60 Minutes Censored In N. Alabama

Elfdart · Post by **Elfdart** » 2008-02-25 01:01pm

Scott Horton has been on this story for Harper's for over a year. Don Siegelman was the Democratic governor of Republitard Alabama. Because having a Dem in the governor's office in a Red state was such a turd in the punchbowl for those who wanted a Permanent Republican Majority, the White House unleashed the hounds to try to find ANY piece of dirt with which to ruin Siegelman. According to a big shot in the Alabama GOP, Karl Rove told her and other Republitard henchmen to try to photograph Siegelman having an affair or something. When everything else failed, the Bush-appointed hacks in the US Attorney's Office got hold of an extortionist and after much coaching and rehearsing of false testimony (including the claim that the star witness has seen someone give a check to Siegelman in exchange for being re-appointed to an office) got him to help railroad the governor in exchange for a lighter sentence.

As I said, Scott Horton has been all over this, but 60 Minutes joined in and covered it last night in a nationwide broadcast. Well, almost nationwide. The CBS affiliates in northern Alabama gave their viewers blank screens during the first part of the broadcast, censoring the story that made the Alabama GOP look like the fascist thugs they are and exposing the swine justice of the Siegelman case.

Scott Horton wrote: Off the Air in Alabama

I am now hearing from readers all across Northern Alabama—from Decatur to Huntsville and considerably on down—that a mysterious “service interruption” blocked the broadcast of only the Siegelman segment of 60 Minutes this evening. The broadcaster is Channel 19 WHNT, which serves Northern Alabama and Southern Tennessee. This station was noteworthy for its hostility to Siegelman and support for his Republican adversary. The station ran a trailer stating “We apologize that you missed the first segment of 60 Minutes tonight featuring ‘The Prosecution of Don Siegelman.’ It was a techincal problem with CBS out of New York.” I contacted CBS News in New York and was told that “There were no transmission difficulties. The problems were peculiar to Channel 19, which had the signal and had functioning transmitters.” Channel 19 is owned by Oak Hill Capital Partners, who can be contacted through Rhonda Barnat, 212-371-5999 or rb@abmac.com. Oak Hill Partners represents interests of the Bass family, which contribute heavily to the Republican Party. Viewers displeased about the channel’s decision to censor the broadcast should express their views directly to the station management or to the owners.

I'd like to point out that the "crime" for which Siegelman was framed (accepting political contributions in exchange for appointing the donor to public office) wasn't considered a crime when, for example, Dubya appointed Shit Boat financier and GOP donor Sam Fox to an ambassador's post.

Covenant · Post by **Covenant** » 2008-02-25 03:16pm

Is this any variety of crime, or is it within their rights to shut down their transmitter and then lie about the cause?

Keevan_Colton · Post by **Keevan_Colton** » 2008-02-25 03:22pm

Covenant wrote:Is this any variety of crime, or is it within their rights to shut down their transmitter and then lie about the cause?

First amendment right to decieve the public.

Covenant · Post by **Covenant** » 2008-02-25 03:38pm

Keevan_Colton wrote:
Covenant wrote:Is this any variety of crime, or is it within their rights to shut down their transmitter and then lie about the cause?
First amendment right to decieve the public.

That's what I thought. Unless this is some kind of national media outlet, I don't believe local transmitters have any responsibility to air the stories they don't feel like. Obviously the real stick-and-carrot act is that by pulling that, 60 minutes folks might throw backlash down Alabama's way and cut funding and ads and so forth to squeeze them... but I don't see anything illegal about it, sadly. Let's just be glad they didn't air a completely different documentary, with the same name.

Elfdart · Post by **Elfdart** » 2008-02-25 03:55pm

I just got off the phone with the GM of the station and he claims that the station's receiver failed. He sounded very apologetic and said the station would be airing the segment in full tonight at 6PM CST.

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2008-02-25 04:15pm

Wow, so wait wait wait, this means Alabama actually knows that a world exists outside of the state? That’s even more shocking the anything else!

Covenant wrote:Is this any variety of crime, or is it within their rights to shut down their transmitter and then lie about the cause?

Not many laws govern what you chose not to show on the air, except for so called ‘equal time’ clause for free airtime given to political campaigns, which is not even remotely enforced. I can’t see any reason why this would be illegal, and Alabama they sure aren’t going to lose viewers, not that I can imagine many people watch 60 minutes to start with.

Flagg · Post by **Flagg** » 2008-02-25 06:02pm

It would fall under FCC regulations, and it may very well leave them subject to fines and even license revocation. But I don't know that there are specific rules regarding that type of bullfuckery. I'm making the utterly retarded assumption that because they regulate naughty bits and obscenities, they would actually have rules against this.

RedImperator · Post by **RedImperator** » 2008-02-25 06:17pm

If they were broadcasting blank screens, they might be liable for fines under dead air rules. I'm not sure what FCC regulations are on that matter.

Post by **Surlethe** » 2008-02-25 06:55pm

Anyone who's worked in broadcasting will tell you that dead air is broadcast as an absolute last resort. If you're out more than a minute, you put something on the air. If it's a long-term outage, you have to get something through, even if you have to drive out to the transmitter and hardwire a laptop into the system.

Enigma · Post by **Enigma** » 2008-02-26 07:57am

Elfdart wrote:I just got off the phone with the GM of the station and he claims that the station's receiver failed. He sounded very apologetic and said the station would be airing the segment in full tonight at 6PM CST.

Did they air the segment?

Mr. Coffee · Post by **Mr. Coffee** » 2008-02-26 08:30am

You know, here in town, this story didn't even so much as make a blip on the local radar. Did they air it? Fuck if I know, I was to busy playing some TDU.

On a different note, fuck Don Siegalman. Thanks to that crooked hatfucking douche the state appropriations money that was supposed to go towards some much needed overpasses on Memorial parkway and road resurfacing through out Madison Co went towards goddamned Tuscalossa so a bunch of candy-assed college football fans could drive to see the Crimson Tide play. Fuck the Tide and fuck Don Siegalman.

Oh, and fuck you to, Elf. Not everyone from Alabama is a sister fucking alcoholic, shitbreath.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2008-02-26 11:03am

Mr. Coffee wrote:On a different note, fuck Don Siegalman. Thanks to that crooked hatfucking douche the state appropriations money that was supposed to go towards some much needed overpasses on Memorial parkway and road resurfacing through out Madison Co went towards goddamned Tuscalossa so a bunch of candy-assed college football fans could drive to see the Crimson Tide play. Fuck the Tide and fuck Don Siegalman.

I know nothing about Alabama politics, but given the well-known American obsession with football, I find it hard to believe that throwing money at the Crimson Tide would be going against the will of the voters. And if it wasn't going against the will of the voters, I'm having trouble seeing why it would be an example of political corruption.

That's not to say that I disagree with you that infrastructure should take priority, but politicians generally do what is popular, not what is good for long-term planning.

Oh, and fuck you to, Elf. Not everyone from Alabama is a sister fucking alcoholic, shitbreath.

Well, there's also the cousin-fucking alcoholics

Mr. Coffee · Post by **Mr. Coffee** » 2008-02-26 11:14am

Darth Wong wrote:I know nothing about Alabama politics, but given the well-known American obsession with football, I find it hard to believe that throwing money at the Crimson Tide would be going against the will of the voters. And if it wasn't going against the will of the voters, I'm having trouble seeing why it would be an example of political corruption.

That's the thing though, here in Madison Co the voters want those infrastructure improvements. So do voters in otehr counties with the same needs. All dumping state funds into "Bama" does is improve a football team (a loosing one at that).

Darth Wong wrote:That's not to say that I disagree with you that infrastructure should take priority, but politicians generally do what is popular, not what is good for long-term planning.

In this state it's more along the lines of our politicians following the money instead of what the voters actually want.

Darth Wong wrote:Well, there's also the cousin-fucking alcoholics

And it's because of those dumbasses that the pricks in Montgomery manage to get away with their shit. If it wasn't for the supposed "hackjob" the GOP pulled on Siegalman, I doubt the fucker would have gotten caught or if anyone would have really gave a shit.

Elfdart · Post by **Elfdart** » 2008-02-26 11:28am

Mr. Coffee wrote:Oh, and fuck you to, Elf. Not everyone from Alabama is a sister fucking alcoholic, shitbreath.

Oh blow it out your ass! Did I say they were, douche nozzle? But since you flamed me for it anyway, I owe you one now:

You've got no balls. Must be because some Crimson Tide fan kicked your sister in the jaw and you were too loaded on corn pone to notice.

Mr. Coffee · Post by **Mr. Coffee** » 2008-02-26 11:50am

Elfdart wrote:Oh blow it out your ass! Did I say they were, douche nozzle? But since you flamed me for it anyway, I owe you one now:

You've got no balls. Must be because some Crimson Tide fan kicked your sister in the jaw and you were too loaded on corn pone to notice.

At leastr write your own material instead of using tired assed jokes you heard in grade school, you miserable failure of far-left fuck up. Did a Republican )or better yet, a Southern Republican) molest you as a child or something? because always seems if something at all negitive comes to light about any part of the south, especially if it has something to do with GOP shenanigans, you come crawling out fo the woodwork like a crackwhore looking for a cock to suck for a fix.

Now go crawl back to whatever shithole you hail from and suck a dick for beer money.