CBS television never produced the "Real Beverly Hillbillies." They did not explain why or say that it would not be produced. They just stopped talking about it.
We count that as a victory for rural America.
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May 9, 2003
Mr. Mel Karmazin, President and COO
Mr. Sumner Redstone, Chairman and CEO
Viacom
1515 Broadway
New York, NY 10036
Dear Mr. Karmazin and Mr. Redstone,
I write to express my concern about the plans of CBS Television to produce a reality program called The Real Beverly Hillbillies. The network's plan to take a poor rural family, put them on display in a Hollywood mansion, and then humiliate them for the amusement of a national television audience is an affront to the American values of compassion and fair play. I am disappointed that network television would stoop so low, and on behalf of the one and a half million members of the Service Employees International Union, I wish to register our strong protest to the management and directors of Viacom.
There are too many Americans who do not have a decent job or a good education. That should be a national challenge, not a national joke. Our members are hardworking men and women who understand that you don't make light of your neighbors because of where they come from or because they're having a hard time making ends meet. CBS is recklessly driving a wedge between Americans with this kind of program. As a corporate communications leader, Viacom should know better. As federally licensed broadcasters, the CBS affiliates should be held to a higher standard.
Many SEIU members come from rural areas and small towns. They are nurses, doctors, librarians, custodians, police officers, childcare providers, school employees and government workers. They know how many Americans are just a paycheck away from being down and out. When network executives who lead a life of wealth and privilege lose sight of what so many others in this country face each day just to feed and clothe their families, then it becomes important that the rest of us as consumers and shareholders deliver a message that is clear and unmistakable, what Mr. Jefferson called "a fireball in the night."
I must now strongly consider having SEIU representatives on hand at the upcoming Viacom annual meeting to register our concern and to deliver this message.
Sincerely,
Andrew L. Stern
International President
cc: Mr. Leslie Moonves, President - CBS Television
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