ABC's plan to air an inaccurate 9-11 "docudrama" has ignited public outrage with hundreds of thousands of people sending letters to Disney headquarters and local ABC stations protesting their willful distortion of history.
These media protests have had an impact, but the root problem will remain unless we act now to stop media giants from becoming even more powerful.
Hit Disney Where it Hurts:
Tell the FCC to Stop Consolidation Rampant media consolidation over the last two decades has put control over the media in the hands of a few large corporations. We see it in action now.
Local stations have been instructed by ABC -- and its corporate owners at Disney -- to air "The Path to 9/11" a five-hour "docudrama" that is riddled with falsehoods about events that lead to the September 11 terrorist attacks.
Disney appears set to recklessly wield control over local television for ratings and political gain. Media ownership matters. It is time to rollback rampant media consolidation and defend localism and public service.
Tell the FCC to Stop Big Media's Abuse of the Airwaves
"The Path to 9/11" reportedly features a series of fictionalized scenes, written by a right-wing activist, that are in direct conflict with the bi-partisan 9-11 Commission's report. Now, Disney is forcing local broadcasters to air these falsehoods in our communities.
The Federal Communications Commission is poised to give companies like Disney even more power over our airwaves. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin has asked the public to comment on his plans to let conglomerates like Disney buy up even more of our local stations. Tell Disney and the Chairman Martin that enough is enough:
Take Action to Stop Big Media
No matter your politics, we should all embrace the public's right to have a strong voice in how the broadcasters use our airwaves. Sadly, the local station owners that are most responsive to our interests are being pushed around by conglomerates like Disney.
It's time that the FCC responded to the public and limited Big Media's damaging influence on our democracy.
Onward,
Timothy Karr
Campaign Director
Free Press
www.freepress.net
P.S. -- To learn more, visit www.StopBigMedia.com, a broad-based coalition of consumer advocates, public interest, media reform, organized labor and other groups that have joined together to fight runaway media consolidation. To learn more about the controversy surrounding the ABC "docudrama," visit "Tell The Truth About 9-11".
P.P.S. -- Disney Plays Politics:
1. While Disney is marketing "Path to 9/11" as an accurate retelling of the 9-11 Commission it also claims that "for dramatic and narrative purposes, the movie contains fictionalized scenes, composite and representative characters and dialogue, and time compression." It's so rife with falsehoods that an FBI agent who was brought in to consult on the docudrama quit because, he said, "they were making things up." (more)
2. The docudrama's scriptwriter -- a noted conservative -- admits that the film's most controversial scene -- where a Clinton administration official passes up an opportunity to kill Osama Bin Ladin -- was based on nothing at all, telling a right-wing radio station that the scene was "improvised." (more)
3. ABC/Disney also planned to distribute the historically false "Path to 9/11" to more than 25,000 American classrooms, via lesson plans created by Scholastic -- the world's largest publisher of children's books -- with whom Disney has lucrative content sharing deals. The study guide suggested that former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein had a role in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Yesterday, Scholastic cancelled distribution after thousands wrote the company to complain. (more)
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