{"id":3211,"date":"2014-04-25T16:00:19","date_gmt":"2014-04-25T21:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.robertfeder.com\/?p=3211"},"modified":"2014-04-25T20:45:40","modified_gmt":"2014-04-26T01:45:40","slug":"chicagoland-wasnt-on-the-level","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/2014\/04\/25\/chicagoland-wasnt-on-the-level\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Chicagoland\u2019 wasn\u2019t on the level"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/a><\/a>CNN should be ashamed. I know I am.<\/p>\n \u201cChicagoland,\u201d <\/a>the much-ballyhooed documentary series that completed its eight-week run on CNN Thursday, turned out to be as manipulative as its critics suspected.<\/a><\/p>\n A front-page story <\/a>in Friday\u2019s Chicago Tribune<\/a> revealed the extent to which producers kowtowed to City Hall for what was billed as \u201ca non-scripted, eight-part original series about a heartland American city.\u201d Whatever it was, it wasn\u2019t<\/em> journalism.<\/p>\n \u201cIf it seemed as though some scenes of CNN's documentary series \u2018Chicagoland\u2019 were coordinated by Mayor Rahm Emanuel's City Hall and the show's producers, that's because they were,\u201d reporter Bill Ruthhart wrote. <\/a>\u201cMore than 700 emails reviewed by the Tribune reveal that the production team worked hand in hand with the mayor's advisers to develop storylines, arrange specific camera shots and review news releases officially announcing the show.\u201d<\/p>\n According to the emails obtained through an open records request, producers \u201ctold Emanuel's staff that particular scenes would present the mayor in a positive light, with one of the producers expressing a desire to showcase the mayor \u2018as the star that he really is.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n It also was noted that \"Chicagoland\" executive producers Marc Levin and Mark Benjamin had been represented by William Morris Endeavor, the Hollywood agency run by the mayor's brother, Ari Emanuel. \u201cThe producers said they were not represented on the project by William Morris to avoid any conflict of interest, but Levin said they likely would be represented by the firm in the future,\u201d Ruthhart reported.<\/p>\n In response to the Tribune story, CNN released a statement Friday asserting that the \"mayor\u2019s office was never granted editorial control over the content or the press communications for\u00a0\u2018Chicagoland,\u2019 and no agency was ever granted authority to offer the mayor\u2019s office editorial approval for the content or the promotional materials for the series.\"<\/p>\n