AP: Some CBS Affiliates Worry over 9/11 Show. 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.
“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.
This is truly crazy. Should networks dumb down everything they do in order to please a few people who can’t stand actual truth on the airwaves?
Of course, this is just driving serious programming, including journalism such as this documentary, onto the cable networks and the Internet. Watch, though, because the bluenoses will follow it there and find a way to whack the First Amendment in the new media, too.
There’s a chill in the air, and it’s not because autumn is coming.