Local woman: 'Family Guy' is family unfriendly

Definitely not family-friendly.

That's what a group of Yakima Valley residents contend.

They're fuming over the TV comedy "Family Guy."

"It's incredibly offensive," as Fay Hauer of Zillah puts it.

"Family Guy" is a 30-minute cartoon about a fictitious, dysfunctional family. Original shows air here weekly on Fox TV, Channel 41, while syndicated reruns air Monday through Saturday on KIMA-TV, Channel 29. It's also carried most days on TBS and Comedy Central on Charter Cable.

It was one of those reruns, airing at 7 one evening in late June, that propelled Hauer's group into action.

The episode, in which two characters join the Army and end up fighting in Iraq, contained this line:

"The Army's great! You get to save money for college, there's free food and all the brown people you can rape."

Hauer was horrified.

"It's sexist and racist and very insulting to the military," she fumed.

The mother of two grown daughters, Hauer immediately contacted about 25 people to tell them what she'd heard. Then she fired off an e-mail to KIMA asking the station to remove show from the airwaves.

She argued that "Family Guy" is not a children's show, and a number of youngsters watch TV at 7 p.m.

She also stressed that many parents assume the show is benign because it's a cartoon and don't monitor its content.

Hauer's was one of several critical e-mails KIMA received about "Family Guy," according to Ken Messer.

Acting as a community liaison for KIMA while he transitions to general manager for Yakima's public television station, KYVE, Messer answered Hauer, saying that he essentially agreed with her.

"It ("Family Guy") is a very irreverent approach to programming, what we term a very 'edgy' type broadcast," wrote Messer. "I also do not view this (or many other programs now on all television) for that very reason and do not allow my grandchildren to view either when they are at our home."

In an interview for this story, Messer said he's sympathetic to the group's concerns, but thinks parents need to know what's playing on TV.

"I believe there needs to be more parental control," Messer said.

Certainly "Family Guy" hasn't been immune to criticism. Launched in 1999, the show has been canceled twice because of low ratings but resumed production in 2005 and is now in syndication.

Nothing is sacred on "Family Guy," which has made fun of various religions, gays, Young Republicans, AIDS and the developmentally disabled. The show has also been the target of at least three high-profile lawsuits.

That's why a prominent disclaimer urges parental guidance at the start of "Family Guy," Messer pointed out.

"Studies have shown that disclaimers are quite effective," he noted.

But that doesn't appease Hauer. A retired teacher who is bilingual in Spanish, she asserts that many Valley parents don't speak English and may be unaware of what their youngsters are watching and hearing.

Maureen O'Brien of Toppenish agrees.

"I can't believe some of the things I've overheard on the 'Family Guy' show," she wrote in an e-mail, urging the station to drop it.

"So many bad things are happening to kids by people they trust. Please, don't contribute to their desensitization to inappropriate behavior, attitudes and concepts," she wrote.

The group is right about the general direction of the show, admitted Larry Roberts, regional vice president for Fisher Communications, which owns KIMA.

"Personally, there are things in it I find offensive as well," he said. "We get more complaints about 'Family Guy' than all other shows on the station combined. I bet I get e-mail every two days about it."

So, then it's a no-brainer, right? The show gets canceled?

It's not that simple, explained Roberts.

"I don't mean it to be an excuse, but we can't get out of our 'Family Guy' contract."

That contract, which runs through August 2011, obligates KIMA to air the show sometime between 6:30 and 8 p.m.

That's bad news to Hauer. She'd prefer the show get deleted altogether, but she'd reluctantly accept it late at night.

But the times they aren't a changin'. Not for "Family Guy," anyway. That's because, in large measure, times have changed for society.

Society's mores have transformed over the past several decades, Roberts pointed out.

"Unfortunately, it reflects public taste; the standard has been lowered, and that saddens me.

"I'm not proud to have it on, but it plays in the same time slot in most cities," said Roberts.

About the only way KIMA could remove "Family Guy" is if the Federal Communications Commission declared the show inappropriate for the time slot, he said.

The FCC does devote space on its Web site (esupport.fcc.gov/complaints.htm) for viewers to lodge complaints when they think a show is offensive.

An FCC spokesperson said the agency investigates complaints for material deemed "indecent, patently offensive or profane."

The spokesperson would not say whether the FCC has gotten complaints about "Family Guy."

Several attempts to talk to the publicity department for Fox Broadcasting were unsuccessful.

The simple fact, though, is that "Family Guy" is a wildly popular show.

"It's the No. 1 syndicated comedy in the country, and it's the No. 2 syndicated program overall," said Roberts.

He said "Family Guy" has four times the number of viewers, aged 18-49, than its next closest competitor in the 7 p.m. time slot in Yakima.

A generational gap exists between young fans and older nonfans, according to Roberts. Many 18- to 34-year-olds, a coveted age group for broadcasters, are enthusiastic viewers.

Mack Collins fits in that demographic. He's 20, said he loves the show for its trenchant satire and pop cultural references and is adamant that it should stay on the air.

"I don't think KIMA should have to remove it. My opinion is if it's inappropriate for kids, then they shouldn't be watching."

Collins also pointed out that many televisions come with v-chips for parents to block shows from children, and cable companies also offer control boxes.

Still, Hauer and her group think the choice is clear -- the show needs to go because too many children could be harmed by its dialogue and violence, she stressed.

"It's the right thing," she said.

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