Was ABC courting the US right when it aired The Path to 9/11? If so, its strategy backfired with the network accused of spinning the facts for commercial gain(snip)
Yet, even though ABC may have exploited conservatives to hype its 9/11 show, this does not necessary mean the network favours open bias. It was quick to dump Mel Gibson's proposed Holocaust mini-series after the actor made his infamous anti-semitic remarks.
And although American conservatives like to obsess about the media's liberal leanings, ultimately the networks bend their knees to power, which, at present, rests with the conservatives. "Despite claims of independence, the plain fact is that, as corporate consolidation has increased, we have seen an increasing tendency of the media to be more solicitous of government concerns, and less willing to take an independent stand," warns Harold Feld, a senior vice president with the Media Access Project, a watchdog group.
Whether ABC was a willing partner in a docudrama slanted towards the government, or merely a patsy remains unclear. Tellingly, the Bush administration and Disney, ABC's parent company, have enjoyed a cosy relationship. After 9/11 sent tourism into freefall, Bush advised Americans to "go down to Disney World". The president even visited himself. Disney later dumped Michael Moore's anti-Bush film Fahrenheit 9/11.
So snuggling up to conservatives with an agenda may have seemed smart, especially when media titans are lobbying to relax federal cross-ownership rules, a move opposed by critics on both the right and the left. Now ABC is reaping the whirlwind left in the drama's wake, its reputation tarnished by accusations that it has spun the events of September 11 for commercial gain.
http://media.guardian.co.uk/site/story/0,,1874584,00.html
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