POULTRY NEWS
ABC to air "what if" bird flu movie tonight
by Alicia Karapetian on 5/9/2006 for Meatingplace.com
ABC will air its take on the possibility of a mutation of the H5N1 virus that is transmittable from human to human in its made-for-TV movie Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America tonight at 8 p.m./ 7 p.m. CST.
According to a press release issued by ABC, the film was "meticulously researched" and John M. Barry, a visiting scholar at Tulane University and author of the book "The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History," which includes an afterword on avian flu, served as a consultant on the project.
The press release also included a disclaimer, noting, "This film is a fictional examination of the question: What if?"
California Poultry Federation president Bill Mattos asked ABC to refrain from broadcasting the movie, writing in a letter to the company, "Frankly, we wish that you would pull thus irresponsible movie out of your programming altogether." ABC declined the request.
National Chicken Council spokesman Richard L. Lobb asked ABC to air disclaimers at the beginning and end of the film. ABC will be airing the disclaimers, but ABC told The Associated Press that the move was of its own accord. "It's being done because we're responsible broadcasters," ABC Vice President of Corporate Initiatives Brad Jamison said.
But even the Hollywood paper of record, Daily Variety, lacked faith in the flu film. In a review on Monday, writer Brian Lowry noted that "ABC News recently aired a series of reports seeking to separate fact from fiction regarding the threat of an avian flu pandemic, but the entertainment division adopts the 'Let's scare the hell out of everyone strategy.'"
Editor's Note: A commentary written by POULTRY Executive Editor Yvonne Vizzier Thaxton in response to the movie will be available on Meatingplace.com on Wednesday.