Rod Serling Explains How Television Censorship In America Was Started By Sponsors

You may know Rod Serling from his work on The Twilight Zone, but that guy was in television for a long time before and after the iconic show. An interesting interview done in the 60s has surfaced in which Mike Wallace talks to the writer about censorship and how sponsorship often is the cause behind creators having to edit or change their work. That problem seems increasingly relevant today as sponsors are shifting away from YouTube in droves because they cannot control the content in which their product is advertised.

To show the negative side of what happens when a sponsor is involved in the show writing process Serling recalls a couple instances in his career where a sponsor was directly involved in censorship of a series. Granted, we now live in an age where excessive violence on cable television is the norm, but I think you'll still see some parallel's between what Serling is saying in the 60s verses what we see in society now. Take a listen below.