VAN DE KAMP CHUCKS “NOTHING SACRED”

Van de Kamp (VDK) has become the 37th company to withdraw sponsorship of the ABC show, “Nothing Sacred.” There was an ad for a VDK product, Mama Celeste pizza, on last Saturday night’s show; the ad was mistakenly placed by VDK’s ad agency. Those who previously quit are: Isuzu, Weight Watchers, K-Mart, Benckiser, DuPont, Red Lobster,... [Read more...]

ABC DUMPS “CRACKER” BUT KEEPS “NOTHING SACRED”

ABC has announced that “Cracker,” the show that has followed “Nothing Sacred” all season, is being canceled; production has stopped on the show. “Nothing Sacred,” which has had ratings almost as bad as “Cracker,” has survived, though it will not be shown in February. William Donohue took the news this... [Read more...]

ANTI-CATHOLICISM MARKS NEW MAGAZINE, NOTORIOUS

The premier issue of a new magazine, Notorious, featured an article by Sean Bosker that described his experience of “going to confession” at four New York-area Catholic Churches. In his piece, “I Confess: Gettin’ Off Easy,” Bosker instructed non-Catholics how to engage in a mock confession. Himself a non-Catholic, Bosker detailed... [Read more...]

BBC PUT ON NOTICE

As soon as the Catholic League learned that the British Broadcasting Company (BBC) was planning on starting a cable station in the U.S., William Donohue wrote a letter to John Birt, Director General of the BBC, expressing his concerns. The BBC, Donohue said, produced the movie, “Priest” (it was distributed by the Disney owned firm, Miramax)... [Read more...]

CRECHE CONTROVERSIES CONTINUE

In many parts of the country, this past Christmas was marked by conflict over its public celebration. The Catholic League was engaged in battles over the public display of crèches, winning some and losing some. In Lorain, Ohio, the ACLU threatened to sue city officials for erecting a crèche in Veterans Park; the ACLU director who led the charge is... [Read more...]

CRITICS CAN’T SAVE “NOTHING SACRED”

Never before in television history has a show been more praised by the critics and more panned by the public than “Nothing Sacred.” Virtually every TV critic in the country has used superlatives to describe the show while demonstrating nothing but utter contempt for the public that refuses to like it. One gets the distinct feeling that if... [Read more...]

GOBER ART DRAWS DEFENDERS AND CRITICS

Last October, the Catholic League sent a letter to the director of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, and a news release to the media, stating our objections to a piece of art by Robert Gober (see November Catalyst). Gober’s work showed a phallic culvert pipe piercing Our Blessed Mother, the purpose of which, he said, was to deprive “the... [Read more...]

HBO SHOW WON’T AIR AGAIN

The Catholic League has had an interesting relationship with HBO (Home Box Office) over the years. The bad news is that HBO airs its share of shows that are offensive to Catholics; the good news is that when we complain, they listen and make changes. Such was the case with the Denis Leary “Lock-N-Load” comedy show. League members who saw... [Read more...]

IT’S THOSE CATHOLICS!

In November, a woman was jailed in Miami for prostitution. For some reason, the news wire service, Reuters, felt compelled to note that the 39-year-old hooker was “a former Catholic high school student.” Had she at one time worked for Reuters, we doubt that her former status would have been mentioned. In December, a New Jersey newspaper, The... [Read more...]

JOURNALISM—FAIR AND UNFAIR

One question the league is often asked is how we make determinations on what we deem to be offensive. Here’s a good example of how the process works. This past fall, the Dallas Morning News ran a story, “Crimes of the Father,” on a death row prisoner in Arkansas. It showed a picture of the man holding a rosary bead that was draped around... [Read more...]

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