Satirical Campaign Highlights Anti-Civil Liberties Legislation
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 14, 2014
Contact: Hedy Weinberg, Executive Director; (615) 320-7142
NASHVILLE – In an effort to increase public awareness about legislation that violates civil liberties, the ACLU of Tennessee today launched the satirical “Countdown to Colbert” campaign to coincide with the convening of the 108th Tennessee General Assembly.
“ACLU-TN’s ‘Countdown to Colbert’ campaign is designed to raise awareness about pending legislation in Tennessee that could limit our freedoms, and to engage Tennesseans in taking a stand against the kind of bills that land us on political comedy shows,” said Hedy Weinberg, ACLU-TN executive director.
A key feature of this project is the “Countdown to Colbert” campaign website. As anti-civil liberties bills are filed throughout the session, the site will be updated with information on the legislation and actions that Tennesseans can take to express their opinions about the bills to legislators. The campaign will also track how many days Tennessee has gone without a mention on political comedy shows and feature contests to test Tennesseans’ political satire savvy. The campaign is launching via social media, email and online.
Tennessee has been featured on political comedy shows such as The Colbert Report and The Daily Show in the past for proposed legislation and other anti-civil liberties occurrences.
“We know the legislation that has landed Tennessee on these shows in the past does not reflect Tennesseans’ core values of freedom, equality and fairness,” said Weinberg. “Capturing the national spotlight in a negative way is not inevitable if those of us who care about civil liberties and civil rights take action.”
ACLU-TN’s “Countdown to Colbert” website can be found at: https://www.aclu-tn.org/countdown-colbert-tennessees-race-punch-line/
Past The Colbert Report and The Daily Show clips featuring Tennessee can be found at:
https://www.aclu-tn.org/countdown-colbert-tennessees-history-late-night/
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