[tet68]

"It smells of intimidation to me. It sounds to me like they were intimidated," Daschle said Tuesday at a news conference.

"And I'm disappointed. I think any time occasions arise when the essence of the judgment made by television producers is influenced by outside forces, we have to call into question whether that level of intimidation is appropriate," Daschle said.

Poor tommy Dashole is deeply disappointed........
whereas if "the essence of the judgment made by television producers is influenced by" INSIDE forces, that would be OK.


"...that level of intimidation is appropriate," Daschle said.

Warning! Caution! Some statements in the above article may be incomplete as befits a "fictional biographical" sketch.

Thanky you.

[Huck]

It's just so great that leftists have lost their media stranglehold on America. The hysterics are just so much proof of it. It is a good thing. The so called "special interests" that "intimidated" CBS are called customers, Tommy. They are regular Americans who (by the way) own the airwaves, and who are consumers of television, and have every right to have their voice heard, you little twerpy elitist loser. Just wait until the GOP gets a filibuster proof majority! Then you will REALLY be disappointed!

[aardvark1]

Even CNSNews calls Medved a "conservative" critic?! I hope they identify Roger Ebert as a "liberal" critic and others by their political stipes as well.

[tcostell]

If they actually air it on showtime I'm going to drop the service.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

the Republican Party of turning American "television into [a] Soviet-Style Propaganda Tool."

No dear, that would be what SeeBS was doing.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Shelving of 'Reagans' touches off hot debate ***"In pulling the film, CBS did incredible harm, much more harm than they could ever have done in making the film," said Neal Gabler, author of Life the Movie: How Entertainment Conquered Reality. "What they've told us now is that a small group of people have censorship power over the broadcast networks."

What complicates the issue for some is the very nature of docudrama - a debased genre that includes wholesale invention and what Thompson called "pure dish." Networks have become so brazen in ignoring any journalistic or historical concerns of accuracy that some analysts see it as significant that CBS finally admitted there was a line and that The Reagans crossed it.

"I do find it offensive that important points of our national history are totally rewritten in such docudramas to serve entertainment values intended to appeal to the lowest common denominator," said Phil Seib, media historian and Lucius W. Nieman professor of journalism at Marquette University.

"So, you have to legitimately ask yourself whether this could be interpreted as a victory for history and taste. If it is, though, it would be a rare one when it comes to network television and our national past. And it does raise serious concerns that such pressure was mounted and the film was pulled without anyone outside of CBS seeing it."

The controversy started last month when CBS sent a cassette with selected "highlights" from the miniseries to critics. Portions of the script were also selectively leaked. The highlights showed Nancy Reagan portrayed as a modern-day Lady Macbeth, manipulating her husband and scheming backstage to run the White House. Reagan was portrayed as mean-spirited and often befuddled.

The portion of the script that has drawn the most fire involved a portrayal of Reagan as being utterly insensitive to those suffering from AIDS. When Nancy tries to enlist his aid in fighting the emerging epidemic, the script has Reagan replying, "They that live in sin, shall die in sin."

In the highlight reel, Reagan is also shown approving the sale of arms to Iran in 1984 during a moment of dementia when he fails to even recognize the national security aide to whom he is speaking. Brent Baker, vice president of the Media Research Center, yesterday cited that depiction as the kind of questionable history that so troubled his organization. ***

[nicmarlo]

"It smells of intimidation to me. It sounds to me like they were intimidated," Daschle said Tuesday at a news conference. "And I'm disappointed. I think any time occasions arise when the essence of the judgment made by television producers is influenced by outside forces, we have to call into question whether that level of intimidation is appropriate," Daschle said.

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(Please Freepmail me if you want on/off Daschle ping.)

[oyez]

bfl

[ChadGore]

Someone should make a movie in which a mentaly deficient husband is badgered and ordered around by a dominating, but non the less equally mentally deficient wife, and call it "The Striesands"

[Savage Beast]

"Leaving aside its content or its political slant, my guess is CBS is deciding to save itself embarrassment"

Are you kidding? If the people at CBS were capable of embarrassment, they'd wear bags over their heads for the rest of their lives!

"'We believe it does not present a balanced portrayal of the Reagans for CBS and its audience,' the Viacom statement read."

Strange that they didn't notice this until after the public outcry...!

ABSURD OBSERVATION OF THE WEEK:

"The original decision to broadcast a factually distorted film about the former president when he is in the latter stages of Alzheimer's disease showed disgustingly poor taste"

BRENT!!! You are talking about THE DEMOCRATS!!!

(F'cryin' out loud!!! Whaddaya expect??? Honesty???)

[RGSpincich]

I think any time occasions arise when the essence of the judgment made by television producers is influenced by outside forces, we have to call into question whether that level of intimidation is appropriate," Daschle said.

BS I happen to know for a fact it was he who pressured the producers of Dallas to bring Bobby back. Leaving the viewers stuck with a years worth of dreams....

[Arrowhead1952]

How strange that the left is in a tizzy about this show getting the axe. Here is part of a NY Times article that was also printed in the Austin Un-American Liberal Rag today.

"It's clear that CBS has given into the GOP's demands," said Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, a Washington advocacy group. "It's a very bad precedent, and it sends a message to the creative community that no matter how good your work is, it can easily get axed."

Strange, there wasn't ONE LINE about the RAT memo detailing how to derail the Bush Whitehouse from yesterday..... Not that I would expect to see it in that rag...

[ClearCase_guy]

"CBS' Hitler miniseries also underwent some changes after an early draft of the script leaked and drew fire. That all those changes were aimed at making Hitler look even worse than he appeared in the original just goes to show you Ronald Reagan has a lot more friends," Gray wrote Tuesday.

I haven't had my coffee, so maybe I'm missing something. Is this TV journalist suggesting that only pro-Reagan people would demand that Hitler be shown as a bad guy on TV? I mean, I know Hitler was a socialist ... but I thought even the socialists tried to dissociate theselves from him. In this quote it looks like only Republicans would dislike the guy.

[rintense]

The hypocrisy of all this makes me sick. Clearly Daschle and friends have never heard of the liberal onslaught that got Dr. Laura's tv cancelled, nor attempts to have her radio showed cancelled as well. Oh, and there are the constant liberal attacks against Rush, culminating in an almost Palestinian-like victory dance by Ed Asner, Hollywood's most mentally unbalanced liberal, when Rush spoke the truth about Donovan McNabb's less-than-spectacular quarterback abilities- with the threat that Sean Hannity is next. And there really isn't a need to mention the cries of fools like Al Franken and Barbra Streisand, who claim that conservatives are taking over all the media.

[VRWC_minion]

And I'm disappointed

Listen Tom, you need to drop this as your middle name and make it your last name.

[Lizavetta]

"It smells of intimidation to me. It sounds to me like they were intimidated," Daschle said Tuesday at a news conference. "And I'm disappointed. I think any time occasions arise when the essence of the judgment made by television producers is influenced by outside forces, we have to call into question whether that level of intimidation is appropriate," Daschle said.

I'm sure Daschle et al echoed similar sentiments when the "outside forces" went after Dr. Laura and Michael Savage.

NOT.

[fightu4it]

Who are the members of the dirty little group that thought this project up and saw it through to compleasion?

Where are they hiding now?

Notice how we are not hearing about them in these articles.

[sean327]

I like that, we are being called a "Special Interest Group"
The commie libs fail to see the big picture, this was Middle America exercising our right to free speech by using the only thing these morons understand, OUR ECONOMIC CLOUT!!
Get used to it libs your stranglehold on the media is loosening faster than you can scream "Vast Right Wing Conpiracy". By the way we are a Special Interest Group, we are 'specially interested in keeping our Constitutional Republic out of your power hungry commie little hands.

[SpinyNorman]

Cancelled Reagan Miniseries Was 'a Stinker,' Says Critic

How could it NOT be a stinker: it has the stench of Barbra Streisand all over it!

[Mudboy Slim]

"...it does again raise the specter of just how powerful some of these special interest groups truly are today," Daschle added."

Individual citizens, banding together to boycott those promoting filth about an individual we admire, are now considered a "special interest group."

Whatever...MUD