FOX'S `REALITY' SHOWS CRITICIZED BY NBC'S OHLMEYER.Byline: Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency.Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. A top NBC NBC in full National Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. commercial broadcasting company. It was formed in 1926 by RCA Corp., General Electric Co. (GE), and Westinghouse and was the first U.S. company to operate a broadcast network. executive ripped Fox for the growing use of so-called reality TV shows, saying a program showing animal attacks was ``one step short of a snuff film snuff film n. Slang A movie in a purported genre of explicit pornography culminating in the actual violent death of a participant in a sex act. .'' Fox officials suggested that Don Ohlmeyer Don Ohlmeyer (born Donald Winfred Ohlemeyer, Jr., February 3, 1945, in New Orleans, Louisiana) is an American television producer and former president of the NBC network's West Coast division. He grew up in the Chicago-area and attended Glenbrook North High School. , president of NBC West Coast, should worry about his own network. Fox's broadcast of ``When Animals Attack 2'' on Nov. 18 was the network's sixth highest-rated program for the week, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Nielsen Media Research. Fox ran the special about angry animals twice during November - a ``sweeps'' month, when local television stations use ratings to set ad rates. Ohlmeyer, in a Nov. 26 conference call with reporters, said Fox ``feels no shame'' in presenting such programming. He compared the animal broadcast to a snuff film, a form of pornography that features killings. ``Fox's stuff is about putting on as grotesque footage as possible - stuff that we would never put on the air,'' he said. During the past month, Fox has also shown ``When Disaster Strikes,'' a program with footage about earthquakes, floods, tornadoes and other natural calamities, and ``Close Call: Cheating Death,'' with depictions of near-death experiences. Fox officials say they're not alone in broadcasting these types of shows, noting that NBC recently promoted a ``Dateline NBC'' segment featuring someone gored by a bull. CBS (Cell Broadcast Service) See cell broadcast. has also recently aired the special ``World's Most Dangerous Animals.'' ``While Fox has had the most success with this type of special, this is neither a new genre nor a genre unique to Fox,'' said Fox spokesman Mark Kern. Fox has also taken some heat from a major advertiser, Toyota, which asked that ``When Disaster Strikes'' not be aired again. |
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