A former Parents Television Council executive was
circulating a statement Monday reiterating that he had witnessed ethical
violations at the council involving "grotesque" fund-raising
practices and gross membership overcounts.
That statement followed a New York Times story saying PTC was on the defensive in the
wake of those charges as well as "dwindling" finances and some court
decisions smacking down the FCC for its handling of indecency enforcement.
PTC-generated complaints helped spur the FCC to
fine CBS for the Janet Jackson Super Bowl reveal, a decision
since tossed out by a court, and Congress to up the fine for indecency
tenfold, from $32,500 per incident to $325,000 per.
The employee, former VP of Development Patrick
Salazar, claimed that PTC had inflated its membership to try and raise
more money and would throw away surveys or petition requests that came back
without donations enclosed. He said he resigned and that PTC's claim he
had been fired was "laughable."
According to Salazar, to try and boost
donations, PTC claimed 1.3 million members while the actual number
was "barely 1% of that figure." He says that more than 750,000 of the
claimed members had only had "a single contact" with the group in 13 years of keeping
records, and most had never contributed to it.
"The New
York Times published an article about the Parents Television Council,"
said PTC President Tim Winter. "As the Times article reported, a former PTC employee demanded cash in
exchange for his silence. The
PTC told the NY Times back in May that his allegations are littered with
patently false statements and misrepresentations of the truth, and his
statement [Monday] continues that pattern. The PTC considers this distraction
to be closed, and it will continue to focus on its mission."
Salazar conceded in his statement that he had asked
for money, but said he was taking action "to obtain a severance agreement
consistent with industry standards." Salazar exited the group in November
2009.
The PTC's mission of late has been to urge the
Supreme Court to uphold a California ban on the sale of violent video games to
minors, chastise the cast of Glee for
a sexy GQ shoot, and take aim at
$#*! My Dad Says over the title of
the show.
