Steamed Over 'VeggieTales' Cuts

STEAMED OVER 'VEGGIETALES' CUTS
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Lorenza Muñoz]
The Parents Television Council, an entertainment watchdog group, has a beef with NBC but not about televising curse words. It's about the word "God." The council wants to know why the network edited out some references to God from "VeggieTales," a popular children's series that airs on NBC on Saturday mornings. The conservative group accuses the network of having a double standard when it comes to Christianity. "NBC has stepped in doodoo again," said Parents Television Council President L. Brent Bozell. "Why in the world take out the very essence of what made the 'Veggie' shows successful? It is not a smash hit in spite of its message. It is a hit because of its message." In a statement, NBC said the editing was done to keep the shows under a certain time limit. " 'VeggieTales' was originally created for home entertainment and in most cases each episode is 30 minutes long," according to the statement. " 'VeggieTales' has been edited down for broadcast without losing any of its core messages about positive values." "VeggieTales" is an animated home video series that uses biblical stories as reference points to teach children about morality and values. It has sold more than 50 million DVDs since its launch in 1993.
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-veggies22sep22,1,255550.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-business
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