Tuesday, September 11, 2012

some 9/11 thoughts--on media and one other thing


In political news:  In front of the capital today, John Boehner gave a dignified and appropriate tribute to the heroes and victims of 9/11.  As he worked to control his emotions and his voice cracked, I do hope that all will take the day off from snark about him showing his emotion.  Nothing wrong with a man showing his humanity as a country deals with the inhumanity of eleven years ago.

CNN showed the speeches and showed the services in front of the capital.  However, the crawl at the bottom of the screen during those speeches told audiences that Jerry Lawler collapsed during a WWE taping and Rove's Crossroads organization is releasing more ads.  Fox News had the class to run a crawl of the names of those that died on 9/11.  Fox showed a lack of class by simultaneously running a discussion of one view of the country's economic condition and that it was all the Democrat's fault.  

No network, broadcast or cable, could spare any time to show the survivors of 9/11 reading the names of those that died that day.  No network could take time away from advertising to show respect to the fallen.  No network could relinquish an opportunity for a commercial to show the survivors  reading the names of the people that died, the people they knew.

MSNBC did what they have done each year on the anniversary which is showing NBC's news coverage in real time as it occurred that day.  Without a crawl and without interruption.  One network still had some idea of perspective.  

As I write this, with great dignity, the survivors read out the names of those that died in New York City on 9/11.  And no network could show them.  Not while there are commercials to run.

Thursday, September 6, 2012

MTV: Fraud

Usually, a blogger offers hyperlinks to the items being referenced.  I am not hyperlinking the Video Music Awards (VMA's for folks as old as me).  Because MTV is a fraud.  The network has hyped through "Rock the Vote," the idea of an engaged youth.  A voting youth.  An informed youth.  It's apparently a fraud.
Tonight,  one week after watching Mitt Romney gave his address to the Republican Convention, President Obama had his moment in front of his party and a nation.  The NFL moved a football game to a different night to accommodate this important speech.  MTV made sure that young people that maybe, just might, listen to the President, instead would watch MTV.  The network counterprogrammed the President with the VMA's.
The CEO of Viacom, who owns MTV, Philippe Dauman, worked with the Gates Foundation to start "Get Schooled" an organization seeking to raise the awareness of the crisis in our public schools.  But that was three years ago.  Dauman has obviously abandoned his desire to make sure our young people have their priorities straight.  His network counterprogrammed.  
Daumann is not a Republican.  Or a Democrat.  He has given generously to both parties.  Perhaps his network had partisan intents.  Perhaps his network was just out to make a buck tonight.  At the expense of an informed youth.  MTV is a fraud.