Scott Hogenson, CNSNews.com
Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2003

Media Research Center President L. Brent Bozell sent a letter Tuesday to each of the nation's top 100 advertisers urging them to preview the movie before making a decision on sponsorship because it is what Bozell called a "partisan political attack against one of America's most beloved presidents."

A review of the script by New York Times reporter Jim Rutenberg noted the two-part miniseries, scheduled for broadcast next month, makes no mention of the significant economic expansion that took place during Reagan's presidency, and Bozell called the program "a blatantly unfair assault" on Reagan's legacy.

CBS President Les Moonves was quoted Tuesday in the New York Post as calling criticism of the program "odd," because no one has seen it yet, and Moonves said the show was still being edited.

"There are things we think go too far, so there are some edits being made trying to present a more fair picture of Reagan," Moonves told the Post.

As for the final product, scheduled to air Nov. 16 and 18, Bozell wrote in his letter to sponsors, "I hope you will review the script and, if you agree [that the program is unfair], refuse to associate your products with this movie."

According to Rutenberg's review of the script, Reagan is also depicted in a conversation as someone who thinks "patients of AIDS essentially deserved their disease."

"This conversation never occurred and was invented for the sole purpose of demeaning the former president," said Bozell, founder of CNSNews.com, which is a division of Media Research Center.

Attack on Home Schooling

The call for advertisers to preview the movie, titled "The Reagans," comes one week after CBS News came under fire for a two-part series on the "dark side" of home schooling, which critics called an unfair and slanted portrayal of parents who teach their children at home rather than send them to public or private schools.

The reports on home schooling prompted outrage from home-school advocates, who contacted the network and advertisers with their concerns.

Upon learning of the contents of the CBS News report, drug maker Schering-Plough pulled its Claritin advertising from CBS News and told consumers in an e-mail the company was "unaware of the content of this specific news segment when the advertising spots were purchased several weeks ago."

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