Posted on 09/07/2006 4:12:34 PM PDT by Mo1
Senate Democratic leadership threatens Disney with legal and legislative sanctions
by John in DC - 9/07/2006 06:02:00 PM
Read it, then read my analysis of it below:September 7, 2006
The Senate Democratic leadership just threatened Disney's broadcast license. Not the use of the word "trustee" at the beginning of the letter and "trust" at the end. This is nothing less than an implicit threat that if Disney tries to meddle in the US elections on behalf of the Republicans, they will pay a very serious price when the Democrats get back in power, or even before.
Mr. Robert A. Iger
President and CEO
The Walt Disney Company
500 South Buena Vista Street
Burbank CA 91521
Dear Mr. Iger,
We write with serious concerns about the planned upcoming broadcast of The Path to 9/11 mini-series on September 10 and 11. Countless reports from experts on 9/11 who have viewed the program indicate numerous and serious inaccuracies that will undoubtedly serve to misinform the American people about the tragic events surrounding the terrible attacks of that day. Furthermore, the manner in which this program has been developed, funded, and advertised suggests a partisan bent unbecoming of a major company like Disney and a major and well respected news organization like ABC. We therefore urge you to cancel this broadcast to cease Disney’s plans to use it as a teaching tool in schools across America through Scholastic. Presenting such deeply flawed and factually inaccurate misinformation to the American public and to children would be a gross miscarriage of your corporate and civic responsibility to the law, to your shareholders, and to the nation.
The Communications Act of 1934 provides your network with a free broadcast license predicated on the fundamental understanding of your principle obligation to act as a trustee of the public airwaves in serving the public interest. Nowhere is this public interest obligation more apparent than in the duty of broadcasters to serve the civic needs of a democracy by promoting an open and accurate discussion of political ideas and events.
Disney and ABC claim this program to be based on the 9/11 Commission Report and are using that assertion as part of the promotional campaign for it. The 9/11 Commission is the most respected American authority on the 9/11 attacks, and association with it carries a special responsibility. Indeed, the very events themselves on 9/11, so tragic as they were, demand extreme care by any who attempt to use those events as part of an entertainment or educational program. To quote Steve McPhereson, president of ABC Entertainment, “When you take on the responsibility of telling the story behind such an important event, it is absolutely critical that you get it right.”
Unfortunately, it appears Disney and ABC got it totally wrong.
Despite claims by your network’s representatives that The Path to 9/11 is based on the report of the 9/11 Commission, 9/11 Commissioners themselves, as well as other experts on the issues, disagree.
Richard Ben-Veniste, speaking for himself and fellow 9/11 Commissioners who recently viewed the program, said, “As we were watching, we were trying to think how they could have misinterpreted the 9/11 Commission’s findings the way that they had.” [“9/11 Miniseries Is Criticized as Inaccurate and Biased,” New York Times, September 6, 2006]
Richard Clarke, the former counter-terrorism czar, and a national security advisor to ABC has described the program as “deeply flawed” and said of the program’s depiction of a Clinton official hanging up on an intelligence agent, “It’s 180 degrees from what happened.” [“9/11 Miniseries Is Criticized as Inaccurate and Biased,” New York Times, September 6, 2006]
Reports suggest that an FBI agent who worked on 9/11 and served as a consultant to ABC on this program quit halfway through because, “he thought they were making things up.” [MSNBC, September 7, 2006]
Even Thomas Kean, who serves as a paid consultant to the miniseries, has admitted that scenes in the film are fictionalized. [“9/11 Miniseries Is Criticized as Inaccurate and Biased,” New York Times, September 6, 2006]
That Disney would seek to broadcast an admittedly and proven false recounting of the events of 9/11 raises serious questions about the motivations of its creators and those who approved the deeply flawed program. Finally, that Disney plans to air commercial-free a program that reportedly cost it $40 million to produce serves to add fuel to these concerns.
These concerns are made all the more pressing by the political leaning of and the public statements made by the writer/producer of this miniseries, Mr. Cyrus Nowrasteh, in promoting this miniseries across conservative blogs and talk shows.
Frankly, that ABC and Disney would consider airing a program that could be construed as right-wing political propaganda on such a grave and important event involving the security of our nation is a discredit both to the Disney brand and to the legacy of honesty built at ABC by honorable individuals from David Brinkley to Peter Jennings. Furthermore, that Disney would seek to use Scholastic to promote this misguided programming to American children as a substitute for factual information is a disgrace.
As 9/11 Commission member Jamie Gorelick said, “It is critically important to the safety of our nation that our citizens, and particularly our school children, understand what actually happened and why – so that we can proceed from a common understanding of what went wrong and act with unity to make our country safer.”
Should Disney allow this programming to proceed as planned, the factual record, millions of viewers, countless schoolchildren, and the reputation of Disney as a corporation worthy of the trust of the American people and the United States Congress will be deeply damaged. We urge you, after full consideration of the facts, to uphold your responsibilities as a respected member of American society and as a beneficiary of the free use of the public airwaves to cancel this factually inaccurate and deeply misguided program. We look forward to hearing back from you soon.
Sincerely,
Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid
Assistant Democratic Leader Dick Durbin
Senator Debbie Stabenow
Senator Charles Schumer
Senator Byron Dorgan
This raises the stakes incredibly for Disney.
That's okay, all of us are blowing a gasket on BO'R's behalf.
ABC is being Swiftboated. Remember the Swiftboat movie that was taken off the air or forced to change.
That's been on my mind since the path to 9/11 brouhaha began a few days ago. In 2004 Sinclair Broadcasting had twenty-seven stations/markets. Many were local area stations. Not many were the Big Three (4 if you include FOX).
This time it's ABC -- one of the majors.
For a few years the left talking points have been, hate Bush for his inept handling of the war in Iraq and war on terror. That's is and has been the democrat platform. Come November, a solid showing -- gaining seats -- is vital for them to have a reasonable chance in 2008. Obviously many people know or think this. For sure the left knows it.
Path to 9/11 will leave the viewer hating terrorists, not Bush. And secondarily, realize that Bush has been cleaning up after Clinton's inept handling of terrorist.
The Path to 9/11 snatches the rug out from under the democrat platform. Exposes them as a continuation of Clinton's inept policy for dealing (not dealing) with terrorists and terrorism.
The author, John in DC, of the article that began this thread wrote: "This letter is such a major shot across the bow of Disney, it's not even funny." Wrong! It's nothing more than wishful thinking on his part and the reason for his sensationalism.
The Path to 9/11 will sink the democrats at the ballot box in the November mid-term elections. If right now they're not already sunk, and just a listing Titanic The Path will be a half-dozen nails in their coffin. The house of cards the democrats built their platform on will collapse as sure as the twin towers did and bury any hopes of winning anything in 2008.
What if ABC doesn't air The Path? ABC will upload it to the Internet. It'll be all over the Net and on DVD. Their not looking to recoup their $40-million dollar investment by selling advertising/commercials.
Why is ABC doing this? Is it just for ratings at the start of the fall season? I don't think so. Had they been in it just for ratings ABC would have aired The Path in mid October during sweeps week. No. ABC simply woke up to the realization that virtually every American had right after 9/11; if we don't get the terrorists they'll get us/ABC/Disney. Undoubtedly the wisest $40-million dollar investment Disney has made in decades, or ever.
"By ABC's own standard, ABC has gotten it terribly wrong," Lindsey and Band said in their letter.
"The content of this drama is factually and incontrovertibly inaccurate and ABC has a duty to fully correct all errors or pull the drama entirely. It is unconscionable to mislead the American public about one of the most horrendous tragedies our country has ever known."
The letters pointed out examples of scenes they had been told were in the miniseries, but which they said never happened. Albright objected to a scene that she was told showed her insisting on warning the Pakistani government before an airstrike on Afghanistan, and that she was the one who made the warning.
"The scene as explained to me is false and defamatory," she said.
Berger objected to a scene that he was told showed him refusing to authorize an attack on Osama bin Laden despite the request from CIA officials. "The fabrication of this scene (of such apparent magnitude) cannot be justified under any reasonable definition of dramatic license," he wrote.
Lindsey and Band objected to advertisements for the miniseries, which they said suggested that Clinton wasn't paying enough attention to the threat of terrorism.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060907/ap_en_tv/911_film_clinton_officials_18
My thoughts exactly!
Looks like we skipped the rock over a lot of dogs.
BINGO! You remind us that they did indeed shoot a missile into a tent in the desert, but OBL had moved on. If OBL was never in anyone's sights, how did we get to see the video of him walking around in the desert?
Peach, Send that link to ABC ASAP!
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1462003/posts
I have Senate e-mails but not the numbers of the judicial committee. Not sure which committee we should be calling and it might be best if we call just call our own Senators so that not just one committee is getting blasted.
Is this the video/audio that Sean was playing today?
History repeating itself...
Upon the release of Gary Aldrich's book "Unlimited Access" in 1996, White House adviser George Stephanopoulos immediately called TV producers demanding that they give Aldrich no airtime. In terms of TV exposure, Aldrich's book might well have been titled "No Access Whatsoever."
"Larry King Live" and NBC's "Dateline" abruptly canceled their scheduled interviews with Aldrich.
http://www.chronwatch.com/content/contentDisplay.asp?aid=6660
This will never air. ABC doesn't have the guts. Watch for Desperate Housewives repeats or some other cop out.
You know how the DUmmies and lefties have started calling President Bush, king George...because they say he thinks of himself as a "king"...
Well..I can't even think of an analogy of what Hill and Bill are getting away with THIS like they are...
Involving the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA SENATE..to keep their reputation from being more tarnished????
There HAS to be a law.
Never assume they're true Americans honoring the Constitution, prefering a republican form of government, supporting individual liberty, respecting states' rights, or defending the American way. Never.
Well .. I need to head out for a awhile and get my youngest ready for school tommorrow
here is a list of all the Senators
William the Tyrant.
Blatant prior restraint violation. Talk about suppression!
I am not certain- I missed it. But I'm sure there's LOTS of research going on around the net tonight if FR is any example!
It is simply......beyond words, isn't it?
http://abc.go.com/site/contactus.html
GO TO URL ABOVE TO EMAIL ABC AND VOICE YOUR OPINION!
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