For thirty years, a nonprofit organization founded by Brent Bozell determined to clean up sex and violence portrayed on prime time television has fought for its advocates, eventually changing its name to the Parents Television and Media Council. Most recently, in early September, the group urged Congressional action on AI “harms” to children.
Now, the PTC is in self-destruct mode, after filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection.
The voluntary bankruptcy filing, which will not see a typical Chapter 11 reorganization plan come to fruition for the Burbank, Calif.-based group, was filed in a Delaware federal court on October 3.
Serving as Trustee is Giuliano Miller & Co. of Voorhees, N.J.
While estimated assets are valued at $91,873.93, its liabilities are $284,823.58.
One week after the filing, the PTC’s website had no statements posted regarding the organization’s current state of affairs and ultimate demise. Press reports first surfaced on Wednesday in the San Francisco Chronicle. That led venerable Hollywood publications such as Variety and The Hollywood Reporter to offer coverage to their respective readers. For the latter publication, it opted to focus on disparaging comments against the organization made by Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane.
The Chronicle’s SFGATE.com attempted to e-mail PTC President Jon Yasuda. It generated an automatic response that stated, “Thank you for your email. I am no longer employed by the Parents Television and Media Council.”
The Media Research Center, a Bozell-led organization, is not impacted by the Chapter 7 filing. Bozell is the U.S. Ambassador to South Africa. What has come to its conclusion is a 30-year-old organization directly responsible for cancelling veteran entertainer Janet Jackson for nearly three decades. When Jackson’s nipple was exposed for milliseconds during the 2024 Super Bowl halftime show in an infamous wardrobe malfunction as Justin Timberlake sang suggestive lyrics from his hit “Rock Your Body,” it was PTC members who submitted upward of 65,000 complaints with the FCC.
Those efforts led to a $550,000 fine against CBS.
