest can be negotiated effectively. In the UK, for example, Malcolm Chalmers argued in 2015 that the heart of the UK's approach should be support for the Western strategic military alliance led through NATO by the United States, as "the key anchor around which international order is maintained".

### Civil liberties and human rights

Approaches to national security can have a complex impact on human rights and civil liberties. For example, the rights and liberties of citizens are affected by the use of military personnel and militarised police forces to control public behaviour; the use of surveillance, including mass surveillance in cyberspace, which has implications for privacy; military recruitment and conscription practices; and the effects of warfare on civilians and civil infrastructure. This has led to a dialectical struggle, particularly in liberal democracies, between government authority and the rights and freedoms of the general public.

Even where the exercise of national security is subject to good governance, and the rule of law, a risk remains that the term national security may become a pretext for suppressing unfavorable political and social views. In the US, for example, the controversial USA Patriot Act of 2001, and the revelation by Edward Snowden in 2013 that the National Security Agency harvests the personal data of the general public, brought these issues to wide public attention. Among the questions raised are whether and how national security considerations at times of war should lead to the suppression of individual rights and freedoms, and whether such restrictions are necessary when a state is at peace.

## By region

### Argentina and Brazil

National security ideology as taught by the US Army School of the Americas to military personnel was vital in causing the military coup of 1964 in Brazil and the 1976 one in Argentina. The military dictatorships were installed on the claim by the military that Leftists were an existential threat to the national interests.

### China

China's military is the People's Liberation Army (PLA). The military is the largest in the world, with 2.3 million active troops in 2005.

The Ministry of State Security was established in 1983 to ensure "the security of the state through effective measures against enemy agents, spies, and counterrevolutionary activities designed to sabotage or overthrow China's socialist system."

### European Union

For Schengen area some parts of national security and external border control are enforced by Frontex according to the Treaty of Lisbon. The security policy of the European Union is set by High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and assisted by European External Action Service. Europol is one of the agencies of the European Union responsible for combating various forms of crime in the European Union through coordinating law enforcement agencies of the EU member states.

European Union national security has been accused of insufficiently preventing foreign threats.

### India

The state of the Republic of India's national security is determined by its internal stability and geopolitical interests. While Islamic upsurge in Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir demanding secession and far left-wing terrorism in India's red corridor remain some key issues in India's internal security, terrorism from Pakistan-based militant groups has been emerging as a major concern for New Delhi.

The National Security Advisor of India heads the National Security Council of India, receives all kinds of intelligence reports, and is chief advisor to the Prime Minister of India over national and international security policy. The National Security Council has India's defence, foreign, home, finance ministers and deputy chairman of NITI Aayog as its members and is responsible for shaping strategies for India's security in all aspects.

A lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay filed a Public interest litigation (PIL) in the "Supreme Court of India" (SC) to identify and deport illegal immigrants. Responding to this PIL, Delhi Police told the SC in July 2019 that nearly 500 illegal Bangladeshi immigrants have been deported in the preceding 28 months. There are estimated 600,000 to 700,000 illegal Bangladeshi and Rohingya immigrants in National Capital Region (NCR) region specially in the districts of Gurugram, Faridabad, and Nuh (Mewat region), as well as interior villages of Bhiwani and Hisar. Most of them are Muslims who have acquired fake Hindu identity, and under questioning, they pretend to be from West Bengal. In September 2019, the Chief Minister of Haryana, Manohar Lal Khattar announced the implementation of NRC for Haryana by setting up a legal framework under the former judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Justice HS Bhalla for updating NRC which will help in weeding out these illegal immigrants.

### Russia

In the years 1997 and 2000, Russia adopted documents titled "National Security Concept" that described Russia's global position, the country's interests, listed threats to national security, and described the means to counter those threats. In 2009, these documents were superseded by the " National Security Strategy to 2020 ". The key body responsible for coordinating policies related to Russia's national security is the Security Council of Russia.

According to provision 6 of the National Security Strategy to 2020, national security is "the situation in which the individual, the society and the state enjoy protection from foreign and domestic threats to the degree that ensures constitutional rights and freedoms, decent quality of life for citizens, as well as sovereignty, territorial integrity and stable development of the Russian Federation, the defence and security of the state."

### Singapore

Total Defence is Singapore's whole-of-society national defence concept based on the premise that the strongest defence of a nation is collective defence – when every aspect of society stays united for the defence of the country. Adopted from the national defence strategies of Sweden and Switzerland, Total Defence was introduced in Singapore in 1984. Then, it was recognised that military threats to a nation can affect the psyche and social fabric of its people. Therefore, the defence and progress of Singapore are dependent on all of its citizens' resolve, along with the government and armed forces. Total Defence has since evolved to take into consideration threats and challenges outside of the conventional military domain.

### Ukraine

National security of Ukraine is defined in Ukrainian law as "a set of legislative and organisational measures aimed at permanent protection of vital interests of man and citizen, society and the state, which ensure sustainable development of society, timely detection, prevention and neutralisation of real and potential threats to national interests in areas of law enforcement, fight against corruption, border activities and defence, migration policy, health care, education and science, technology and innovation policy, cultural development of the population, freedom of speech and information security, social policy and pension provision, housing and communal services, financial services market, protection of property rights, stock markets and circulation of securities, fiscal and customs policy, trade and business, banking services, investment policy, auditing, monetary and exchange rate policy, information security, licensing, industry and agriculture, transport and communications, information technology, energy and energy saving, functioning of natural monopolies, use of subsoil, land and water resources, minerals, protection of ecology and environment and other areas of public administration, in the event of emergence of negative trends towards the creation of potential or real threats to national interests."

The primary body responsible for coordinating national security policy in Ukraine is the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine. It is an advisory state agency to the President of Ukraine, tasked with developing a policy of national security on domestic and international matters. All sessions of the council take place in the Presidential Administration Building. The council was created by the provision of Supreme Council of Ukraine #1658-12 on October 11, 1991. It was defined as the highest state body of collegiate governing on matters of defence and security of Ukraine with the following goals:

- Protecting sovereignty

- Constitutional order

- Territorial integrity and inviolability of the republic

- Developing strategies and continuous improvement of policy in the sphere of defence and state security

- Comprehensive scientific assessment of the military threat nature

- Determining position toward modern warfare

- Effective control over the execution of the tasks of the state and its institutions keeping defence capabilities of Ukraine at the level of defence sufficiency

### United Kingdom

The primary body responsible for coordinating national security policy in the UK is the National Security Council (United Kingdom) which helps produce and enact the UK's National Security Strategy. It was created in May 2010 by the new coalition government of the Conservative Party (UK) and Liberal Democrats. The National Security Council is a committee of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom and was created as part of a wider reform of the national security apparatus. This reform also included the creation of a National Security Adviser and a National Security Secretariat to support the National Security Council.

### United States

#### National Security Act of 1947

The concept of national security became an official guiding principle of foreign policy in the United States when the National Security Act of 1947 was signed on July 26, 1947, by U.S. President Harry S. Truman. As amended in 1949, this Act:

- created important components of American national security, such as the precursor to the Department of Defense;

- subordinated the military branches to the new cabinet-level position of Secretary of Defense;

- established the National Security Council and the Central Intelligence Agency;

Notably, the Act did not define national security, which was conceivably advantageous, as its ambiguity made it a powerful phrase to invoke against diverse threats to interests of the state, such as domestic concerns.

The notion that national security encompasses more than just military security was present, though understated, from the beginning. The Act established the National Security Council so as to "advise the President on the integration of domestic, military and foreign policies relating to national security".

The act establishes, within the National Security Council, the Committee on Foreign Intelligence, whose duty is to conduct an annual review "identifying the intelligence required to address the national security interests of the United States as specified by the President " (emphasis added).

In Gen. Maxwell Taylor 's 1974 essay "The Legitimate Claims of National Security", Taylor states:

The national valuables in this broad sense include current assets and national interests, as well as the sources of strength upon which our future as a nation depends. Some valuables are tangible and earthy; others are spiritual or intellectual. They range widely from political assets such as the Bill of Rights, our political institutions, and international friendships to many economic assets which radiate worldwide from a highly productive domestic economy supported by rich natural resources. It is the urgent need to protect valuables such as these which legitimizes and makes essential the role of national security.

#### National security state

To address the institutionalisation of new bureaucracies and government practices in the post–World War II period in the U.S., the culture of semi-permanent military mobilisation joined the National Security Council (NSC), the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Department of Defense (DoD), and the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) for the practical application of the concept of the national security state:

During and after World War II, U.S. leaders expanded the concept of national security, and used its terminology for the first time to explain America's relationship to the world. For most of U.S. history, the continental United States was secure. But, by 1945, it had become rapidly vulnerable with the advent of long-range bombers, atom bombs, and ballistic missiles. A general perception grew that future mobilization would be insufficient and that preparation must be constant. For the first time, American leaders dealt with the essential paradox of national security faced by the Roman Empire and subsequent great powers: Si vis pacem, para bellum — "If you want peace, prepare for war."

#### Obama administration

The U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff defines national security of the United States in the following manner :

A collective term encompassing both national defense and foreign relations of the United States. Specifically, the condition provided by: a. a military or defense advantage over any foreign nation or group of nations; b. a favorable foreign relations position; or c. a defense posture capable of successfully resisting hostile or destructive action from within or without, overt or covert.

In 2010, the White House included an all-encompassing world-view in a national security strategy which identified "security" as one of the country's "four enduring national interests" that were "inexorably intertwined":

"To achieve the world we seek, the United States must apply our strategic approach in pursuit of four enduring national interests:

- Security: The security of the United States, its citizens, and U.S. allies and partners.

- Prosperity: A strong, innovative, and growing U.S. economy in an open international economic system that promotes opportunity and prosperity.

- Values: Respect for universal values at home and around the world.

- International Order: An international order advanced by U.S. leadership that promotes peace, security, and opportunity through stronger cooperation to meet global challenges.

Each of these interests is inextricably linked to the others: no single interest can be pursued in isolation, but at the same time, positive action in one area will help advance all four."

#### Empowerment of women

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said that, "The countries that threaten regional and global peace are the very places where women and girls are deprived of dignity and opportunity". She has noted that countries, where women are oppressed, are places where the "rule of law and democracy are struggling to take root", and that, when women's rights as equals in society are upheld, the society as a whole changes and improves, which in turn enhances stability in that society, which in turn contributes to global society.

#### Cyber

The Bush administration in January 2008 initiated the Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative (CNCI). It introduced a differentiated approach, such as identifying existing and emerging cybersecurity threats, finding and plugging existing cyber vulnerabilities and apprehending those trying to access federal information systems.

President Obama said the "cyber threat is one of the most serious economic and national security challenges we face as a nation" and that "America's economic prosperity in the 21st century will depend on cybersecurity".