An advertisement for the United Church of Christ that said, “No matter who you are, you are… An advertisement for the United Church of Christ that said, “No matter who you are, you are welcome here,” wasn’t welcome at two networks this week, when NBC and CBS refused to play the commercial.

The ad was to debut nationally Wednesday; it features a bouncer outside a church turning away a gay couple, then a screen reading “Jesus doesn’t turn people away. Neither do we.” NBC rejected the ad on the grounds that it does not air such controversial ads; CBS cited a policy of not accepting nonpolitical advocacy ads.

Unwilling to stop at merely not showing ads concerning issues of national importance, CBS compounded the problem. The networked issued a memo to the UCC, saying that, because President George W. Bush has proposed a constitutional amendment defining marriage as being between one man and one woman, the UCC’s ad was unacceptable for broadcast.

There’s a clear line between censorship — which is done by a government agency — and editorial discretion — which is done by a media outlet. By letting the government dictate its content, however circuitously, CBS has relinquished its editorial independence.

The media is supposed to be not just a marketplace of ideas, but a thriving one at that. CBS’s refusal to show advocacy ads is absurd. Advertising, at its core, is meant to advocate something, be it toothpaste, a presidential candidate or a church. And, as an independent media source, taking content cues from our esteemed executive branch is unconscionable.

When does selling a product turn to advocacy? Why is an ad for fur coats OK, but one for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals — like the one CBS wouldn’t air during the Super Bowl — forbidden? Offering balanced news coverage, but skewed advertising, doesn’t make a network less prone to bias.

As for NBC, well, there’s nothing as controversial as universal acceptance. (Would the ad be OK if it didn’t show two gay men? Are they, in seeking religion, intrinsically controversial?)

Of course, networks have the right to reject ads, but should have clear policies on what they do and don’t accept. Instead of this, NBC made an arbitrary distinction.

ABC, for instance, refused to run the ad because the network refuses all religious advertising, though allowed the ad on its family channel. There’s a fairly clear distinction between religious and nonreligious ads, but not between what’s controversial and what’s not. NBC should revise its policies or get out of the news business. After all, what’s more newsworthy than what’s controversial?

It’s time for these networks to remember the place and purpose of a free press — to reflect and advance society, and not to take its cues from the government.