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<blockquote data-quote="Jock Ewing Fan" data-source="post: 321643" data-attributes="member: 40536">A little elaboration and context that may or may not be helpful.Personally, I thought &quot;Lou Grant&quot; was an above average hour long drama, maybe a little slow&nbsp; moving for a mass audience morefamiliar with the MTM show.I would analyze this from the perspective of William Paley, the powerful head of CBS, a broadcasting pioneer, and an astute businessman.If the politics involved were a factor in losing advertising revenues as a result of companies removing their ads,&nbsp; the specific&nbsp; reactions of politicians becomes a minor point, relatively speaking.&nbsp; It is Commercial television, and commercials create revenuesIt is Show Business (emphasis on Business) and William Paley is not in the business of losing money with a show that was low middle of the packin ratings and declining.The First Amendment in effect says that the government can not suppress free speech, but a private business is under no such obligationIf Mr Asner wishes to engage legally in political activism, that is his First Amendment right, butit does not shield him from the decisions of an empoyer in a competitive, market based industry.Mr. Paley also has the right to cancel a tv show for a wide variety of reasons, in this case, declining ratings and a possible loss of revenue bycompanies removing their advertising (These companies also have the right to choose who they will and will not form contracts for that purpose)If &quot;Lou Grant&quot; was a profitable and growing property, William Paley might not have canceled it</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Jock Ewing Fan, post: 321643, member: 40536"] A little elaboration and context that may or may not be helpful. Personally, I thought "Lou Grant" was an above average hour long drama, maybe a little slow moving for a mass audience more familiar with the MTM show. I would analyze this from the perspective of William Paley, the powerful head of CBS, a broadcasting pioneer, and an astute businessman. If the politics involved were a factor in losing advertising revenues as a result of companies removing their ads, the specific reactions of politicians becomes a minor point, relatively speaking. It is Commercial television, and commercials create revenues It is Show Business (emphasis on Business) and William Paley is not in the business of losing money with a show that was low middle of the pack in ratings and declining. The First Amendment in effect says that the government can not suppress free speech, but a private business is under no such obligation If Mr Asner wishes to engage legally in political activism, that is his First Amendment right, but it does not shield him from the decisions of an empoyer in a competitive, market based industry. Mr. Paley also has the right to cancel a tv show for a wide variety of reasons, in this case, declining ratings and a possible loss of revenue by companies removing their advertising (These companies also have the right to choose who they will and will not form contracts for that purpose) If "Lou Grant" was a profitable and growing property, William Paley might not have canceled it [/QUOTE]

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