A 30-second anti-Target ad, urging consumers to boycott the discounter, has been rejected by MSNBC because it violates a network policy banning "a direct attack on an individual business," the liberal group MoveOn.org said today.
Alana Russo, senior communications director for MSNBC, confirmed in an e-mail that the ad "does not comply with our Controversial Issue Advertising policy as it is a direct attack on an individual business."
The MoveOn.org ad accuses Target of "trying to buy our elections," a charge stemming from a controversial $150,000 political donation Target Corp. made earlier this summer, which was used to benefit a conservative Republican running for Minnesota governor.
MoveOn was irked at the rejection by MSNBC. "According to MSNBC and (parent company) GE it is alright for corporations, like Target, to attack candidates and buy elections, but it is not OK for citizen organizations, like MoveOn, to fight back," charged Justin Ruben, the group's executive director.
A Target official had no comment. Gregg Steinhafel, its chief executive, has already apologized in a letter to employees for the ill will generated by the donation that aided Republican Tom Emmer, but the company has shelved plans for an off-setting contribution or banning such political contributions altogether.
PS: I haven't included the link to the anti-Target ad here, but if you're interested in seeing it, you can do a search on YouTube.
1 comment:
I followed MoveOn for some time when they were first formed, but quit when their tactics changed to pushing mean-spirited vendettas against those they disagreed with rather than being more proactive by acting to support MoveOn's positions. As I recall, I never found any way on their website (this was several years ago) to be able to contact them to explain why I dropped out - which meant to me that their leadership was more about pursuing their own ends than representing the members.
Post a Comment