The New York Times reports that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has opened an investigation into “Our Little Genius.” The game show by famed reality TV creator Mark Burnett was pulled back from its planned debut on Fox last month when questions arose about whether some contestants had been given answers in advance.
The Times story published Friday quoted from a letter sent to the FCC in December the parent of a child who had been recruited for the show. It claimed that the child was coached by the production staff and given specific answers to four questions. The newspaper obtained the letter, with the identity of the parent and child deleted, by filing a Freedom of Information Act request with th FCC.
RBR-TVBR observation: This makes no sense. The program has not aired – not on broadcast television, not on cable, not on the Internet – not anywhere that the FCC has any authority. Anyone can send the FCC a letter about anything, but that doesn’t constitute the opening of a formal investigation.
