PBS Firing of Host of ‘The Good Night Show’ Draws Protests (Libs eat their young)

New York Times ^ | Aug. 05. 2005 | Elizabeth Jensen

[CaptainK]

When it comes to outrage, parents of toddlers know how to make themselves heard.

Skip to next paragraph Readers’ Opinions Forum: Television The Public Broadcasting Service has weathered recent criticism from free-speech advocates saying that the network is being overly cautious in a new policy to censor foul language in nonfiction programs by digitally obscuring the mouths of speakers. But the outcry has been dwarfed by the thousands of complaints, mostly from parents, over the PBS Kids Sprout network’s firing of Melanie Martinez, the host of “The Good Night Show,” after learning that she appeared years ago in two videos spoofing public service announcements advocating teenage sexual abstinence.

As the controversy has escalated, Ms. Martinez, a 34-year-old New York actress who is married and the mother of a 3-year-old, has become for many a symbol of political expediency run amok. On Thursday PBS’s own ombudsman, Michael Getler, tackled the topic for a second time and wrote that Ms. Martinez’s firing had “too much of a whiff of after-the-fact loyalty oaths and purity checks on performers who do lots of different things.”

[CaptainK]

The offending video

http://youtube.com/watch?v=AkCPPN_Wlr4

[CaptainK]

This one is even better

http://youtube.com/watch?v=NCEyb-FCls8&mode=related&search=

[msnimje]

No Lezbullah in Lebanon, no dead civilians. The choice is Lebanon's and this is what they chose.

[Triggerhippie]

No Lezbullah in Lebanon, no dead civilians. The choice is Lebanon's and this is what they chose.

O.K. We give up... What in the hell are you talking about?

[GeorgiaDawg32]

I'm guessin a post to the wrong thread myself..

[PAR35]

Prize of the day for off -topic post.

[Hootch]

Ya gotta admit that it's pretty funny...

[brazzaville]

Good afternoon.

Well. I hope that just saying good riddance to trash won't get me banned. And the Left is defending her.

Michael Frazier

[Mike Darancette]

WOW, her Videos were a really bad career choice.

[sinclair]

I didn't know you guys still existed.

[jdm]

That sort of thing probably would work on "Saturday Night Live" -- with all the publicity from her firing, I bet she's offered a job there.

[jdm]

It's interesting to note that the two offending videos were recorded before YouTube or Google Video existed.

I can see this sort of thing happening to lots of other people. Who knew back in 2000 that almost everyone would have high-speed internet connections 5 or 6 years later.

For example, it took me a half-hour to make a purchase at amazon.com or bn.com back in the late 90s. Today it's less than 5 minutes.

[JimSEA]

At least this isn't part of the package actually shown to the kids. PeeWee Herman and what was shown to the kids bothered me. I will admit that the imitation that girlie/boy waiters did in Bangkok was funny.

[GATOR NAVY]

Personally, I thought the videos were pretty funny. I see this issue on two sides:

1) Her show's audience is much too young to have any idea what these are about even if they saw them.

2) But, if you're going be the host of a show for preschoolers, you have to expect that you are going to be held to a higher standard by that audience's parents.

[msnimje]

My bad, I had several windows open, doing three different things and responded to the wrong post.

[conservative cat]

I see both sides of the issue, too. My kids watch Sprout (the PBS kids' channel.) Honestly, George Carlin plys Mr. Conductor on a childrens' show. Hello?!? What if the kids saw one of his shows? I don't have a problem with her staying...