JEFF KORBELIK / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Monday, September 11, 2006 7:00 pm
As of late Monday morning, no viewers had called or e-mailed Lincoln ABC affiliate KLKN-TV to complain about Sunday’s airing of the first part of the miniseries “The Path to 9/11.”
KLKN-TV’s sister stations in Des Moines and South Sioux City, Iowa, also hadn’t received any negative feedback, according to Ray Cole, president and chief operating officer of parent company Citadel Communications.
“That’s not unusual because the second part airs tonight,” Cole said. “If we get any response, it might be tomorrow or later this week.”
“Path,” a dramatization about the events leading up to the 9/11 attacks, came under fire last week by former Clinton administration officials, liberal activists and other who claimed the miniseries distorted some key facts about the events.
At issue, according to a story from online entertainment magazine, Zap2it.com, are scenes which appear to blame the Clinton White House for not aggressively pursuing al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in the 1990s.
In response, ABC issued a statement saying the film “is a dramatization” and “for dramatic and narrative purposes, the movie contains fictionalized scenes, composite and representative characters and dialogue and time compression.”
Cole, who sits on ABC’s governing board, said he personally heard from Clinton officials last week, including those who asked ABC to edit or cancel the miniseries.
“(People) were feeding off the national reports,” said Cole, who noted some of the critics had not seen the miniseries.
Cole said he screened “Path” a month ago and didn’t find it objectionable. He said he never considered not airing it on the Citadel stations.
“I found it to be compelling TV,” he said.
Reach Jeff Korbelik at 473-7213 or jkorbelik@journalstar.com.