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.

I want you all to prepare yourself for the news I am about to tell you. Put on a helmet, buckle yourself in and take a deep breath. Here we go: Carson Daly, former host of the obnoxious MTV show Total Request Live, is coming back to the air. Daly made a unilateral decision to bypass the writers strike and begin producing new episodes next week. Is everyone OK? I know this is earth shaking news.

Carson Daly’s decision to head back to work will make little to no difference on the overall TV landscape much less the larger problems of the writers strike. Daly is not a member of the striking Writers Guild though his writers are likely part of it. If you have ever accidentally seen Carson Daly’s show deep into the night, you will know that professional writers have had little to do with what is happening on the show. Carson Daly’s ability to completely ruin humor, music and entertainment in one fell swoop means that he can produce new shows without concern.

In addition to Daly’s lack of union credentials, his influence on the entertainment industry has dwindled since he left MTV. Daly may host a show on New Year’s Eve and make the occasional appearance on other shows but he is a lightweight in the media world. I say let Carson Daly put on his show but push it even further into the night. I can’t wait to see commercials during reruns of Conan for Carson’s new shows at 3:35am ET. He will be surrounded by a Ronco commercial and the early NBC news in every market.