ABC Family "Strongly Rejects" Robertson's Comments

[paineinthearse]

...but "There are no plans to drop "700 Club" from ABC Family, a spokeswoman for the network added...."

See related initial post from yesterday, based on a Media Matters for America news release - http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=1721829&mesg_id=1723989 - Media Matters Calls on ABC Family to Discontinue Robertson Broadcasts
Posted by paineinthearse
Added to homepage Tue Aug 23rd 2005, 04:31 PM ET

...and subsequent CBN "News" release "CBN News: Comments Add Fuel to the Fire" - http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x149761

Source: http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/recent_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001020091

ABC Family "Strongly Rejects" Robertson's Comments
August 24, 2005
By Andrew Wallenstein, The Hollywood Reporter

ABC Family moved to distance itself Tuesday from controversial comments religious broadcaster Pat Robertson made on the channel. Robertson was live on the air hosting "The 700 Club" when he suggested that U.S. operatives assassinate Venezuela president Hugo Chavez. The Walt Disney Co.-owned cable channel is contractually required to air the program, which is produced by the Christian Broadcast Network.

"ABC Family strongly rejects the views expressed by Pat Robertson in the Aug. 22 telecast of the program," the network said. "All comments about 'The 700 Club' should be directed to the Christian Broadcast Network through their toll-free number or via their Web site at www.cbn.com."

There are no plans to drop "700 Club" from ABC Family, a spokeswoman for the network added. "700 Club" has been a staple of the channel since it was known as the Family Channel, before Disney acquired it from News Corp. and Haim Saban in 2001. Robertson sold it to News Corp. in 1997 on the condition that "700 Club" air on the channel in perpetuity no matter who owns the channel.

On the air Monday, Robertson said of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez: "If he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it. It's a whole lot cheaper than starting a war." The comment prompted liberal watchdog group Media Matters for America to publicly press ABC Family to drop "700 Club" from its schedule.

Contact ABC FAMILY

http://abcfamily.go.com/feedback/index.html

Contact Christian Broadcasting Company - http://www.cbn.com/contact/feedback.asp

Telephone - CBN Main Switchboard [phone]

Email -
CBN.com Editors - http://www.cbn.com/contact/feedback-cbnonline.asp
700 Club - http://www.cbn.com/contact/feedback-700club.asp

Contact / file a complaint with the FCC - http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/complaints.html

General Complaints: wireless and wireline telecommunications issues, cable, broadcasting and telecommunications accessibility issues. When not filing electronically please remember to include this information.

* Postal Mail:
Federal Communications Commission
Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau
Consumer Complaints
445 12th Street, SW
Washington, D.C. 20554

* E-Mail: You can send a complaint to [e-mail]

* Phone: Toll Free: 1-888-CALL-FCC (1-888-225-5322) voice, 1-888-TELL- FCC (1-888-835-5322) TTY. Our Consumer and Mediation Specialists are available Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET

* Fax: Toll-Free: 1-866-418-0232

We need the following information when you file a general complaint with the FCC:

Your name, address and the telephone number or numbers involved with your complaint; (if telephone related)

A telephone number where you can be reached during the business day;

Specific information about your complaint, including the names of all companies involved with your complaint;

Names and telephone numbers of the company representatives that you contacted, the dates that you spoke with these representatives, and any other information that would help process your complaint;

If telephone related, include a copy of the bill(s) listing the disputed charges;

What type of resolution are you seeking?

Contact Disney (ABC's parent)

http://corporate.disney.go.com/corporate/bios/anne_sweeney.html

Anne Sweeney
Co-Chairman, Media Networks, The Walt Disney Company and President, Disney-ABC Television Group

500 S. Buena Vista St.
Burbank, CA 91521-9722

Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

Sorry, I cannot find an email address

[Sydnie]

1. So Mickey Mouse supports polical assasinations by airing the program

and refusing to cancel it. Guess it really is a "Small World After All" as far as they are concerned.

Contracts like this are deplorable and what would make Disney agree to such a provision is beyond me.

[Tyranny_R_US]

22. Among other things

Ooooh I'm so getting sued!

[Ian David]

2. If they're obligated to carry it, they should move it to the 3 AM timeslot

And maybe transfer the program to VHS... then copy it to another VHS tape... then copy the copy to another VHS tape... and then broadcast the 3rd-generation copy at 3 AM.

[GreenPartyVoter]

6. *lol*

[SoCalDem]

3. ..on the air in perpetuity"... NONSENSE

they can cancel it anytime they want..Surely he broke an ethics clause, if not a LAW..

They are cowards who see the 700 Club as fertile ground for propaganda.

[democracyindanger]

25. Depends on the contract details nt

[Ian David]

4. Toll-free 24-hour Prayer phone number for 700 Club 1-800-759-0700

Payphones are your friend.

More email contacts:
http://tinyurl.com/b9w4z

[SoCalDem]

8. you can send messages to them too ..address here

http://www.cbn.com/contact/feedback.asp

[jackstraw45]

5. ABC "Supports Terrorism"

Simple as that.

[Sydnie]

10. Not just ABC - DISNEY supports terrorism

Hit them where it really hurts - Disney Character product sales. Buy a Disney DVD, support a terrorist plot today! Buy a stuffed Nemo for your kid, pay for a bullet for a leader that doesn't bow to American pressures. Mickey Mouse is Americana to a great deal of the world. Make them aware that they are supporting terrorists when they support Disney!

[catmandu57]

7. That's not good enough

not for me anyway, maybe some of the christian people living around here may forgive him, but for me it's nowhere good enough,. I want nothing less than robertson's head.

[paineinthearse]

9. CBN News release: Comments Add Fuel to the Fire

Robertson's call for assassination are prominately featured on CBN's home page - http://www.cbn.com/ - with several Macromedia flash panels which link to this and other stories from "CBN News". This is obviously intended to flame the fundies.

http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/news/050824a.asp

Comments Add Fuel to the Fire
By Dale Hurd
CBN News Sr. Reporter


CBN.com – (CBN News) - It seems that the whole world is talking about Pat Robertson’s comment that Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez should be done away with. That reaction followed a CBN News investigation into the potential danger from the South American dictator. CBN News now looks at the response, ranging from the Venezuelan government to its chief ally, Fidel Castro. This has now become a top subject in the American mainstream.

After the comments made about Chávez on this program, the Venezuelan Ambassador to Washington, Bernardo Alverez, said, "It is essential that the U.S. government guarantee (Chávez') safety when he visits (the United States) in the future. We are concerned about the safety of our president." Chávez, who was in Cuba at the time, responded by saying he preferred to "talk about life." But Castro, referring to comments made on this program, said, "Only God can punish crimes of such magnitude. I always say that God helps Chávez and his friends."

While in Cuba, where he is galvanizing his anti-American alliance with Castro, Chávez launched a fresh round of anti-American attacks, calling U.S. imperialism "the grand destroyer of the world, and the greatest threat…" He called President Bush the "lord of war," and vowed to come to Cuba's defense if the U.S. ever attacked the island. But that might be considered mild rhetoric for Chávez, who in past speeches has called Bush obscene names, and made sexually suggestive comments about Condoleezza Rice.

Only recently has Washington seemed to care about Chávez, despite the fact that Chávez has courted almost every adversary of the United States, from Saddam Hussein to Iran. Chávez also stands accused of helping the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia) narco-terrorists, and was embarrassed a few months ago when Colombian bounty hunters nabbed a FARC official living near Caracas, apparently under government protection.

more.......

[giant_robot]

11. So the same network that sacked Bill Maher...

...over his 9/11 comments "strongly rejects" advocating political assassination? Of course, Pat Robertson will never be given the Maher treatment.

[Hubert Flottz]

12. I think what Preacher Pat did was far more serious than what

Dan Rather did! Dan rather is gone, because he made a mistake and trusted Karl Rove's plant! Pat Robertson wants our government to kill a man and start another war!

[paineinthearse]

13. Disney's Business Standards and Ethics

http://corporate.disney.go.com/corporate/corporate_responsibility.html

Business Standards and Ethics - The Walt Disney Company's business and ethical standards are fundamental to how the company operates, and include workplace policies, hiring, training, business conduct guidelines, and ethical and legal standards.

http://corporate.disney.go.com/corporate/cr_business_standards.html

Business Standards and Ethics Training
Business Standards and Ethics training is provided by the company through its Business Conduct Training Center, which provides education and training to domestic and international employees through web-based tutorials via the My Disney TEAM internal portal, regarding the company's Standards of Business Conduct and related areas. It is the company's intent, through the Business Conduct Training Center, to ensure that all of its employees have the knowledge and training to act ethically and legally, in compliance with the company's Standards of Business Conduct.

http://corporate.disney.go.com/corporate/conduct_standards.html

Dear Fellow Disney Team Member:
Throughout the years, our guests, audiences, consumers and shareholders have come to depend on us for quality, creativity, innovation and integrity.

People trust us because of our commitment to them and to the standards to which we hold ourselves. We alone are responsible for upholding our excellence and our integrity. This means acting responsibly in all our professional relationships, in a manner consistent with the high standards we set for our business conduct.

Upholding legal standards of conduct, while mandatory for every Cast Member and employee, is not enough. We are also responsible for maintaining ethical standards. These standards govern how we treat everyone with whom we have contact. These are standards of integrity... honesty... trust... respect... fair play... and teamwork. In short, these are the standards we want Disney to continue to uphold in the years to come. Your company believes that its behavior as a business should reflect the commitment to the values set forth in these "Standards of Business Conduct."

The Standards in this booklet explain both our legal and ethical standards. Please read them. Be familiar with them. Act on them. And don't be afraid to speak up when you have a concern or a question. Talk to your supervisor, your respective Human Resources representative, or the Corporate Legal Department.

Our Standards of Business Conduct are here to guide our behavior and to help us live up to the highest expectations of excellence that are "Disney." As we continue to create Disney magic, I hope your actions show your pride in yourself, those you work with, and the Company.

- Michael Eisner
Chief Executive Officer
- Bob Iger
President and Chief Operating Officer

more.........

[ladjf]

14. Everybody except Bush has strongly reject Robertson's remarks.

[paineinthearse]

15. Additional contact information for Sweeney & Eisner

Anne Sweeney - President of ABC
E-Mail: [e-mail]
Mailing Address:
Anne Sweeney
ABC, Inc.
500 S. Buena Vista Street
Burbank, CA 91521-4551

Michael Eisner - The Walt Disney Company CEO
Mailing Address:
The Walt Disney Company
Mr. Michael Eisner, CEO
500 S. Buena Vista St.
Burbank CA 91521

[paineinthearse]

16. I can't figure out DU!!!????

Yesterday, this topic was big news. The "Media Matters for America" post has >100 replies, 12 "greatest" nominations and was placed on the home page.

ABC's snub of the American public, has received only a handful of comments.

:shrug:

[txaslftist]

18. which snub?

[paineinthearse]

19. ABC's

By refusing to pull the plug on 700 Club reruns, ABC is as bad as Robertson, and will be, if Chavez is "suicided" a co-conspirator to murder before the fact.

[txaslftist]

23. Well, not to be a pain in the arse, but isn't there a contract?

Unless there's some sort of inappropriate content clause, how does ABC breach it without getting sued?

[paineinthearse]

24. I'm not a lawyer, but I'm sure an argument could be made

It is the moral thing to do.

[txaslftist]

26. The question is, can they do it legally, moral or not?

If there's a clause saying they've got to run the 700 club forever, that would be subject to specific performance in a contract dispute. I don't believe they could even drop them and pay damages.

[paineinthearse]

27. Try this argument...Robertson is a terrorist

...and ABC can break a contract due to illegal activities.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4436022

[walldude]

28. Oh I think if they had any balls at all

they could drop him. He's advocating murder, they don't need any clause or contractual reason. The man went on national TV and asked that the U.S. murder Chavez. That should have been enough...

[txaslftist]

29. Yeah, but if they have any lawyers at all they'll know they can't.

Blame ABC all you want, but it's the 700 Club (owned by Robertson) where the buck stops.

[txaslftist]

30. Yeah, but if they have any lawyers at all they'll know they can't.

Blame ABC all you want, but it's the 700 Club (owned by Robertson) where the buck stops.

[txaslftist]

17. Wow... talk about unapologetic!

I went on the CBN site, and found a section "The whole world is commenting on Pat's suggestion that Hugo Chavez be done away with". It starts with a list of Chavez' faults that basically backs robert$on$ call of an assassination, then goes on to basically back up his call for murder.

[paineinthearse]

20. Indeed, see....

The initial post which describes "CBN News: Comments Add Fuel to the Fire" and theses other "news" stories.

[MsTryska]

21. Hmm....how about putting pressure on Cable Providers to

drop CBN from their cable lineups?

[paineinthearse]

31. US evangelist apologizes for Chavez remarks

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050824/pl_nm/venezuela_robertson_dc

US evangelist apologizes for Chavez remarks

Conservative U.S. evangelist Pat Robertson apologized on Wednesday for calling for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, saying he spoke in frustration earlier in the week. "Is it right to call for assassination? No, and I apologize for that statement. I spoke in frustration that we should accommodate the man who thinks the U.S. is out to kill him."

The leftist Chavez, one of President George W. Bush's harshest critics, has often accused the United States of plotting his overthrow or assassination. U.S. officials said this week the idea of hostile action against him was "without fact and baseless." Robertson, the founder of the Christian Coalition and a leader of the Christian right that has provided strong support for Bush, said on Monday of Chavez's fears: "If he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it." "We have the ability to take him out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that ability," he said on his "The 700 Club" television program.

His earlier remarks, said the leader of the world's fifth largest oil exporter was a "terrific danger" to the United States and Chavez intended to become "the launching pad for communist infiltration and Muslim extremism." Robertson said that while he was criticized by U.S. political and religious leaders, he found the attention he wanted for what he said was "a growing problem which has largely been ignored." Earlier in the day he said his remarks had been misinterpreted and "take him out" could refer to kidnapping.

<snip>

Chavez was elected in 1998, survived a referendum on his rule last year, and is seen to have a strong chance of winning re-election in 2006.

-------

Note the last sentence, some corp media are calling Chavez a 'dictator'. Glad to see Reuters calls it like it is.