O.J. project died mercifully yesterday
It is good to know that sometimes a negative public outcry can still produce results in a day and age when the press and the media often ignore public outrage. The scheduled O.J. Simpson book and TV special has been cancelled after not only family members protested, but the public at-large let News Corporation know that the project was in incredibly poor taste. Rupert Murdoch on the now-dead deal:"I and senior management agree with the American public that this was an ill-considered project," News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch said. "We are sorry for any pain that this has caused the families of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson."
In an ironic twist of fate, some of the harshest critisism of the project came from various hosts and presenters on Fox News, which is-like the Fox Broadcast Network, also owned by News Corp. I think it is fair to assume that the very public criticism from inside one's own quarters stung the News Corp. operation at-large.
In an age when the media often finds itself immune to public criticism, it is good to see agents of the press react so quickly to a negative public outcry and do something about it. In saying this, I don't want to give the impression that I am advocating censorship-had the book and television program gone ahead, I would think them in very poor taste and would not buy the book or read it, or watch the program-but Fox has a right to air it. Just because Fox has that right does not mean they always need to exercise that right.
The very concept of freedom operates on the assumption that people can have said freedom and can have limited government because they will act responsibly of their own accord and use those freedoms wisely-an idea that many folks in the modern era have yet to grasp. News Corporation has chosen to react to public scrutiny and use the freedom of the press in a responsible manner. The rest of the media should pay attention.
Labels: Miscellany
posted by Deacon David Oatney @ 11:58 AM
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