Corporate Influence in Television Broadcasting

Proctor and Gamble Threaten to Pull Their Advertisements Due to CBS Program's Content
In August 2001, Proctor and Gambel (P&G) forced CBS to pull a re-run episode of "Family Law" because they felt the content of that episode was inappropriate. The episode focused on a child abuse case in which the main focus was that the mother owned a handgun. Once P&G made their threats, however, CBS pulled the episode and replaced it with one of spousal abuse. P&G, being one of CBS' biggest advertisers, showed their major influence on the television station. Since the company typically purchases four 30-second commercial spots during the show, CBS could not risk losing the company as an advertiser. When the episode originally ran, P&G pulled their advertising, but CBS was able to find replacement commercials; this run, however, they weren't so lucky.

This example of corporate influence on television broadcasting shows how much corporations actually control the media. If the advertiser doesn't like the content, they can force media to censor broadcasts or risk losing advertising bucks. This influence can make for a scary world. Corporations are making it so that viewers may never see a controversial topic again. Who's to say that the viewing public wouldn't want to see a story about a woman carrying her handgun? How does a board of elderly men sitting around a conference table know what America wants? As Chomsky talks about in his book, companies get flak from their advertisers about content deemed inappropriate. This influence is so great, that broadcasters don't really choose what we watch; advertisers do.