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History and Current Programs

MIM's History

Morality in Media, Inc. (MIM) is a national non-profit [501(c)(3)] organization that works through constitutional means to curb illegal traffic in obscenity and uphold standards of decency in media. MIM's offices are located in New York City at 475 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10115.

MIM began in New York City in 1962 as a neighborhood organization (under the name Operation Yorkville) after children at a grade school in Manhattan were caught circulating sadomasochistic porn publications. Founding members included Fr. Morton A. Hill, S.J., Rabbi Julius Neumann and Rev. Robert Wiltenburg (a Lutheran pastor). They were soon joined by Rev. Constantine Volaitis of the Greek Orthodox Church.

In 1968, Fr. Hill (who also served as president of MIM until his death in 1985) was appointed by President Johnson to serve on the Presidential Commission on Obscenity and Pornography. In 1970, the Commission issued a report which recommended that all "adult" obscenity laws be repealed. Fr. Hill and another Commission member, Dr. Winfrey Link, co-authored a minority report that described the Commission's report as a "Magna Carta for the pornographers." In 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court cited the Hill-Link minority report in upholding obscenity laws.

Over the years since then, MIM has played a pivotal role in the enactment and legal defense of many federal, state, and local laws that prohibit obscenity, regulate "sexually oriented businesses," and shield children from indecent materials in the marketplace and on TV.

MIM's Current Programs

I. Public Education Programs

Morality in Media responds each year to thousands of requests from citizens for information and assistance to help in the fight against obscenity and indecency in their communities and in the media.

Public affairs activities include: Morality in Media's annual White Ribbon Against Pornography (WRAP) campaign and Turn Off TV Day.

MIM's current publications include the bi-monthly MIM Newsletter, and:

Pornography's Effects on Adults and Children, by Dr. Victor B. Cline. Dr. Cline, a clinical psychologist and Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Utah, shows how pornography injures persons of all ages using a wealth of empirical and clinical evidence. 17 pages.

How To Win The War In Your Community: The People Vs. Pornography. This 48-page booklet reprints a series of MIM Newsletter articles containing practical advice on dealing with cable porn, mail porn, porn in video stores, "adult bookstores" and nude "entertainment."

Cliches: Debunking Misinformation about Pornography and Obscenity Law. This booklet contains common-sense answers to common pro-porn arguments

Stranger in the House: Reclaiming the Decency Abandoned by Today's Media. Stranger in the House is a 116-page handbook for citizen action. Topics include the effects of TV sex, violence and vulgarity; surveys and studies of TV content; opinion poll results; and the FCC's role in upholding decency standards on TV.

Morality in Media also has its own Web site, which also includes:

Additional materials on pornography and obscenity
The broadcast indecency law
The Rogues Gallery of Television
Contacts for leading national advertisers

II. Legal Department

Morality in Media's Legal Department advises federal, state and local public officials and private citizens on specific obscenity and indecency problems. The Department also prepares proposed legislation and administrative regulations, testifies before government bodies, and submits amicus curiae briefs in key Federal and State cases.

III. National Obscenity Law Center

The National Obscenity Law Center compiles information on obscenity and related laws and makes this material available to federal and state prosecutors, legislators and others. The NOLC library includes all reported obscenity cases since 1800, all Federal and State obscenity laws, many city and county anti-pornography ordinances and model laws, a Brief Bank Index and monographs on legal questions that are the subject of recurring inquiries.

Most prosecutors are generalists in criminal law. National Obscenity Law Center publications help them when they go up against defense attorneys who make obscenity law a specialty. These publications are:

Obscenity Law Bulletin, a bi-monthly report on recent cases and legislation pertaining to obscenity and related problems.

Obscenity Law Reporter, a 3-Volume ring-binder digest of obscenity cases decided since 1800 with a topical index and a fine-point index. This publication can save busy prosecutors and other government attorneys hours, days and even weeks of research time.

Handbook on the Prosecution of Obscenity Cases by George M. Weaver, a former Assistant Solicitor General in Atlanta. The Handbook is a comprehensive guide for prosecutors, explaining technical terms such as "prurient interest," from investigation through trial to final appeal.

The National Obscenity Law Center also has a Web site, which includes:

Links to Federal and State Obscenity Statutes
Articles on Obscenity Law Developments
Essays on Obscenity Law Topics