Posted on 10/28/2003 1:41:59 PM PST by fight_truth_decay
Today, as part of a project coordinated by Tim Jones, the MRC distributed a press release announcing that we have sent letters to 100 top television advertisers urging them to preview CBS's The Reagans mini-series and, if it does include the unfounded slams on Ronald and Nancy Reagan quoted by the New York Times and the DrudgeReport.com, to not allow ads for their products to be associated with the left-wing production.
It looks likely that CBS is feeling the pressure over the anger which has erupted over its two-part mini-series scheduled to air on Sunday, November 16 and Tuesday, November 18. New York Post columnist Liz Smith today quoted CBS President Les Moonves as saying, in an interview to be aired tomorrow night, that less than three weeks from the broadcast date CBS is still adjusting the final cut: "We've looked at the rough cut, there are things we like...there are things we don't like...there are things we think go too far. So there are some edits being made trying to present a more fair picture of the Reagans."
> MRC Press Release. "MRC President Brent Bozell Urges Advertisers Not To Sponsor CBS Mini-Series The Reagans: The Mini-series Has Blatantly Distorted History and Is Nothing More Than a Partisan Political Attack Against One of America's Most Beloved Presidents"
ALEXANDRIA, Va. --- Media Research Center President Brent Bozell is sending a letter to the top 100 corporate advertisers in America today, urging them not to support the upcoming CBS mini-series "The Reagans."
"The mini-series has blatantly distorted history and is nothing more than a partisan political attack against one of America's most beloved presidents," Bozell writes in his letter. "New York Times reporter Jim Rutenberg, one of the few people outside of CBS who has read the script, noted that the mini-series completely omitted the unprecedented economic expansion of the 1980s. That glaring oversight is not nearly as unfair, however, as the historical fictions that have been added to make the program more dramatic."
Bozell points out that the picture of Reagan emerging from the leaked copies of the script is that of a "hateful, religious zealot." This is a complete fabrication and not worthy of sponsorship -- especially with the former president suffering from Alzheimer's disease.
"Widely-respected Reagan biographer Lou Cannon has flatly stated that the depiction is unfair, telling Rutenberg in no uncertain terms that 'Reagan is not intolerant,'" Bozell writes. "I hope you will review the script, and if you agree, refuse to associate your products with such a movie."
END Reprint of October 28 press release
That's online at: http://www.mediaresearch.org/press/2003/press20031028.asp
> The text of the letter sent today to the 100 top advertisers on network television:
On November 16 and 18 CBS will broadcast "The Reagans," a two-part mini-series about former President Ronald Reagan. I urge you to contact the network and review the script or the movie itself before you allow spots for any of your products to run during the program.
According to several reports, the mini-series has blatantly distorted history and is nothing more than a partisan political attack against one of America's most beloved presidents.
New York Times reporter Jim Rutenberg, one of the few people outside of CBS who has read the script, noted that the mini-series completely omitted the unprecedented economic expansion of the 1980s. That glaring oversight is not nearly as unfair, however, as the historical fictions that have been added to make the program more dramatic.
The most egregious example is the characterization of Reagan as a hateful religious zealot. "The script also accuses Mr. Reagan not only of showing no interest in addressing the AIDS crisis, but of asserting that the patients of AIDS essentially deserved their disease," Rutenberg wrote in his October 21 Times story. "During a scene in which his wife pleads with him to help people battling AIDS, Mr. Reagan says resolutely, 'They that live in sin shall die in sin.'"
This conversation never occurred and was invented for the sole purpose of demeaning the former president. Widely-respected Reagan biographer Lou Cannon flatly stated that the depiction is unfair, telling Rutenberg in no uncertain terms that "Reagan is not intolerant."
This is not the only instance where the former president is portrayed as a religious fanatic. The DrudgeReport.com has posted other script excerpts where a frightened Reagan worries that he is the anti-Christ and fears that Armageddon and the end of the world are approaching.
"The Reagans" appears to be a blatantly unfair assault on the legacy of one of America's greatest leaders. I hope you will review the script, and if you agree, refuse to associate your products with this movie.
Sincerely,
L. Brent Bozell III Founder and President
END reprint of letter
That's online at: http://www.mediaresearch.org/letters/2003/letter20031028.asp
Item in Liz Smith's October 28 column, in the New York Post, about CBS President Les Moonves' interview with CNBC's Tina Brown scheduled to air during Brown's monthly CNBC show at 10pm EST/PST on Wednesday night, October 29 (ellipses as in original):
....When Tina corners Les over the coming Reagan miniseries "The Reagans," she notes that it has caused a flap because it's been filmed from the perspective of political liberals.
The head of CBS answers: "Well, No. 1, nobody's seen the film. So any criticism...or a film that isn't finished, is rather odd we think...We've looked at the rough cut, there are things we like . ..there are things we don't like...there are things we think go too far. So there are some edits being made trying to present a more fair picture of the Reagans."
END Excerpt from Brown's column, which is online daily at: http://www.nypost.com/gossip/liz.htm
If course, no one has seen the movie because CBS hasn't let any outsider yet see it.
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