Breaking: F.C.C. Opens Inquiry on “Our Little Genius”
This is getting just as bad as it can get right now. The F.C.C. has opened an inquiry on the canceled FOX game show Our Little Genius under allegation of rigging the competition. The current allegation is the contestants were given questions before the show happened, which we speculated when the situation first occurred and the show was pulled a week before debut.
A letter dated December 17th was sent to the F.C.C. from a parent of a contestant. The parent raises several complaints about Our Little Genius which are now being investigated. The most damning of them all is the allegation of questions being disclosed before the show. The New York Times states, “The letter alleges that a few days before a planned taping, a member of the program’s production staff reviewed with the contestant and his parents a list of potential topics and gave specific answers to at least four questions that the child either did not know or about which he was unsure.” This claim was also given to us by other sources, so we’ve got multiple people saying the same thing here.
The letter also states answers were given as well. Again, the New York Times article states, “For example, the letter states that when the child said that he didn’t know the British system of naming musical notes, he was told by the production staff member the names of four specific notes that “he needed to know,” including semibreve for whole note, crotchet for quarter note and quaver for eighth note. “He told us that it was very important to know that the hemidemisemiquaver is the British name for the sixty-fourth note,” the letter says.” We were not told this, but given how everything else has matched up there’s no reason to doubt it.
The other allegation is that contestants who missed one of the first four questions were allowed to retry the game with new questions, and this has been confirmed by audience members. Also confirmed by audience members is switching out questions due to what staff calls “technical errors”, and suddenly a question the child knows appears.
So there we are. We’ve got official confirmation from our initial reports that contestants were given questions beforehand, contestants allowed to restart games, questions being switched, and now answers being given. Audience members and second/third reports given directly to us back up everything but the giving away of answers, which we did not know.
This is just about as bad as it gets. This is looking to all be true given the overwhelming evidence. It’s a modern quiz show scandal. It’s career damaging for many, many of which who do not deserve it. A report given to us did confirm that when Mark Burnett, the executive producer, discovered what was going on he, in earnest, pulled the plug on the show. So that part was completely honest, and good on him. But it may be too late, though I certainly hope not. You also have to wonder how much it’ll affect other game/quiz shows. It’s a legitimate scandal in our genre, and we will be following it intensely.
He may still get fined. And at the very least, his reputation will come into question for some time to come.
The FCC put laws on the books after the '50s quiz show scandals for a reason; so that the integrity of a game/qiuz show cannot be tainted by any form of rigging, tampering, or manipulating for the sake of the contest's outcome. This means that contestants are not allowed to be coached, prompted, or given any hints, clues, or any unfair advantage at the expense of other participants by the producers, or any member(s) of that show's staff. Failure to comply with these laws/rules (whatever) will result in fines, and possible jail time.
In other words, if Burnett's minions were in violation of any of the laws/rules on the books since circa 1960, they're likely as not in for a world of hurt, regardless of whether or not OUR LITTLE GENIUS aired.
The FCC put laws on the books after the '50s quiz show scandals for a reason; so that the integrity of a game/qiuz show cannot be tainted by any form of rigging, tampering, or manipulating for the sake of the contest's outcome. This means that contestants are not allowed to be coached, prompted, or given any hints, clues, or any unfair advantage at the expense of other participants by the producers, or any member(s) of that show's staff. Failure to comply with these laws/rules (whatever) will result in fines, and possible jail time.
In other words, if Burnett's minions were in violation of any of the laws/rules on the books since circa 1960, they're likely as not in for a world of hurt, regardless of whether or not OUR LITTLE GENIUS aired.
It's not just ambiguously/poorly-worded questions. It can also be on account of misinformation, due to poor question research.
It's not just ambiguously/poorly-worded questions. It can also be on account of misinformation, due to poor question research.
If this is indeed true, then expect somewhat of a “look over your shoulder” situation on other game shows, although it won’t hurt them. Worst case scenario, Fox and/or Mark Burnett’s production company would be fined, maybe not as much as CBS was fined with the infamous Super Bowl fiasco, or, as I like to call it, “TittyGate”. It is sad that it had come to this, Fox making a huge mistake by greenlighting OLG instead of The Cube.
And if Mark Brunett is involved personally (as Brandon mentioned), it could ruin his reputation as a producer, similar to what Jack Berry and Dan Enright had to go through with the ’50s scandal.
The '50s are a lifetime ago, and what comes of something today would be far, far different from what happend back then.
The '50s are a lifetime ago, and what comes of something today would be far, far different from what happend back then.
His production company might get fined, that's true. Not him personally.
His production company might get fined, that's true. Not him personally.
Do you have proof of this so-called rigging? You better have some evidence if you're going to make serious accusations.
The FCC does not have the power to jail people.
A lot of it will also depend on the power of the FCC. The Commission, to me, is not as powerful as it was a few decades ago. Everytime you hear about the FCC fining a station or network for obscenity, the rulings are generally overturned by the court system. DC insiders and other critics have blasted the FCC for being soft when it comes to station ownership rules, as well as being behind the times with emerging technology issues.
Perhaps this case, if it gets far, will be the first major test of the Obama FCC. Both Ed and Mr. Quiz have made great points, but it will all depend on what five commissioners have to say.
Do you have proof of this so-called rigging? You better have some evidence if you're going to make serious accusations.
Do you have proof of this so-called rigging? You better have some evidence if you're going to make serious accusations.
The FCC has zero authority to jail anyone.
I stumbled, quite by accident, upon the show's Wikipedia page. The page AS CREATED, by user "Purpledog250" (whose edits mainly comprise of edits to that page and the one on CatholicTV {which he also created, in turn implying that the user has some affiliation with the network} over the past three years), states that…
"Since the purpose of the show is to convey a true understanding of basic Catholic belief to the viewer, the prospective contestants are given any and all questions, along with the answers, one month in advance of the taping of the show. This allows the children to learn the information at home and in class so that the actual show can be a learning experience for viewers of all ages." (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=WOW:_Th…
My jaw dropped upon seeing that — yet strangely, the CatholicTV website features very little information on the show itself. If the above paragraph doesn't constitute rigging, I don't know what does.
(I've sent an inquiry to CatholicTV stating that my son is interested in being a contestant — and asking what, if anything, they would send him through the mail.)
I stumbled, quite by accident, upon the show's Wikipedia page. The page AS CREATED, by user "Purpledog250" (whose edits mainly comprise of edits to that page and the one on CatholicTV {which he also created, in turn implying that the user has some affiliation with the network} over the past three years), states that…
"Since the purpose of the show is to convey a true understanding of basic Catholic belief to the viewer, the prospective contestants are given any and all questions, along with the answers, one month in advance of the taping of the show. This allows the children to learn the information at home and in class so that the actual show can be a learning experience for viewers of all ages." (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=WOW:_Th…
My jaw dropped upon seeing that — yet strangely, the CatholicTV website features very little information on the show itself. If the above paragraph doesn't constitute rigging, I don't know what does.
(I've sent an inquiry to CatholicTV stating that my son is interested in being a contestant — and asking what, if anything, they would send him through the mail.)
I should note that, if all contestants are given the questions and answers prior to the taping, it just becomes a race to see who can hit the buzzer the quickest.
Besides that, the claim that the show's purpose is "to convey a true understanding of basic Catholic belief to the viewer" is merely a line thrown in to sidestep the law. I don't care if it is a niche channel, "WOW" offers prizes — and, other than that, is a bona-fide GAME SHOW. More than that, it's a QUIZ SHOW.
And to "Purpledog250" — if you *are* an employee of CatholicTV, then you really shouldn't have said that your company is rigging their own game show. Unless, of course, you intended to expose them for rigging.
I should note that, if all contestants are given the questions and answers prior to the taping, it just becomes a race to see who can hit the buzzer the quickest.
Besides that, the claim that the show's purpose is "to convey a true understanding of basic Catholic belief to the viewer" is merely a line thrown in to sidestep the law. I don't care if it is a niche channel, "WOW" offers prizes — and, other than that, is a bona-fide GAME SHOW. More than that, it's a QUIZ SHOW.
And to "Purpledog250" — if you *are* an employee of CatholicTV, then you really shouldn't have said that your company is rigging their own game show. Unless, of course, you intended to expose them for rigging.
Wow. I wouldn't bet this was Burnett's doing so much as Fox's. I guess, though, that someone was willing to re-test the waters to see whether cheating would fly, since the Quiz Show Scandals are (now) over 50 years in America's rear-view mirror. I'm glad someone's still paying attention to what's happening.
Wow. I wouldn't bet this was Burnett's doing so much as Fox's. I guess, though, that someone was willing to re-test the waters to see whether cheating would fly, since the Quiz Show Scandals are (now) over 50 years in America's rear-view mirror. I'm glad someone's still paying attention to what's happening.
[...]one of our visitors recently recommended the following website[...]…