Some NBC Affiliates Closing the Book on Daniel

by Allie Martin and Jody Brown
January 13, 2006

(AgapePress) - - A pastor and Christian activist in the Midwest says he's disappointed and surprised that believers in the area weren't more vocal in their protest over a controversial new TV series.

Last week NBC affiliate KSNW-TV in Wichita, Kansas, decided not to air the premiere episode of The Book of Daniel after receiving hundreds of protests. But station management opted to air the Friday night program after getting deluged with hundreds of counter-protests. The program, which has been lambasted by pro-family groups across the nation, features a pill-popping Episcopal priest who has a drug-dealing daughter and a homosexual son, as well as what Focus on the Family calls a "sardonic" depiction of the character of Jesus.

Rev. Terry Fox, pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Wichita, helped to lead local opposition to the series. Convinced of Hollywood's hostility toward Christianity -- he says Tinseltown would never air a show degrading clergy of another faith -- Fox says Christians are called to take stands on relevant social issues.

"I think about the scripture in 2 Timothy, Chapter Four, where God's Word commands preachers to take a stand and to preach the Word, not just the gospel," the pastor says. "In our culture today, everybody says, 'Well, just preach the gospel.' Well, we certainly want to do that; but the Bible says 'preach the Word' -- and that means all of the Bible."

Fox contends that preachers who do that are going to encounter controversy. "You're going to have to preach against things like this [television show and things like] homosexuality and abortion and life issues," he states.

But he suggests that not all Christian clergy are doing that. In fact, he says too many Christians are being influenced by well-known ministers who do not preach about social or moral issues. "We have got to awaken pastors," he emphasizes. "I think if we can awaken the pastors in the pulpit and get those alive, then hopefully the pews will wake up, because we are truly in trouble in this culture."

Referring to the local reaction to The Book of Daniel, Fox says "just from the number of protests that we're getting, I'm wondering, where are the Christians? I still feel we are the majority, but we're the silent majority."

Losing Advertisers, Losing Stations
Neilson ratings showed the new program had low ratings for an inaugural episode. In fact, it placed third in its time slot behind CBS and ABC among viewers between the ages of 18 and 49. That may be the result of the efforts of groups like the American Family Association, which weeks before the first installment began urging its supporters to contact local NBC affiliates to refuse to broadcast the program.

AFA president Tim Wildmon says sponsors are responding to complaints from viewers. "If they hear from listeners, if they hear from supporters, from potential customers, then they're going to be sensitive to that," Wildmon asserts. "Advertisers generally want to be your friend, so they don't want to offend their customers or potential customers by being on programs that are extremely offensive."

AFA also encouraged Christians nationwide -- if they chose to view the program -- to follow up by contacting local advertisers and voicing their objection to their sponsorship of The Book of Daniel. According to the pro-family group, only five national advertisers placed ads for the premiere -- and four of those have already said they will not sponsor future episodes.

AFA says Burlington Coat Factory is the only national advertiser remaining as a sponsor. AFA founder and chairman, Donald Wildmon, does not appear surprised by that fact.

"Burlington is a buzzard buyer," the AFA founder says in a press release. "They absolutely don't care about the content as long as they get it at a nickel on the dollar." He adds that Burlington "would probably sponsor porn if the price is right."

In addition, more stations are announcing they plan to drop the program from their lineup. Joining that list of stations, says AFA, are network affiliates in Amarillo, Texas, and in Nashville, Tennessee. The general manager of Nashville's WSMV-TV is quoted as saying that after reviewing the first three episodes, the station determined that The Book of Daniel was "not appropriate for broadcast television in this community."

Stations in Terre Haute, Indiana; Little Rock, Arkansas; Beaumont, Texas; and Tupelo and Meridian, Mississippi, dropped the show earlier. And according to AFA, another NBC affiliate -- this one in Hattiesburg -- is considering dropping the show as well. Donald Wildmon says he expects other affiliates to drop the show, and he is hopeful NBC will "pull the plug" before it airs all eight episodes.