About Dr. Baehr & Movieguide
ABOUT DR. TED BAEHR
Ted Baehr is Founder and Publisher of Movieguide® and Chairman of the Christian Film & Television Commission®, as well as a noted critic, educator, lecturer, and media pundit. His life’s purpose is to be used of God to redeem the values of the media while educating audiences on how to use discernment in selecting their entertainment.
Books: Ted has written numerous books, including:
· Amazing Grace of Freedom (New Leaf)
· The Culture-Wise Family (Regal)
· Narnia Beckons (Broadman & Holman)
· So You Want To Be In Pictures? (Broadman & Holman)
· Frodo & Harry: Understanding Visual Media and Its Impact on Our
Lives (Crossway)
· What Can We Watch Tonight? (Zondervan)
· Faith in God and Generals (Broadman & Holman)
· The Media-Wise Family (Chariot Victor)
· Getting the Word Out (Harper & Row)
· The Christian Family Guide to Movies & Video Vol. I & II (Nelson)
Education: Ted graduated summa cum laude in Comparative Literature from Dartmouth College, attended Cambridge University, the University of Bordeaux & Toulouse, and the University of Munich, graduated with a Juris Doctor from New York University School of Law, finished his theological studies at the Institute of Theology at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, and received a Doctor of Humanities from Belhaven College.
TV & Film Production: Ted was president of the organization that produced The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe for CBS-TV in 1980, boasting 37 million viewers and winning an Emmy Award. Baehr also has produced hundreds of programs for PBS television.
CFTVC: Ted is Chairman of the Christian Film & Television Commission®, a non-profit organization dedicated to redeeming the values of the mass media of entertainment by influencing the entertainment industry and by informing and equipping the general public of the impact that the mass media has on its audiences. The CFTVC is the only active liaison between studio executives and the general public for issues of family entertainment and faith.
Movieguide®: Ted is the Publisher of Movieguide®: The Family Guide to Movies and Entertainment. Published every four weeks, Movieguide® Magazine offers in-depth analyses of current movies from a biblical perspective. Not only are issues of violence, sex and profanity directly addressed, Movieguide® digs deeply into the moral statements and worldviews of the movies, videos and television programs it reviews. Ted also writes a syndicated column for publications nationwide.
Television Appearances: Ted has been a featured guest on Oprah, Hannity and Colmes, CNN, ABC, Fox News, MSNBC, and Entertainment Tonight.
Lectures: Armed with over 40 years of research on the media and culture, Ted’s lectures have taken him to speak at the European Parliament, the House of Lords of the Parliament of the U.K., the Parliament of Norway, the Bombay Communication Institute, Yale University, Dartmouth College, the University of Virginia, and U.C.L.A. Baehr makes himself available to address hundreds of churches and civic groups each year.
Academic: In 2005, Ted was appointed Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Christian Institute for the Study of Media, a new area of graduate academic studies currently being advanced under the auspices of the Center for the Arts, Religion and Education (CARE), an affiliated Center of the Graduate Theological Union (GTU) in Berkeley, California. He has also preached throughout the world.
Publications: Ted’s work has been featured in such publications as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, The L.A. Times, The Washington Post, Hollywood Reporter, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and U.S. News and World Report.
Events: CTFVC sponsors the Annual Movieguide® Faith & Values Awards Gala and Report to the Entertainment Industry, which includes two $100,000 Epiphany Prizes for the Most Inspiring Movie and Most Inspiring TV Program as well as the $50,000 Kairos Prize Contest for Spiritually Uplifting Screenplays by Beginning Screenwriters. These cash awards are sponsored by the John Templeton Foundation to honor movies, television programs and scripts that “greatly increase man’s love or understanding of God.”
Personal: Ted Baehr was born in 1946, the son of Robert Allen and Evelyn Peirce, both successful stage, screen and television actors. Ted is married and has four children.
Offices: Movieguide®’s offices are located in Camarillo, Calif. just north of Los Angeles and in Atlanta, Georgia.
“He who controls the media controls the culture” - Ted Baehr.
ABOUT MOVIEGUIDE®
MOVIEGUIDE® was founded in 1985 by Dr. Ted Baehr, past president of the Episcopal Radio & Television Foundation and former director of the Television Center at the City University of New York. A graduate of high distinction in Comparative Literature from Dartmouth College, Dr. Baehr received his Juris Doctor from New York University School of Law, where he served as the editor of the NYU Law School Newspaper.
MOVIEGUIDE® is affiliated with the Christian Film & Television Commission® ministry, also founded by Dr. Baehr, which is a non-profit ministry of Good News Communications, Inc. Both MOVIEGUIDE® and CFTVC are dedicated to redeeming the values of the entertainment industry, according to biblical principles, by influencing industry executives and artists and by informing and educating the public about the influence of the entertainment media and about how to train their families to become media-wise, so they can choose the good and reject the bad.
MOVIEGUIDE® is more than just a magazine -- it's also a two-minute and half-hour TV show, a two-minute and half-hour radio show, and an Internet resource available around the world and broadcast, cablecast and satellite-cast in more than 200 countries and territories. The magazine and Internet versions of MOVIEGUIDE® include news from the entertainment industry, insightful articles on trends and beliefs, and interviews with top filmmakers and actors such as Robert Duvall, Tom Hanks, Bruce Willis, Lindsay Lohan, and Steven Spielberg.
When we started in 1985, only 6% of the movies were aimed at families; by 2008, 45% of the movies released in theaters were aimed at families. Those family films grossed an average 200% better than movies aimed at the adult marketplace. Also in 1985, 81% of the movies were rated R, but since 2001, less than 45% of the movies released theatrically were R-rated. In 2005, only two of the top 20 grossing movies was R-rated.
Each year around Oscar time, MOVIEGUIDE® hosts its Annual Faith & Values Awards Gala and Report to the Entertainment Industry in Hollywood, where it rewards the best family-friendly movies and TV shows of the previous year, as well as the most moral and Christ-centered films for mature audiences. At the gala, our founder, Dr. Ted Baehr (who travels around the world talking to civic groups, churches and synagogues speaking about Hollywood and media wisdom) presents a statistical analysis based on MOVIEGUIDE® reviews. His analysis consistently shows studio executives and filmmakers that family-friendly content and even Christian-friendly or conservative content can significantly increase the profitability of their movies.
Since the Gala started in 1993, the number of movies with morally uplifting, biblical and or positive Christian content has more than tripled and the number of R-rated movies in the Top 25 Movies at the Box Office has declined from about 12 per year to only three or four each year.
Thus, all of MOVIEGUIDE®’s activities have led to a significant increase in the number of family-friendly and Christian-friendly movies over the past 21 years. Support from those concerned about objectionable content in the media remains absolutely vital to the ongoing work of this organization.
Redeeming the values of the entertainment industry according to biblical principles means:
1. Know Before You Go
2. Monitor your child's leisure time activities, including your older teenagers
3. Read and study the Word daily
4. Preach the Gospel
5. Disciple believers
6. Train your children in the Christian worldview and in Media Wisdom
7. Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness
Do you know what your children are watching?
For more information, please call 1-805-383-2000 or 1-800-883-3883. To make a donation, visit the "Protect your family" at the top or call 1-805-383-2000.
