NYT Critic Blasts 'Netflix's Supine Compliance' for Pulling 'Patriot Act' Episode in Saudi Arabia

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New York Times media critic Jim Rutenberg told readers in his latest Mediator column he doesn’t agree with Netflix’s decision to pull an episode of their program “Patriot Act” from Saudi Arabian airwaves following objection from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

“Maybe the Saudi complaint wasn’t all that shocking. Like any authoritarian monarch worth his bone saw, Prince Mohammed doesn’t brook criticism,” Rutenberg said. “The shock came with Netflix’s supine compliance. After pulling the episode from its Saudi feed, the streaming service told the Financial Times it was simply responding to ‘a valid legal request.'”

The offending episode of the stand up show starring “Daily Show” alum Hasan Minhaj had raised questions about bin Salman and his involvement in the death of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi and the kingdom’s war in Yemen. This apparently did not sit well with the country’s de facto absolute monarch.

Also Read: CIA Says Saudi Crown Prince Ordered Killing of Jamal Khashoggi (Report)

“As America’s new media overlords grow at a stunning rate, expanding into every nook and cranny of the globe where governments will let them in, are they compelled to defend universal values like free speech that their home country was founded on?” Rutenberg said.

“Increasingly, it seems, profit, expansion and perhaps a wee bit of cowardice are trumping the very principles that made the United States entertainment and news industries what they are — and that made a Netflix possible in the first place,” he added.

Reps for Netflix did not immediately respond to request for comment from TheWrap.

In the episode, Minhaj took a serious turn when he addressed bin Salman, saying he was an obstacle to progress in the country.

“I am genuinely rooting for change in Saudi Arabia. I am rooting for the people of Saudi Arabia. There are people in Saudi Arabia fighting for true reform but MBS is not one of them,” Minhaj said.

“And to those who continue to work with him just know that with every deal you close you’re simply helping entrench an absolute monarch under the guise of progress because ultimately MBS is not modernizing Saudi Arabia. The only thing he is modernizing is Saudi dictatorship.”

The imbroglio over the episode seems sure to raise interest in the show and as Rutenberg noted, die hards in Saudi Arabia can still find the content on YouTube.

11 Media Losers of 2018, From Les Moonves to Michael Avenatti (Photos)

2018 was hard for a lot of media folks, but particularly so for this rogues' gallery. For some, it was MeToo. For others, industry headwinds were too much. And for more still, disgrace and ignominy came after just saying the wrong thing.
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Les Moonves: Once celebrated for his leadership at CBS, Moonves faced multiple allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct for which he was ultimately fired. CBS said in December that it would seek to deny him a roughly $120-million severance package.
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Laura Ingraham: Long a divisive figure (even on the right), the Fox News host might have avoided the losers' column were it not for a sponsor boycott launched against her by Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg in March. Months later, advertisers are still wary of appearing on the program.

Also Read: Laura Ingraham Compares Confederate Statue Protesters to ISIS
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Michael Ferro/Tronc: The leadership of Michael Ferro has now made Tronc synonymous with mismanagement. In addition to leaving the top job with a #MeToo scandal over his head, Ferro is now facing accusations of making anti-semitic remarks and paying off an LA Times editor who reportedly had the comments on tape.
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Media Publishers: From Mic.com on the left to The Weekly Standard on the right, publishers came in for a beating, with some closing up entirely. With few exceptions, legacy shops saw print sales decline, while digital-first properties continue to face the crushing economics of turning pageviews into profits.
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Breitbart: It's a name you probably haven't heard for a while. Once a key part of the engine which powered Trump's improbable election, the website had long fallen off most radars. A sustained pressure campaign against advertisers on the site by Sleeping Giants has also taken a bite out of revenue.

Also Read: Breitbart and Drudge Hit by Google Cloud Issue, Go Offline
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Marc Lamont Hill: Once a CNN regular, Hill lost his job as a contributor on the network after making remarks about Israel and Palestine at the UN that many called anti-semitic. A chummy photo with Louis Farrakhan -- who has compared Jews to termites -- didn't help matters for him either. He remains a tenured professor at Temple University.

Also Read: CNN Fires Contributor Marc Lamont Hill Over Israel Remarks (Video)
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CBS and "60 Minutes": Both the network and its marquee news program took a beating this year. "60 Minutes" executive producer Jeff Fager was forced out in a MeToo scandal, while details of an investigation launched by the network generally hit the press before reaching top management.
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Michael Avenatti: Just months ago, the lawyer representing Stormy Daniels in her legal fight with Donald Trump was considered a serious presidential contender. But his reputation took a hit after taking on a questionable MeToo claim against Brett Kavanaugh, and he disappeared for good after being booked on felony domestic violence charges in November (though he was not charged).

Also Read: Michael Avenatti Says He Won’t Run for President in 2020 After All
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Andy Lack: The MSNBC/NBC News chief had a rough 2018. His network's decision to pass on Ronan Farrow's historic MeToo reporting continues to reverberate. His big bet on Megyn Kelly also flopped and became a multi-million dollar ulcer which still remains far from resolved.
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Gavin McInnes: Always on the fringes, McInnes had nevertheless carved a niche for himself as an online provocateur, a host on CRTV and as the head of his own (occasionally violent/racist) fraternal organization, The Proud Boys. By the end of 2018, he was banned from Twitter, dropped by CRTV and had resigned from The Proud Boys.
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Univision: Univision spent $135 million on Gawker Media back in 2016 and has spent most of the time since mismanaging the former properties and being called out by its own writers. Amid buyouts to editorial and broad layoffs elsewhere, Univision revealed it is looking to cut its losses and unload the websites once and for all.

Also Read: Univision Unveils New Strategy to Drive Millennials From Their Phones to the TV (Exclusive)
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2018 was a rough year for media, and for this rogues’ gallery, the damage was particularly catastrophic

2018 was hard for a lot of media folks, but particularly so for this rogues' gallery. For some, it was MeToo. For others, industry headwinds were too much. And for more still, disgrace and ignominy came after just saying the wrong thing.

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