Don Wildmon
AFA/AFR founder
October 1993 – Unprecedented in the history of broadcasting! Effective far beyond what the critics would have believed or even admit! A terribly embarrassing and humiliating experience for ABC and producer Steven Bochco.
That’s what AFA supporters accomplished after getting involved to stop the airing of NYPD Blue. Realistically, we were aware that if ABC wanted to show the softcore porn series we could not keep them from doing it. But we could make it where they lost big, big money. And regardless of what happens between now and September 21, we have accomplished that. (This is being written on September 7.)
A total of 32 affiliates announced early that they would not carry the series. That number was expected to increase, perhaps significantly. Nothing like that has ever happened before. AFA supporters picketed nearly 100 AFA local affiliates around the country. Practically every ABC affiliate reported that they have received more mail and phone calls about NYPD Blue than for any other program ever. Typical was the response at WSOC-TV in Charlotte, which – by September 7 – had already received petitions with the names of 14,500 individuals with more petitions coming in.
Understandably, the secular media gave little play to the success. I wonder what the response would have been if it had been a homosexual-rights group doing the protesting?
To many this effort seemed like only a small skirmish, even one that AFA lost. After all, the program did go on the air even if not on all the affiliates.
But I’m encouraged, simply because of the massive involvement and support given AFA in the battle. If we can maintain this level of involvement then this battle could become the turning point in the battle against indecency in the media.
Of course, it helped that AFA has grown so much in the past nine months. This growth has brought some financial problems which we have to overcome, but it has also given us the numbers necessary to do battle effectively. We mailed 1.5 million copies of the pictures taken from NYPD Blue. I think it was seeing the photographs which helped motivate individuals to get involved.
This victory reminds us that we can win the war. It reminds individuals that they can make a difference. It says that petitions, letters, cards, and phone calls do make a difference, that silence is no way to do combat.
I hope this is not a one-time shot for those of you who are new to involvement. I hope you will stay with us, participate with us, and support us with your prayers and gifts. We need you, you need us. Together we are building an organization that the networks and advertisers ignore only at the risk of losing big money.
Thank you for caring enough to get involved. Your involvement has helped boost my enthusiasm immensely.
We can win this battle if we will stick together, support it with our prayers and gifts, involve ourselves in it, and encourage others to join with us.
What to do next? We will bring you up to date on NYPD Blue in next month’s AFA Journal. In the meantime, why not read the article concerning McDonald’s on page one and take the suggested action.
On behalf of the children of America who are looking to us to protect their future, thanks for caring enough
to act.
Don 
