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Fox Censors 59th Emmy?
- Thread starter illegalprelude
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I really fail to see what all the hoopla is about. She said something she shouldn't have on the air (god damned) and seemed to be getting political at an event that is trying to stay non-political. That's two "no-no's" so I'm not surprised the producers got nervous and cut away. If Sally Field appeared on Bill O'Reilly's show to discuss politics and she kept getting "beeped" or cut away from every time she tried to talk that would be one thing, but that's not the case here. She was invited to attend a private awards show that would be televised and was well aware of the ground rules for such an event.
Does every letter to the editor make it into a newspaper? Do all callers on talk radio get on the air? If you drove over to your local TV station and said, "Hey, I have an opinion and I want you to let me on TV so I can share it w/everyone" do you think they'd let you? By your logic millions of opinions are being blocked out every day so what's special about this one?
To over simplify the matter, you are free to say what you want and media outlets are free to say/broadcast/print what they want (both w/in the confines of the applicable laws and regulations of course).
Okay, after seeing the edited clip on YouTube and the not edited clip provided by Steve1496 I really, really don't see what the hoopla is about. Tempest in a teapot, IMO.
Lethal
I think the problem comes here Lethal that its very well known that Fox is a Pro supporter of the current administration and that they helped very much so push the current and prior years Agendas. You will only get a bigger feel of that if you ever watch Fox News and see all the bashing that is done.
Now, take that idea with the fact that when these people are invited to there, they are not invited to read a script. They are very much invited there with the idea that they will be given a mic on a national platform and can say as they wish, hence the idea of freedom of speech.
Last I checked, the words God and God-Damn were not words that needed to be bleemed out and more so, isnt a tad interesting that the cut away wasnt for a mere 1 second, but a good 5 second or so cutaway?
I think its when you add all the pieces, thats where the problem comes in.
American television is a bit different than a privately owned Web site; TV constitutes a public forum and, as such, is governed by policies mandated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). There are words you cannot say, images you cannot show on network/non-cable TV; I don't know to what extent a network would implement standards that are more strict than FCC standards, but I tend to think that any network will make its standards at least as strict as federal guidelines to avoid a fine.
I am a very big free speech advocate and could probably bore most people to death talking about all the things that are wrong w/the consolidation of media ownership in this country and the rise of a handful of giant conglomerates that control almost everything we hear, see, and read, but that has nothing to do w/Sally Field's speech.
No, they are invited there to accept an award. They are discouraged from getting on a political soapbox, swearing, or doing anything else that the show's producers don't think will sit well w/their target demographic or the FCC.
It does not say anywhere in the Constitution that people have the right to say anything they want while accepting an Emmy on prime time TV.
Wasn't it a tad interesting that everything she said before "goddamn" was aired even though it seemed more anti-war than the phrase "... wars in the first place" which was all that was cut out? She swore, got her mic cut and didn't get it back until they felt safe she wouldn't swear again. Hell, they cut out more of her applause than they did her speech.
Lethal
People still watch this crap? Seriously?
I'm guessing you don't like hearing from our esteemed governor then?
Fox Tries to Explain Emmy Censorship
By EDWARD WYATT,
The New York Times
LOS ANGELES (Sept. 18) When a federal appeals court ruled last summer that broadcast networks were not responsible for censoring fleeting expletives uttered on television, Fox hailed it as a victory for viewers, saying they could decide themselves what is appropriate viewing for their home.
But when some performers and award winners blurted out expletives on Sunday night on Foxs broadcast of the 59th Primetime Emmys including one that came during antiwar comments Fox censors hit the delete button, leaving viewers with confusing seconds of dead air and wondering whether the censorship was of language or of political views. Fox said it was only language.
Remarks by Sally Field and Ray Romano and even an expletive of surprise, spoken away from a microphone by Katherine Heigl were cut. Dead air replaced the words, and the video cut to a wide shot of the auditorium when performers were deemed by the Fox broadcast standards officials to have gone too far.
Like many live programs, the Emmys show was produced with a delay of several seconds between the live action and the broadcast, allowing network officials time to delete remarks considered offensive.
In a statement issued on Monday, Fox Broadcasting said: Some language during the live broadcast may have been considered inappropriate by some viewers. As a result, Foxs broadcast standards executives determined it appropriate to drop sound during those portions of the show.
The network declined to comment further. But a Fox executive, who spoke anonymously because he was not authorized to go beyond the official statement, said the network believed that the fleeting expletives ruling did not give Fox the right to forgo its responsibility to keep objectionable language off broadcast television.
The three instances of censoring were based solely on the use of profanities and not on the content of the remarks, the Fox executive said. Questions about whether Fox was censoring Ms. Field arose after a portion of her acceptance speech was cut.
Ms. Field used an expletive in saying that if mothers ruled the world, there would be no wars. She won the Emmy for her performance as Nora Walker, a liberal matriarch whose son is headed to Iraq for combat duty, on the ABC drama Brothers & Sisters.
Backstage after her acceptance, Ms. Field said she would have liked to say more four-letter words up there.
Audiences will never know if Sally Field's acceptance of her best actress in a drama Emmy for 'Brothers and Sisters' surpasses her famous Oscar speech because censors blacked it out after she said the word "g--damned."
But she added that she probably shouldnt have said the word that was censored. If they bleep it, oh well, Ill just say it somewhere else, she said.
Mr. Romano was censored when he made a joke about his former television wife Patricia Heaton, his co-star on Everybody Loves Raymond and her new characters love affair with Kelsey Grammers character on Back to You, a Fox series that is to have its premiere this week. In doing so, Mr. Romano ignored Foxs plea to television critics not to reveal the characters back story before the seriess broadcast.
Perhaps the most surprising bit of censorship came as Ms. Heigl mouthed a curse word normally associated with frustration or disgust when she was announced as the winner of an Emmy for her role on ABCs Greys Anatomy. The word was not picked up by any microphones, but Fox nevertheless cut away so that viewers could not read Ms. Heigls lips and be offended.
By EDWARD WYATT,
The New York Times
LOS ANGELES (Sept. 18) When a federal appeals court ruled last summer that broadcast networks were not responsible for censoring fleeting expletives uttered on television, Fox hailed it as a victory for viewers, saying they could decide themselves what is appropriate viewing for their home.
But when some performers and award winners blurted out expletives on Sunday night on Foxs broadcast of the 59th Primetime Emmys including one that came during antiwar comments Fox censors hit the delete button, leaving viewers with confusing seconds of dead air and wondering whether the censorship was of language or of political views. Fox said it was only language.
Remarks by Sally Field and Ray Romano and even an expletive of surprise, spoken away from a microphone by Katherine Heigl were cut. Dead air replaced the words, and the video cut to a wide shot of the auditorium when performers were deemed by the Fox broadcast standards officials to have gone too far.
Like many live programs, the Emmys show was produced with a delay of several seconds between the live action and the broadcast, allowing network officials time to delete remarks considered offensive.
In a statement issued on Monday, Fox Broadcasting said: Some language during the live broadcast may have been considered inappropriate by some viewers. As a result, Foxs broadcast standards executives determined it appropriate to drop sound during those portions of the show.
The network declined to comment further. But a Fox executive, who spoke anonymously because he was not authorized to go beyond the official statement, said the network believed that the fleeting expletives ruling did not give Fox the right to forgo its responsibility to keep objectionable language off broadcast television.
The three instances of censoring were based solely on the use of profanities and not on the content of the remarks, the Fox executive said. Questions about whether Fox was censoring Ms. Field arose after a portion of her acceptance speech was cut.
Ms. Field used an expletive in saying that if mothers ruled the world, there would be no wars. She won the Emmy for her performance as Nora Walker, a liberal matriarch whose son is headed to Iraq for combat duty, on the ABC drama Brothers & Sisters.
Backstage after her acceptance, Ms. Field said she would have liked to say more four-letter words up there.
Audiences will never know if Sally Field's acceptance of her best actress in a drama Emmy for 'Brothers and Sisters' surpasses her famous Oscar speech because censors blacked it out after she said the word "g--damned."
But she added that she probably shouldnt have said the word that was censored. If they bleep it, oh well, Ill just say it somewhere else, she said.
Mr. Romano was censored when he made a joke about his former television wife Patricia Heaton, his co-star on Everybody Loves Raymond and her new characters love affair with Kelsey Grammers character on Back to You, a Fox series that is to have its premiere this week. In doing so, Mr. Romano ignored Foxs plea to television critics not to reveal the characters back story before the seriess broadcast.
Perhaps the most surprising bit of censorship came as Ms. Heigl mouthed a curse word normally associated with frustration or disgust when she was announced as the winner of an Emmy for her role on ABCs Greys Anatomy. The word was not picked up by any microphones, but Fox nevertheless cut away so that viewers could not read Ms. Heigls lips and be offended.
People still watch this crap? Seriously?
I'm guessing you don't like hearing from our esteemed governor then?
Hmmm, didn't think about that. Not too concerned about "Ahhnold", governors don't have too much influence on foreign policy but now there's Fred Thompson, another actor, running for president. At least he was once a senator.
Well, if Reagan can do it I guess Fred can to (shrug).
Fox had better stop broadcasting baseball games. Those ball players utter some serious profanities, and whether we can hear them all the time or not, some of don't like what we're seeing.
Usually radio is 7 seconds behind TV. I never see anything edited out of a game.
I've found it to be just the other way around, with radio several seconds ahead of TV, since the Janet Jackson incident. I've tried to listening to the radio broadcast of a game with the TV sound turned down. It's very distracting (though probably no worse than listening to those knuckleheads on ESPN). And of course there's nothing edited out. The delay is a gross overreaction to one incident.
Im watching the Yankee game, I just turned on the radio to check and the radio is a good 20 seconds ahead. I am not sure if that is a satellite delay or a man made one. The game is being shown over the air tonight and Im getting it out of the local station pulling the NY feed. Im not sure how many satellite jumps they are making. There is a good chance it is hopping 3.
A couple of comments:
1) Fox rightfully censored Fields' speech because she specifically used an expletive on-air. Note that she said afterwards she regretted using it in the first place, something that the mainstream press seemed to have totally missed. In my humble opinion, Fields would have gotten away with it if she avoided using that expletive.
2) Ever since Michael Moore's unfortunate speech at the Oscars four years ago, the producers of awards shows have told presenters specifically to keep their politicizing to a minimum.
1) Fox rightfully censored Fields' speech because she specifically used an expletive on-air. Note that she said afterwards she regretted using it in the first place, something that the mainstream press seemed to have totally missed. In my humble opinion, Fields would have gotten away with it if she avoided using that expletive.
2) Ever since Michael Moore's unfortunate speech at the Oscars four years ago, the producers of awards shows have told presenters specifically to keep their politicizing to a minimum.
It's a privately owned company. As said, they can censor all they want. Doesn't mean we have to like it of course, we can complain, even boycott. But they aren't the gov, free speech doesn't come into play.
The FCC has ruled that saying "God damned" isn't a fineable offense. It's up to the network to decide if they want to censor it. It's more about offending the audience. Definitely still a little PC in post Jackson times, as most people really don't care anymore, but the few that still do screw it up for the rest of us.
They don't. They think they have a right to their opinion just as much as any of us do, and use their public forums to express themselves. Sure, some of them take themselves way more seriously than they should, but they still have a right to their opinion. Just as FOX, for better or worse, has a right to air what they want.
I remember a time when nobody would have argued that an entire speech needed to be censured, let alone because of only one word uttered in the speech. I guess that makes me very old.
The topic was highly relevant, as it was directly related to the show's plot, and most likely a factor in the award.
Besides, it wasn't really a controversial comment. It's long been said that if moms ruled the world, there wouldn't be any wars (and it's probably true).
Now, if all the actors made a speech about their own political agendas, I'd tend to agree with you, but in this case, it was a perfectly legitimate and on-topic speech.
Out of a 90 second acceptance speech the last three seconds (specifically the words "goddamn wars in the first place") got cut. Not exactly censuring an entire speech.
Lethal