I've written a couple of letters - first to Robert Iger at Disney, then to a list of investors, PR people and board members provided by highacidity (h/t & major thanks for all that work!).
First of all, I urge all who are bothered by this miniseries to pester one and all about it. Most important are the ABC affiliates and advertisers on ABC shows. If they hear enough noise, affiliates may just decide it's not worth it to follow ABC the network over the brink. Many diaries treat this as a done deal; I couldn't disagree more.
At any rate, a couple commenters had received word that Scholastic planned to send out a reply to complaints at some point today. I got this reply from Scholastic:
Your email regarding the 9/11 Classroom Discussion Guide created by Scholastic was forwarded to me, and I am pleased to respond to your concerns. Once the materials are posted online, you will be able to access the complete discussion guide at www.scholastic.com/pathto911, and I hope you will take time to review the content for yourself.
Scholastic does not take a position regarding the ABC miniseries, "The Path to 911." What we have done is to create a Classroom Discussion Guide for high school teachers with content that is balanced, fair and open-ended. Two of the key objectives of the guide are "to engage critical-thinking and critical-viewing skills" and "to remind students to view what they absorb from the media with a critical eye." We trust that teachers will take the information we provide and encourage their students to evaluate the content of the miniseries against these facts and other resources and research that are available to them. These materials are provided free of charge to teachers in grades 9 to 12 who can choose whether or not to utilize the lessons in their classrooms.
Scholastic routinely produces teaching materials based on television programs and films, and has been doing so since the 1950's. Teachers tell us that these materials engage their students and provide opportunities to create dynamic classroom lessons and discussions.
Scholastic appreciates hearing from teachers, parents, and others who use or evaluate our services. Your comments will be shared with our editorial staff who continue to seek to improve the quality of the materials we create for use in schools and homes. Please review the content of the 9/11 classroom guide when it is posted online and consider the opportunity it offers for developing critical thinking and relevant, timely discussion among high school students who have grown up in the post-9/11 era.
Sincerely,
Kyle Good
V.P. Corporate Communications
Scholastic Inc.
News@scholastic.com
Fascinating, Kyle.
Hmmm, doesn't Scholastic publish Harry Potter? Book 7 is due out July 7, 2007. I certainly won't be buying that book.
And should anyone wish to read them, here are my letters:
Robert A. Iger
President and CEO, The Walt Disney Company
Dear Mr. Iger:
It appears that while ABC represents that the film is a factual representation, it is clearly slanted to blame the Clinton Administration for not doing enough to go after Osama bin Laden.
The factual record does not support this.
So the question becomes, Why would ABC turn over a chunk of its airtime - using the public's airwaves - to such a bit of propaganda - right before a consequential election?
This sounds to me like an enormous gift of campaign advertising to Republicans running for office in November 2006.
Apparently lots of Bush supporters have seen The Path to 9/11. But few if any non-pro-Bush partisans have seen it.
I'm afraid this fact will prove very damaging for your company should you air this program. For it strongly suggests your intent with regard to this miniseries - an intent which runs afoul of the Federal Election Commission's rules about campaign contributions. Your network has attempted to both publicize the film among the audience you feel will most appreciate the film, while preventing anyone who might disagree from reviewing the film ahead of time and thus having the opportunity to protest.
I have written to the Federal Election Commission to ask for an investigation into whether this program's content and when you had planned to air it constitute an illegal campaign contribution.
If you air this ridiculous fiction, I will personally do the following:
- complain to any advertisers associated with your show
- petition the Federal Election Commission to impose all sanctions available
- petition the Federal Communications Commission to remove your broadcast license.
You simply do not have the right to use the publicly-owned airwaves to further the political interests of any individual or group.
Shame on you if you air this nonsense.
Sincerely,
And to highacidity's list:
Dear All:
I am very, very concerned about an upcoming ABC miniseries, The Path to 9/11.
I strongly urge ABC and its affiliates to consider pulling this miniseries from their schedules. In addition, those who advertise nationally with ABC and invest in ABC and its parent companies have a fiduciary responsibility to their shareholders to urge ABC not to air this program.
Apparently, despite ABC's claims that this film is a nonfiction account mainly drawm from the 9/11 Commission Report, this film grossly distorts the factual record to suggest that the Clinton Administration was largely responsible for 9/11. The factual record simply does not support such an assertion.
ABC simply does not have the right to use the public airwaves to broadcast political propaganda designed to further the interests of a narrow group of people shortly before an important election.
And unfortunately for all Americans, ABC does appear to have precisely that intent. Here is an excerpt from an insider associated with the film, written to conservative columnist Hugh Hewitt:
The Disney execs met all through the weekend - unheard of in this business - debating what changes would be made and what concessions should be given. Here is what looks to be the conclusion:
- There will be a handful of tweaks made to a few scenes.
- They are minor, and nuance in most cases - a line lift here, a tweak to the edit there.
- There are 900 screeners out there. When this airs this weekend, there will be a number of people who will spend their free evenings looking for these changes and will be hard pressed to identify them. They are that minor.
- The average viewer would not be able to tell the difference between the two versions.
- The message of the Clinton Admin failures remains fully intact.
...But the blame on the Clinton team is in the DNA of the project and could not be eradicated without pulling the entire show.
Very interersting. Presumably this assuaged Hugh Hewitt's concerns that the edits might blunt the propaganda value of this miniseries.
But this missive, coupled with the curiously targeted distribution of copies of the film for review, should not comfort employees of ABC or its affiliates, advertisers, or investors in ABC or its corporate parent.
A blind person can see that this so-called "factual" representation of the events leading to 9/11 have been designed with the intention of furthering the political interests of Republicans currently in office and those running for office this November.
Should this program be aired, ABC, its affiliates and parent company will be subject to sanction by the Federal Election Commission for unlawful campaign contributions. In addition, I will personally urge everyone I know to petition the Federal Communications Commission to have ABC's broadcast license revoked.
This is a serious issue - and one that will not disappear should ABC and its affiliates decide to air this show despite the growing chorus of protests.
I urge you to join me in demanding that ABC pull The Path to 9/11 from its schedule.
Thank you for your consideration.
Regards,