In the finale of the HBO show, “The Newsroom,” which aired Sunday night, there is an exchange between Will McAvoy, the anchor/news director (played by Jeff Daniels), and Charlie Skinner, the network president (played by Sam Waterston).
The subject of discussion is Pope Benedict XVI. Skinner takes McAvoy to task for going soft on the pope for his alleged easy treatment of predatory priests. He challenges McAvoy, wanting to know why he wasn’t tougher. Here is what followed:
Skinner: That’s inexplicable to me.
McAvoy: Bill Donohue.
Skinner: Yeah, you don’t want the Catholic League mad at you.
McAvoy: Nobody does.
Bill Donohue replied today: If the story is true, we don’t get mad at those who report on bad news about the Catholic Church. We just get mad when we’re cherry picked or when the bad news is embellished. Or when we’re gratuitously bashed by talking heads. Sort of like what often appears on the network news, broadcast prime time shows, late night talk shows, cable talk shows, newspapers, radio, movies, the Internet….
In any event, I wish HBO executives a Merry Christmas. Tell Richard Plepler I said hello.
