Hallmark Channel will follow Disney's lead...

July 26, 2007 - Hallmark Channel will follow Disney's lead (see related Newsbrief - July 25, 2007) and work to eliminate smoking from its original films. Hallmark President Henry Schlieff in a letter to the U.S. House Telecommunications & Internet Subcommittee Chairman Ed Markey (D-Mass.) stated, "It is our decision to make a commitment to you that we will discourage and, in fact, seek to eliminate any further depiction of cigarette smoking in our original movies..We hope that this decision will serve as an example for other cable networks that produce movies to follow and, most importantly, that it contributes to your efforts to discourage further cigarette smoking." (John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 7/26/2007 6:17:00 PM)