Friday, February 08, 2013

CBS Memo

An internal CBS memo was re-published today by PR Daily. It was about the upcoming Grammy Awards. If you've ever wondered how things like this are discussed behind the scenes, you might get a kick out of this...

"Please be sure that buttocks and female breasts are adequately covered. Thong type costumes are problematic. Please avoid exposing bare fleshy under curves of the buttocks and buttock crack. Bare sides or under curvature of the breasts is also problematic. Please avoid sheer see-through clothing that could possibly expose female breast nipples. Please be sure the genital region is adequately covered so that there is no visible “puffy” bare skin exposure. Please avoid commercial identification of actual brand name products on T-shirts. Foreign language on wardrobe will need to be cleared. OBSCENITY OR PARTIALLY SEEN OBSCENITY ON WARDROBE IS UNACCEPTABLE FOR BROADCAST. This as well, pertains to audience members that appear on camera. Finally, The Network requests that any organized cause visibly spelled out on talent’s wardrobe be avoided. This would include lapel pins or any other form of accessory."

I just love this behind the scenes stuff. One of my favorite stories in the upcoming Landecker book is about the day the Supreme Court handed down the "seven dirty words" ruling based on the George Carlin routine. John saved the memo and printed it in the book.

I once got into a heated debate with a radio station general manager (my boss at the time) about using the word "nipple" on the air. It was seriously a twenty minute meeting. Another program director could not see the humor in farts. Just didn't think they were funny. He banned all jokes about them on the air. I tried to talk him out of it to no avail.

No farts? Why don't you just take away my soul?