Criticize Fox? Not on ABC

[Jon8503]

From Salon:

Fox News may report only one side of a story, but at least critics have always had creative license to lace into the roost of Bill O'Reilly. Until now. AlterNet reports that an episode of "Boston Legal" slated to air on Sunday night on ABC has been "scrubbed" of all pejorative references to Fox News and O'Reilly. Top ABC executives heavily censored an earlier version of the script, in which a teacher calls Fox News "hate speech" and installs a "Fox Blocker" on every TV set in his school. A side-by-side comparison of the two versions of the script reveals it has been stripped of any references to the network. The Sunday episode is, ironically, about free speech.

Neither ABC nor David Kelley, the show's creator, would comment on the changes. The script also contained excerpts from "Outfoxed," an anti-Fox documentary by indie filmmaker Robert Greenwald which argues that the cable channel has an explicit conservative agenda. The "Outfoxed" excerpts will be included in the episode, although ABC would not allow Greenwald to buy ad time for his film to air during the episode. "The door has been closed in our face," said the film's distributor.

[ixion]

1. boy, that's some free speech we've got here

NOT! :eyes:

[silverlib]

2. Everyone will still know

that it's referring to Fox. I think it may be even more effective not to mention Fox by name. Now, I do think it is a shame that advertising was denied to Greenwald, but I am also happy that clips were used - this is free advertising, but still shameful that he could not pay for additional advertising. MSM is so scare right now that I guess I'm glad that they didn't scrub the entire show.

[VOX]

3. Right-wingers love to harp on the "evils" of political correctness.

But what, then, is this particular brand of censorship but a more insidious, twisted variant of political corectness? :mad:

[Skeet]

4. I can't imagine why

ABC wouldn't want to advertise a rival network on one of their shows. Any publicity is good publicity and ABC knows this.

[tom_paine]

5. The New Imperial Polical Korrectness makes one long for the old kind

At least that was just an overdone attempt to protect people from being offended.

The Bushevik Political Correctness is modeled more after the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany than a bunch of well-meaning people going overboard to try and avoid offending ANYBODY.

Which one is more frightening and dangerous? I think the answer is obvious.

[Roland99]

6. Art imitates life now.

[rocktivity]

7. No problem--just give the station and reporters different names

and duplicate the outfoxed footage. Law And Order has been able to stay in business for the better part of a decade by rewriting headlines. Why didn't ABC have Boston Legal do that--because this story was a better publicity gimmick?

:headbang:
rockantion