MTV chief says Bush AIDS policies will not halt condom adverts

[Ruffhowse]

BANGKOK (AFP) - The president of cable music giant MTV vowed not to stop the channel's hard-hitting AIDS (news - web sites) and condom messages despite the US government promoting a sexual abstinence programme to counter the pandemic.


"We get criticised quite a bit, we even get penalised quite a bit and I am here to see that we will continue to take those risks," said Bill Roedy, at the 15th International AIDS Conference in Bangkok, where the debate between strict sexual abstinence versus a pro-condom approach has emerged as a key issue.


Roedy said MTV's no-nonsense specials on AIDS and condom use had also found the televised music giant in hot water in many countries outside the United States.


The MTV president sat on a panel with Hollywood icon Richard Gere, who joined Roedy in criticising the approach of President George W. Bush (news - web sites)'s administration to condom and AIDS awareness.


"We may well have hopefully another administration in about four months in the US and along with that some sanity on this subject," said Gere.


An adviser on women's issues to the United Nations (news - web sites) on Friday partially blamed a rising AIDS rate among women in the US on popular media such as MTV.


"Among young people in America, there is a feeling that sex is cool, that it's okay to be growing up and to be sexually experienced," said Stephanie Urdang.


The number of American women with HIV (news - web sites)/AIDS leapt from 180,000 in 2001 to 240,000 two years later, she said.


Yay for Richard Gere!!!

[Massacure]

1. Wow, they continue to do so even though they get penalised.

That takes a lot of nerve to do. My hats off to the people at MTV.

[dArKeR]

2. This belongs in LBN! MTV=MoralityTV

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20040713/hl_afp/health_aids_mtv


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http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/040713/photos_hl_afp/040713114707_zqh8riby_photo0