What is offensive to some may not be offensive to others
By Judi Curry
I realize that we cannot agree with everyone at any time. I realize that businesses must cater to their advertisers in order to stay in business. I also know that in my writings I frequently offend some while others are in total agreement with what I have to say. I also know that I do not have to read, listen to, or watch things that I disagree with, nor do you. But when I am “blind-sided” and put in a position that I object to, I react as I am reacting today.
Not too long ago I watched KUSI news all the time. I even did some reports with “Turko”. Then I discovered that the owners of KUSI and I do not agree politically, and I ceased watching their programs.
I watch MSNBC exclusively for news other than local news, and for local news I have been watching Channel 8, CBS News, primarily because they have a 10:00pm broadcast (played on Channel 6 –CW) and I can watch it and go to sleep early. (If I am up at 11:00pm I vary between Channel 10 and Channel 7.)
But Saturday evening I decided to watch CBS Nightly News at 6:00pm and continued to listen to the local news at 6:30pm. Midway through the program it was time for a commercial. And here is where I am going to offend people, because I was offended by the commercial. What was it, you ask?
Before I explain a little more, let me say that I am not against prayer. When my grandson and his father were quite ill a few months ago I asked several people to pray for them. But prayer is an individual thing, and should not be foisted on people by zealots that think that prayer is the answer to world problems. One does not have to go to Church, or Temple, or … to pray. Prayers can be done anywhere, and at any time. It is a private thing and should be kept that way.
The “commercial” – I guess that is what you would call it, but to me it was more of a “sermon” – was sponsored by the “Billy Graham, Jr., Association.” And this “commercial”- besides telling us that we all should say a specific prayer, which was told to us, – we were also to be blessed “. . . . in the name of Jesus Christ.”
And that is when I became offended. Not everyone is a Christian. Not everyone believes in Jesus Christ. If I wanted to go to Church and pray in the name of Jesus I would do so. To have that come into my home while watching the local news was an affront to me. Is this a sign of things to come? ( I would never buy a pillow from the “Pillow Man” for the same reasons as the Channel 8 situation. Supposedly the “Pillow Man” is selling his pillows until he begins to sell you his religion.)
Religion should not be used as a vehicle for “sales” on a regular news program. If I had known that this was going to be part of the regularly scheduled newscast I would not have watched it. As it is, I will miss many of the anchors and commentators on Channel 8. But I don’t watch the news to be indoctrinated by religious rhetoric. I doubt if that commercial was “free speech” since they paid to have their promo on the air. And again I want to reiterate – I have nothing against prayers – at the right time and at the right place. This was neither.
{ 32 comments… read them below or add one }
Judi, I mean no offense but I think you are being very closed minded. First of all I encourage you to follow various news programs that align with your political beliefs along with those that you disagree with. It may help you understand other view points (you can obviously still disagree with them).
Secondly, why shouldn’t a news program air a religious commercial? I’ve seen the Billy Graham one and it is terrible. However, they have the same right to air a commercial as a car company, drug supplier, etc. If I didn’t believe in fast food (thought it was terrible for the health of the country), should I be offended if they have a McDonald’s commercial? What if I don’t believe in irresponsible luxury cars that people buy and cannot afford, should I turn the channel when the Mercedes commercial is aired?
GML – this “sermon” had nothing to do with my political beliefs. It have everything to do with my religious freedom. I do not choose to go to Church because I don’t want to go to Church. I do not watch the news to be lectured about Jesus Christ. I watch the news to find out what is going on in San Diego and its environs. If I want to watch “churchy” things there are plenty of programs that I can watch – or not watch. Your comparing McDonalds to Billy Graham is the old adage – “apples to oranges.”
Judy, religious freedom means the freedom to practice your own religion, or not. It means the government shall not impose that upon you.
It does not mean freedom from other people’s religion. That would be an obvious contradiction and restrict their religious freedoms.
I have no problem with religious organizations advertising their business. Business the key word, though. When they begin acting like any other business, they should also be *taxed* like a business by dropping their tax-free status.
Interesting. I’ve seen that commercial and I just simply tune it out. What you watch or don’t watch is your business (as you stated) but since you wrote an article I will give my unsolicited opinion. Yeah that commercial is pretty bad but to boycott watching a whole news network seems a bit extreme. Would you feel the same way if they aired a commercial of another religion/spiritual belief?
Also (since you brought it up) the pillow dude. So you would not buy a product from him simply because of his religious belief? I’ve seen his commercials and I don’t recall him ever mentioning his religion. So if he were an observant Buddhist as opposed to an Evangelical Christian would you still boycott is product?
Better listen again to his commercials. He’s touting his pillows until he brings Jesus into it. I do not like to have anyone’s religion thrown at me, and I find it offensive, no matter who it is. If I am watching a program and religion is part of the program there is no hesitation on my part to purchase what they are selling. These are commercials that blindside the listener with their religious beliefs and I find that offensive. Doesn’t matter what the religion is – there is a time and a place for it, and these are neither the time nor the place.
And as far as “boycotting” the channel? Well, if they are “sneaking” religion into their commercials, who knows what they might be bringing in next. It is my choice – along with everyone else – to decide if I want to watch a program and be indoctrinated by their beliefs – or find another program with virtually the same information and not offensive.
Hey Judi, use your mute button and relax some. You’re getting worked up for no reason.
I do not think any of the cross-wearing hypocrites are going to get my business, and I find the Graham crusade ads to be pretty pathetic and narrow-minded, but I defended this Country for ten years active duty so as to guarantee both groups the freedom to spout their nonsense.
You must separate the ads from the content . . . a public broadcaster cannot turn such advertisements down, and we certainly need local news outlets.
If I subscribed to such a righteous attitude towards what news programs I watched (based upon the commercials) I would have to avoid all the network news as well, as I am personally offended by the “save the animals” sob stories perpetrated by the national animal welfare scams, or the “save the Ukrainian babushkas” fraud.
Judi, just tune them out and get on with life. There are a lot more important things to worry about right now.
If I had known that was the message I would have muted it. I was blindsided. And my rights are as important to me as yours are to you . I do
Not watch the news for religious sermons and I strongly object
And your nonsense offends me. But I’ll survive.
If the guy sells good pillows, who cares what his religion is? Sounds bigoted of you to hold his religion against him. Also, wearing a necklace with a cross on it is hardly “indoctrination” of viewers. If the owner at the sandwich shop wears a yamaka or something, are you going to boycott them too?
Perhaps Mr. Pillow believes so strongly in his faith that he wears it proudly on his sleeve and shares it with everyone he can. When “anti-racists” do the same with their views unsolicited, does that offend you? Or is it ok only when they’re on your team?
Try being more accepting of others’ differences, especially when they aren’t causing harm.
Well…I said my article would offend some. Not surprised at your reaction. Mr. Pillow’s pillows are ranked, by Consumers Report, as among the lowest on their scale. It is for that reason I would not buy his product. Who said anything about anyone wearing a cross? I didn’t and you are projecting your feelings into something that was never mentioned. And for your information I am very accepting of everyone. I am not accepting of people that thrust their religious beliefs on me. I am not nice to people knocking on my door selling their religion; I am not happy when I am watching the news and I am being told to say a prayer to save this country. Separation of Church and State have a great deal of meaning to me. And I am offended that you think that I am narrow-minded.
I don’t see a single person in these comments siding with your degree of intolerance of his religious beliefs.
Also I didn’t see any preaching going on in his commercial, so perhaps turn your sensitivity down a notch.
Do you get upset at bumper stickers too? Are they shoving it down your throat? I see messages I disagree with every day, it’s healthy. I appreciate the diversity. In fact nothing creeps me out more than being caught in a crowd that agrees with me on everything. (Luckily a rare event).
Triggerfinger – it’s all in how you view things. To me the commercial was preaching. No different what he did and what the people that knock on my door do. It was “preaching”; it was praying; it was blessing me in the name of Jesus Christ. I object to all three of those items. And who are you to tell me that you didn’t see any preaching. You didn’t. I did. No winner. Just difference of opinions. I seldom watch television but I do watch the news. I do not go to church because I do not want to go and, quite frankly, I am not a believer. Don’t thrust your beliefs down my throat. I am intelligent enough – even though I am a blond – to make decisions for myself, and this was one that I strongly object to. As far as bumper stickers – I see nothing wrong with them. They are not telling me to go do something. That commercial did. It was religion vs state, and it does not belong on the local news.
Here’s a thought for you, Judy. Turn the damn idiot box off! You’ll feel MUCH better and have so much time to do anything else that it will blow your mind.
There are five extremely wealthy extremely conservative corporations that own all the news. And they censor what hurts their profits and that will never change.
I use bumper stickers instead. On my ’95 4Runner I have ‘Freedom is the Separation Between Church and State’ and on my ’93 Toyota pickup it’s ‘Get Real. As if Jesus Would EVER vote Republican and Own a Gun.’ I had a sheriff tell me in a parking lot that he really liked the latter one. That kind of surprised me.
I haven’t had a working television in my home since 1993. Freaked the stepkids out (elementary & middle school then) but I’ve got stepgrandkids that don’t watch much tv at all so I did have a positive effect on their lives even indirectly.
sealintheSelkirks
Can you please respect my right to not be offended and stop indoctrinating me with your bumper stickers? I’ve had to boycott most of the roads around town because of you and now it’s really hard to drive to work!
I’ve seen this commercial on several other channels, not just channel 8.
In the words of the late great John Prine: “Blow up your TV… “
Haha, I’ve got to agree with Seal- and Marshall McLuhan… the medium is the message! I don’t even know who the ‘pillow guy’ is, but if he’s anything like all the Pharma, vehicle, and reality TV ads, who can be bothered sitting thru that pablum?!
I have a TV but haven’t turned it on in so long I forgot how it works and which button to press! So much healthier reading the news; aside from the advertising, why watch a bunch of head-bangers presenting opinions rather than just the facts?
You hate religious ads, I hate pharmaceutical ads. Don’t put yourself thru it! So many alternatives available for even local news :-)
retired botanist: I’m assuming this is The Pillow Guy?
‘How do you sleep at night?’ Anderson Cooper grills MyPillow guy in wild interview
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/8/18/1970361/–How-do-you-sleep-at-night-Anderson-Cooper-grills-MyPillow-guy-in-wild-interview
Anderson Cooper had MyPillow CEO and Trump advocate (and Tucker Carlson’s sole advertiser, at this point) Mike Lindell on his CNN show Tuesday. Lindell was there to explain the completely unproven miracle drug Oleandrin that he and Ben Carson have been pushing to Donald Trump. Oleandrin is an extract from a very toxic plant called Nerium oleander. Lindell, a man who previously settled with the government for false advertising and general business fraud, also has a financial stake in the company. Shocking, right?
more at link including link to interview
…but since I don’t watch tv I’m not really sure who he is, either!
______
And Geoff, you go right ahead and enjoy yourself. That’s what the medium is designed for, entertainment through advertising. But I suggest you look behind the scenes at who is funding what, and why. Do some research which is always enlightening if not exactly comforting.
Like what happened to PBS and NPR, it’s all about what your advertisers are willing to put up the money for on how accurate and comprehensive a show will be. Lots of lying by omission going on due to the cuts in public funding of both that allowed the corporate grifters in. If it doesn’t fit their corporate master plans, the real story doesn’t get told, or just a part of it. You know, the pretty parts? Oil companies funding nature shows? What a joke that is! While they push to drill in the Arctic leaves a lot to be desired when what they say isn’t what they are actually doing. Smoke and mirrors…
This is also the problem with tv news programs but even worse due to their only being five (5!) extremely wealthy, extremely conservative extremist-owned corporations that ‘produce’ the news…and that includes most newspapers not just the boob tube as they have been bought up. Follow the money has always been the rule, hasn’t it? As just one minor example the so-called liberal viewpoint of the NYT on the history of the War Crime Iraq Invasion and Judith Miller great NYT ‘reporting’ on it… I’ll stick to books and websites like Robert Perry’s consortiumnews and Palast’s and others that speak truth to power rather than corporate-owned MSM.
I did read fairly recently that 85% of the US population gets ALL their ‘news’ from corporate-owned tv. And most of those polled cannot name the Bill of Rights’ 10 Amendments. Or even half. But many did know the 2nd Amendment…that is truly pitiful.
sealintheSelkirks
seal, once again you’ve gone off on an unnecessary rant about things I already know.
I don’t watch commercials.
I know what happened to NPR and KPBS but it did not destroy all of its value.
I quit watching any TV news so long ago, I can’t even estimate how many years it has been.
Yes, unfortunately, most people get their news from TV, but that does not make the medium bad.
I take everything with a large grain of salt.
My objection is to this snobbish attitude that people who say they don’t watch TV exhibit, an air of I’m more intelligent than you because I don’t watch TV. They feel compelled to say this as a badge of honor. I think that is bullshit.
I just have to comment on this anti-TV stuff I keep seeing. Like any medium, there is a lot of crap on TV and a lot of good stuff. KPBS, Discovery, History channels are all great. Movies, sporting events. I had a great friend who never let a moment pass to mention he never watched TV and I cringed every time. To completely lambaste a medium for some of its content makes no sense to me. Stop reading books then, there are so many that are awful. Stop listening to music because of distasteful lyrics. Please, anyone who is so proud of not watching TV, keep your closed mind to your self.
Ok, ok, maybe some folks are self-righteous about it, I don’t know b/c its not something I spout about, or feel lordly about! Just suggesting less stressful alternatives to the Widder.
For god’s sake, I watch as much crap as the next person- I just don’t watch it with advertising. I stream Netflix, I watch Spanish telenovellas, I find SNL on Youtube…ain’t nothin’ intellectual about any of that. But the advantage is that the programming isn’t interrupted every 7 min by some purple bear flogging toilet paper, Ginzu knives, Hummers, or some guy hawking pillows.
(And sorry Seal, I have NO interest in finding out who the pillow guy is, Cooper notwithstanding)
The more interesting discourse here is the botany!! Oleander, which lines HUNDREDS of miles of CA freeways, is indeed a very toxic plant- ALL of it. Leaves, milky sap, flws, etc. Its flowers do have a rather nice, chocolate-like fragrance. Oleandrin? Who knows what the heck that is, but I can tell you that oleander as a poison goes all the way back to Shakespeare and was the poison of choice in those days!
Whatever this oleandrin hype is, its reminiscent of the ‘wonder drug’ laetrile, extracted from apricot pits if I recall, and touted in the treatment of cancer. Basically, its a cyanide derivative. Its patent had an interesting history, however, having been owned by the guy who managed the Grateful Dead. :-) So there’s a bit of trivia (w/out having to watch TV) to lighten the mood.
I say each to his/her own! TV, Internet, Smartphones…pick yer poison, hahaha!!
retired, I was not intending to pick on anyone in particular, the comment about TV was made by several people and I just had to say something. The friend I mentioned was not a snob, he was an intellectual and an author. He was easy-going and had a great sense of humor. This one thing used to grate on me because whenever he said it, he did have a sort of smirk on his face that was uncharacteristic of him.
I agree that regular TV is mostly awful. I avoid commercials like the plague but am sometimes exposed to them in my home. Some of them are actually very clever like the Geico commercial showing a couple talking about their new home but that they have a rat problem. The scene shifts to the metal group Ratt jamming in the basement. Anything that makes me laugh is ok, even a commercial. But, I stick to cable stuff without commercials or I record programs such as the Discovery channel has to watch later so I can run past the commercials. Same with football, the one sport I will watch on TV, half of which is commercials.
I cannot stand any TV news programs because I can’t trust any of them or they are too vacuous to be of any value. I think people who say they don’t own a TV are missing out on some good things.
Haha, and some of us who do have TVs are still missing out! I’m such a luddite, the device is too complicated for me to remember how it works. I think there are at least a couple of remotes (we used to call them ‘zappers’ in my fam), but if I press the wrong button I’m toast. And now you can apparently talk to the remote… all this coming from someone who never really mastered VCRs and wouldn’t know how to record something if my life depended on it! Channel 336- what the heck is THAT?! I think I only pay for about 12 of them. So in some ways the ease of streaming saved me from the jaws of chronic frustration in more ways than one! And I do watch PBS periodically – at least their commercials come at the end or beginning of a program. ?
retired botanist: No saint here, either, but I don’t do it with a tv. I am similar, though, because over the decades I’ve ended up with somewhere between 5-6,000 movies on the shelf. I know, ridiculous! And fixing furniture for a friend at her 2nd hand store one afternoon a week for the last 12 or so made it worse! I have first pick on movies that come in especially vhs which nobody wants anymore. She can’t sell them. I’ve got classics that still work like Dr. Strangelove, Alice’s Restaurant, A Boy and His Dog, and so many others that probably never will be put onto disk because they won’t make enough profit. Ever seen a foreign film named ‘Amalie?’ Absolutely hilarious and excellent though you have to read subtitles. From serious flicks like The Panama Deception to Eddie Murphy’s Pluto Nash and George Carlin, and I’ve got season 1-5 of SNL on disk! One entire wall in the music room is movies, floor to ceiling. It really is ridiculous. The other wall is cassettes, cds, records, and a couple of shelves of books. I get first dibs on books, too! Then there are the other book shelves both upstairs and down.
By the way, I really had no interest in this superficial Pillow Fool though I’ve seen the name pop up a couple of times in very recent articles. Wasn’t interested to learn more and never bothered following links. I only opened this one to get a clue from the mentions above. What made me laugh is after being busted by the gov and paying fines he’s back to doing the same crap again!
Geoff: It isn’t about being self-rightous, as RB put it, it’s worse than that. He may have smirked at you but unfortunately he was absolutely correct so he had something to smirk about. Isn’t that the most vexing thing when you realize they are correct?
Watching tv makes us less intelligent because your brain doesn’t engage in thinking. No cognitive thought needed to watch tv. Our Alpha brain waves go into sleep mode. Can’t learn much that way…
I taught Pre-K, the little ones, I’m ECE of 4.5/5 yr olds teacher, and I could pick out which kid watched too much tv the night before just by the behavior patterns and concentration levels. This was back in 1986! It’s only gotten worse with the insane behavior of now giving 5 yr old cellphones along with the one-eyed babysitter. What’s the average viewing time per day up to now? It used to be 6 hours but that’s a years-ago number, and if staring at the cell phone and computer screens are added in it must be to awful levels. The distortion that it produces in kids does the same thing to adults because the medium completely bypasses cognitive thought and goes directly into the brain without any filtering. For anyone that is interested follow links below:
sealintheSelkirks
Studies show Television Decreases IQ, Creativity, Academic …
https://endalldisease.com/studies-show-television-decreases-iq-creativity-academic-achievement-and-damages-the-brain/
Surprised by how quickly the brain ‘shuts off’, he went on to say ‘Television is a communication medium that effortlessly transmits huge quantities of information not thought about at the time of exposure’, a statement that Dr. Aric Sigman says is “a long-winded way of saying that the medium of television brainwashes you”…
Too Much TV Really Is Bad for Your Brain | Live Science
https://www.livescience.com/52959-television-cognitive-function.html
The results suggest that engaging in physical activity, as opposed to sitting and watching TV, is important for brain health, said study author Tina D. Hoang, of the Northern California Institute …
Impact of Television Viewing on Brain Structures: Cross …
https://academic.oup.com/cercor/article/25/5/1188/311796
Introduction. Many cross-sectional and longitudinal studies have reported deleterious effects of television (TV) viewing on the cognitive abilities, attention, behaviors, and academic performance of children (Johnson et al. 2002, 2007; Christakis et al. 2004).Longer TV viewing was associated with lower intelligence quotient (IQ) and reading grades in a cross-sectional study (Ridley-Johnson et ..
https://www.lybrate.com/topic/treatment-for-television-addiction
Television addiction is a can be seen as an addiction model which is associated with compulsive behavior, associated with watching any television programming. Television addiction is extremely difficult to control in many cases and has parallels to various other forms of behavioral addiction such as gambling or drugs.
Negative Effects of Television You Can’t Afford to Ignore …
https://entertainism.com/negative-effects-of-television
Studies in psychology have shown that watching intense emotions on television leaves a long-lasting impression on one’s mind. Horror scenes or other frightful scenes on television have a negative impact on the minds of people watching. Verbal, physical, or any other form of abuse shown on TV has a psychological effect on the viewers.
Eyes Glued to the Screen: What is Television Addiction …
https://sobercollege.com/addiction-blog/television-addiction/
Television addiction is often a temporary phenomenon that can be corrected through modifying behaviors. It may also develop as a means of dealing with stressors and bad days. Giving oneself time to engage in more creative activities that do not involve the use of a television can often help individuals regulate their behaviors and attain a …
If this isn’t enough just do a search on television/intelligence/studies as there are pages of works detailing this stuff…
When did Geoff say anything about letting TV raise the children? There’s no need to think in absolutes.
He simply said it’s a medium that has good and bad attributes. I watch maybe 3-4 hours per week at most, including local news, competing biased cable news networks, nature shows, and yes, sometimes even mind numbing idiot sitcoms. And I don’t feel the need to brag about it. Nor do I feel the need to write an article to the rag about the commercials that offend my tastes. I just yell at the TV like every other decent human being.
trigger, I got a good laugh at your last line, thanks for the chuckle.
I only sit and watch TV on Friday and Saturday nights for a few hours with my dogs and a few beers and when I work out with weights in my garage. I can’t sit still for something like that or even to read as much as I like. I began listening to books many years ago while running, driving on long trips, or working around the house. If I ever manage to retire, I will go back to reading as much as I can.
Seal, you wrote “He may have smirked at you but unfortunately he was absolutely correct so he had something to smirk about. Isn’t that the most vexing thing when you realize they are correct?”
Correct about what? The only thing he was correct about was that he did not watch TV. The smirk was an uncharacteristic display of superiority, nothing more. Other than that, he was a great guy so I never said anything about it to him.
triggerfinger: Ummmm, I’m confused. Maybe I don’t see the humor in your last sentence like Geoff does.
Why sit in front of something that makes you not only dumber but causes you to yell at the stupidity that you are forcing yourself to watch? Okay I guess but it doesn’t bother your neighbors or do you keep the yelling low key so they don’t hear you? Do you have a dog by the way? Since childhood I’ve always noticed that they really hate it when we yell angrily at something for any reason. It’s a dog trauma thing I think. I have never hit the old girl Husky I currently share this house with but when I bang my thumb with a hammer she goes around a corner to avoid the cussing.
And where did I mention children? I just looked and I didn’t write anything about children. If what you are referring to is some of the links well yes there are lots of studies on younger humans because we are supposed to care so much about them that we won’t allow them to do something like riding a skateboard without a helmet…but watching tv that lowers their IQs and reading levels and makes them fat from inactivity is okay. How odd is that? Aren’t we a funny species? Remember that I was Pre-Kindergarten teacher for a number of years. Care of little children was, and is, always on my mind.
And if you think the detrimental effects that are threaded throughout just these few links only affect children and not the rest of us because we’re older and smarter (after decades of tv viewing?) you have to remember that our brains pretty much go to sleep as we absorb the same crap into the same primate brain. Just like they do. But then you could look through the pages of links on a search engine you’ll find studies on adults that would probably target specific age groups and income levels etc etc that are more to your liking.
You did follow the links and scan through them before you replied to my post, yes?
As for the bragging rights, I look at it another way because I get asked by adults and teens and kids that I teach how can I just not watch tv? People come visit the ‘Museum’ I live in and a lot of the parents weren’t even born when I threw it out and they can’t imagine a house without one but there isn’t one anywhere. They ask where it is! People notice it missing!
What do you do if you don’t watch tv is a common question also. I ask them to think of what they really REALLY like to do or want to do or want to learn to do, and how much time they could do those activities if they turned the damned things off. Make a list for an entire week of how much screen time (including phones and computers) they actually spend in front of one. If I could do it why not them? Find fun things to do! Whether any of these people pull away from the addiction is a moot point but it’s like asking them to wear a helmet when they skateboard, yes? They still have to choose to make the transition from sedentary to active.
Geoff: “To completely lambaste a medium for some of its content makes no sense to me.” Well then, go read the damn links! It’s NOT about content it’s about brain functions, creativity, not lowering your IQ!!!! Secondary is about content which, for the most part, is not particularly give much of a recommend, either.
Don’t be so hard on that intellectual friend for continually tried to get you to stop watching it by commenting “with a smirk” that drove you crazy… Look at it this way; it’s like being an ex-tobacco smoker. You don’t want people to keep doing that to themselves.
As for this comment: “keep your closed mind to your self”…I’ll remember to use that one of these days. Probably piss somebody off I’ll bet! Did you ever say it to your intellectual friend by chance? Just curious…
sealintheSelkirks
Absolutely agree with this sentiment. While freedom of religion is a fundamental right, using it as a tool for promoting or “selling” certain narratives on news programs can be misleading and divisive. News should be objective and impartial, focusing on facts and informed analysis rather than pushing any religious agenda. It’s essential to maintain the integrity of journalism and ensure that information is presented fairly and accurately, allowing viewers to form their own opinions based on unbiased reporting.