December 16, 2002
GM, Comcast cited as porn distributors
___WASHINGTON (RNS)--Comcast Corp. and General Motors are the country's two biggest distributors of pornography, according to a broad-based coalition of church leaders who came to the capital to make the dubious distinction known.
___By carrying pay-per-view adult programming on their cable networks, the two Fortune 500 behemoths are responsible for the "mainstreaming of pornography," according to Roman Catholic Archbishop William Keeler of Baltimore, co-chairma
"General Motors sells more sex videos than Larry Flynt."
--Jerry Kirk, co-chairman of the Religious Alliance Against Pornography |
n of the Religious Alliance Against Pornography, the group behind the public-awareness campaign.
___Members of the alliance, which includes representatives from the Roman Catholic Church, the United Methodist Church and the National Council of Churches, along with others from the Christian, Jewish and Muslim communities, took their concerns about what they called "white collar pornography" to Attorney General John Ashcroft Dec. 6.
___"General Motors sells more sex videos than Larry Flynt" said Jerry Kirk, co-chairman of the alliance, referring to the publisher of the hardcore Hustler magazine.
___General Motors owns satellite broadcaster DirecTV, which offers digital programming, including optional adult channels, to more than 10.5 million subscribers in the United States and Canada. The nation's No. 1 cable provider, Comcast Corp., which was created by the merger of AT&T Broadband and Comcast in November, carries The Hot Network, an adult movie channel, to more than 20 million subscribers.
___By distributing pornography under the protection of their well-respected corporate umbrellas, Kirk said, the companies "legitimize pornography in the minds of many people," taking it out of back-alley smut shops and channeling it directly into people's living rooms.
___The group said it does not seek to broaden the country's obscenity law but to raise public awareness and to pressure the companies to get out of the porn business through a national petition drive.
___The alliance previously had taken its concerns directly to AT&T, Comcast and General Motors in an effort to spare them embarrassment but said it made little headway.
___Company officials had no immediate comment.
___Ironically, one of General Motors' units, Chevrolet, also drew criticism this fall for sponsoring a nationwide tour of contemporary Christian musicians. Critics questioned whether an international brand like Chevrolet should appear to promote Christianity.
___
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