{"id":26109,"date":"2020-07-08T06:00:07","date_gmt":"2020-07-08T11:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.robertfeder.com\/?p=26109"},"modified":"2020-07-08T07:25:33","modified_gmt":"2020-07-08T12:25:33","slug":"metv-flags-objectionable-content-shows-another-era","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/2020\/07\/08\/metv-flags-objectionable-content-shows-another-era\/","title":{"rendered":"MeTV flags objectionable content in \u2018shows from another era\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

<\/a> Richie Cunningham (Ron Howard) on \"Happy Days\"<\/p><\/div>\n

Richie Cunningham, the All-American 1950s teenager played by Ron Howard on the long-running sitcom \u201cHappy Days,\u201d has a poster on his bedroom wall that bears the image of a Confederate flag.<\/p>\n

But you won\u2019t see it again as long as the show is running on MeTV.<\/a> From now on, the flag on Richie\u2019s poster will be digitally blurred whenever it appears on the hometown network for \u201cMemorable Entertainment Television.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

MeTV<\/p><\/div>\n

It\u2019s one of numerous judgment calls they\u2019re making as Chicago-based MeTV owner Weigel Broadcasting systematically scours its library of reruns from the \u201960s, \u201970s and \u201980s to spot offensive stereotypes and other objectionable material in light of the times.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe're being responsible, not reactionary,\u201d explained Neal Sabin, vice chairman of Weigel Broadcasting and the driving force behind the network he created in 2008. \u201cI\u2019m not a fan of \u2018cancel culture,\u2019 but there are certain episodes and certain things we\u2019re taking out and other things we\u2019re leaving in. It's an ongoing process.\u201d<\/p>\n

In all cases, Sabin said, the standard they\u2019re applying considers \u201cnuance, intent and the context in which it was done.\u201d Westerns and cop shows on MeTV may deal with touchy subjects, but that doesn\u2019t automatically render them unacceptable.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, an episode of \u201cThe Beverly Hillbillies\u201d focused almost entirely around racist Asian stereotypes was permanently removed.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Fred and Barney<\/p><\/div>\n

An episode of \u201cThe Flintstones\u201d in which Fred and Barney refer to two Arab characters who show up in Bedrock as \u201ctowelheads\u201d has been excised. \u201cFred Flintstone will never be heard saying that on MeTV,\u201d Sabin said.<\/p>\n

And an episode of \u201cThe Monkees\u201d was cut for Asian stereotypes and slurs.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, Sabin strongly defends airing \u201cHogan\u2019s Heroes,\u201d a sitcom set in a Nazi prison camp during World War II, although he gets more complaints about it than any other show on the network.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Neal Sabin<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cThe world was never like 'Leave It to Beaver,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cThese are shows from another era, and we think people realize that.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s all happening as MeTV enjoys record-high ratings from coast to coast. Boasting an audience of 27 million viewers a week, it\u2019s the fifth highest-rated cable network in the country, behind only Fox News, MSNBC, CNN and HGTV.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are trying to make MeTV an escape from reality,\u201d Sabin said. \u201cThat's why we're not jumping onto the bandwagon of doing 'special programming.' We're just here, doing what we do, entertaining people, and helping them escape.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tuesday\u2019s comment of the day:<\/a> Devan Gourdine:<\/strong> I support Maze Jackson's decision [to quit WVON]. Censorship on any level is wrong. Black residents of Illinois should be free to participate, align and most importantly think in whatever manner brings economic and justice accomplishment. Mr. Jackson's voice brings that. And we appreciate him for that.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Richie Cunningham, the All-American 1950s teenager played by Ron Howard on the long-running sitcom \u201cHappy Days,\u201d has a poster on his bedroom wall that bears the image of a Confederate flag. But you won\u2019t see it again as long as the show is running on MeTV. From now on, the flag on Richie\u2019s poster will... Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26109"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26109"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26109\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26123,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26109\/revisions\/26123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}