General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsN.F.L. Pressure Said to Lead ESPN to Quit Film Project
Pressure from the National Football League led to ESPNs decision on Thursday to pull out of an investigative project with Frontline regarding head injuries in the N.F.L., according to two people with direct knowledge of the situation.
ESPN, which is owned by the Walt Disney Company, pays the N.F.L. more than $1 billion a year to broadcast Monday Night Football, a ratings juggernaut and cherished source of revenue for Disney.
Frontline, the PBS public affairs series, and ESPN had been working for 15 months on a two-part documentary, to be televised in October. But ESPNs role came under intense pressure by the league, the two people said, after a trailer for the documentary was released Aug. 6, the day that the project was discussed at a Television Critics Association event in Beverly Hills, Calif.
Last week, several high-ranking officials convened a lunch meeting at Patroon, near the leagues Midtown Manhattan headquarters, according to the two people, who requested anonymity because they were prohibited by their superiors from discussing the matter publicly. It was a table for four: Roger Goodell, commissioner of the N.F.L.; Steve Bornstein, president of the NFL Network; ESPNs president, John Skipper; and John Wildhack, ESPNs executive vice president for production.
At the combative meeting, the people said, league officials conveyed their displeasure with the direction of the documentary, which is expected to describe a narrative that has been captured in various news reports over the past decade: the league turning a blind eye to evidence that players were sustaining brain trauma on the field that could lead to profound, long-term cognitive disability.
more
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/24/sports/football/nfl-pressure-said-to-prompt-espn-to-quit-film-project.html?=_r=6&
Octafish
(55,745 posts)...peace, and a lot of other stuff important to know in a democracy.
Part of getting access to the public airwaves means telling the truth and news. Maybe that got lost when the Fairness Doctrine got tossed. I know it will be with the privatization of the FCC.
dembotoz
(16,739 posts)AngryAmish
(25,704 posts)This is a good thing.