To all of our FOX6 viewers, I am grateful the Fox Network (and Mr. Murdoch) made
the correct choice to cancel the offensive OJ Simpson interviews. As
you can all imagine, as the GM of the San Diego FOX affiliate, this decision
was a huge relief to me. I am sure someone thought this program was a
good idea, but it was not thought through all the way, or as Mr. Murdoch said
so perfectly, “the project was ill considered”. Obviously
no one at FOX fully realized what a pariah OJ Simpson has become, nor did they
correctly estimate the depth of negative emotions OJ Simpson engenders.
As many of you know, I had been waiting to make my final decision on whether
we would air the interviews until later this week. What very few viewers
knew was since the time of the announcement, I was working behind the scenes
with other members of the FOX Board to put pressure on the FOX NETWORK since
all of the affiliates wanted the Fox Network to make the correct decision and
cancel the interviews. I am very pleased and grateful the Network has
made the decision to pull the interviews, and in so doing, corrected a horrible
lapse in judgment and ethics.
Here is an article from Broadcasting and Cable that explains the decision
in more detail:
News Corp. Kills O.J. TV Special, Book-By Jim Benson
and Caroline Palmer -- Broadcasting & Cable, 11/20/2006 7:31:00 PM
With the growing controversy over O.J. Simpson: If I Did It, Here's How It
Happened, News Corp. has cancelled publisher Judith Regan’s Fox interview
of Simpson in a two-part sweeps special, as well as the publication of the
book.
In a statement issued Monday, News Corp. leader Rupert Murdoch called the
project "ill-considered"—though declined to elaborate on how it originated—and
apologized for any pain it caused the families of the murdered victims.
The decision follows several affiliates' decision to not air it. Over the
weekend, Pappas Broadcasting and Lin Broadcasting announced they would preempt
the show in a total of nine Fox affiliate markets and more were anticipated.
Speaking Monday on Fox News Channel, Pappas said the program was "un-airable
because it was a farce" and "the reaction of the American people wasn't visceral,
it was intelligent."
Of the viewer comments, he said, "You should have heard first their disbelief,
then their outrage, that anyone would consider aiding and abetting a criminal."
He praised the decision to ax both the TV special and book, saying "principle
was finally established over profit" at News Corp.
Pappas had planned to preempt the special on its stations in Omaha and Lincoln,
Neb.; Fresno, Calif.; and Dakota Dunes, S.D. Lin was looking to do the same
on Fox affiliates in Mobile, Ala.; Toledo, Ohio; Albuquerque, N.M.; and Providence,
R.I.
According to an AP report, the Pappas stations said they did not want to help
Simpson profit from the project.
On Friday, after worldwide condemnation of Fox’s two-part sweeps special
O.J. Simpson: If I Did It, Here’s How It Happened, North Dakota’s
Prime Cities Broadcasting was the first to announce it would refuse to air
the interview.
Historically, affiliates topple like dominoes after the first bows out and
Pappas and Lin quickly followed. The special, dubbed by one critic as "the
most despicable sweeps-month stunt in history," was scheduled to air next week
on Nov 27 and Nov. 29, the final day of sweeps.
Problems with the project had mounted dramatically after Fox announced last
week that it would air the two-part interview with Simpson just prior to the
book’s Nov. 30 release from Regan’s imprint at Harper Collins,
which is also owned by News Corp.
Attacked from a variety of quarters, including such Fox News notables as Bill
O’Reilly and Geraldo Rivera, the TV project had faced poor advertising
prospects.
Sponsors appeared unlikely to want to be associated with the special, which
could have subjected them to boycotts by angry viewers. Also, if it had aired
commercial-free, Nielsen would not have counted it toward Fox’s November
average, erasing any ratings spike it would have otherwise received for the
sweeps period.
Beyond Monday’s statement, Fox has remained silent on the subject. In
its initial announcement last week, Mike Darnell, executive VP of alternative
programming, said, "This is an interview that no one thought would ever happen.
It’s the definitive last chapter in the Trial of the Century."
But John Tupper, chairman-emeritus of the Fox affiliate board and head of
Prime Cities, which operates KNDX Bismarck and KXND Minot, the 160th-ranked
market, and low-power stations in Dickinson and Williston, N.D., described
the special as "unsuitable" for broadcasting.
"We have recorded our concerns with the network, and we are waiting for a
response at this point," he says. "My stations will not be running the shows."
Tupper had previously refused to air Fox movies with violence and sexual issues
but this marked the first time he had not run a special, mainly because the
network had unveiled them too late for advanced station screenings.
This time, however, Fox gave plenty of advanced notice that it would run an
interview turned down by other networks.
If News Corp. had pulled the plug on TV special but kept the book alive, it
could have faced even more grief. On Monday, B&C had speculated that its
intention may have been to announce the TV interview, then pull it after gaining
attention for the book that hypothetically describes how Simpson would have
killed ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and bystander Ron Goldman in 1994. The
former football great was acquitted of the crimes the following year but held
liable at a 1997 civil trial.
Having lived through previous controversies originating from Darnell’s
reality domain, most notably the 2000 special Who Wants To Marry a Multimillionaire?,
Fox and News Corp. were undoubtedly aware of the outcry a Simpson special would
cause.
News of the Fox special, which the network described as an unrestricted two-hour
interview, had dominated TV and radio talk shows for nearly a week since it
was announced. The victims’ families were prominently featured discussing
the pain that the show and book had dredged up for them.
On Wednesday, Goldman’s father, Fred Goldman, told CNN’s Larry
King, "Don’t watch the show. Don’t buy the book. Send a message
loud and clear." Meanwhile, ABC’s Barbara Walters said on The View that
she had turned down a Simpson interview.
But analysts had nonetheless expected curiosity to drive viewers to the special
in huge numbers.
There had been some support for the special among major Fox affiliates. One
station executive, who asked not to be identified, said the special represented
the logical conclusion to the "freak show" that characterized the criminal
trial more than a decade ago. He had no intention to preempt what would be
an astronomically rated special.
Even without commercials, the interview would have boosted ratings for local
newscasts following it, which is where stations make most of their ad revenue.
While many stations had reported getting scores of angry viewer emails and
phone calls, some said that received few protests, and noted the ones they
did appeared to be part of an organized campaign.
Fox had sent speaking points to affiliates to address the concerns of advertisers
and viewers, according to affiliates.
Richard Jones, VP-general manager of Fox affiliate XETV San Diego for the
past five years, had said if the special aired, he would have run it commercial-free
with PSAs for victims’ rights and abused women, while dedicating his
newscasts to those subjects.
Jones had detailed the station’s plans in email responses to 150 outraged
viewers, one of whom called XETV’s strategy a “public service.”
Personally, Jones said he found the Fox special “obscene” and “immoral,” calling
it a “wink-wink” confession on Simpson’s part. He believes
Simpson’s motivation was to get back into the spotlight after previously
enjoying “30 years of public adulation.”
But Jones admitted to having a difficult time deciding whether the program
would be considered obscene by broadcast standards.
He had labeled Fox’s silence on the subject “odd” and, prior
to Monday’s announcement withdrawing the TV special and book, said, “This
is the first time that I’ve been embarrassed to say that I’m a
Fox affiliate.”
