TLC And The Need To Be Transparent About '19 Kids And Counting'

One of the most over-utilized words in any public relations crisis is "transparency." Face with some sort of embarrassing news, institutions tend to issue statements promising to be "transparent" about how they're handling the problem. While they are generally not being entirely honest with their promise of truth-telling, at least promising to be more forth-coming about your actions seems to me to be the lowest rung on the ladder for any company hoping to successfully deal with a sensitive PR problem.

As I wrote yesterday, TLC and the production company Figure 8 Films have been less than forthcoming about their actions surrounding allegations that 19 KIDS AND COUNTING star Josh Duggar sexually molested several underage girls when he was a teen. Other then this brief statement issued yesterday, representatives from TLC have declined to talk about the story and its many ramifications:

"Effective immediately, TLC has pulled all episodes of 19 Kids and Counting currently from the air. We are deeply saddened and troubled by this heartbreaking situation, and our thoughts and prayers are with the family and victims at this difficult time."

Figure 8 Films has had a similar lack of interest in discussing the issue, declining all requests to talk about their knowledge of allegations.

Instead of responding publicly, someone connected with the show used TMZ to float the idea that 19 KIDS AND COUNTING might continue without the participation of Josh Duggar:

Connected industry sources tell TMZ, TLC is considering a number of options, weighing the pros and cons. One is to cancel the show outright, the other is to just go full steam ahead, but there is real talk about continuing without Josh. 

Our sources say there's a strong sense axing Josh would not materially hurt the show. We're told TLC has done research and it shows the daughters have become the driving force. The weddings of Jill and Jessa were ratings successes, as was the birth of Jill's baby.

This approach to spinning the story is certainly a safe approach and maybe TLC can bring back the show and pretend none of this ever happened. But it's difficult for me to see how anyone connected with the show can put this behind them without answering some simple questions about these allegations. When did the network and the production company learn about these allegations? What moves did they make to ensure that the younger members of the family were living in a safe environment?

As I've mentioned before, this is an extremely serious series of allegations. From the limited amount of facts that have surfaced about the allegations, Josh Duggar apparently admitted to the actions and local law enforcement declined to prosecute. It's very easy to imagine a scenario in which Josh Duggar would have faced being labeled as a sex offender in many other jurisdictions.

I have no burning interest to see Josh Duggar pay some public price for his actions. That is between him, his family and his victims. But this is the time when TLC needs to think beyond whether or not they can save this very valuable television franchise. They need to do what is morally and ethically right, not just for the future of this show but for safety and well-being of any future show and their participants.

I understand completely that being transparent about the allegations and the production of the show is difficult and embarrassing. But if a network and/or production company can't do what's right, how can they ever be trusted in the future?