We don’t agree with Citizens for Community Values on some issues, but we certainly agree that responsible media should not run ads that promote prostitution. CCV recently issued this Press Advisory:
For Immediate Release: Monday, June 9, 2008
Contact: Phil Burress, 513-733-5775, Steve Wagner 202-441-5744,
Charlie Winburn, 513-884-7832Coalition asks CityBeat to stop allowing promotion of prostitution
through their print and online classified advertisingCincinnati, OH– On Friday, June 6, a letter signed by 40 persons representing a diverse coalition of law enforcement personnel, non-profit organizations and concerned civic leaders was hand-delivered to the editor and general manager of CityBeat, a publication, which they feel has become greater Cincinnat’s primary outlet for solicitation and promotion of prostitution and related services. Among the signers are Hamilton County Sheriff Simon Leis; Cincinnati Police Chief Tom Streicher; Cincinnati Councilman Chris Monzel; and Bishop Dwight Wilkins, President, Interdenominational Ministers Alliance. [Note: Although CityBeat Editor John Fox has denied having received the letter on Friday, an e-mail version has also been provided to him.]
This morning, June 9, 2008, that coalition will make their appeal public at a press conference at Cincinnati’s City Hall, 801 Plum Street, Room 115, at 10:00 A.M.
“There is no question that the adult classifieds of their print and online editions consist primarily of solicitations for prostitution and promotion of businesses that front for prostitution,” said Phil Burress, president of Citizens for Community Values, one of the organizations signing onto a letter that asks the paper to eliminate their adult category.
Burress noted, “The recent investigation and raid of so-called massage parlors and spas that were fronting for prostitution once again drive home the obvious: These ads are promoting illegal activity and are contributing to the exploitation and trafficking of women. Responsible corporate citizenship demands that they be eliminated. And that’s what we’re asking.
Present at the press conference to address sexual exploitation and human trafficking will be Steve Wagner, former director of the Human Trafficking Program at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Karen Legg, former prostitute and dancer, presently director of Stepping Out 24/7; and Charlie Winburn, former Cincinnati City Councilman.
See also:
Cincinnati Enquirer: “CCV will ask City Beat to halt ads it sees as sex marketplace” (6/9/08)
Winburn said the City Beat ads are the primary avenue through which the sex-for-sale industry in Greater Cincinnati markets its services.
According to a letter to Winburn by Sgt. Jeffrey Voelker of the CPD’s Organized Crime Division dated Dec. 31, 2007, 20 women have been charged with prostitution in Greater Cincinnati in the past five years as a result of police calls to ads placed in City Beat.
Peter Bronson, Cincinnati Enquirer columnist: “Illegal ‘fun’s not far’ from casino” (6/10/08)
John Doe No. 26 said he purchased sex with a $20 coupon published in CityBeat…
“These (sex trafficking) indictments tie back to CityBeat in four of
the major massage parlors,” Winburn said. “You don’t have a First
Amendment right to aid and abet prostitution.”
…CCV officials said they have no quarrel with CityBeat’s First Amendment protection to publish “left-wing stories.” But freedom of the press does not protect ads promoting prostitution.
Sex trafficking is criminal and cruel. Those who wink and profit from it have hands as dirty as the trash behind a massage parlor.
CityBeat: “Rally Round the Square” (6/21/08)
…we accept advertising from all enterprises that represent themselves as providing legitimate and legal products and services. We do not make relative moral judgments on any business placing ads in CityBeat…
Most importantly, CityBeat believes in and values freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Government interference with these inalienable rights disturbs us greatly.
And so, to the request made by Citizens for Community Values and its coalition that CityBeat eliminate the adult services categories in both our print and online editions … our official response is the same as it would be for any other category of legal advertising: NO.
What we have done and what we will continue to do is engage in legal business conduct.
CityBeat Classified Ads (cincinnati adult entertainment category, explicit)
There were 769 ads in this category as of 7/3/08. Here are a few:
Horny BLONDE All-American Shemale Nympho, INCALL location – 25 Picture (DISCREET INCALL) body rubs
OUTCALLS ANYWHERE CAR DATES Northwest Side – w4m – 24 (Outcalls) Picture body rubs
NIKKI Young, Fresh and ready – 20 Picture (Cincinatti) body rubs
My Super GFE is Now Hiring Beautiful Companions in Your Area Picture (Many Cities Near You) adult jobs [GFE = “Girl Friend Experience”]
HOT BLONDE…Wet and willing! – w4m – 25 (columbus) Picture (COLUMBUS) body rubs
LoNg LeGs ArE LoVeLy, SmOoTh TaNnEd SkIn, D/D FREE – w4m – 32 (East Columbus) Picture (COLUMBUS) body rubs
Erotic Encounters Picture body rubs
*((—–>>YoUnG ExXxOtIc SeDuCtIoN<<—–)) Picture body rubs
NO EXP REQ. $500+ p/day! CALIFORNIAS Premier ExCLUSIVE (Female Run )ADULTsERVICE Seek$ Nu Girl$ 2DAY Picture (We Will Fly You To Orange County CA!) adult jobs
~*~ Oh Nicole ~*~ Picture body rubs
Wanna Get Some Ass??… Hot Body GFE!!..Ready to Play!!~~~★★★ – 23 Picture (Cincinnati) body rubs
~~UpScALe HoTTiE ReAdY To GeT NaUgHtY~150HR InCaLL ~PRiVaTe&DiSCReeT~~ – w4m – 26 (BEXLY) Picture (COLUMBUS) body rubs
**************************GoOd GiRl GoNe BaD***************************** – 23 Picture (cinti) body rubs
HOT SHOWERS & Bubbling Suds to get WET!! – w4m – 30 (East Columbus) Picture (COLUMBUS) body rubs
Are You Horny ?……………. I AM…………….TS La’Shaye Larue Is Here…Limited Time Only Picture body rubs
~ The Kids Are Away And I Want To Play – Hot Sexy And Very Horny MILF Available NOW!!! ~ – 38 Picture (between my legs or in my mouth – just do me today!!!) body rubs
The clubs are closing soon but my legs are always wide open – w4m Picture (===>>> SEE MY HOT SEX PICS! <<<===) body rubs
Beautiful exotic GFE !!! Carmela visinting cincinnati from 6/30 to 7/3 – 26 Picture (cincinnati) adult jobs
READY 4 U NOWcome get the feel of a real BLACK INDIAN PRINCESS TS HONEY – t4m – 25 Picture body rubs
Hot black girls want you! – w4m – 23 Picture body rubs
! (¯`·~•♦•~·´¯)CLICK ! (¯`·~•♦•~·´¯) !HERE (¯`·~•♦•~·´¯) – w4 – 20 (in/outcall) Picture (COLUMBUS) body rubs
O Tempora, O Mores: “CityBeat’s Community Values” (6/22/08)
A month ago there was a major prostitution raid in Cincinnati, southern Indiana and northern Kentucky that shut down a number of Asian massage parlors. These establishments were well advertised in CityBeat.
The owners of the parlors/brothels were all of Asian descent. It was determined by law enforcement the owners had brought young women into the country for the sole purpose of prostitution. In an effort to give the appearance of legality the owners stated they were merely receiving 100% of the money the ladies obtained for the legitimate massage and any profiting by the women was up to those women. They further admitted that was the only way the ladies were paid…
What really bothers me is what touched off this debate. One of the indicted owners of the Asian massage parlors admitted to the police that she had driven 40,000 miles this past year delivering girls to massage parlors throughout the country…
These people are making a very large amount of money by dealing in human trafficking aka slavery. If CityBeat continues to run ads promoting this type of business, they are turning a blind eye to a shameful problem.
Orlando Weekly Drops Adult-Services Ads in Wake of Police Sting; “Operation Weekly Shame”
Orlando Sentinel: “3 from Orlando Weekly’s staff charged with aiding prostitution” (10/20/07)
MBI Director Bill Lutz said the unusual arrests had nothing to do with the newspaper’s freedom of speech.
“I
don’t see a First Amendment issue here,” Lutz said. “This is strictly
an advertising company making money off of prostitution.”
…MBI has made 80 prostitution arrests since 2003 connected to advertisers in the Weekly, the agency said…
“We’ve never called anyone dealing with these ads who was not providing prostitution services,” [Cmdr. Paul Zambouros] said.
Pasadena Weekly: “Lives for sale”
“They’re
always a point of concern,” Pasadena Police Chief Bernard Melekian told
the newspaper. “We follow up on them fairly regularly. I have always
been surprised that the [Pasadena] Weekly underwrites the exploitation
of women to some degree.”
…“Asian Lovers: Best Young Girls in
Town,” “Asian Girl: Pretty Apples,” “Grand Opening, Young Asian
Cuties,” read several ads that appeared recently in the Weekly…
Ivy
Suriyopaf, an attorney with the Asian-American Defense League, said
that if an ad is suspicious, newspapers shouldn’t run it.
“Publications
have a choice about whether to run certain ads,” said Suriyopaf. “If
they have any reason to believe that businesses are conducting illicit
activities, they have a social responsibility to report it to the
authorities or, at the very least, not run the business’
advertisements.”
Diane Sawyer Special Examines Prostitution in America; Challenge the
Valley Advocate “Rat King”
Escort Prostitution: A Response to Tom Vannah, Editor of the Valley Advocate
Mr. Vannah concedes that “there is some percentage of people who are
not willing participants in the sex industry”, but believes that if the
Advocate refuses to accept Massage/Escort ads, this will unacceptably
crimp “artistic freedom”. He mentions Mapplethorpe pictures as an
example. How dropping ads for commercial sex enterprises will
compel the Advocate to turn away Mapplethorpe pictures is not clear to
us.
“New York Press No Longer Marketing Arm for Prostitution/Trafficking”
Aimed at ending newspapers and magazines’ reliance on advertisement
revenue from illegal massage parlors and brothels, NOW-NYC is asking
local publications to stop doing business with the organized commercial
sex industry by signing an antitrafficking pledge Trafficking Free, NYC! (Manhattan Media has signed on)
“Traffickers supply the local brothel market to meet demand for
commercial sex,” Ossorio said. “Once publishers understand how these
massage parlors and ‘bodywork’ businesses operate, many are making the
decision not to be associated with it.
Another Victory for NOW-NYC: New York Magazine Drops Sex Ads
The
National Organization for Women had accused New York of being a
“marketing arm of the organized crime world of prostitution and human
trafficking” because of classified ads at the back of the magazine with
such tag lines as “Asians Gone Wild” and “Asian Dreamgirls”…