ChasingBlueSky 0 #1 October 30, 2003 LINK Fox nearly sued itself over 'Simpsons' parody: Matt Groening Wed Oct 29,12:28 PM ET NEW YORK (AFP) - Rupert Murdoch's Fox News Channel threatened to sue the makers of "The Simpsons" over a parody of the channel's right-wing political stance, the creator of the hit US television show has claimed. In an interview this week with National Public Radio, Matt Groening recalled how the news channel had considered legal action, despite the fact that "The Simpsons" is broadcast on sister network, Fox Entertainment. According to Groening, Fox took exception took a Simpsons' version of the Fox News rolling news ticker which parodied the channel's anti-Democrat stance, with headlines like "Do Democrats Cause Cancer?" "Fox fought against it and said they would sue the show," Groening said. "We called their bluff because we didn't think Rupert Murdoch would pay for Fox to sue itself. So, we got away with it." Other satirical Fox news bulletins featured in the show included: "Study: 92 per cent of Democrats are gay... JFK posthumously joins Republican Party... Oil slicks found to keep seals young, supple..." While the lawsuit never materialized, Groening said some action was taken. "Now Fox has a new rule that we can't do those little fake news crawls on the bottom of the screen in a cartoon because it might confuse the viewers into thinking it's real news," he said. "The Simpsons," featuring the dysfunctional family of patriarch Homer Simpson and his rowdy brood, is now in its 14th year and is expected to become the longest-running situation comedy in US history in 2005._________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again..... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CrazyIvan 0 #2 October 30, 2003 What's next?...suing South Park?? __________________________________________ Blue Skies and May the Force be with you. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
storm1977 0 #3 October 30, 2003 Did they have a realistic news ticker across the bottom of the screen? Did it say Fox News??? If it did, and it was being broadcast on a "FOX" channel then I can understand why the complaint. ----------------------------------------------------- Sometimes it is more important to protect LIFE than Liberty Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
storm1977 0 #4 October 30, 2003 I can also understand why you wouldn't want to sue your own network or sister network, but that isn't smart if the ticker was realistic looking. Often on FOX ENTERTAINMENT channel, the fox new ticker will appear if there is breaking news, therefore, by running it during the simpsons or any other show, the public could think it was a screw up by Fox NEWS and they could looses credibility. Or, they could think FOX NEWS did it deliberately as a joke, in which case they too would loose credibility. I would sue. Chris ----------------------------------------------------- Sometimes it is more important to protect LIFE than Liberty Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FliegendeWolf 0 #5 October 30, 2003 Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's hard to tell that it isn't really the real news since THERE'S A FUCKING CARTOON GOING ON ABOVE IT!A One that Isn't Cold is Scarcely a One at All Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tinfoil 0 #6 October 30, 2003 HAHA, the news crawler on the Simpsons was funny because I could see FOX news writing something like that QuoteFox News had its own response to the demonstrators. The news ticker rimming Fox's headquarters on Sixth Avenue wasn't carrying war updates as the protest began. Instead, it poked fun at the demonstrators, chiding them. "War protester auditions here today ... thanks for coming!" read one message. "Who won your right to show up here today?" another questioned. "Protesters or soldiers?" Said a third: "How do you keep a war protester in suspense? Ignore them." Still another read: "Attention protesters: the Michael Moore Fan Club meets Thursday at a phone booth at Sixth Avenue and 50th Street" - a reference to the film maker who denounced the war while accepting an Oscar on Sunday night for his documentary "Bowling for Columbine." source “- - Sumo is the greatest of sports. It has power, grace, speed and cluture. And most importantly, two fat bastards smacking the shit out of each other. ” Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
feuergnom 29 #7 October 30, 2003 Quote"Now Fox has a new rule that we can't do those little fake news crawls on the bottom of the screen in a cartoon because it might confuse the viewers into thinking it's real news," he said. what a bunch of morons! reading this i wonder how stupid people can be. another thing i'm wondering about: is there a plot to keep people dumb and unable to think for themselves? to make their own decisions? to be responsible? or are the fox-guys just scared that the simpsons newsticker resembles their own crappy stuff too much?The universal aptitude for ineptitude makes any human accomplishment an incredible miracle dudeist skydiver # 666 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
storm1977 0 #8 October 30, 2003 OK, the cartoon above it means nothing. If there was "Real Breaking News" the ticker would be run at the bottom of any show...that is the point. Now, I didn't see it, that is why I asked how realistic it was... Did it look like it could have been the Real Fox News ticker? Chris ----------------------------------------------------- Sometimes it is more important to protect LIFE than Liberty Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhreeZone 20 #9 October 30, 2003 It looked like it was part of the Simpsons with the same font and not so perfectly straight lines.Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
storm1977 0 #10 October 30, 2003 Well, if that is true, then I do NOT agree with Fox New's threat of a suit. If it did appear real and could be misunderstood, then I would be on the NEWS channels side. ----------------------------------------------------- Sometimes it is more important to protect LIFE than Liberty Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkyDekker 1,465 #11 October 30, 2003 QuoteWell, if that is true, then I do NOT agree with Fox New's threat of a suit. If it did appear real and could be misunderstood, then I would be on the NEWS channels side. And what if it looked real, but the news reported was obviously a joke? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skydivejersey 0 #12 October 30, 2003 Stories like this are not helping to dispel the stereotype of the average Americans IQ. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AndyMan 7 #13 October 30, 2003 Quote If it did appear real and could be misunderstood, then I would be on the NEWS channels side. Why don't you find out which was the case before deciding what you think...? Educated opinions, and all that... _Am__ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 3,078 #14 October 30, 2003 >If it did appear real and could be misunderstood, then I would be on >the NEWS channels side. Per the original article, the news scroll showed: Do Democrats Cause Cancer? Study: 92 per cent of Democrats are gay JFK posthumously joins Republican Party Oil slicks found to keep seals young, supple Do you really think someone might take that seriously? (from a different reply) >reading this i wonder how stupid people can be. Depends on what you watch. From the Washington Post: ----------------------------------------------------- Ever worry that millions of your fellow Americans are walking around knowing things that you don't? That your prospects for advancement may depend on your mastery of such arcana as who won the Iraqi war or where exactly Europe is? Then don't watch Fox News. The more you watch, the more you'll get things wrong. Researchers from the Program on International Policy Attitudes (a joint project of several academic centers, some of them based at the University of Maryland) and Knowledge Networks, a California-based polling firm, have spent the better part of the year tracking the public's misperceptions of major news events and polling people to find out just where they go to get things so balled up. . . . The fair and balanced folks at Fox, the survey concludes, were "the news source whose viewers had the most misperceptions." Eighty percent of Fox viewers believed at least one un-fact; 45 percent believed all three. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A27061-2003Oct14.html Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TitaniumLegs 8 #15 October 31, 2003 They need a fake news ticker saying "Fox News sues Fox Entertainment and "The Simpsons" over fake news tickers." (>o|-< If you don't believe me, ask me. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 2,108 #16 October 31, 2003 Quote>If it did appear real and could be misunderstood, then I would be on >the NEWS channels side. Per the original article, the news scroll showed: Do Democrats Cause Cancer? Study: 92 per cent of Democrats are gay JFK posthumously joins Republican Party Oil slicks found to keep seals young, supple Do you really think someone might take that seriously? Yes, and some of them post on DZ.com... The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
