strongarm85
11-06-2009, 10:03 PM
The Ombudsman Column
Pox or Fox? We Report. You Decide.
By Michael Getler
November 4, 2009
One of the most interesting aspects of this peculiar job is that you hear from viewers about lots of things that surprise you. I expect to hear regularly about The NewsHour, Frontline, Bill Moyers Journal, NOW, Tavis Smiley or Washington Week and all the high-profile documentaries. But every once in a while there is a National Memorial Day Concert from the Capitol lawn that turns out to have a fascinating back story or a timely episode of Sid the Science Kid about flu vaccinations that stirs up at least some parents, as happened just last week.
Now, the venerable Sesame Street is suddenly and surprisingly (for me) in the crosshairs. The question is this: Did this icon of public broadcasting and gold standard for high quality educational broadcasting for children for 40 years stoop to take a camouflaged shot at Fox News?
The letters from complaining viewers are printed below. There are not many of them, but as is often the case, even a single viewer can make an important observation worthy of reporting and discussing. My eagle-eyed assistant, Marcia Apperson, reminds me that we have received the occasional complaint about this particular episode before. It aired for the first time two years ago and a couple of times in 2008 and this year. But I confess that this is the first time it caught my eye and the first time we heard from a number of viewers.
The episode, which aired Oct. 29, involves one of Sesame Street's scores of colorful creations, the Grouch News Network, in which muppet Oscar the Grouch is the host, pursuing GNN's dedication to "all grouchy, all disgustin', all yucky" news. But another character feels that the Grouch is not grouchy enough and threatens to switch to "Pox News, now there's a trashy news show," she says.
Everybody who wrote to me heard this as "Fox News," and I can't really blame them. When I went and watched the tape for the first time, I thought I heard "Fox" as well, perhaps because of the association one assumes when you hear "news" right after the word. However, when I watched and listened more carefully a second time, it was clear that the character said "Pox" and not "Fox" and the closed captioning that runs across the bottom of the screen when the sound is muted also stated "Pox News."
Now, on one level, Pox News as an alternative and competitor to the Grouch News Network would seem to be a clever and appropriate title. But you would have to be anesthetized as a producer not to assume that many parents will hear this, or assume this, to be a clever shot at Fox News. It's a parody, a play on words, and has a timely feel to it at this time, especially, because of the battle now going on publicly between Fox and the White House. So it's probably not surprising that last week's showing got more people's attention.
I don't know what was in the head of the producers, but my guess is that this was one of those parodies that was too good to resist. But it should have been resisted. Broadcasters can tell parents whatever they think of Fox or any other network, but you shouldn't do it through the kids.
Here are the letters, followed by a sampling of mail from viewers about other recent ombudsman columns on Sid the Science Kid and on Frontline's "The Warning."
Source: http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2009/11/pox_or_fox_we_report_you_decide.html
Here is the clip.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eO-1j9T90-8
Pox or Fox? We Report. You Decide.
By Michael Getler
November 4, 2009
One of the most interesting aspects of this peculiar job is that you hear from viewers about lots of things that surprise you. I expect to hear regularly about The NewsHour, Frontline, Bill Moyers Journal, NOW, Tavis Smiley or Washington Week and all the high-profile documentaries. But every once in a while there is a National Memorial Day Concert from the Capitol lawn that turns out to have a fascinating back story or a timely episode of Sid the Science Kid about flu vaccinations that stirs up at least some parents, as happened just last week.
Now, the venerable Sesame Street is suddenly and surprisingly (for me) in the crosshairs. The question is this: Did this icon of public broadcasting and gold standard for high quality educational broadcasting for children for 40 years stoop to take a camouflaged shot at Fox News?
The letters from complaining viewers are printed below. There are not many of them, but as is often the case, even a single viewer can make an important observation worthy of reporting and discussing. My eagle-eyed assistant, Marcia Apperson, reminds me that we have received the occasional complaint about this particular episode before. It aired for the first time two years ago and a couple of times in 2008 and this year. But I confess that this is the first time it caught my eye and the first time we heard from a number of viewers.
The episode, which aired Oct. 29, involves one of Sesame Street's scores of colorful creations, the Grouch News Network, in which muppet Oscar the Grouch is the host, pursuing GNN's dedication to "all grouchy, all disgustin', all yucky" news. But another character feels that the Grouch is not grouchy enough and threatens to switch to "Pox News, now there's a trashy news show," she says.
Everybody who wrote to me heard this as "Fox News," and I can't really blame them. When I went and watched the tape for the first time, I thought I heard "Fox" as well, perhaps because of the association one assumes when you hear "news" right after the word. However, when I watched and listened more carefully a second time, it was clear that the character said "Pox" and not "Fox" and the closed captioning that runs across the bottom of the screen when the sound is muted also stated "Pox News."
Now, on one level, Pox News as an alternative and competitor to the Grouch News Network would seem to be a clever and appropriate title. But you would have to be anesthetized as a producer not to assume that many parents will hear this, or assume this, to be a clever shot at Fox News. It's a parody, a play on words, and has a timely feel to it at this time, especially, because of the battle now going on publicly between Fox and the White House. So it's probably not surprising that last week's showing got more people's attention.
I don't know what was in the head of the producers, but my guess is that this was one of those parodies that was too good to resist. But it should have been resisted. Broadcasters can tell parents whatever they think of Fox or any other network, but you shouldn't do it through the kids.
Here are the letters, followed by a sampling of mail from viewers about other recent ombudsman columns on Sid the Science Kid and on Frontline's "The Warning."
Source: http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2009/11/pox_or_fox_we_report_you_decide.html
Here is the clip.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eO-1j9T90-8