Posted on 12/05/2004 10:03:48 PM PST by weegee
NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - A "60 Minutes" interview with Bob Dylan that was set to air Sunday about his new autobiography marked the third Simon & Schuster book this year to get exposure on television's most venerated newsmagazine.
The publisher's marketing department might want to take all the credit. But it probably doesn't hurt that S&S and the network "60 Minutes" calls home, CBS, are owned by the same parent company, Viacom. The newsmagazine stirred up angst among media watchdogs in March for not disclosing that fact on-air during a report on the S&S-published book about the Bush administration by former counterterrorism czar Richard Clarke.
After the Clarke flap, "60 Minutes" made sure to include a disclaimer before an April segment on another S&S book, from Bob Woodward. But considering the frequency with which the disclaimer has been used in recent months, including with Dylan, it seemed as familiar a refrain as "Like a Rolling Stone."
It was there Nov. 21 for a profile of Jim Carrey, complete with footage of him on the set of "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events." Was it a coincidence that "60 Minutes" profiled Carrey just weeks before "Lemony Snicket" is released by another Viacom division, Paramount Pictures?
The month before, "60 Minutes" treated two stars of Viacom-owned Comedy Central, Jon Stewart and Dave Chappelle, to separate segments just four days apart in October. "60 Minutes" had a double disclaimer Oct. 13 with a profile of Matt Stone and Trey Parker, creators of Comedy Central's "South Park" and Paramount's "Team America: World Police." The newsmagazine also covered "Jeopardy!" on Sept. 5 and pointed out who owns the distributor of the game show, namely CBS' King World Prods.
Jeff Fager, executive producer of Sunday's "60 Minutes," adamantly rejects the notion that the show serves as a promotional platform for Viacom.
"Nobody (within Viacom) has ever once suggested to me, 'You might want to look at this story because it's Viacom,"' he says. "These are all perfectly newsworthy stories."
Fager notes that when it comes to entertainment, the newsmagazine has devoted more time to non-Viacom-related subjects, citing recent segments on Dustin Hoffman, Bill O'Reilly and Michael Moore. Fager also says that "60 Minutes" has walked away from other Viacom-related subjects out of conflict-of-interest concerns.
In fairness, it's hard to blame "60 Minutes" for its story selections considering that it is part of a media conglomerate with many tentacles in an increasingly consolidated industry. NBC News took a major drubbing this year from critics for serving up "Dateline" specials on the finales of NBC comedies "Friends" and "Frasier."
"I think in some ways it's inescapable," Fager says of potential conflicts. "Can you imagine saying no to Bob Dylan just because it's a Simon & Schuster book?"
There's no question that Dylan's first major TV interview in nearly 20 years is a good get. But shouldn't "60 Minutes" seek to avoid any whiff of impropriety? The newsmagazine has been rocked by allegations that CBS paid $1 million to land Michael Jackson's first post-arrest interview -- a claim denied by CBS -- and by the use of suspect documents in a September report in its Wednesday edition on President Bush's National Guard service.
A show known for keeping corporate America in line serves its viewers' best by exercising great care to not appear as being compromised itself.
There was also Viacom's editing of the Concert For New York when Hillary got booed by the firemen and police officers. they overdubbed the boos she received with cheers rather than removing the sequence entirely.
It aired live unedited but the rebroadcasts (including CBS) and even the Sony DVD all were edited. Few DVD critics (even the anal rentative ones who want "original edits") cared.
Hillary had already received $8million for her book deal in the brief window between when she was elected and when she was sworn in, avoiding charges of Senate ethics violations.
Bill Clinton appeared on 60 Minutes with Bob Dole for something like 8 weeks. Was that a million dollars an appearance or for the lot of appearances? Certainly it was another way to tuck some money into Hillary's bank account.
Bill O'Reilly is tied to Viacom through his radio show. Westwood one is owned by Viacom.
Infinity Broadcasting is owned by Viacom (#2 behind Clear Channel).
Westwood one is managed by infinity broadcasting. Just checked their website westwoodone.com
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