Annoy a Conservative: Buy the Fahrenheit 9/11 DVD

It will be available on Tuesday. MichaelMoore.com has more.

By the way, if you haven't seen any ads for this, there's a reason: L.A. Weekly columnist Nikki Finke says the paper

has learned that CBS, NBC and ABC all refused Fahrenheit 9/11 DVD advertising during any of the networks' news programming. Executives at Sony Pictures, the distributor of the movie for the home-entertainment market, were stunned. And even more shocked when the three networks explained why.

"They said explicitly they were reluctant because of the closeness of the release to the election. All three networks said no," one Sony insider explains. "It was certainly a judgment that Sony disagrees with and is in the process of protesting." ...

What especially galled the Sony suits was this: The networks had no problem having the DVD ads appear on their entertainment shows so long as the guidelines for R-rated content like Fahrenheit 9/11 were followed.

Not surprisingly, Sony thought the newscasts were the best place for the ads. But all three networks said no. What's more, one Sony executive said,

"suddenly, the networks were extending the definition of news programming to include the news magazines and the morning news shows and restricting access to those as well."

Apparently, though, Sony's complaints, backed at least implicitly by its buying power for ads for its other products, is having some effect: Morning news shows and some time on NBC Dateline have become available. However, evening news shows - the main target - and ABC's PrimeTime Live remain off-limits.

Because after all, as we all know, the major networks - which were eager enough to wallow in coverage of the Swift Boat Veterans for Lies - have far, far too much journalistic integrity to do anything that might affect an election.

The rest of the column, by the way, lays out the connections between network heads and conservatives. It's worth a read.

Thanks to Alternative Press Review for the link.

By the way, I'm not sure if there will be any other posts tonight, although I will try to get Jeopardy! up. Blogspot is having one of its periodic fits.