WJLA Airs Exposed Breasts for Report on Breast Cancer Awareness

Oct. 30, 2009— -- A Washington, D.C., television station's decision to air stories featuring partially-nude women doing breast self-exams stemmed in part from a breast cancer awareness effort, but critics say the reports' airing during a key ratings period suggests the station was exploiting women for gain.

On Thursday WJLA -- an ABC News affiliate -- aired the first in a series of reports aimed at increasing breast cancer awareness and teaching women the proper way to perform breast self-exams.

The move has been met with criticism from people who believe it's inappropriate to show women's bodies during the 5 p.m. and 11 p.m. news.

"We don't think we're going too far," WJLA reporter Julie Parker told "Good Morning America" co-anchor Robin Roberts today. "We are proud of what we have done. There's nothing sexy about this. It's a breast self-exam."

"We decided that we were going to do this very tastefully, very clinically," explained WJLA reporter Gail Pennybacker. "Everything is instructional, and as you see from the reports, you see the details that you need to have to build those skills ... to do the exam."

News reports like WJLA's are exempt from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission's indecency rules, but some say the segments are exploitative.

"It could be done on a model or mannequin. It can be done through diagrams. … This is exploiting women in order to exploit the audience," said Wendy Wright of Concerned Women for America, a conservative group that promotes biblical values. "It's pretty clear that there's one point in doing this, and that is to try and increase their ratings."

Others say the series does the public a great service.

"While some may find this actual demonstration intrusive, others may view it as instructive and motivating," Susan Brown, the director of health education at the Susan G. Komen for the Cure, told "GMA" in a statement. "Providing these clear-cut instructions, along with more information about breast self-awareness, can also help a woman later during a more private time when she's better able to focus."