Suddenly, morals are better than money

Les Moonves, the CBS Chairman, says that political pressure played no part in the decision to yank the Reagan miniseries:

“It was a moral decision, not an economic or a political one,” Moonves said in an interview with Daily Variety. “And I don’t know how more plainly I can state that.”

The film failed to live up to expectations and did not present a balanced view of former President Reagan and his wife, Nancy, Moonves said in the interview in the trade paper Monday.

“Unfortunately, in this instance, some of the criticisms, although coming from obviously one political perspective, I felt were somewhat well-founded,” he said.

But the decision to pull the miniseries was his alone and was not influenced by the conservative outcry over the miniseries or pressure from Viacom CEO Sumner Redstone or president Mel Karmazin.

Now, how many “unbalanced” miniseries has CBS shown over the years? And tell me this: how often has CBS yanked 4-hour movies in the past because of their content? After all, CBS paid for it. You’d think that they would decide if the content is appropriate BEFORE they write the check.

And yet, they make it sound like it was a routine thing.

Some noted that Viacom is awaiting federal action on rules to restrict ownership of local TV stations. The company needs help from Republicans in the White House and Congress who might not like seeing Reagan portrayed negatively, they said.

Moonves said CBS would continue to pursue shows that “are on the edge, that create controversy,” asserting that the film’s cancelation would not have a chilling effect on creative freedom.

Bullshit.