By Angelina Carini
The nation''s recent tragedy has not only altered the skyline of New York, but also the storylines of a national television series and local advertisers.
Broadcasters and advertisers alike have tried to react responsibly in the wake of disaster.
The new television season will begin next week and networks have been preparing.
'We''re reviewing all our programming with sensitivity and compassion to make sure our content will not enflame prejudices or be hurtful to anyone,' said Scott Grogan, vice president of corporate communications at Fox Broadcasting.
Fox is removing all scenes of domestic terrorism or plane crashes from their fall programming, Grogan said.
'We are obligated, as broadcasters, to take the pulse of the country,' he said. 'It is a sensitive time for our nation.'
Neil Schubert, spokesperson for USA Television Production Group, said the studio, network and production company made the joint decision to pull the 'Law & Order' mini-series from their fall line-up because it contained subject matter including terrorism.
'We did the appropriate thing,' Schubert said.
Networks aren''t the only ones combing their content for sensitive materials. Advertisers are also reviewing their copy for touchy subjects.
'I think that advertisers are a lot more cautious and sensitive to the general public and to how they affect it,' said Liz McKinlay, advertising assistant in the display advertising department at The Daily Universe.
McKinlay said she has seen a couple of ads that had to be changed because of the destruction that took place in New York City.
She said that one advertisement that was written before last week''s tragedy referred to the stock market as being 'unstable' and implied that traders work under stressful conditions. The firm requested that The Daily Universe remove that wording from the ads.
'I think that, especially at this time, it''s better to be more sensitive than not. They did the right thing,' McKinlay said.
While some companies may be reading between their own lines, others are feeling the effects on an international scale.
Brandon Polster, media director at Generation Marketing said the biggest effect the attacks have had on his firm is moving clients out of the Middle East.
He said that a lot of companies may be using this tragedy to further their prominence to the public, but his company seeks only to move on, as President Bush has directed.
'You gotta push forward,' Polster said.