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Sikander
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Boulder, Colorado, United Snakes of America
Jan 2000
time: 22:31
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Shifting 'Reagans' to Cable Has CBS Facing New Critics
Published: November 5, 2003
(Page 2 of 2)
At around the same time Michael Paranzino, a former Republican Congressional staff member from Betheseda Md., decided to start a Web site called BoycottCBS.com. He said he spent a mere $8.95 to establish the site, which called for a viewer boycott of CBS and all the sponsors of the mini-series.
Mr. Paranzino became a sort of grassroots spokesman against the television movie, appearing on conservative cable news programs including Bill O'Reilly's on Fox News and Joe Scarborough's on MSNBC. "We used technology that was not available 10 years ago to do in nine days what used to take months," Mr. Paranzino said. "We created a genuine, national, grass-roots movement that forced a broadcasting titan to cancel one of its key sweeps weeks series."
Last Friday, the Republican National Committee entered the fray. Ed Gillespie, the chairman, held a teleconference with journalists calling for CBS to appoint a team of historians and associates of Mr. Reagan to review the film for accuracy. In the absence of such a committee, he said, the network should run a scroll on the bottom of the screen during the mini-series reminding viewers that "The Reagans" is a fictional account.
The Republican National Committee then started a petition drive on its Web site supporting Mr. Gillespie's request.
Over the weekend, Newsweek reported that CBS was considering relegating the mini-series to Showtime, which has subscribers in about 14 million homes. (CBS is available in 108 million homes.) Yesterday, after Mr. Moonves concluded that the film could not be edited acceptably to run on CBS, the network confirmed the move.
The various conservatives who protested "The Reagans" said they did not coordinate their actions. "There wasn't time," Mr. Bozell said. "It was a desperate outcry. You can expect us to say something. You can expect Pat Buchanan to write a column. But when Lou Cannon, who has a track record of being in staunch disagreement with Reagan, when Merv Griffin — who hasn't been attending our vast right-wing conspiracy meetings — speaks out as forcefully as they did, that really tells you the depth of outrage."
The film producers, Mr. Zadan and Mr. Meron, issued a diplomatic statement yesterday. "Although we are disappointed that CBS will not be airing the movie that we produced for them, from the script that they approved, we are excited that Showtime has agreed to broadcast it and the public will have a chance to judge `The Reagans' on its own merits."
Still, CBS's decision upset some in Hollywood.
"It looks so bad," said Bill Maher, whose late night show, "Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher," was canceled by ABC shortly after he remarked that the Sept. 11 terrorists could not be called cowards. "It looks like they're caving in to pressure from one side. Why not let people decide?"
But others in Hollywood seemed to see both sides of the debate.
Marshall Herskovitz, the co-creator of television shows including "Thirtysomething" and "My So-Called Life," observed that CBS took a far stronger stand when it resisted pressure earlier this year from groups upset with "Hitler: The Rise of Evil." The network made some editing trims, adding in context about the political, social and economic environment as Hitler rose to power, but still broadcast the program.
But the fact that "The Reagans" will be viewed on Showtime, albeit with a far smaller audience, softened the impact of the abrupt decision to cancel the show on CBS, said Mr. Herskovitz. "As long as we have enough programming choices, then we have a better chance of seeing a diversity of options. If Viacom decides that Showtime is a better venue than CBS, I don't think that signals the end of the Republic."
Matthew C. Blank, the Showtime chairman, said he did not know what form the film would take, but it was safe to say that Showtime would not have the same concerns as CBS. "The producers and all of the filmmakers are as anxious to work with us as we are to work with them to ensure at the end of the day we have the best possible movie," he said. "That may be a different movie than what might have been the best possible movie for CBS viewers."
Still, Republicans promise to keep the pressure on.
"Misleading a smaller audience of viewers," Mr. Gillespie said in a statement, "is not a noble response to the legitimate concerns raised about this program."
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Q Cubed
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t3h y3ll0w p3ril
Apr 1999
time: 23:31
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quote:
What happened here illustrates that something fundamental has changed in America and perhaps the world. News of the CBS project began to leak and be reported on internet sites such as Drudge. People who read the reports spread the word. Talks shows, both left and right, began to discuss. The controversy spread to the major TV news networks, primarily competitors of CBS. Person after person who knew Reagan or was in his administration were interviewed and denounced the reported content of the movie as pure lies and defamation. Nancy Reagan was purported to be mortified because she was called Madam Fuhrer. She was further protrayed as a pill popping drug addict that controlled the US government through astrology.
CBS was flooded with protest. Boycotts of CBS and CBS advertisers were organized. Obviously, the advertisers were concerned. Many inside CBS were concerned, including the Chairman of the Board.
The crescendo of protest apparently grew so loud and the concerns of this CBS management and legal staff so great that they chose simply to cancel airing the movie.
Although this does show that Reagan remains very popular with the American people, it also shows the power of the Internet and talk radio to communicate directly to the people and to provide a forum for the people to express their outrage not only in words on the Internet or talk radio, but also in terms of protest letters and boycotts. This is new. Only 10 years ago, the media was largely controlled by a few networks and a few major newspapers. The average folk did not have direct access to express their views except in polite op-ed pieces which many times could never express the level of anger of the people because of heavy editing.
The recall of Gray Davis and the election of Arnold Schwarzenegger was another such phenomena of popular protest. The anti-Gray Davis campaign was organized on the Internet. Thousands upon thousands of angry and pissed-off citizens volunteered to collect signatures on petitions. The organizers had 2 million signatures collected in a very short time and were able to submit the petition well short of statutory deadline.
What does this is all mean? It clearly shows the stranglehold of opinion by the elite leftist media that prevailed in the United States for so long has been ended. The people are expressing their views, strongly. The left must be shaking in their boots. |
i heard this exact same spiel from sean hannity. like, almost word for word.
and in regards to that opinion journal article, i have to say i love south park. especially with the episode about hating the richers and putting a lowercase t while dressing up as ghosts. funny as hell.
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Zylka
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quote:
Originally posted by St Leo
Of course, the only living great Canadian I can think of is Margaret Atwood. Meh. |
HAHAHAHA you do know that her works are regarded as a complete joke in the proffessional community?
Oh boy! Another uneducated idiot of a self absorbed lesbian wants me to read The Handmaid's Tale as part of our "classic" literature course. WHAT AN ARTICULATE, CHILLING VIEW OF THE FUTURE THAT PILE OF S*** WAS
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realpolitic
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Rogue States of America
Mar 2002
time: 21:31
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Here is some more info about Reagan:
66 Things to Think About When Flying Into Reagan National Airport by David Corn
The firing of the air traffic controllers, winnable nuclear war, recallable nuclear missiles, trees that cause pollution, Elliott Abrams lying to Congress, ketchup as a vegetable, colluding with Guatemalan thugs, pardons for F.B.I. lawbreakers, voodoo economics, budget deficits, toasts to Ferdinand Marcos, public housing cutbacks, redbaiting the nuclear freeze movement, James Watt.
Getting cozy with Argentine fascist generals, tax credits for segregated schools, disinformation campaigns, "homeless by choice," Manuel Noriega, falling wages, the HUD scandal, air raids on Libya, "constructive engagement" with apartheid South Africa, United States Information Agency blacklists of liberal speakers, attacks on OSHA and workplace safety, the invasion of Grenada, assassination manuals, Nancy's astrologer.
Drug tests, lie detector tests, Fawn Hall, female appointees (8 percent), mining harbors, the S&L scandal, 239 dead U.S. troops in Beirut, Al Haig "in control," silence on AIDS, food-stamp reductions, Debategate, White House shredding, Jonas Savimbi, tax cuts for the rich, "mistakes were made."
Michael Deaver's conviction for influence peddling, Lyn Nofziger's conviction for influence peddling, Caspar Weinberger's five-count indictment, Ed Meese ("You don't have many suspects who are innocent of a crime"), Donald Regan (women don't "understand throw-weights"), education cuts, massacres in El Salvador.
"The bombing begins in five minutes," $640 Pentagon toilet seats, African- American judicial appointees (1.9 percent), Reader's Digest, C.I.A.-sponsored car-bombing in Lebanon (more than eighty civilians killed), 200 officials accused of wrongdoing, William Casey, Iran/contra.
"Facts are stupid things," three-by-five cards, the MX missile, Bitburg, S.D.I., Robert Bork, naps, Teflon.
David Corn, March 2, 1998, The Nation
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05-11-2003 18:06
This is slander, and has no place on the left. Reagan was so convincing because he believed what he said, even when it was "Trees cause 80% of all air pollution." and nuclear missiles were recallable. He was a buffoon, not a sociopath.
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