Spinning History; Controversy Builds over a Missing History Channel Documentary

Broadcasting and Cable
July 10, 2006

By Anne Becker

Did the History Channel pull a documentary because of political
pressure? That’s what some have suggested since Ottoman Empire: The
War Machine mysteriously vanished from the network’s schedule on June
22, the day it was to premiere. The program recounts the six-century
reign of the Ottomans, the precursors to the modern republic of Turkey.

When the special did not premiere-even after History had run promos
just days before and pre-sold DVDs on its Web site-message boards at
HistoryChannel.com and Armenian-American blogs erupted with allegations
that the network caved to pressure from the Turkish government or
other interest groups.

Although none have seen the documentary, the critics suspect that it
likely covers the death of more than a million Armenians at the hands
of Ottoman Turks from 1915 to 1923. Armenians regard the killings as
genocide, but the Turkish government disputes the characterization
and is notoriously strident in advocating its version of history.

The History Channel says that it pulled the program because it was
"incomplete and did not meet our broadcast standards," and that it
received no calls from any political groups regarding the special
before its scheduled run date.

"The History Channel never bows to political pressure from any
interest group," a network representative says. But critics of the
Turkish government smell a rat.

"This has been a pattern of this government’s behavior in countries
outside of its own," says Peter Balakian, Chair in the Humanities
at Colgate University and author of The Burning Tigris: The Armenian
Genocide and America’s Response.

Balakian says the Turkish government’s efforts to stop media coverage
of the Armenian issue dates back to 1935, when it pressured the U.S.
State Department to shut down a Hollywood movie about the killings.

"They have a history of working at intimidation, and I would hate to
think this happened in this case," he says.

Doris V. Cross, a vice president at Media Watch Armenia, a
clearinghouse for historical and scholarly documentation on the
killings, says she had not heard of any pressure from the Armenian
side, but notes that complaints from Turkish officials to what they
consider unfavorable media coverage are "not uncommon."

"The title-Ottoman Empire: The War Machine -that could’ve been enough"
to prompt protests, Cross says. "The official government policy is
that there was no Armenian genocide. This could be one of those cases
where it stays on the shelf."

The situation echoes the controversy last April over The Armenian
Genocide , a PBS documentary about the killings. In that instance,
Armenian groups and members of Congress protested a planned follow-up
program that featured panelists who deny the genocide occurred.
Several PBS stations declined to air it.

Producers from Digital Ranch, the production company behind Ottoman
Empire , did not return repeated calls for comment.

For their part, representatives of the Turkish-American community
deny that they seek to censor content about the Armenian killings.

"The Turkish-American community doesn’t believe in viewpoint
suppression at all-quite the opposite, it wants multiple viewpoints
represented," says David Saltzman, a Washington-based attorney
who represents the Turkish Embassy as well as the Assembly of
Turkish-American Associations. "To suppress viewpoints, especially
under pressure from politicians and lobby groups, is incorrect and
not the American way."

The History Channel says it has rescheduled the program for an
unspecified date in the fall. But Andrew Goldberg, the executive
producer of The Armenian Genocide , hopes history isn’t repeating
itself with Ottoman Empire .

"If the History Channel isn’t finished with the film, then by all
means they should finish it," he says. "But if they are caving to
pressure from the Turks then shame on all of them."