MTV APOLOGIZES FOR F-WORDS ON MTV MUSIC … ER … MOVIE AWARDS

Apparently alerted that the F-word had got by network censors several times during Sunday night’s telecast of the MTV Movie Awards, the Parents Television Council condemned the telecast Monday, called for an end to packaged cable content, and demanded that viewers be able to decide which individual cable channels they want to receive. PTC President Tim Winter, who erroneously referred to the telecast as the MTV Music Awards, said: “We should not have to pay for this kind of filth on our cable bills — especially since it’s targeted directly towards our children.” The PTC also denounced MTV’s The Hard Times of RJ Berger, a scripted show about a 15-year-old nerd who becomes a celebrity at his high school when a wardrobe malfunction reveals him to be especially well endowed. “The fact that both programs were rated as appropriate for 14-year-olds demonstrates the lack of any serious regard Viacom or MTV have for the television content ratings system,” Winter said. On Monday MTV apologized. “While we aired the live broadcast with a delay, we were unable to mute every word that some might find objectionable,” the network said. “We sincerely apologize to those in our audience who were offended by any objectionable words that might have slipped by for the live airing.”