Cincinnati station censors Osbournes show

Channel 19 strikes again!

Raycom's WXIX-TV, the Fox affiliate in Cincinnati, is known for its many questionable preemptions (which have kept even some episodes of the massively popular 'Simpsons' from being seen on WXIX at all). But this story lays bare the fact that the station's intent is to censor for content - not to make programming decisions to serve other purposes.

I'm a diehard populist, and I'm all for stations acting in the public interest. But one has to question whether that includes deciding that viewers can't watch something that pretty much the entire country can receive.

This story is a couple weeks old, so I don't know if it's been rectified. Nonetheless, WXIX was one of only a handful of Fox affiliates that refused to air the recent premiere of 'Osbournes: Reloaded', a new variety show starring Ozzy Osbourne and his family. The station's rationale was that the show used "dirty" language - even though obscenities were bleeped by the network.

Reviews of 'Osbournes: Reloaded' vary wildly. Some say the show was unwatchable anyway, but some consider the program a masterpiece. Folks in Cincinnati will never know, unless they're in just the right spot to pull in an out-of-town channel - which the TV industry absolutely hates. (Like the Mafia, stations are big on protecting their territory. Look up the concept of a DMA - designated market area.)

Channel 45 in Dayton actually aired 'Osbournes: Reloaded', despite being owned by the ultraconservative Sinclair firm. That shows you how conservative Channel 19 is.

What's ironic is that those who cheer Channel 19's "saving" us from the Osbournes are usually the same folks who are unequivocally opposed to regulations that would serve a public interest purpose, such as ownership caps.

Cincinnati has a long tradition of content-based preemptions of TV and radio programming, even as far back as the '70s. WCPO-TV was one of very few outlets to censor Cher's program because her outfits were considered too revealing. WKRC-TV refused to show a network music program because Alice Cooper appeared on it. When fans of the singer staged a protest outside the station, the station later decided to air the show - with Alice Cooper's appearance deleted. In 1987, WKRQ radio excised the George Michael song "I Want Your Sex" from most airings of 'American Top 40' (even though WKRQ later played the song as a noncurrent).

Isn't it nice to know Channel 19 is looking out for me by deciding for me what shows are too "filthy" for my young, impressionable 35-year-old mind? Nothing like a good ol' moral panic to give us the joy of seeing a station's ratings take a hit.

Now that's irony!

(Source: http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20090330/ENT/303300110)