UPDATE:I just noticed that CBS is running a
real documentary on 9/11 tomorrow (Sunday) night, the one by the Gaudet brothers -- they happened to be filming a FDNY firehouse on 9/11 and followed the whole thing. It's narrated by Robert DeNiro. I remember seeing it several years ago; it was quite good, and would make an excellent alternative to ABC's defamatory excrement (I just saw several lengthy clips -- I can't
believe how deliberately false and defamatory it is).
As for the FCC, I don't know federal communications law, but I'm hoping that someone among the Kossacks reading this may know some. (UPDATE: A respondent below has provided excellent information on filing a complaint with the FCC, and another respondent has links to a petition campaign ready to start if/when ABC airs this crap.)
My question is whether this miniseries could be defined as political matter, and, if so, what that might mean in terms of ABC's obligation to disclose it as such, as well as other responsibilities such a definition might entail. My reasons, and the text of the FCC regulation, below:
ABC/Disney appears determinedly resistant to pulling this defamatory mini-series from broadcast, despite a swelling mob of protests. I believe that a strong case can be made that ABC/Disney has produced and plans to air political matter. Here are a few of the reasons:
(1) We now know that TWO former FBI agents refused to serve as consultants -- the first one as soon as he read the script, and the second one after the writer, director, and producers refused to delete the substantive inaccuracies in the script (they finally kept the third former FBI agent they brought in as a consultant only by limiting his role to advising them on the accuracy of things such as agents' appearance).
(2) It appears that all of the substantive factual inaccuracies (as opposed to non-substantive ones such as conflation of events for dramatic purpose) -- most notably the created-out-of-thin-air scene of Sandy Berger's refusing to okay a strike against bin Laden by our men on the ground -- serve to portray the Clinton administration as being at fault for 9/11. Conversely, crucial events are NOT depicted that are WELL-documented regarding the failures of the Bush administration -- e.g., the immediate ending of the weekly anti-terrorism meetings called by Richard Clarke with the heads of the intelligence agencies; the lack of concern by both Condoleezza Rice and President Bush over the Presidential Daily Bulletin titled "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S." despite two HIGH-level CIA analysts' traveling to Crawford to stress the urgency of the situation; Attorney-General Ashcroft's decision to de-prioritize anti-terrorism in the FBI's budget and resources over the pleas of Senator Dianne Feinstein on the very EVE of 9/11; and, most tragically, President Bush's sitting for more than five minutes, listening to a grade school student read "My Pet Goat," after being informed by Chief of Staff Andrew Card that the SECOND plane had struck the World Trade Center.
(3) Despite repeated notice from the former FBI agents and others that there were major inaccuracies in the film, ABC/Disney knowingly produced a FICTIONAL drama about an historical event with enormous and continuing political consequences. The political motives of ABC/Disney are readily apparent in that the fiction consists not in creating personal, human-interest storylines, but in deliberately and falsely portraying Clinton administration officials as having acted and failed to act in ways that led to the 9/11 tragedy, despite ABC/Disney's having been told repeatedly that such events are DOCUMENTED as NOT having occurred.
(4) ABC/Disney, both here in the U.S. and overseas, has advertised this fictional miniseries as being the "true story," based on the 9/11 Commission's report, although they were repeatedly informed that crucial scenes directly contradicted that report.
(5) The writer and director are both conservative ideologues, and the factually inaccurate scenes that defame former President Clinton and his staff are derived completely from false rumors which have been widely circulated within the neoconservative sphere from 9/11 to the present day, despite the published findings in the 9/11 Commission report.
(5) The trailers for the miniseries being run overseas, although not under FCC purview, nevertheless show clearly the political motivations of ABC/Disney: they blatantly depict what is perhaps the most completely false and defamatory scene in the miniseries with the titling "The True Official Story" and a clip of President Clinton with flames overlaid as a lead-in, and with a voiceover questioning whether the tragedy of 9/11 need have occurred.
Is this enough to force involvement from the FCC? I thought that perhaps a provision such as the following could be used (although I'm hoping that there's something even stronger elsewhere in their regulations):
Section 73.1212 [47 CFR §73.1212] Sponsorship identification; list retention; related requirements.
d) In the case of any political broadcast matter or any broadcast matter involving the discussion of a controversial issue of public importance for which any film, record, transcription, talent, script, or other material or service of any kind is furnished, either directly or indirectly, to a station as an inducement for broadcasting such matter, an announcement shall be made both at the beginning and conclusion of such broadcast on which such material or service is used that such film, record, transcription, talent, script, or other material or service has been furnished to such station in connection with the transmission of such broadcast matter: Provided, however, That in the case of any broadcast of 5 minutes' duration or less, only one such announcement need be made either at the beginning or conclusion of the broadcast.
I found this on the web page of the FCC site dealing with politial candidates, but I'm hoping that some communications attorneys might know more and have some helpful suggestions.