Willis Family including rape charges

[Natalie22]

My impression with the Little Couple since they've had kids is that they are rarely filmed and only for more 'major' events, like activities for the kids about their heritage, birthday parties, and doctor visits.  I think we see very little of the kids' day-to-day lives.  I also can't see Jen and Bill allowing anything like what happened to Josie on their show.  While I don't think I would ever show my family on tv, I think they try to make it as unobtrusive as possible.

[feministxtian]

I think the biggest difference with Jen and Bill is that they had careers and success BEFORE TLC came calling. I do like the premise that being a LP doesn't stop you from doing anything...like surviving med school, residency and being in a demanding specialty. One of my best buddies in the entire world is a LP with osteogenesis imperfecta. He's been very successful in life and used to go talk to other LP about how being an LP doesn't mean you can give up. 

But...I hope that they keep the filming to a minimum...

[Exjw2015deed]

4 hours ago, Buzzard said:

Reputable media will not publish/report on the identity of a sexual assault victim without his/her OK (the most famous being the "dot" in the William Kennedy Smith trial in the 90s).  There is actually a discussion about whether that is "appropriate" but thats a question for the media to wrestle among themselves.  LEGALLY, the information is a matter of public record and is free to be disseminated.

Yes, I have my degree in journalism and took an extensive class on journalistic ethics. It is a hundred percent legal to identify the victim/assailant in all crimes including juvenile. It is simply a matter of ethics and they review the SPJ code of ethics. It is up to the newspaper but essentially no one reveals this information unless they feel it is important to the narrative of the story. 

I got into a long email battle with my local newspaper because I felt they broke their ethical standards. My best friend and her sister were a victim of repetitive abuse by their father who was finally arrested and put on trial. By listing his full name and address, they all but gave away the name of the victims by revealing the nature of their relationship. I sent them a scathing letter saying they should've just stated he was charged for the sexual assault of two female minors and listing the relationship outed the victim. As soon as the story hit, everyone knew it was her, (her brother is also a junior and shares the same name as her father), she had a hard time going anywhere public without people staring or asking her questions. This still effects her to this day. His crimes were despicable, he was sent to prison, but now they are forever outed as victims and have expressed some regrets of coming forward because of the violation of their privacy. 

[Percy]

In Australia, victims of sexual assault are not identified in the press, I don't know whether this is by law or by ethics.

I have never watched the Little Couple, I need to watch out for the show.

[Funwithfundies]

3 hours ago, Snarkle Motion said:

I agree it's probably not worth it and something I would never do to my kids. But I could see the argument made that they're motives are to make the mainstream public more aware of little people and issues that go along with being a little person. I don't buy the duggar argument that they are "ministering" through tv.

I don't even think the Duggars themselves really believe that lie, lol.

[Gemini]

19 minutes ago, Percy said:

In Australia, victims of sexual assault are not identified in the press, I don't know whether this is by law or by ethics.

I have never watched the Little Couple, I need to watch out for the show.

Same in England. As if these victims haven't been through enough! 

[justwatching]

6 hours ago, daisyd681 said:

I blame the 24 hour news cycle. It used to be that a journalist had time to do some research before publishing a story. Now they need to be the most up-to-date story at any given time so they publish whatever is easily available and add to it from there. There's no time to fact check.

I'm not condoning the practice. It drives me nuts. I just understand how it happens. 

Or proof-read.  It makes me nuts when I read an article online and it's missing words (happens a lot with our local stations).

[bewilderedandbemused]

I noticed throughout the massive press coverage of Brock Allen Turner, Stanford Rapist, the media used "Emily Doe."  Or at least what I've seen in the media.  I realize that there are probably enough details available that a person could identify her, especially since the records are public (didn't know that was the case in the U.S. - thanks FJers!).  But she didn't want to be identified, and her (incredibly powerful and moving) statement received a lot of (well-deserved) national/international coverage without doing so.  So kudos to the media for that.

[silverspoons]

Jen and Bill of the Little couple are not filming due to legal issues. It is not their own, it has to do with the production company that filmed them (and the 7 little johnstons) and some sort of legal issues between the production company and discovery networks.

The Kleins did say they were going to film less and didn't want to "fake episodes. Most TLC reality shows have had fake holidays, filmed before or after the actual day. Jen and Bill said they wanted to keep Christmas for their family but would film some activities like decorating or baking.

I always got the impression Jen wanted to be on TV, in a medical capacity, like a Dr. Oz. She is very passionate about her simulation labs and likes the spotlight (in her career). She has joked about being like D. Oz someday but I think she is serious. I think she would really like a platform to educate the public. As long as she leaves the kids out of it for the most part that is fine.

I have been on some forums that pick apart Jen and Bill as bad as the Duggars. I always thought the Little couple was one of the better shows but you cant believe how viewers would pick apart every meal Jen made Will, every comment she made to Bill and even her speech to her coworkers were dissected. Viewers seem to always find ways to pick apart any of these families. It is impossible to be perfect in everyone's eyes. I just don't think there is any reality show that is benefical for young kids to be on.

 

 

[Palimpsest]

3 hours ago, silverspoons said:

I just don't think there is any reality show that is benefical for young kids to be on.

Neither do I.  I do think that Jen and Bill of the Little Couple have made efforts to protect their children from excess and overly invasive filming.  They probably learned from the experiences of others when they limited access in their contract - some of those contracts are iniquitous.  I still question their decision to allow filming the children in the first place.  A one-off documentary is one thing.  An ongoing series is another - and these shows are notorious for editing material to follow a story-line complete with good guys and villains.  

As @silverspoons, also says the criticism from the general public is ruthless.  These children are playing themselves on TV.  What decent parent really wants to expose their children to that sort of criticism?  They may not see it now but they will definitely read it in the future.

I believe that Bill Klein has gone on record with saying that some things, like the introduction of Zoey to Will, were faked - or rather re-enacted..  I think that was a good idea, although it goes to the unreality of "reality" TV and exposing the children to fake (and acted) scenarios.  Children this young can't always tell the difference.  I also think they may be being a bit disingenuous about how much they film the children.  From all reports about these shows, it takes many hours of filming to get one edited episode.

They are not filming at the moment because of the lawsuit, which has nothing to do with the Kleins.  Here's an article on it:  http://deadline.com/2016/06/discovery-shuts-down-six-shows-little-couple-lawsuit-lmno-productions-1201777943/

And the Arnold-Kleins are laughing all the way to the bank.  This is a quote from the article:

"In a rare glimpse inside the secretive world of reality TV financing, the suit notes that Discovery paid a “flat fee” of $127,035 for each seventh-season episode of Little Couple, and $380,000 for each episode of I Speak for the Dead."

[Buzzard]

53 minutes ago, Palimpsest said:

And the Arnold-Kleins are laughing all the way to the bank.  This is a quote from the article:

"In a rare glimpse inside the secretive world of reality TV financing, the suit notes that Discovery paid a “flat fee” of $127,035 for each seventh-season episode of Little Couple, and $380,000 for each episode of I Speak for the Dead."

I dont know that it means they received all that money, I'm assuming thats the total production cost, including editing, directing, filming, and "talent."

[samurai_sarah]

Carry on here: