Here is my problem with the current news story surrounding the
Duggar family and their son Josh.
What took so long?
In order for In Touch
to ask for documents under the Freedom of Information Act, they had to know
there were documents to find. If I, a casual viewer at best, knew about the “sin
in the camp” several years ago, then you cannot tell me that TLC didn’t know
about them when they first started airing specials about the Duggar clan. How did
I hear about it? Message boards! I visited the now defunct website Television
Without Pity every day. I watched a handful of the early shows about the family
and wanted to know more, but I didn’t want it filtered through a haze of puff
journalism. While message boards are often filled with trolls and haters, the best
ones, run by firm moderators, are able to provide a lot of background information.
For example, by the time Jon & Kate fell apart spectacularly in the public eye
I was well aware of all the private shenanigans that had taken place. I’m not a
private detective. I didn’t pore over microfiche. I don’t know the family or
anyone associated with them. I just spent a few hours down the wormhole that is
the Internet.
Several stories have emerged that provide a timeline of
events. The crimes were committed in 2002 and 2003. In 2005, the first special
about the Duggar family aired on Discovery Health. In 2006, while prepping an
all-Duggar episode, the Oprah Winfrey
Show was alerted to the history of
molestation. That episode never aired and HARPO studios alerted the Department
of Human Services. While Josh was under investigation by the police, Discovery
chose to air three more specials about the Duggar family. Let’s be clear – they
were actively filming the family while a member of the family was under active investigation
for molestation.
The network knew.
By 2007, comments had started to
crop up on several different message boards. Now, I don’t run a network. Hell, I
can barely run a bath. But, if I DID run a network, I’d have a passel of
interns whose entire job would be to monitor social media to keep track of what
was being said about my shows. Do people like them? Why or why not? Publicity
101, right? I find it hard to believe that TLC did not have people tracking what
was being said about their shows. There were only a few dozen sites that
recapped shows and/or had message boards for shows such as 19 Kids and Counting. Television Without Pity was well-established
and if I, a bored housewife with a couple of hours to kill and an interest in
digging a little deeper could unearth this story, you cannot tell me with a
straight face that the powers that be at TLC could not.
The network knew.
Why did In Touch decide
to release the information now? I’m sure it has absolutely nothing to do with
outselling rival magazines People and
Us, both of which have published
multiple exclusives covers concerning the family. I’m sure it is all about the
victims, right? Puh-lease. It’s all about the money. They busted the story wide
open to increase their click-view rates, their page views, and their newsstand
buys. It is the exact same reason TCL ignored the story entirely. They were
looking a cash cow directly in the face! They didn’t care if the milk was sour.
They only cared if the milk looked creamy and refreshing on camera. The Duggar
family made for good TV. They have aired greater than 200 episodes about them.
They have published three books. They have made countless appearances over the
past decade. The big Christian family is big business and big money. What is a
little incestuous molestation in the face of millions of dollars?
Everyone knew.
This included the networks, the publishers,
their church, their friends, and their family.
Who helped the victims? The
answer was no one, because it wasn’t in their best interest to do so.
Now the entire world knows. They are all claiming ignorance and pulling the show and firing Josh and yada, yada, yada.
Who is helping the victims?
The
answer, unfortunately, still seems to be no one, because it isn't in their best interest to do so.
And that, my friends, is the worst crime of all.
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