Outspoken pop country artists the Dixie Chicks continue to stir up political controversy, with two TV networks refusing to air a commercial for a new film documenting the uproar that ensued after singer Natalie Maines spoke critically of President Bush during an overseas concert.
NBC … said it rejected the commercial for “Shut Up and Sing,” which debuted last week in New York and Los Angeles and opens nationwide Nov. 10. The network cited a policy against ads dealing with “public controversy.”
…
Directed by Cecilia Peck and Oscar winner Barbara Kopple, “Shut Up and Sing” examines the sometimes vicious backlash that resulted from Maines’ comment. According to the Columbia Journalism Review, Cumulus Broadcasting, the Atlanta-based owner of 262 radio stations nationwide, ordered all of its 42 country outlets to stop playing Dixie Chicks music. At a Cumulus-sponsored pro-war rally in Shreveport, La., a bulldozer crushed a pile of the band’s CDs. Many of the 1,225 radio stations owned by San Antonio-based Clear Channel Communications also banned the group’s songs.
Some country stations even refused to run ads for the Dixie Chicks’ current tour, leading the band to cancel some dates in the South and Midwest.
{ 2006 11 11 }
Post a Comment
No personal attacks on any of the participants here.