Morality in Media
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Morality in Media, Inc. (MIM) is an American non-profit, interfaith organization that was established in New York in 1962. MIM battles pornography and other forms of what it considers obscenity in the media. Not only that, but MIM also works to inform public officials and citizens about what it believes to be are the harms of pornography and what an individual can do through the law to protect his or her child(ren) and community from it.
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[edit] In the beginning
MIM was first formed by Father Morton A. Hill, Rabbi Julius Neumann, and Rev. Robert Wiltenburg (a Lutheran pastor) as a neighborhood organization under the name Operation Yorkville.[1] They were soon joined by Rev. Constantine Volaitis of the Greek Orthodox Church. Children at a grade school in Manhattan were caught circulating sadomasochistic pornography, and thus, MIM was created.
[edit] Hill-Link minority report
In 1968, Father Hill, a president of MIM until death in 1985, was appointed to serve on the Presidential Commission on Obscenity and Pornography by President Johnson. A report was submitted in 1970 that said all "adult" obscenity laws should be repealed. Fr. Hill co-authored a minority report describing the Commission's report as a "Magna Carta for the pornographers"[1] with another Commission member, Dr. Winfrey Link. The U.S. Supreme Court recognized the Hill-Link minority report in upholding obscenity laws in 1973.
[edit] Current activism
Under current president Robert W. Peters[2], MIM's current campaigns include:
- White Ribbon Against Pornography week[3], an apparent attempt to draw on the momentum of the white ribbon campaign against violence against women
- attempts to restrict the display of magazines such as Cosmopolitan in supermarket checkout lanes because they have sexual references on their covers[4]
- advising the Federal Communications Commission that swearing on television is harmful to children and causes violence[5]
- encouraging citizens to take action against pornographic spam[6]
[edit] References
- ^ Fr. Morton A. Hill, S.J.: Defender of the Public Decencies at the Morality in Media website.
- ^ About Morality in Media at MIM site.
- ^ White Ribbon Against Pornography week at MIM site.
- ^ Morality in Media and American Decency Association call for magazine coverup at supermarket checkout lanes at MIM site.
- ^ MIM comments to FCC re [sic] effects of cursing at MIM site.
- ^ What can I do about 'porn spam'? at MIM site.
