Replies

Here is the response I received today from my local CBS affilliate in Kansas City. Note it was a form letter.

"Thank you for contacting KCTV5 with your comments regarding the upcoming CBS Mini-Series: The Reagans. KCTV has received several inquiries from viewers concerned about the series. While KCTV has the option to preempt CBS network programming, we have chosen to air this mini-series to let our viewing audience make its own determination as to whether or not to watch. The station has no public opinion for or against one’s political views; rather we believe it is up to the general public to determine whether or not a particular show has merit. This program, which is still in post-production, will be a four hour saga dealing with the lives of Ronald and Nancy Reagan, from the time of their meeting to beyond Mr. Reagan’s presidency. There has been recent discussion in the public arena, and commentary and assumptions have been made by individuals who have not seen a single frame of this film. While in any biographical drama, a degree of theatrical license is unavoidable, we wish to assure you that CBS and the producers of The Reagans have made every attempt to be fair and accurate. As broadcasters, it is our job to put forth programming that informs, entertains, and hopefully, stirs meaningful discourse about the events of our time in a responsible and truthful manner. We invite you to watch The Reagans and make your own personal judgment as to whether or not we have succeeded in our efforts. If you wish to comment further on The Reagans, you may contact CBS Audience Relations at area code 212, 975-3247 or by email at audsvcs@cbs.com<

Thanks for watching KCTV5."

XXXX XXXXX

here is the reply i got from wcco in minneapolis -

Dear Craig,
Thank you for your e-mail about the upcoming mini-series "The Reagans." This program, still in post-production, will be a four-hour saga dealing with the lives of Ronald and Nancy Reagan from the time of their wedding to beyond Mr. Reagan's Presidency. There has been recent discussion in the public arena and commentary and assumptions have been made by individuals who have not seen a single frame of this film. While in any biographical drama a degree of theatrical license is unavoidable, we wish to assure you that CBS and the producers of "The Reagans" have made every attempt to be fair and accurate.

As broadcasters, it is our job to put forth programming that informs, entertains and, hopefully, stirs meaningful discourse about the events of our time in a responsible and truthful manner. We invite Americans to watch "The Reagans" and make their own personal judgement as to whether or not we have succeeded in our efforts.

Once again thank you for writing and we hope you continue to watch WCCO-TV,
Jennifer Kasel
Communications Coordinator
WCCO-TV

looks to me like the affiliates got a script

time to get a rope and hang them all

marlin

Here's the response I got from my local here on the Central Coast of CA:

Having received your email and concerns on the upcoming movie on CBS it is important to note that the affiliation agreement that most stations have with the Networks, that agreement is not as lenient as one might imagine. While we do have some discretion in programming, there is, per our contract with CBS, a very limited preemption policy of only a couple of hours per year. I have forwarded your concerns to Betsy Frank, my CBS contact. We have already used our allotment of preempt time this quarter in that we will be airing the Annual Christmas Parade on KCOY, Christmas morning. This is a repeat of the live coverage of the Christmas Parade on December 6, 2003 on KKFX. Most of the community have asked us each year to rerun the parade so that they have an opportunity to see the parade and their participation on television.

I am sorry that you feel that since we cannot preempt this movie, that you will no longer be a viewer of KCOY. In our local content, we endeavor to be a good citizen within our community. To be censored by our local viewers due to what we have limited control over disheartens us and the efforts we make within our community. I hope that you will reconsider KCOY and what we offer with our local news, community commitment and genuine interest in bringing all of our viewers the best we can possibly produce within our market.

There was also a smarmy little comment by the original addressee of my e-mail (the Gen. Mgr. of the station didn't have a working link):

"It's interesting that this movie is being pre-judged before anyone has seen it!" "

Whattabuncha arrogant jerks! Stupid, too. Whining "censorship" because someone tells them they're not going to watch their stupid TV channel!