| The public interest, convenience and necessity is best served when the various media outlets are owned by more, not fewer entities. |
| The [Missouri] state Democratic Party last week accused the media giant Viacom of political favoritism and corporate censorship for backing out of a deal to sell billboard space for a political ad. Party Chairwoman May Scheve Reardon said the ad was set to run for a month along Interstate 70 in predominantly black sections of St. Louis and Kansas City. The ad, featuring a black man's face against an American flag, states: "Missouri Republicans have a plan. You are not a part of it." Viacom spokesman Carl Folta said the company saw the billboard as an "ambush ad" that used race in a divisive way. Ms. Scheve Reardon countered that the ad was "fact-stating and informative." Source: Dallas Morning News - "Democrats accuse Viacom of billboard censorship" from wire reports --3/1/04 Viewers who tune in to "Boston Legal" on ABC [3/13/05] will see an episode that includes none of the references to Fox News that the show's creator, David E. Kelley, originally proposed. The draft script by Mr. Kelley revolves around censorship charges that follow a principal's decision to block Fox News from appearing on school televisions, saying its programming "almost rises to the level of hate speech." Other references to Fox News hosts, including Bill O'Reilly and Brit Hume, were also removed. One of the show's producers is 20th Century Fox Television, a division of News Corporation, which owns Fox News. ABC asked Mr. Kelley for the changes, said Susan L. Sewell, a spokeswoman at the network, which is part of th Walt Disney Company. Source: "Fox News References Are Cut From 'Boston Legal' Episode" by Nat Ives - New York Times - 3/12/05 |
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