TV Turnoff Week Begins

TV Turnoff Week 2007 has just started, and once again major
American and Canadian television networks appear to be stonewalling attempts to air public service ads that promote responsible viewing. Perhaps it is not surprising - which newspaper would carry ads advising people to throw out the newspaper and switch on the radio?

This year's round of ads from adbusters includes a revived and updated classic
"uncommercial" from their early days, along with a second spot featuring a
score by Philip Glass and footage by American filmmaker
Godfrey Reggio (the Qatsi trilogy).

The U.S.-based ABC network has already rejected the ads outright, while several other cable and broadcast networks have stalled attempts to air the spots in time for
the major anti-TV festival. This is a repeat of developments in years past, when similar ads have been rejected by the likes of CBS, NBC, ABC, MTV and FOX in the U.S., and CBC, CHUM, and CanWest Global in Canada.

The organisers say that TV Turnoff Week is all about saying no to unfettered media concentration and to the democratic deficit that results. And it's about challenging the heavily distorted reflection of the world that we see every day on the screen, a reflection that is keeping many Nortn-Americans ill-informed and unaware of the very real political and environmental crises that we all currently face.

In the meantime, take a moment to check out the newly launched TV
Turnoff Week 2007 campaign headquarters,