Alabama Public Television refuses to air 'Arthur' episode with gay wedding

[riversedge]

Source: NBC News




Alabama Public Television refuses to air 'Arthur' episode with gay wedding
"It would be a violation of trust to broadcast the episode," the director of programming at Alabama Public Television said.




May 20, 2019, 6:08 PM CDT / Updated May 20, 2019, 9:07 PM CDT


Alabama Public Television chose not to air PBS' recent "Arthur" episode that featured a same-sex marriage.

During the animated series' 22nd season premiere, titled “Mr. Ratburn and the Special Someone," Arthur's third-grade teacher, Mr. Ratburn, marries Patrick, a chocolatier, at a wedding attended by his students, Arthur, Francine, Buster and Muffy. It aired May 13.

Mike McKenzie, director of programming at APT, told NBC News on Monday that PBS sent a message to stations in mid-April alerting them "to possible viewer concerns about the content of the program." After he and others at APT viewed the episode, they decided not to broadcast it and showed a re-run instead.
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“Parents have trusted Alabama Public Television for more than 50 years to provide children’s programs that entertain, educate and inspire,” McKenzie said in a statement. “More importantly — although we strongly encourage parents to watch television with their children and talk about what they have learned afterwards — parents trust that their children can watch APT without their supervision. We also know that children who are younger than the ‘target’ audience for 'Arthur' also watch the program.”..................................




Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/alabama-public-television-refuses-air-arthur-episode-gay-wedding-n1008026?cid=sm_npd_nn_tw_ma

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geeez, Alabama must be a stinking Trump swamp!!

McKenzie said the network has no plans to air it.
'Arthur' character Mr. Ratburn comes out as gay in season premiere
May 14, 201901:42

Link to tweet

[Farmer-Rick]

1. Alabama: the nasty belt buckle of the gospel of hate.

How is it showing love in cute little cartoons a violation of trust? The religiously insane are at it again.

[RockRaven]

2. As long as they're complaining about fiction, why not complain about the show's miscegenation

and school desegregation (those kids aren't just different races, they're different *species* for Pete's sake!)? That is about as rational...

[SWBTATTReg]

3. Violation of whose trust? The trust of bigots and so forth? I'd revisit this decision of a so ...

called public agency deciding on its' own what violates the public's trust...

[ck4829]

10. Good question

[mwooldri]

4. Solution: withhold funding?

It's probably better that there is a PBS affiliate in Al-Abama but if this was a move made by say... UNC-TV then ... I would definitely not fund them for a while (though lately I have been too broke so it's kind of a moot point).

[IronLionZion]

5. Because children would be traumatized?

or because Alabama children might decide it's completely normal and vote out their hateful politicians later?

[LiberalArkie]

6. So did Arkansas (AETN)

[House of Roberts]

7. They always pre-empt the shows I like to beg for donations.

I never saw the logic of that.

[Bengus81]

8. Now running those "Come to Alabama" commercials for tourism.......

I've seen them on both national and even a couple of local stations here.


FUCK YOU.....desperation already??

[ck4829]

9. Kick

[sakabatou]

11. I wouldn't be surprised if they cut Ruby and Sapphire's wedding

[BlueStater]

12. The same state that nearly elected a pedophile as one of its senators.

Alabama continues to be a massive joke and disgrace to the nation.

[Skittles]

13. it is amazing what offends them and what does not