Pat Cook said:
In this case, maybe so. But it's indicative of something the PCs would likely do though had the GM not made the call ahead of time
Seriously doubt it. Parents' councils generally involve themselves with shows that children likely watch and issues they believe would be inappropriate for those children. Law & Order meets neither criterion.
Pat Cook said:
That said though, I wonder if KPNX 12 (Owned by Gannett) is planning to run it. Perhaps someone there could clue us in?
Well, since I live barely 5 miles from the KPNX transmitter, I would be qualified to offer an opinion. They'll run it.
1) The shooting didn't happen here.
2) There is a much larger, more diverse population in Phoenix than in Tucson - much less likely to upset the community, and
3) I think fear of political reprisal, real or imagined, is at the center of KVOA's decision. Although the area where the shooting occurred tends to be more Republican, Tucsonians as a whole tend to be Democrat, as was Giffords. Her opponent's strength was conservative Cochise county, which is mostly outside the broadcast range of Tucson stations. The Democratic party has been playing politics with this incident since hours after the shooting, and would likely stir up trouble for KVOA. OTOH, Phoenix tends to be more Republican, so there would be far less of a chance of effective protest against KPNX for this.
Now, if a Republican like John Shadegg had been shot in mostly-Republican northern Phoenix, airing this episode might give KPNX pause, because then Republicans would be playing politics with it, and would be more likely to try to stir up trouble for KPNX. Even so, the population here is so large and diverse, I don't think KPNX would delay the broadcast until late night.
Having said that, KPNX will almost certainly lead off their late local news that night with a tie-in between the show and the Giffords shooting. And interview the ubiquitous Kyrsten Sinema, the biggest media hound in Arizona politics since Grant Woods.
