Media Criticism

I hate the crass rhetoric of hawks in America who say that anyone who opposes the president’s war does not support the troops. It is patently absurd to say that I cannot hope that soldiers stay safe and sound overseas while the American government is pulling a Three Stooges act on foreign policy. I despise the war in Iraq but I want every soldier to avoid harm. With this statement in mind, it may be surprising to die-hard hawks that I support Freedom’s Watch in its fight with NBC.

NBC recently refused to run an ad by Freedom’s Watch during the holiday season asking people to continue supporting troops overseas. The reasoning behind NBC’s decision was part of a policy to avoid advertisements authorized by the network that deal with policy issues. There was also a problem of the URL of the Freedom’s Watch website being displayed on the ad (which makes no sense whatsoever as a reason for prohibition). I can understand the butt-covering that NBC executives are using in refusing the Freedom’s Watch ad. The problem is that the idea of money as free speech should actually be allowed to take its course in this case.

My support for the Freedom’s Watch ad is contingent on another ad being run at the same time. This ad would be funded by a group that opposes the war with the exact same amount of time and exposure as the Freedom’s Watch ad. NBC’s refusal to run the ad is certainly going to increase hits on the Freedom’s Watch site which may be more important to the organization’s leaders than running the actual advertisement. I think there is a real opportunity to initiate a standard of networks encouraging both sides to address major policy issues in America.

NBC needs to reconsider its decision as a way to surpass other networks in terms of encouraging discourse. This is an incredibly naïve attempt on my part to apply an unrealistic standard on cold, heartless networks who are more interested in getting shows like Kid Nation on the air than helping out the public. A debate over the politics of the war instead of the black/white debate between hawks who apparently LOVE the war and doves who HATE the troops can increase the viewership of NBC. I just hope that the writer’s strike continues so that NBC will start to consider new ways to draw in new viewers.

The mainstream media spent its Sunday morning discussing the issue of NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams appearing on Saturday Night Live. Williams is a regular guest on NBC’s Late Night with Conan O’Brien and offers a hilarious presence on every show outside of NBC Nightly News where he is appropriately serious. I was watching Reliable Sources on CNN on Sunday morning and I was surprised that Williams’ hosting gig was even an issue. I don’t take news readers, the more appropriate name for anchors, seriously and I think that they are at least one part actor or actress.

My argument can be best made with the case of Katie Couric joining CBS in 2006. Couric replaced venerable newsman Dan Rather and brought a media circus to a position and network viewed largely by an older audience. If Couric were a serious journalist that spoke about the issues, no one would have worried about her shift from NBC to CBS. The problem is that Couric was a news reader and fluff reporter on The Today Show which requires playing to the camera instead of maintaining journalistic integrity. Brian Williams is more serious than Katie Couric but he is certainly a talking head with perfectly coifed hair and a professionalism that Edward Murrow would have appreciated.

The reason why no news anchors have hosted shows like SNL or Mad TV in the past is that there have been few characters as engaging as Brian Williams out of his environment. If Wolf Blitzer, Keith Olbermann or Bill O’Reilly hosted one of these shows, there is no chance I could watch. We need to redefine journalism to appreciate the comedic value of what Brian Williams did on Saturday night. I consider journalism the investigation of events for public dissemination. Once I see Brian Williams and others out in the field, I will begin to question their journalistic integrity.

Alright, my title is misleading because Fred Thompson could have burped out that he was running for president or gone on Carson Daly to announce his candidacy. His appearance on The Tonight Show was another bob-and-weave performance by Thompson who has been content with staying above the fray for the last few months. He joked with show business colleague Jay Leno about how tough it is to get on his show and how America needs a person like him.

I think the reason why I am so annoyed with Thompson is that he has capitalized on the media’s rabid interest in speculation to perfection. He has done what other candidates with the same amount of juice should have done which is wait as long as possible to avoid the grinder of primary debates that have taken place on both sides. Fred Thompson is so damn savvy it makes me sick!

In all seriousness, I take issue with the growing interest in Thompson. He may as well have worn a mask and hid in the shadows for all of the details he has provided on how he will improve the country if elected president. The media defines the buzz around a candidate in proportion to their enigmatic approach to actually announcing their candidacy. Reporters have been beaten over the head with rejections by Al Gore, toyed around with by Newt Gingrich and allowed to peak into the life of Fred Thompson without any possible repercussions because he has not been a candidate until today. Prepare for an enema of questions by the media, Fred. Just think of how nice it was to work as a voice over actor on Racing Stripes.

The overall question is whether Fred Thompson will add any value to the election. The public already complains that there are too many choices. One more white conservative lawyer on the Republican side does not seem to be the tonic for the public’s annoyance. I think Thompson will get crushed in the front-loaded election cycle and will leave much more quickly than he entered. For all those people who say that Ronald Reagan was an actor and look what he did, Fred Thompson is no Ronald Reagan. I may despise what the Reagan Administration did to this country but he was a committed politician for a long time after he left acting. I look forward to Fred Thompson playing a district attorney in Dick Wolfe’s new series, Law and Order: Dead Careers Unit.

I am disappointed in former New York Giants running back and current NBC Sports analyst Tiki Barber. When he announced his retirement last fall during the regular season, I thought it was a smart move. Intelligent guys like former Viking Robert Smith and Barber clearly understand that football is only one part of a person’s life no matter what coaches and fans say. If I knew what Barber would do with his newfound media influence, I would have sided with football pundits who said that Barber’s retirement was a massive distraction.

Tiki Barber criticized New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning for a lack of leadership in their ill-fated playoff run last season. He went as far as saying that a players-only meeting Manning held mid-season was hilarious instead of inspiring. Manning has fired back saying that he can’t wait for Barber to speak on NFL issues outside of his former team while feigning disinterest in his former teammate’s remarks.

I write this entry with some trepidation because I think sports and religion share something in common. Football fans and parishioners should keep their devotion in their particular spheres while keeping their personal beliefs out of the public eye. It is bad enough we have 24 hours news networks that don’t cover the important stories but we have 24 hours sports networks that generate hyperbole and blustering only matched by Sunday political chat. I thought Tiki Barber was going to do legitimate news stories but it turns out he is just another former athlete bringing their machismo to the sports desk.

The coming of the NFL season will not whitewash over the issues facing this dominating presence in American culture. Michael Vick is a dog killer, Adam “Pac Man� Jones is a malcontent and the Tiki Barber/Eli Manning feud will continue as Barber is given license to say what he wants. If Tiki Barber actually wants to do his job in the media, he should be providing adequate analysis instead of banal gossip worthy of a junior high sleep over. For now, he is more appropriate for a bad Spike TV sports show than network television because of this pissing contest.

I’m no fan of Accuracy in Media. It is a shrill, Rightwing organization that would give us Fox Noise on every network news outlet.

Still. . .

In a recent release, AIM notes that if Congress decides to regulate TV new because of violence in the aftermath of NBC News airing the Cho videos and photos after the Virginia Tech mass killings, that would be worse than the Peacock Network’s original action. (As I have blogged previously, I think NBC News made the right decision to air the Cho materials.)

Anyway, despite Reed Irvine’s ravings in his press release excerpted below, I have to agree: we don’t want the Federal Communications Commission going down this road.

An excerpt:

WASHINGTON, April 27 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Accuracy in Media editor Cliff Kincaid has released the following statement in response to the Federal Communications Commission’s recommendation that Congress regulate violence on some television programs:

“The FCC does not propose to regulate TV violence during newscasts but that is where the real danger lies. NBC’s decision to air the videos, photos and statements of a demented mass killer could inspire copycat murders and more killings. This material, featuring the NBC News logo, was far worse than any broadcast of fake violence on the ‘professional’ wrestling show WWE Smackdown. Keep in mind that the mass murder of 32 people at Virginia Tech was inspired by the Columbine killers, whose murder spree in Colorado was the subject of news coverage, not entertainment programming.

“NBC became the Al-Jazeera of mass murderers and the network of choice for killers in the future. That’s why AIM sought the firing of NBC News President Steve Capus at the GE annual meeting on April 25. He should pay for his grossly irresponsible decision with his job. Parents have a role in protecting their children from TV violence and that goes far beyond changing the channel. Parents have to join with other citizens in putting pressure on the media not to glorify and sensationalize violence.

“The danger in Congress getting involved is that members of the House and Senate, in the current political climate, could use the excuse of regulating TV violence to go after the media for political or other forms of ‘indecent’ speech that may offend them. That is where Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, the primary movers in the Don Imus affair, want to go. We do not need Al Sharpton — or someone like him — as chairman of the FCC.”

Accuracy in Media (AIM) is a non-profit, grassroots citizens’ watchdog of the news media. Founded in 1969 by Reed Irvine, AIM is the oldest press watchdog group in America. For more information, please visit http://www.aim.org/.

Above: A tribute to the victims of the Virginia Tech murders. Virginia Tech caps were donated to PGA TOUR players to show their support during the third round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans held at TPC Louisiana in New Orleans, Louisiana, on April 21, 2007. Photo by: Stan Badz/PGA TOUR. PGA TOUR - 2007 Zurich Classic of New Orleans - Third Round.

Cho Seung-Hui, Cho Seung Hui, NBC News, Virginia Tech killings, AIM, Accuracy in Media, FCC, Federal Communications Commission

NBC News’ decision to air portions of Cho Seung-Hui’s has been criticized as insensitive to the victims of the Virgnia Tech mass murder and giving other potential wackos motivation to try and get their own televised moment of gory glory.

The American Psychiatric Assocation has now weighed in on the controversy, urging the Peacock Network to not air the Cho video and images.

An excerpt:

Today the American Psychiatric Association (APA) sent an open letter to the news media urging them to stop airing the disturbing writings, photographs and video that NBC News reportedly received from Cho Seung-Hui, who committed suicide after murdering 32 students and faculty and wounding at least 29 others at Virginia Tech.

The letter was signed by APA President Pedro Ruiz, M.D., and contained two enclosures: a World Health Organization report, entitled “Preventing Suicide: A Resource for Media Professionals,” and a study from American Behavioral Scientist, entitled “Media Contagion and Suicide among the Young” and authored by Madelyn Gould, Ph.D., of Columbia University and colleagues. The full text of the letter is as follows:

On behalf of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and our 38,000 physician members specializing in the diagnosis, treatment, prevention and research of mental illnesses, I urge all news media outlets to stop airing the disturbing writings, photographs and video that NBC News reportedly received from Cho Seung-Hui, who committed suicide after murdering 32 students and faculty and wounding at least 29 others at Virginia Tech.

The publicity of the Cho materials not only seems insensitive to the grieving and traumatized families, friends and peers of those murdered and injured, but also seriously jeopardizes the public’s safety by potentially inciting “copycat” suicides, homicides and other incidents. Because the scientific evidence in this area is clear, the World Health Organization, in its 2000 report “Preventing Suicide: A Resource for Media Professionals,” said: “Glorifying suicide victims as martyrs and objects of public adulation may suggest to susceptible persons that their society honours suicidal behaviour.” Indeed, it is evident to many that the Columbine tragedy was a powerful force in Mr. Cho’s writings. The media have an important role to play in limiting the power of such tragedies by choosing not to sensationalize them.

Related websites:

http://www.psych.org/
http://www.healthyminds.org/

My own position on this as a First Amendment lawyer, former TV journalist and a father of two school aged children is mixed. I completely understand that victims and their families will be upset by the video and images. I also understand that giving this nut a final moment of glory might encourage other nutjobs.

But on the other hand, the fact that Cho sent NBC these materials–between killings no less–is unquestionably news. It is something out of the ordinary. It is a key part of the story. And knowing what Cho said and seeing his images helps explain or at least shed some insight into Cho’s actions.

Also, it appears NBC News agonized over the decision and had a full debate about the implications of airing–or not airing–the materials. Information yearns to be free in a free society. I think NBC handled the release of information in a professional and sensitive manner.

Truth is what we expect our free press to pursue in a free society. Sometimes that truth is disturbing. But NBC, just like Virginia Tech, did not pull the trigger. A madman did. And the more we all understand what creates madmen in our free society, the better off–and more informed–we’ll all be. Just as guns are part of our free society, so is a free press that goes where the facts and truth leads it. It is an uncomforatable but necessary part of living in a free country.

Cross posted from TV Bloggin.

Cho Seung-Hui, Cho Seung Hui, Virginia Tech, NBC News, TV news, Virginia Tech killings

Talk about creepy.

Breaking news out of Blacksburg, VA regarding the Virginia Tech murders. The killer sent a package to NBC News in New York between shootings on campus.

Blinkx found a local TV report on the story. Click here to watch: http://www.cbs2.com/video/?id=37813@kcbs.dayport.com

Above: One of the photos Virginia Tech mass murderer Cho Seung-Hui took of himself and sent with other materials to NBC News between shootings.

Cross posted from TV Bloggin.

Blinkx, Blinkx.com, Virginia Tech, Virginia Tech killings, NBC, NBC News, KCBS, KCBS-TV, Virginia Tech killer, Virginia Tech shooter