CNN, NPR Nix President Promos

Talk about cutting and running.

Two of America's most respected news organizations, CNN and National Public Radio, have decided not to run ads for Death of a President, a British political drama portraying a fictional assassination of President George W. Bush, given the controversy that has erupted over the film in advance of Friday's release.

"CNN has decided not to take the ad because of the extreme nature of the film's subject matter," the network said in a statement, refusing to elaborate further. 

CNN's Website has also declined to run banner ads that allow readers to click through to the trailer. Meanwhile, that supposedly "Fair and Balanced" network known as Fox News has agreed to carry the clips, according to MediaPost.com, not to mention more progressive news sites such as Salon and the Huffington Post.

Another cable network following CNN's lead is A&E's History Channel, which cited the faux doc's creative content for not running the spots.

Because it's a not-for-profit news-gathering outlet, NPR does not air traditional ads but instead broadcasts short promotional messages from corporate donors and foundations who agree to become sponsors.

A rep for the broadcaster explained that it would not air promos for the flick mainly to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.

"The movie is fairly likely to generate significant controversy, and we'll cover it as a news story," spokeswoman Andi Sporkin told Reuters. "To take a sponsorship spot would raise questions and cause confusion [among viewers]."

Death of a President sparked an uproar when it premiered at last month's Toronto International Film Festival. It was snapped up for distribution by indie powerhouse Newmarket Films, the company behind the successful releases of Memento, Whale Rider, The Passion of the Christ and, most recently, The Prestige.

Shot in the style of a retrospective documentary, the movie imagines a scenario in which Dubya is gunned down by an assassin after giving a fiery, patriotic speech at a Chicago hotel in October 2007. 

Death's director, Gabriel Range, utilizes digital effects, including interweaving present-day archival footage of the commander-in-chief and imposing his face over the face of an actor, to create a stunningly realistic act of terror. After the President's murder, the film shifts gears and becomes a mystery that chronicles the feds' efforts to track down the assassin and their arrest of a Middle Eastern man who may or may not have been responsible for the crime.

The filmmakers justify their dramatization by claiming Death is meant to raise serious issues about Bush's global war on terror and its consequences.

"Death of a President is the opposite of a call for violence," Newmarket cofounder Chris Ball said in a statement. "It's a powerfully cautionary tale about the pernicious effects of violence."

While the film has generally received favorable reviews, various political pundits have blasted Death, suggesting it could incite the type of violence that it purports to condemn. Some right-wingers have called for a ban on its release, while other detractors have simply urged moviegoers not to see it.

"My reluctant conclusion is that—as long as it doesn't incite violence—the film should be allowed to be released. But that doesn't mean we have to watch it. In fact, we ought to teach the producers and movie houses a lesson they won't forget. Let's show them shameful sensationalism like this doesn't sell," Robert Reich, former labor secretary under President Clinton, commented on the public radio business show Marketplace.

Complicating things for Newmarket is the fact that the country's largest theater chain, Regal Cinemas, and smaller rival Cinemark, have refused to program Death of a President, reducing the number of venues where the curious can check it out.

As a result, the distributor is staying the course by relying on art-house exhibitors such as Mark Cuban's Landmark Theaters, which have agreed to screen it but don't have the reach of their larger competitors.