MTV to Adbusters: Not Buying Things is "Controversial"

It's enough to gag you. A PR rep from MTV tells Adbusters that it can't accept its subvertisements for Buy Nothing Day and Turnoff TV Week because it doesn't air anything "controversial."

Yes, because MTV always shies away from controversy, right?

The PR woman is blunt: MTV can't air these ads because they tell people to (1) turn off their TVs and (2) not consume like mindless sheep. Now, (1) is a lie. MTV's parent, Viacom, owns Nickelodeon, which has told its young viewers to do exactly that. Different networks, of course; you can be a little more predatory with teens and grown-ups than you can with tweens and kids. (Why it's acceptable to push 24/7 television on anyone is beyond my reckoning.)

Just a further example of what happens when media is monopolized by corporate interests: the voices of ordinary citizens are shut out in the name of free enterprise. Oh, but don't worry - you can still rant on a blog. Aren't you glad that you're free?