although very few watched the informercial
Posted on 08/05/2009 11:20:15 AM PDT by Kaslin
On July 22, 2009, President Obama held one of the most boring news conferences in the history of televised presidential events. For nearly 50 minutes, he blathered on about private and public health care plans, red pills and blue pills, costs and benefits. In the last five minutes of the conference, he made his controversial comments about Henry Louis Gates and the Cambridge, Mass., police department -- but by that time, everyone watching was either drifting into sleep or totally comatose.
So why did ABC, NBC, and CBS broadcast this atrocious, narcolepsy-inducing ode to arrogance in the midst of prime time?
It turns out that President Obama and his hatchet man, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, are not averse to using their bully tactics on political allies as well as political enemies. Howard Kurtz of the Washington Post reports that when networks began fussing over broadcasting yet another Obama snoozefest, Emanuel called not the programming chiefs, but the heads of parent companies in an effort to pressure networks to greenlight his boss’s show. According to Kurtz, Emanuel buzzed Les Moonves, chief executive of CBS, Jeffrey Immelt, chief executive of General Electric, which owns NBC, and Bob Iger, chief executive of Disney, which owns ABC.
Any normal high-urgency presidential programming request would go through Nancy Tellem at CBS, Jeff Zucker at NBC, and Anne Sweeney at ABC. Tellem and Zucker happen to be personal donors to the Obama 2008 campaign. In 2000, Zucker seriously considered joining Al Gore’s presidential team -- Gore reportedly offered Zucker the press secretary position in his White House. These executives are friendly to the current administration. Still, that didn’t stop Emanuel from going over their heads.
There’s a reason Emanuel went over the heads of the programming execs: the programming execs recognize that each time Obama rips out the heart of a weekday primetime lineup, he costs them revenue. Hollywood is a liberal town, and there’s a general Obama worship there. But that doesn’t mean the executives are blind to basic economic facts; they recognize that if they continue to air Obama third-grade school secretary ad hoc press conferences, they will get killed in the ratings. And if they get killed in the ratings, advertisers won’t care whether they’re chummy with the president or not.
In fact, that’s precisely what happened on July 22. Obama’s press conference bombed. Despite its live broadcast on all three networks at 8 p.m. Eastern Time, it lost its time slot to Fox’s "So You Think You Can Dance?," which doubled its nearest competitor in 18-49 audience share. Fox has been the unintentional beneficiary of Obama’s addiction to network television airtime: on April 29, Fox won the 8 p.m. time slot in the coveted 18-49 crowd with "Lie to Me," and the CW came in second with "America’s Next Top Model." Obama’s star power can’t even trump Tim Roth, Tyra Banks or the random guy who does the robot anymore.
So the Obama White House has to use personal cache in order to push the networks to program its propaganda. More than that, the White House has to use the covert threat of a cutoff in White House access for networks that refuse to play ball. The alphabet networks all know that the Obama White House has largely frozen Fox’s access to administration officials. They know that Obama grants his friends access while cutting off his enemies.
This endangers the independence of the press in a catastrophic way. The media has been excoriated -- and rightly so -- for its easy treatment of Obama and his cronies. But with Obama openly pressuring the networks to accede to its requests or face a reportorial cutoff, we are witnessing the hijacking of the First Amendment in toto. Obama administration officials are used to blackmailing private entities (GM, Chrysler, Bank of America), but they cross an even more dangerous line when they endanger the free press by linking press access with network time slots.
This is a horrific precedent. It is not difficult to foresee a time when an administration grants all exclusive access to one network while cutting everyone else off. Will the tough questions be asked then? Or will we simply see an ultra-sanitized version of events, pre-scrubbed by Rahm Emanuel and his ilk?
Hitler did exactly the same thing. He sent his Brown shirts out.
The major networks and MSNBC/CNN are little more than branches of Obama’s Ministry of Propaganda. However they are still in the business to make money and broadcasting Obama’s sominex is about as profitable as broadcasting North Korean music videos extolling the Dear Leader. I think it is laughable that they continue kowtow to the likes of Rahm Emmanual despite it costing them viewership.
Well since when are liberals smart?
Barack Joseph Goebbels has spoken.
Forward to your address book.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=am6C56eRx90
But the Press Conference was such a bust, this was A Good Thing.
First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the Communists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left
to speak out for me.
Pastor Martin Niemöller
Community and individuality are not opposites. People cannot survive on their own. When the odds are stacked against you, you must rally with the oppressed and hated.
When a growing oppressive regime is taking hold, you must act, otherwise you will soon face your enemy alone and hopeless.
Strength of community is a strength as much as individualism, as long you are willing to face weaknesses in your own community. Ignoring slacking values will mean that you will be rallied against by those you oppress.
Niemöller affirms we must rally against unhealthy organized regimes. We must also stay vigilant with those that appear to be good natured, as all organisation attracts corruption. Niemöller also warns us that if it is you who are corrupt, then you will face a stronger combined force of foe!
Vexen Crabtree
Didn’t he already do this when he granted one network access for a 60 minute health care commercial? I think it was ABC.
We need to KNOW how much of the stolen (stimulus) money went directly to the NEW YORK media monopoly.
Kill cable unless a FOX only package is offered!
I happen to agree the networks are now arms of propaganda for Hussein.
Nevertheless, despite their committment to create more worshipers for his cult, I DO think they also are growing tired of the frequency of his desires for obedience.
There might be trouble afoot.
Why don’t the REPUBLICANS have a request pending...asking for time to respond to Hussein’s addresses? Maybe one day later, maybe one hour later. Maybe the Republicans can buy ad time—offer to help reimburse the networks....try to make a friend or two....and refute Hussein’s lies.
Of course, they’d have to have some CREATIVITY to do that.
And they’re going to have to do it without my money. They’ve quit sending me solicitations and calling me....maybe they’ve gotten the message.
Get a pair of ballz, Republicans, and I’ll consider coming back.
although very few watched the informercial
The slugs in the media will keep worshiping their master no matter what. The ends justify the means.
Does anyone know just what *pressure* was applied, what the specifics to the strong-arming were?
LOL! That was great.
Watch this one...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BkKtPCTrg4&feature=channel_page
The truths on what 0bama is really about are unfolding daily.
OMG, this is just evil looking
Well, who know? Maybe NBC got screwed, but corporate parent GE will probably get piles of Green Energy money for their cooperation.
And ABC may get screwed, but Disney World will probably get some extra infusions of gay holiday celebrators.
And maybe CBS got a promise that if Dan Rather wins his lawsuit, Sotomayor will throw it out at the top level.
These guys know better than to disobey The Master.
Keep it up!!! Nobody’s watching!
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