"This is a critical time in our nation's
history and we have made the decision to cease production on
Live PD," A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst
Communications and Walt Disney Co, said in a statement on
Wednesday.
Earlier in the week, ViacomCBS Inc owned Paramount Network
canceled reality TV show "Cops" that debuted in 1989 and was
considered a pioneer of reality television as it followed
real-life police on the job.
Such shows have come under criticism for glorifying law
enforcement without any footage of police brutality.
Media companies are revisiting their programming as mass
protests against racial discrimination rage across the United
States following the death of an unarmed black man, George
Floyd, in police custody.
A&E's decision follows U.S. media reports earlier this week that
an unaired video filmed by a Live PD crew of a black man's death
in police custody in 2019 was destroyed.
"As is the case with all footage taken by Live PD producers, we
no longer retained the unaired footage after learning that the
investigation had concluded," the network told
https://www.usatoday.com/story/
news/investigations/2020/06/10/live-pd-destroyed-video-police-killing-javier-ambler-ii-2019/5332903002
the USA Today.
The decision, a reversal from the network's plan to extend the
show's contract a month ago, surprised Live PD host Dan Abrams.
"Shocked & beyond disappointed about this," Abrams, a journalist
and founder of news website Mediaite, tweeted
https://twitter.com/danabrams/
status/1270887054570917899.
(Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)
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