A call for a rapid response team to fact check The Kennedys

[Joseph Backes]

Hello,

See - http://justiceforkennedy.blogspot.com/2011/03/call-for-rapid-response-team-to-respond.html

[Guest Robert Morrow]

Hello,

See - http://justiceforkennedy.blogspot.com/2011/03/call-for-rapid-response-team-to-respond.html

#1 If you are looking at the JFK assassination through the false right wing/left wing paradigm you are already off the wrong track. A coalition of interests, many of them "Establishment" murdered John Kennedy for many reasons both personal and ideological. And a coalition of interests, of BOTH political parties, many of them Council on Foreign Relation members, have strove mightily to keep pushing the Big Lie on the JFK assassination. It was more than just the "right wing" murdering JFK. Lyndon Johnson was in the center of the JFK assassination.

#2 Apparently, this series is going to feature the sex addiction of John Kennedy. John Kennedy once said that he got migraine headaches if he did not get a strange piece of ____ every day. JFK also said that he was not through with a woman until he had her three ways.

In addition "lone nutters," there is another people not interested in truth when it comes to JFK and the Kennedy Assassination: the "Kennedy groupies," also known as the Camelotians. These folks are more interested in the *fantasy* of Camelot and not the reality of the JFK assassination or the reality of WHO the Kennedy brothers really were warts and all.

You don't have to be a "rightwinger" to think that JFK and RFK had sex problems with promiscuity, adultery, etc. All you have to be is a "truthteller." Too bad Caroline Kennedy and Maria Shriver don't put any effort into finding JFK assassination truth like they do covering up embarassing family secrets which have not been secret in 37 years.

http://lyndonjohnsonmurderedjfk.blogspot.com/

[Michael Hogan]

Hello,

See - http://justiceforkennedy.blogspot.com/2011/03/call-for-rapid-response-team-to-respond.html

From wsj.com

Struggling ReelzChannel Hopes a Hot Potato Becomes Hot Ticket

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703512404576208902698847300.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

By LAUREN A. E. SCHUKER

The Wall Street Journal

March 21, 2011

For one struggling cable channel, the controversial miniseries "The Kennedys" is a high-stakes bet to put itself on the map—a playbook that's increasingly common among fledging cable networks.

In February, the low-rated network ReelzChannel bought the U.S. broadcasting rights to the series about President John F. Kennedy and his family for about $7 million. The family-owned channel picked up the $25 million show after it was dumped by the History Channel and shunned by other networks amid an uproar over its portrayal of the Kennedys.

"The Kennedys" is an expensive gamble for ReelzChannel, which went on the air in 2006 but still loses some $10 million annually. "We knew what we were getting into when we bought this," says Stan E. Hubbard, chief executive of ReelzChannel, which is based in Albuquerque, N.M. "We just hope taking a risk will pay off."

There are signs it may be starting to.

Since acquiring "The Kennedys," ReelzChannel has nearly doubled its weekly viewers. In January, about three million people tuned in each week to watch Reelz, which mostly shows movies and programs about film. Now, about 5.5 million people watch the network each week—a spike that Mr. Hubbard attributes to advertising of "The Kennedys," which will debut April 3. Mr. Hubbard predicts that audience will double again, to 12 million people, after the eight episodes of "The Kennedys" air.

The channel also has inked new deals with cable operators, boosting its reach to 60 million homes, from about 54 million.

A number of cable channels recently have acquired flashy content—and talent—in a bid to attract new viewers at a time when audiences are growing fragmented. Al Gore's Current TV recently spent millions to hire newscaster Keith Olbermann to help anchor its prime-time programming. Last year, Time Warner Inc.'s TBS engaged Conan O'Brien to do a late-night show. And even Oprah Winfrey will end her syndicated show later this year to focus on "OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network."

In many cases, taking on a hot potato is part of the bargain. "The Kennedys" first flared up about a year ago, when early scripts were leaked and spawned a barrage of criticism from filmmakers and historians, who alleged the series—which depicts President Kennedy cavorting with women in the White House as well as some of his political failures—constituted "character assassination." When the History Channel dumped the show, speculation emerged that the Kennedy family had put pressure on History's owner, A&E Television Networks.

"ReelzChannel was a lifeboat when we were sinking," says "Kennedys" producer Joel Surnow, who previously produced "24."

Hubbard Broadcasting started ReelzChannel in 2006 and has invested more than $100 million to nurture it as part of its modest cupboard of TV and radio stations. ReelzChannel brings in about $15 million in annual revenue, entirely from ads. Mr. Hubbard is hoping that figure will double by the end of 2011, now that the network is drawing a larger audience.

"My hope is that this show puts a spotlight on our network that we've never had before, says Mr. Hubbard, whose family owns Hubbard Broadcasting. "We're betting that this will be a transformational event for us."

Mr. Hubbard is lavishing another $10 million on a marketing campaign to make sure people watch "The Kennedys"—and the rest of the programming he's launching. That's a major commitment for a small network that subsists on advertising and doesn't charge a subscriber fee.

A single miniseries, even one as controversial as "The Kennedys," may not be sufficient to catapult ReelzChannel into the major leagues. "The competition for subscribers is intense," says Michael Nathanson, a media analyst for Nomura Securities. "You need more than one original series to really take off."

Mark Cuban, who considered acquiring "The Kennedys" for his HDNet cable network but ultimately decided it was too pricey, says the key for ReelzChannel will be to use "The Kennedys" and similar original programming to create enough demand so they can start charging distributors a subscriber fee.

"The reality for Reelz is that it's close to impossible to grow as a cable network. You might as well show videos on YouTube. The one way they can do it is through originals," he says.

"The challenge for Reelz will be to figure out who their demographic is following 'The Kennedys' and to develop enough other original content to get those people coming back," he adds.

To that end, ReelzChannel is developing additional fresh programming around "The Kennedys." This past Saturday, about two weeks before the series premiere, it aired a special feature about the Kennedy family's influence on American culture. Then, on the first night of the miniseries, ReelzChannel will host a special "pre-game" show featuring hosts from its regular programs such as film critic Leonard Maltin. And in the 10 p.m. hour slot after the week-long miniseries concludes on April 10, ReelzChannel will premiere a weekly show, hosted by John Salley, where celebrities are interviewed doing different activities.

While the controversy over the miniseries might help ReelzChannel attract eyeballs, it hasn't lured advertisers in the same way. With just a few weeks before the series airs, it hasn't secured any major sponsors.

To date, Mr. Hubbard's sales team has sold only about half the channel's advertising inventory for the series, to roughly a dozen different companies. ReelzChannel is continuing to sell slots but plans to fill whatever time remains with promotions for the network and public service announcements. "Some advertisers keep telling us, 'It's too politically hot' and that they can't risk polarizing their consumers," says Mr. Hubbard.

Such anxieties appear to originate from an inaccurate perception of "The Kennedys," says Mr. Hubbard. "Once people see this, they'll wonder what the big deal was. It's definitely not Kennedy bashing."

Episode Highlights From 'The Kennedys'

Note: This contains spoilers

EPISODE 1

The series opens on the evening before the 1960 presidential election, when John F. Kennedy was poised to become President over Richard Nixon. JFK's father, family patriarch Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., has enlisted the entire Kennedy clan to help his son beat Mr. Nixon, who was vice-president at the time. Flashbacks depict Joe Sr.'s ambition as he becomes ambassador to England in 1937, in his own mind a first step to his run for the White House. After Joe Sr. gives a speech encouraging appeasement of Hitler, he resigns once President Roosevelt's administration makes it clear that he has fallen out of sympathy with administration policies. Joe Sr. then transfers his political ambitions to his sons, Joe Jr., who is killed in combat, and then JFK.

EPISODE 2

A flashback chronicles JFK's first run for public office in 1946 when his father bribes voters in Charlestown, Massachusetts and grazes the limits of election law to seal JFK's Congressional victory.

EPISODE 3

Trouble quickly ensues when the Bay of Pigs invasion fails and Fidel Castro's troops overtake the guerrillas. JFK faces a choice: intervene and admit U.S. involvement or stay out of the battle, letting some of the guerrillas die. He chooses to do nothing, fearing that he might give the Soviet Union a pretext for military action. In a moment of weakness, when Jackie and the children are gone in Massachusetts, he spends the night in the White House with another woman—Judith Campbell—who was at the same time the mistress of Chicago mafia boss Sam Giancana.

EPISODE 4

Meanwhile, Jackie grows increasingly stressed as JFK become sicker from back pain and fatigue, side-effects from his illnesses as well as various medications he's on.

EPISODE 5

The South erupts with civil rights protests, centering on the University of Mississippi, where a black student is barred from admission. JFK declares in a national address that the White House will enforce the Supreme Court's desegregation order but a race riot quickly breaks out on campus, killing two bystanders. Realizing that civil rights have become a serious issue, JFK sends in the National Guard, and the student is finally admitted. Meanwhile, JFK's father suffers a debilitating stroke and turns to his long-time mistress rather than his wife.

EPISODE 6

The possibility of war against Russia looms for the U.S. with the Cuban missile crisis. Jackie temporarily leaves JFK after discovering that he's left a White House concert to see one of his long-time lovers, Mary Meyer. His marriage in dire straits, JFK faces crisis in Cuba, where the Soviet Union has installed nuclear missiles. JFK considers ordering an air strike, but instead institutes a naval quarantine of the island. Finally, Khrushchev promises to remove the missiles from the island if JFK agrees not to invade Cuba. They strike a deal, concluding the crisis. Meanwhile, Jackie and the children rejoin JFK although she hasn't forgiven him.

EPISODE 7

It's November 22, 1963—the last day of JFK's life. He's in Texas to meet with officials from the state's Democratic Party. A flashback shows Jackie giving birth, but the baby soon dies. Another flashback shows Bobby visiting Marilyn Monroe to persuade her to end her affair with JFK. She is later found dead of a drug overdose. Back in the present, JFK and Jackie share a moment of mutual love while en route to Dallas, where Lee Harvey Oswald awaits with his rifle. As the motorcade passes through the streets, Oswald shoots, killing JFK. Afterward, Lyndon Johnson calls Bobby, demanding that he immediately be sworn in as President.

EPISODE 8

Just a few days later, JFK is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Guilt overtakes Bobby, who worries that his investigations into the mafia could have caused his brother's death.

On June 5, 1968, after speaking in Los Angeles, Bobby is shot and killed. Alone in Hyannis Port, Joe and Rose reflect on the tragedies.

Edited March 21, 2011 by Michael Hogan

[Bernice Moore]

Hello,

See - http://justiceforken...to-respond.html

From wsj.com

Struggling ReelzChannel Hopes a Hot Potato Becomes Hot Ticket

http://online.wsj.co...=googlenews_wsj

By LAUREN A. E. SCHUKER

The Wall Street Journal

March 21, 2011

For one struggling cable channel, the controversial miniseries "The Kennedys" is a high-stakes bet to put itself on the mapa playbook that's increasingly common among fledging cable networks.

In February, the low-rated network ReelzChannel bought the U.S. broadcasting rights to the series about President John F. Kennedy and his family for about $7 million. The family-owned channel picked up the $25 million show after it was dumped by the History Channel and shunned by other networks amid an uproar over its portrayal of the Kennedys.

"The Kennedys" is an expensive gamble for ReelzChannel, which went on the air in 2006 but still loses some $10 million annually. "We knew what we were getting into when we bought this," says Stan E. Hubbard, chief executive of ReelzChannel, which is based in Albuquerque, N.M. "We just hope taking a risk will pay off."

There are signs it may be starting to.

Since acquiring "The Kennedys," ReelzChannel has nearly doubled its weekly viewers. In January, about three million people tuned in each week to watch Reelz, which mostly shows movies and programs about film. Now, about 5.5 million people watch the network each weeka spike that Mr. Hubbard attributes to advertising of "The Kennedys," which will debut April 3. Mr. Hubbard predicts that audience will double again, to 12 million people, after the eight episodes of "The Kennedys" air.

The channel also has inked new deals with cable operators, boosting its reach to 60 million homes, from about 54 million.

A number of cable channels recently have acquired flashy contentand talentin a bid to attract new viewers at a time when audiences are growing fragmented. Al Gore's Current TV recently spent millions to hire newscaster Keith Olbermann to help anchor its prime-time programming. Last year, Time Warner Inc.'s TBS engaged Conan O'Brien to do a late-night show. And even Oprah Winfrey will end her syndicated show later this year to focus on "OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network."

In many cases, taking on a hot potato is part of the bargain. "The Kennedys" first flared up about a year ago, when early scripts were leaked and spawned a barrage of criticism from filmmakers and historians, who alleged the serieswhich depicts President Kennedy cavorting with women in the White House as well as some of his political failuresconstituted "character assassination." When the History Channel dumped the show, speculation emerged that the Kennedy family had put pressure on History's owner, A&E Television Networks.

"ReelzChannel was a lifeboat when we were sinking," says "Kennedys" producer Joel Surnow, who previously produced "24."

Hubbard Broadcasting started ReelzChannel in 2006 and has invested more than $100 million to nurture it as part of its modest cupboard of TV and radio stations. ReelzChannel brings in about $15 million in annual revenue, entirely from ads. Mr. Hubbard is hoping that figure will double by the end of 2011, now that the network is drawing a larger audience.

"My hope is that this show puts a spotlight on our network that we've never had before, says Mr. Hubbard, whose family owns Hubbard Broadcasting. "We're betting that this will be a transformational event for us."

Mr. Hubbard is lavishing another $10 million on a marketing campaign to make sure people watch "The Kennedys"and the rest of the programming he's launching. That's a major commitment for a small network that subsists on advertising and doesn't charge a subscriber fee.

A single miniseries, even one as controversial as "The Kennedys," may not be sufficient to catapult ReelzChannel into the major leagues. "The competition for subscribers is intense," says Michael Nathanson, a media analyst for Nomura Securities. "You need more than one original series to really take off."

Mark Cuban, who considered acquiring "The Kennedys" for his HDNet cable network but ultimately decided it was too pricey, says the key for ReelzChannel will be to use "The Kennedys" and similar original programming to create enough demand so they can start charging distributors a subscriber fee.

"The reality for Reelz is that it's close to impossible to grow as a cable network. You might as well show videos on YouTube. The one way they can do it is through originals," he says.

"The challenge for Reelz will be to figure out who their demographic is following 'The Kennedys' and to develop enough other original content to get those people coming back," he adds.

To that end, ReelzChannel is developing additional fresh programming around "The Kennedys." This past Saturday, about two weeks before the series premiere, it aired a special feature about the Kennedy family's influence on American culture. Then, on the first night of the miniseries, ReelzChannel will host a special "pre-game" show featuring hosts from its regular programs such as film critic Leonard Maltin. And in the 10 p.m. hour slot after the week-long miniseries concludes on April 10, ReelzChannel will premiere a weekly show, hosted by John Salley, where celebrities are interviewed doing different activities.

While the controversy over the miniseries might help ReelzChannel attract eyeballs, it hasn't lured advertisers in the same way. With just a few weeks before the series airs, it hasn't secured any major sponsors.

To date, Mr. Hubbard's sales team has sold only about half the channel's advertising inventory for the series, to roughly a dozen different companies. ReelzChannel is continuing to sell slots but plans to fill whatever time remains with promotions for the network and public service announcements. "Some advertisers keep telling us, 'It's too politically hot' and that they can't risk polarizing their consumers," says Mr. Hubbard.

Such anxieties appear to originate from an inaccurate perception of "The Kennedys," says Mr. Hubbard. "Once people see this, they'll wonder what the big deal was. It's definitely not Kennedy bashing."

Episode Highlights From 'The Kennedys'

Note: This contains spoilers

EPISODE 1

The series opens on the evening before the 1960 presidential election, when John F. Kennedy was poised to become President over Richard Nixon. JFK's father, family patriarch Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., has enlisted the entire Kennedy clan to help his son beat Mr. Nixon, who was vice-president at the time. Flashbacks depict Joe Sr.'s ambition as he becomes ambassador to England in 1937, in his own mind a first step to his run for the White House. After Joe Sr. gives a speech encouraging appeasement of Hitler, he resigns once President Roosevelt's administration makes it clear that he has fallen out of sympathy with administration policies. Joe Sr. then transfers his political ambitions to his sons, Joe Jr., who is killed in combat, and then JFK.

EPISODE 2

A flashback chronicles JFK's first run for public office in 1946 when his father bribes voters in Charlestown, Massachusetts and grazes the limits of election law to seal JFK's Congressional victory.

EPISODE 3

Trouble quickly ensues when the Bay of Pigs invasion fails and Fidel Castro's troops overtake the guerrillas. JFK faces a choice: intervene and admit U.S. involvement or stay out of the battle, letting some of the guerrillas die. He chooses to do nothing, fearing that he might give the Soviet Union a pretext for military action. In a moment of weakness, when Jackie and the children are gone in Massachusetts, he spends the night in the White House with another womanJudith Campbellwho was at the same time the mistress of Chicago mafia boss Sam Giancana.

EPISODE 4

Meanwhile, Jackie grows increasingly stressed as JFK become sicker from back pain and fatigue, side-effects from his illnesses as well as various medications he's on.

EPISODE 5

The South erupts with civil rights protests, centering on the University of Mississippi, where a black student is barred from admission. JFK declares in a national address that the White House will enforce the Supreme Court's desegregation order but a race riot quickly breaks out on campus, killing two bystanders. Realizing that civil rights have become a serious issue, JFK sends in the National Guard, and the student is finally admitted. Meanwhile, JFK's father suffers a debilitating stroke and turns to his long-time mistress rather than his wife.

EPISODE 6

The possibility of war against Russia looms for the U.S. with the Cuban missile crisis. Jackie temporarily leaves JFK after discovering that he's left a White House concert to see one of his long-time lovers, Mary Meyer. His marriage in dire straits, JFK faces crisis in Cuba, where the Soviet Union has installed nuclear missiles. JFK considers ordering an air strike, but instead institutes a naval quarantine of the island. Finally, Khrushchev promises to remove the missiles from the island if JFK agrees not to invade Cuba. They strike a deal, concluding the crisis. Meanwhile, Jackie and the children rejoin JFK although she hasn't forgiven him.

EPISODE 7

It's November 22, 1963the last day of JFK's life. He's in Texas to meet with officials from the state's Democratic Party. A flashback shows Jackie giving birth, but the baby soon dies. Another flashback shows Bobby visiting Marilyn Monroe to persuade her to end her affair with JFK. She is later found dead of a drug overdose. Back in the present, JFK and Jackie share a moment of mutual love while en route to Dallas, where Lee Harvey Oswald awaits with his rifle. As the motorcade passes through the streets, Oswald shoots, killing JFK. Afterward, Lyndon Johnson calls Bobby, demanding that he immediately be sworn in as President.

EPISODE 8

Just a few days later, JFK is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Guilt overtakes Bobby, who worries that his investigations into the mafia could have caused his brother's death.

On June 5, 1968, after speaking in Los Angeles, Bobby is shot and killed. Alone in Hyannis Port, Joe and Rose reflect on the tragedies.

'Kennedys' Miniseries Review: Dull, Unwatchable, a 'Hamfisted Mess' - The Hollywood Reporterhttp://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/kennedys-miniseries-review-dull-unwatchable-172357

<BR clear=all>

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/kennedys-miniseries-review-dull-unwatchable-172357

Edited March 30, 2011 by Bernice Moore

[Guest Tom Scully]

Relax Joe, et al. It's just an extremely wealthy, right wing extremist family with a history of three generations of union busting, exerting its influence. It is the American story. Look at the background of Showtime CEO Matthew C. Blank and his "operation mockingbird marriage."

If you want to hurt these parasites, launch a PR campaign against their investment bankers. Nothing short of that will even put a dent in the ideological driven agenda of these "businessmen"!

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110119006493/en/Hubbard-Broadcasting-Announces-Agreement-Purchase-Seventeen-Radio

January 19, 2011 01:15 PM Eastern Daylight Time

Hubbard Broadcasting, Inc. Announces Agreement to Purchase Seventeen Radio Stations from Bonneville International Corporation

Acquisition Expands Company’s Footprint into Four Key Regional Markets

...Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated and Methuselah Advisors, LLC acted as financial advisors to Hubbard Radio in connection with the transaction. Morgan Stanley Senior Funding, Inc. and Goldman Sachs Bank USA have issued commitments to provide debt financing for the acquisition. Under the terms of the asset purchase agreement, Hubbard Broadcasting will acquire the radio stations for approximately $505 million. Other terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The sale is expected to be finalized upon FCC approval and other customary closing conditions.

http://www.google.com/search?q=stanley+hubbard+orchestra+petrillo&hl=en&safe=off&tbs=nws:1,ar:1&source=lnt&sa=X&ei=aryTTYXkBofJgQe194C6CA&ved=0CA8QpwUoBQ

PETRILLO INQUIRY FAVORED BY FLY; He Will Ask FCC to Study...

‎

$3.95 - New York Times - Jul 21, 1942

The banning of the National High School Orchestra from the air makes this , ation ... SE Hubbard Hits 'PetriHoism" Stanley E. Hubbard, president and general ...

KSTP SUBMITS TO PETRILLO IN 10 MONTH SIEGE

‎

Pay-Per-View - Chicago Tribune - Feb 17, 1945

During almost a year of negotia- tions, Petrillo, president of the AFM, ... In a statement today, Stanley E. Hubbard, president of the station, .

http://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&tbo=1&q=stanley+hubbard+orchestra+petrillo&btnG=Search+Books

Time: Volume 44, Issues 1-13

Briton Hadden, Henry Robinson Luce - 1944 - Snippet view

Thus last week did angry Stanley Hubbard, boss of Minneapolis radio station KSTP, salute the latest impudence of cocky, stocky James Caesar Petrillo. boss of the American Federation of Musicians. After a four-month contract dispute. ...

http://minnesotaindependent.com/8006/kstps-rare-endorsement-of-rnc-cops-came-from-top-gop-donor-station-owner

KSTP’s ‘rare’ endorsement of RNC cops came from top GOP donor, station owner

By Paul Schmelzer | 09.08.08 | 4:27 pm

While KSTP-TV started out its editorial last night with a disclaimer, it didn’t end up with one.

“It is rare when KSTP decides to take an editorial position,” began anchor Jessica Miles, but that’s exactly what the station did today in praising law enforcement for its job in policing the Republican National Convention and related protests. Undisclosed is that the opinion, attributed to the station’s owner, comes from one Stanley Hubbard, the state’s biggest Republican donor and a personal contributor to the Republican convention.

According to Miles, KSTP staffers who witnessed police working the RNC said they were “calm and professional and measured when faced with protesters”; she added that that they were “well trained and prepared to do a tough job.” The editorial concludes:

So it is the opinion of the owners of KSTP that we owe a debt of gratitude to all the police officers on duty during the Republican National Convention.

Congratulations and thank you to the men and women in uniform.

Like anchor Cyndy Brucato, past communications director for Republicans Gov. Arne Carlson and Sen. Norm Coleman, Hubbard has deep ties to the GOP. How deep? With his wife Karen, he has donated $163,500 to candidates and causes this election cycle alone — more than any other Minnesotan — with the vast majority of it, $130,200, going to Republicans. Plus he kicked in “fundraising talents” and “an undisclosed amount of money” for the Republican National Convention, according to the Pioneer Press. On top of that, he lent the use of his 125-foot yacht during the RNC.

“I hope they make good use of it,” he told the paper, which added that it came with ground rules: “No smoking and no unfriendly shoes.”

The “good use” was apparently an invitation-only soiree dubbed the “Coleman for Senate Donor Appreciation Cruise.”

http://blog.timesunion.com/eddague/lydia/280/

Lydia

December 13, 2008 at 3:26 pm by Ed Dague, Retired TV news anchor

There is a highly suspicious correlation between the people let go by WNYT in the past week and the people who were the leaders of the last union action against the station’s owners. The owners are all members of a single family, the Hubbards, of St. Paul. The family doesn’t have much tolerance for unions and never had a union-organized station until they bought WNYT.

The sons of broadcasting pioneer Stanley Hubbard now run the company. He was apparently a visionary dynamo. His sons, not so much. The Hubbard Empire has been shrinking for years and the son who runs the broadcast stations has made a notorious mess of the parent station in Minneapolis.

The Hubbards have been very privileged in life and always struck me as the type of people who take instant offense at any challenge to their supremacy. I think they are inclined by their nature to make business decisions based on the umbrage felt when their power is challenged. That can lead to some disastrous decisions....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joel_Surnow

...Smurnow also created The 1/2 Hour News Hour, a comedy show described by Surnow as "The Daily Show for conservatives,".[1] The first episode aired on February 18, 2007, achieving the highest viewership of any show on Cable News that night,[2] but Metacritic reviews of only 12 points out of 100.[3] The show ran until September 23, 2007.[4]

[edit] Politics

Surnow has described himself as a supporter of the Republican Party, donating money to the campaign of Rick Santorum and expressing particular admiration for former President Ronald Reagan. He is also a close friend of conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh. Surnow is a self-described "isolationist" and has stated that he has "no faith in nation building." He is the owner of an American flag that flew over Baghdad during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, which was sent to him as a gift from one of the regiments stationed there.[5]...

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/producer-joel-surnow-says-kennedys-170135?page=2

Producer Joel Surnow Says 'Kennedys' Was Nearly Killed Because of His Political Views (Exclusive)

10:07 PM 3/22/2011 by Matthew Belloni

...“She did leave the house then," Surnow says. "She might not have left for the reasons we put in the show, but we had it on historical record the days she was in the White House and the days she wasn’t in the White House, so that was accurate. When you are compressing eight years into eight hours, very often if you want to make a point about their marriage, sometimes you are going to juxtapose things."

Under the microscope, Surnow was getting nervous, especially after History postponed a plan to air a two-minute trailer for the miniseries in movie theaters during the holiday season. A decision to forgo a presentation at January’s Television Critics Association gathering in L.A. added to his suspicions. But if there was a debate at AETN about whether to kill the project, the producers were not included in the discussion....

..."I will say it happened at the corporate level, at the board level," says Surnow. “I don’t want to mention anyone by name. I read the same articles you read. To this day, I’m not sure if it’s the whole story. I think it’s very simple to say that certain board members are friends with the Kennedys."

Surnow believes the proof that the decision was made for personal rather than business reasons can be found in the U.K., where the History Channel, co-owned there by AETN and BSkyB, will air The Kennedys in its entirety, beginning April 7, even though the BBC offered a multimillion dollar deal to take it off their hands. In Surnow’s eyes, political pressure made the miniseries good enough for AETN to fight for it in the U.K., but "not a fit" for the History brand in the U.S.

♦♦♦♦♦

Immediately after yanking the miniseries, AETN began shopping U.S. rights. Execs at Showtime, which took on the controversial Reagans miniseries in 2003 when CBS advertisers balked, were not interested. HBO, AMC, FX, TNT, Starz and DirecTV passed.

But when Stan Hubbard, CEO of the family-owned ReelzChannel, read about Showtime balking, he called up his friend, the network’s chairman and CEO Matt Blank. "I asked Matt, ‘Is it Kennedy bashing? What’s wrong with it?' "Hubbard recalls. "He went on to tell me how good it was. After seeing The Kennedys, his regard for the Kennedys as leaders and contributors went up. Based on that, I said, ‘Who do I call?' "

Less than 10 days later — after Hubbard and his wife watched all eight episodes during a single Friday night and Saturday morning marathon — Reelz had closed a deal to world-premiere the miniseries beginning April 3....

...As for Surnow, he is already considering another miniseries project. He says his objections to how the Kennedys miniseries was handled have nothing to do with the Kennedy family. "If somebody was doing a miniseries about my family, I’d do the same thing as the Kennedys," he says. "I admire the Kennedy family for trying to preserve the legacy of their family in the most positive light. You would do that, I would do that. The problem is when people inside the media are influenced by that, they cease to become objective, and then they become partisan. The fact of the matter is that JFK was my president as well as their president. Let me ask you a question: If Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg did this show, do you think there would be a problem?"

ReelzChannel & The Kennedys

For most cable networks, deciding whether to take on a controversial miniseries like The Kennedys would involve long meetings, executive strategy sessions and approval from a board of directors. “For me it was a call to six family members," says Stan Hubbard, CEO of ReelzChannel. “We’re all partners in the business that we own together — my dad, three sisters and a brother.” Launched in 2006, the Albuquerque, N.M.-based channel was previously known more for nightly movies and chat shows featuring film commentators Leonard Maltin, Sam Rubin and Richard Roeper. The channel, a subsidiary of the family’s Hubbard Broadcasting, which owns TV and radio stations in New York, New Mexico and other markets, is now in about 60 million homes and attracts about 5.5 million viewers a week. That number is sure to rise with the weeklong broadcast of The Kennedys, after which the network will try to keep the momentum going by launching a reality/chat show with former NBA star John Salley. “This is a big deal for us,” Hubbard says. “We hope this will help people discover ReelzChannel.”...

http://www.nytimes.com/1982/05/09/style/susan-marie-mcguirk-is-wed-to-matthew-c-blank.html

Susan Marie McGuirk Is Wed to Matthew C. Blank

Published: May 9, 1982

Susan Marie McGuirk and Matthew Charles Blank, who are with Home Box Office Inc. in New York, were married yesterday at the Church Center for the United Nations. The Rev. Robert Keck, a Roman Catholic priest, and Rabbi Charles Lippman performed the ceremony.

The bride, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Terrence McGuirk of Loudonville, N.Y., is a manager of program evaluation at Home Box Office, where the bridegroom is a vice president of marketing. She was graduated from the Westminster Schools in Atlanta and attended Kirkland College and New York University. Her father is president and chief operating officer of Knight Ridder Broadcasting, a division of Knight Ridder Newspapers Inc., in Miami.

Mr. Blank is a son of Mrs. Allen Blank of New York and the late Mr. Blank. He was graduated from the Wooodmore Academy and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and received a master's degree in business from Baruch College of the City University of New York. His father was counsel to Philip Morris Inc. in New York.