Shows: Reality and the President
So our friend Dubya was on the air again last night. And when I mean "on the air", I mean on the air. I counted either 11 or 12 stations that were concurrently running his broadcast. Isn't this a bit extreme?
I can understand that CNN and MSNBC and CSPAN might broadcast. But that's three.
I can understand that in their day, the same might be said for the largest US broadcast networks - ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox. Actually, it's the first time I've noticed Fox broadcast such an event, but it's understandable. The other four or five channels? I don't even know who they were.
CBS ended up showing Survivor at 9pm, which is good, but by then it was up against The Apprentice on NBC. So we watched The Apprentice and caught bits of Survivor on commercial breaks, since The Apprentice is much closer to the end than Survivor.
What I don't get is why a single broadcast network (of those larger ones) won't break away. Surely these networks realize, or at least should realize, that in many cases, people either don't care that the president is on every channel in sight, or that they can tune him in on cable. Maybe we don't want to see the president on every other channel! Why not break the mold and offer normal (especially popular normal) programming?
Update: So apparently CBS and Fox had initially planned on not showing the conference. But somewhere throughout the day, they decided they needed to do so. This is what puzzles me. If the other networks were pre-empting their programming, it seems to me a fine time to not pre-empt your own. But what do I know?
Comments
Having every station do it seems overkill. That said, I think it's important enough (even if I think the man is a dolt, he's still the president, and what he was discussing, however spun, will likely affect me and every other American who gets to retirement age) that not only should the major networks cover it, but their playing scheduling brinksmanship over it was unbecoming at best and a disservice to the public at worst.
I mean, in 30 years or so, decisions made this year in Washington about Social Security are going to matter a hell of a lot more to me than Donald Trump or the reality programming craze of the 00s.
Posted by: *** Dave | April 29, 2005 12:00 PM
The airwaves are a public trust, and the broadcasters get to use them for the benefit of the public. They don't "own" their frequencies -- *we* do. So when there's something big happening, like the President talking about his plan for Social Security and answering questions about SS, North Korea, energy, etc., they have a responsibility to broadcast it (whether you agree or disagree with any given president, what he has to say will have a pretty big impact).
Posted by: Kyle | April 29, 2005 10:15 PM