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What happened to social responsibility?

29 Jun 2005 12:3212 commentsBizLike
Newspapers and magazines seem not to have any social responsibility anymore, especialy viewed in the light of children.
Please tell me, what has happened to social responsibility in the media? Going through some old magazines lately, I found 3 photos in different issues of the same family-orientated publication of American and other celebrities giving the finger to papparazzi (Lindsay Lohan, Prince Harry, Cameron Diaz). Why not at least blur the finger? Don't these editors realize children also read magazines, and are more inclined to imitate the behaviour of celebrities? And don't get me started on the headline-advertisements of a new daily newspaper! Thankfully they're mostly in Afrikaans, so English-speaking youngsters are spared. On each lamppost you'll find placards screaming about some business man and his prostitute ("ryk sakeman en sy hoer"), violence ("Bart wil bliksem"), etc! Let's not forget about the page 2/3 "hot" photo! I understand their platform, but do we really want a future generation exposed to this kind of crude language, nudity, and underhand activities? Since censorship was lifted (since 1994) social responsibility from the media has become, sadly, something that isn't even paid lip service any more.
 
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Natalie
Sex / Kids / Advertising-
I'm a concerned parent that has witnessed one of several adverts on TV, which I find highly offensive. The ads that they show for sex numbers or nude / porn SMS to be sent to your cell phone is completely out of line.
Many young children see these adverts and SMS their details to these numbers and a picture or video clipping or voice recording of sexual acts will be forwarded to their cell-phones. Fair enough they (the advertisers / broadcaster) will claim that they only show these ads after 8pm but as we all know that weekends are treat time for children who
are allowed to watch tv later in the evening and Parental Control cannot be exercised whilst these advertisements keep popping up in between movies. I urge you to please look into this matter as we are exposing young
children to sexual and pornographic propaganda. If we don't take a stand as adults to protect the young ones against their own curiosity what will this world come to. A couple of years ago these types of adverts were censored and our Broadcasting Commission had a proactive approach towards this type of exploiting adverts. If you look at most adverts
that are running on all the channels SABC 1, 2, 3, eTV and all the other extra channels, they are all directly marketing SEX to sell their products. What has this world come to if we have to use SEX to sell a product? Even ice-cream gets sold in a sexual nature - Magnum etc. If kids are not the target market - show the ads MUCH LATER in the evening. A couple of months ago one of the food outlets were
selling their burgers in a display format (their rolls are two breasts, their chillies represent ?) I think it's preposterous that young viewers are subjected to this type of advertising.
Surely there should be some restriction or guidelines to advertising agents that advocate to these advertising mediums that they should be more CREATIVE and
INNOVATIVE to sell their products and move away from the sexual nature of selling. LET'S GIVE KIDS BREAK AND GET THE AD GUYS TO STRETCH THEIR IMAGINATIONS.

Email address: complaint@asasa.org.za
- Posted on 30 Jun 2005 14:00
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Judith
8 o'clock is too early-
That's it. 8 o'clock is too early. My children will be watching TV sometimes, mostly during the weekend.
Adult material should only start after 11 pm. Even the Good Hope Radio is offensive. Beautiful but offensive.
The cell phone companies must be making a whack because the demand is huge. So how can we fight them?
My 12 year old daughter is already showing aggression and anger when people around her talk about anything vaguely sex related even in the most sensitive manner. Posted on 6 Jul 2005 11:24
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Andy Ray
No Responsibility - Pretty wide (not just newspapers and mags-
The same applies to movies and [by implication] TV viewing as well. The age restrictions appear to be too low or certainly not correct.

In a recent movie, it had an age restriction of 12, some girls (who were portraying late teen years) got hold of a [penis shaped] vibrator and proceeded to comment on what to do in real life. Then some of teh language and descriptions in other parts of the movie left much to be desired. So it would appear that you cannot even use the guidelines - of the age restriction. The chances are it is driven by the greed for profits. This movie should at least have had an age restriction of 16. There must have been a host of 12 upwards 'children' that saw this particular movie.

There possibly needs to be a higher satndard - overall. A visiting friend recently commented on how noticable the swearing and sexual inuendos on TV, and that at times when it is deemed family viewing.

And the band plays on Posted on 30 Jun 2005 14:07
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Spoonfeeder
Frightening...-
How do you curb this?

On the one hand we are trying to combat the spread of AIDS by preaching to our kids and on the other trying to solicit sex to them in every medium possible.

Sex is readily available everywhere.

We are all responsible.

Carry on ramming sex and other adult content into the sponge-like minds of our youth and see what will happen.

Don't be surprised if you consciousless media people come home one day and find out that your 15 year-old is about to become a parent or worse, has a death sentence of virus floating around in their blood.

You can take pride in the fact you contributed to it in the name of profit.

Good luck trying to save them. Posted on 30 Jun 2005 15:31
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Sensationalism and smut sells-
It seems that the age of dumbing down has resulted in the gutter press mentality that we see all around us. How do we stop it? Stop buying the crap - I'm afraid most people want to be titilated, complain - guess what it will fall on deaf ears, write letters to the publishers - don't hold your breath.

The point is, this is what sells and we are stuck with it. The moral majority will not win I am afraid. Posted on 30 Jun 2005 16:01
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'Thankfully' Afrikaans????-
I really understand and strongly agree with most of your comments Jeanne, but find the fact that you say that most irresponsible headlines are 'thankfully' in Afrikaans annoying. Afrikaans-speaking parents are just as concerned about the filth their children get exposed to and do not feel 'thankful'about irresponsible headlines which their children can understand. Posted on 1 Jul 2005 11:17
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Ugly(D)
I totally agree with your comments-
Have any one of you realised the change in the Classified section of the Star... Have a look at the Adult Entertainment... There is a 4 page spread dedicated to the smut... but what even gets me, the whole spread is in colour…New look or New Business

Now this means that... there is a demand for this. Now does the Star have a moral decision to change this, of cause... but hey full colour spread..that's money for them... or should I say dirty money...

The point is, we will never get rid of the smut...So start educating your kids about sex, aids, and lets hope for better responsible future. Posted on 1 Jul 2005 13:34
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Sex, sex, sex -
Yes, why use sex to sell products? Why exploit the female form to sell products? Because it’s the easy way to sell anything. And because the marketers and creatives are too lazy to think up a clever, original idea. There’s nothing original about using sex to sell and in actual fact, when I see ads like that, I perceive the product itself in an unfavourable light. Posted on 1 Jul 2005 13:45
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Megan Reuvers
Durban July "Handiclap"-
Yes, agreed
and why dont we give a round of applause to the tasteful media pictures of the dead Durban July favourite, Rabiya.I am sure it had a great affect on on all the pony-mad little kids out there Posted on 7 Jul 2005 09:51
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That's so typical -
You'll always see the camera seeking out the bimbos in the crowd and then focusing on them. Just because we can't see the cameraman it doesn't mean we don'tknow what he's thinking. Whether it's rugby or cricket or whatever, the camera always focuses on the bikini-clad blondes in the crowd.

And in any case, what are we going to do with those terrible 35050 type ads that insult my eyes (and my brain) with absolute smut, day in, day out. It's like Junkmail on your TV screen! I wish I knew how to stop it. Posted on 8 Jul 2005 13:55
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Agreed -
Were those pictures really necessary? Posted on 8 Jul 2005 13:58
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Noeleen
Eek : Naked in the Job Vacancies-
Just have a look at Job Vacancies section in The Star - blatant pornography. Not just nude pics but quite raunchy stuff one would expect to see in Hustler I presume. This is just not the right media or maybe not the right kind of pictures we want to see when we are desperately looking for a Job ! Posted on 2 Aug 2005 09:18
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