News & Politics - CBS pleads censorship over 9/11 show

Lexis · 09-04-2006, 03:04 AM

Quote:

Broadcasters say the hesitancy of some CBS affiliates to air a powerful Sept. 11 documentary next week proves there's been a chilling effect on the First Amendment since federal regulators boosted penalties for television obscenities after Janet Jackson's breast was exposed at a Super Bowl halftime show.
ADVERTISEMENT

"This is example No. 1," said Martin Franks, executive vice president of CBS Corp., of the decision by two dozen CBS affiliates to replace or delay "9/11" — which has already aired twice without controversy — over concerns about some of the language used by the firefighters in it.

"We don't think it's appropriate to sanitize the reality of the hell of Sept. 11th," Franks said. "It shows the incredible stress that these heroes were under. To sanitize it in some way robs it of the horror they faced."

Actor Robert De Niro hosts the award-winning documentary, which began as a quest to follow a rookie firefighter on an ordinary day but resulted in the only known video of the first plane striking the World Trade Center and horrific and inspiring scenes of rescue, escape and death. CBS will show it on Sept. 10 from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. EDT, profanity intact.

Carter G. Phillips, a lawyer for Fox Television Stations Inc., cited the decision by several CBS affiliates to replace the documentary or show it after 10 p.m., the time at which the
Federal Communications Commission loosens restrictions, when he spoke last week to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan.

Phillips addressed the court as part of a hearing on whether the FCC rushed to judgment in concluding that "NYPD Blue" and three other programs violated decency rules.

Saying the FCC was chilling free speech rights, Phillips mentioned the documentary to show the court how timid broadcast companies had become since the FCC toughened its position toward profanities after the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show on CBS, in which Jackson's breast was briefly bared.

Congress recently boosted the maximum fines the FCC can impose for indecency from $32,500 to $325,000.

So far, about a dozen CBS affiliates have indicated they won't show the documentary, another dozen say they will delay it until later at night and two dozen others are considering what to do.

On Friday, Sinclair Broadcasting became the latest company to say it was delaying the broadcast until after 10 p.m. on its stations in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Portland, Maine, saying it was concerned it could face fines.

The announcement came as the Tupelo, Miss.-based American Family Association readied its 3 million members to flood the FCC and CBS with complaints after the documentary airs.

"This isn't an issue of censorship. It's an issue of responsibility to the public," said Randy Sharp, director of special projects for the group, which describes itself as a 29-year-old organization that promotes the biblical ethic of decency.

The documentary first aired on the six-month and one-year anniversaries of the Sept. 11 attacks on the trade center and the
Pentagon. This latest showing, on the eve of the five-year anniversary, includes new interviews with many of the firefighters featured in the original, describing how their lives have changed.

Franks said it was an easy decision not to edit the language in the documentary, especially since it has won a George Foster Peabody Award, among others. "It was a much more difficult decision five years ago when the emotions were much more raw and fresh," he said.

Franks said it seemed "dishonest somehow" for the network to cover up the real language five years later because of the current regulatory environment.

However, he said he understood the difficulties of small stations that fear the huge FCC fines. "We're not twisting arms," he said.

FCC spokeswoman Tamara Lipper said the commission routinely takes context into account in any decency analysis.

"We don't police the airwaves. We respond to viewer complaints," Lipper said. "We haven't seen the broadcast in question. It's up to individual stations to decide what they should air or not air."

She noted that "the historical context of 9/11 is important to the context of the broadcast" but said she could not predict how the commission might view the show if it receives complaints.

CBS pleads censorship over 9/11 show - Yahoo! News

This documentary aired again in the UK on Saturday night and it bothers me that people may not get to see this incredible piece of filmmaking because of extremist groups that are so concerned about the occassional swear word they would complain about a documentary that tells the story of one of the most horrible days in recent history.

I'm sure a lot of you already saw it but if you didn't, try and catch it if it airs in your area. It really is an amazing film and shows just how incredible the firefighters were that day.

**TheAngel** · 09-05-2006, 07:35 AM

With the stuff that you see on TV now-a-days I can't imagine the FCC complaining about a 9/11 show. It's very easy for me to flip around on TV and find something with swearing and sex and violence. I've been exposed to tons of cursing but I really don't swear, I don't see the point in it. But they're still just words. I suppose since it's high profile then people are afraid to do it, instead of the less popular shows that no one watches too much.

Lain · 09-05-2006, 09:44 AM

It's been 5 years. If they were that hesitant, you might as well air it on The History Channel. Okay so I understand that there are families that are still hesitant but still...

Quote:

"We don't police the airwaves. We respond to viewer complaints," Lipper said. "We haven't seen the broadcast in question. It's up to individual stations to decide what they should air or not air."

Sure...sure it's up to the stations to decide what or what not to air. And pretty soon they'll have the FCC breathing down their necks

quaist · 09-05-2006, 12:23 PM

Quote:

"It's up to individual stations to decide what they should air or not air."

It's also up to the individual to decide what they should watch or not watch on TV...

Lain · 09-05-2006, 12:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by quaist (View Post)

It's also up to the individual to decide what they should watch or not watch on TV...

Exactly. If you don't like it, there's those buttons known as "off", "on" and "change channel"

Apparently, no one has yet to discover this

TokyoNiGHTS · 09-05-2006, 05:08 PM

Is this the same documentary that's been talked about recently which is basically an anti Clinton documentary on 9/11?

ceilirose · 09-05-2006, 05:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TokyoNiGHTS (View Post)

Is this the same documentary that's been talked about recently which is basically an anti Clinton documentary on 9/11?

It's a different one. The anti-Clinton one is on ABC (in the US) and is really a docu-drama and not a documentary. It's actors portraying the scenes and not actual film footage.

Lexis · 09-06-2006, 05:46 AM

This one is the footage filmed by the two French cameramen who were trailing a rookie firefighter and were right there as both planes hit, the collapse, the aftermath and the rescue operation.

Its really incredible.

mcdreamylover · 09-06-2006, 05:59 PM

When are parents going to start being responsible parents and do their jobs by making sure their kids don't watch a movie or TV show and stop expecting the networks to do it for them.

ceilirose · 09-11-2006, 12:25 AM

I just saw it and it's hard to believe that there could be any complaints against it. It was emotional without being cloying and the honest reactions of those firefighers as to what they were facing was riveting. I don't think you can describe the look on those men's faces when they realized the first tower was coming down or how they all flinched everytime one of the jumpers hit the ground.

Anyway I did flip over to that other 9/11 program for a few seconds and it was no comparision. It's a good thing CBS went forward with this documentary.

Lexis · 09-11-2006, 02:45 AM

The bit that really got me was one when the rookie hadn't come back to the firehouse and all the men were clearly worried about him. And then suddenly, he appears and one of the guys says "We thought you were dead".

It was so touching to see this brotherhood between them and their fierce determination to do what they could to help.

Shera · 09-11-2006, 04:03 AM

I also watched it last night here in Canada. I really think this is an important documentary for people to see, swearing included. These men weren't swearing excessively considering what was going on around them. I found the documentary raw, real and completely riveting.

**TheAngel** · 09-11-2006, 07:45 AM

I don't have a problem with documentaries at all. It's Hollywood movies I have a problem with. I haven't seen Flight 93 or World Trade Center and I refuse to. It's Hollywood trying to capatalize on the emotional responses of the American people. I was there on 9/11. I saw the seccond plane hit, saw both towers fall, while I was sitting in class as a Freshman in high school. I don't need to see some hollywood piece of filth to remember it.
But documentaries are fine, they're here to educate about what happened, make it easier to cope, not try to dramatize what happened.

UnsilentMajorty · 09-11-2006, 09:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheAngel (View Post)

I was there on 9/11.

Unless you were physically in New York City on September 11, 2001, you were not "there".

chicah · 09-11-2006, 02:00 PM

Didn't she just say she was there, in New York? Read her post through properly


Fan Forum > General Discussion > News & Politics > CBS pleads censorship over 9/11 show