Posted on 09/06/2006 10:46:23 AM PDT by Iam1ru1-2
Ask the FCC to enforce broadcast decency laws should CBS air profane language during prime-time viewing hours this Sunday evening
Earlier I wrote you about the plans by CBS to air "9/11" containing hardcore profanity during primetime viewing (Supreme Court's 'safe-harbour') hours when children are most likely to be watching television. The program is schedule to air this Sunday evening.
Because of your actions, CBS announced they would not seek sponsors for the program. But they also said, sponsors or no sponsors, that they will not mute the profanity.
A growing number of CBS affiliates have publicly stated that they would not carry the program. Other affiliates are expected to drop the show or air it late at night. Those that do carry it risk at fine of $325,000 for each indecent incident. Potential fines could run into the millions of dollars.
But CBS has responded by saying that the profanity is ok to broadcast to children because it will be shown "in context" of the program itself.
If the FCC allows this as an acceptable excuse to air the profanity, it leaves the door open for CBS to show anything and everything because anything, and everything, is always "in context."
For instance, suppose CBS decides they want to air a documentary concerning pornography. Using CBS's logic, the network could show actual hardcore pornographic scenes in an "after school special" saying the scenes are "in context" and necessary because they are an integral part of the documentary.
The phrase "in context" means that CBS could (and would) show anything because it is "in context." In the final analysis "in context" means nothing is exempt.
I urge you to email the FCC urging them to reject the "in context" argument. A copy will also go to CBS. And please forward this to your friends and family.
Take Action
Send the email to the FCC asking them to reject the "in context" argument.
Contact your local CBS affiliate" and ask them not to air "9/11." Tell them you are prepared to file a formal complaint with the FCC if they do.
Please inform your friends and family.
Click Here to Email the FCC Now!
....and what the heck are asking....specifically?
I thought they meant "The Path to 9/11"...silly me.
I have the CBS one on VHS somewhere, but need to get it on DVD.
I bought "In Memoriam" at Best Buy right after it aired on HBO, so I could show it to my then very small nephews when they got a little older.
They have now seen it, as well as other documentaries I have shown them.
To me it is very important for us to document all this and educate future generations about the enemy we face. Because this is not going away any time soon, and we obviously can't depend on the schools or media to do the job.
Here is the response I received from my letter to the local CBS station...
Thank you for writing concerning our programming. I am indeed going to air the show in its unedited version. I have had many complaints from viewers about my plans to do so, but most have not seen the show and seem to be more concerned about language that they find objectionable than they are about the subject matter itself.
Again, thank you for writing.
Sincerely,
What the heck are you on anyway? Censoring or bleeping out profanity is not terrorism.....it's called "common decency". Perhaps you know nothing about this subject.
Air the events and subsequent dialog as it ACTUALLY HAPPENED!!!
If I'm in Iraq and I get caught by an IED, I am sure I won't say Ah Shucks but let out with Aw *#$%. I am also positive that it won't be the only one.
I'm not expecting the "Path to 9/11" to contain any sort of objectionable profanity.
The only objection to that one apparently is from Bill Clinton, since it details the pre-9/11 events that he wishes everyone else would forget.
If there was actually a cogent point to your little rant there, I'd reply to it.
I see. Something that's NOT in the 1st amendment that people says is, is OK, but something that's IN the program is not about what's in there. BOY, that's logic for you. Where you ejakaytid in da publik skooo sistum?
Does Don want them to edit out the plane collisions as well? And...you know...the thumps? I mean, murder's a lot worse than cussin'. Let's be consistent.
Help me understand this. You're okay with showing people incinerated by an airplane explosion, and people jumping to their deaths, but you don't want the kiddies to hear the spontaneous "cussing" of the people witnessing the horror?
Amazon.com
Originally broadcast on CBS in March 2002, 9/11 is an extraordinary record of that fateful day in New York City. This one-of-a-kind documentary was originally conceived as a portrait of 21-year-old Tony Benetatos, a firefighter trainee at Manhattan's Duane Street firehouse, located seven blocks from the World Trade Center. By the time filming was finished, brothers Jules and Gedeon Naudet had captured history in the making, including the only image of the first jetliner striking Tower 1, and the only footage from within the tower as it collapsed. This is not, however, a film about the murderous nightmare of terrorism. It's the ultimate rite-of-passage drama, more immediate and meaningful than any fiction film could be, with Benetatos and his supportive colleagues emerging as heroes of the first order. Sensitively narrated by codirector and fellow firefighter James Hanlon, 9/11 will endure forever as a tribute to those, living and dead, who witnessed hell on that sunny Tuesday morning. --Jeff Shannon
I saw it; EVERYBODY should see it.
Yeh, right. That's why they decided to air it without commercial funding. DUH!!!
You beat me by 2 seconds. Scary how much we think alike there.
War is heck.
I have a copy on DVD.
One day when my daughter is old enough I will tell her all about that day... but that's still a way off.
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