Where is our popular culture located in this age of expanded sexual consciousness, and its by-product, shrunken periods of innocent childhood? Does mass culture have a gatekeeper anymore? Hollywood used to have a voluntary code of conduct for movies and TV, but those are now forgotten relics. TV networks used to have broadcast standards and practices departments, but nobody seems to be practicing hard at upholding standards. Now, citizens are looking to the Federal Communications Commission to do its part to uphold long-standing laws against broadcast indecency. But under FCC boss Michael Powell, who seems to be as culturally accommodating... continue reading
The largely secular press corps does not usually regard Jesus Christ as a suitable authority to cite in political or policy discussions. When George W. Bush invoked Christ's name in a December 1999 debate, for instance, journalists gasped at the insertion of religion into the public square, something to make non-Christians squirm. To liberal media purists, the slightest acknowledgement of Christianity by a public official is evidence of a sinful desire to impose a Taliban-style theocracy in America. But attach Jesus' name to a liberal cause, and all the social taboo-carving fades. A group called the Evangelical Environmental Network recently... continue reading
Rush Limbaugh and Roger Ailes used to tweak the liberal media together in producing Rush's short-lived but much enjoyed weeknight television program. Now they're together again. They're both in the liberal media cross hairs, both under attack for mild or imaginary offenses. It must not be fun being Tom Daschle in the wake of losing the Senate. Who can he blame? He can't blame the "mainstream press," which never even considered snarling the words "architect of gridlock" at him as he built a graveyard for House-passed bills. So like a sore loser... he blamed Rush. But like so many liberals... continue reading
Not just any story was going to shake the serial-sniper frenzy out of the top slot in the news, but the Senate losing Sen. Paul Wellstone in a campaign-plane crash in the fog of northern Minnesota certainly did. Not only did the nail-biting fight for control of the sliver-thin Senate have a new wrinkle, but so did one of the nation's closest Senate campaigns. Tragedies like these divide the public into segments: average people and political people. Most people respond to a death personally and not politically. The early shock of losing a national leader in a deadly crash was... continue reading
Sadly, Hollywood probably took notice when MTV scored a big $22.7 million weekend bonanza for the $5 million spinoff film of its short-lived TV series "Jackass." MTV President Van Toffler said it all by boasting: "We produced a good mindless escape for the weekend." "Mindless" is exactly what this effort is all about. Led by ringmaster Johnny Knoxville, the show and these home movies are a circus of pranks, pratfalls, grossouts, and dangerous stunts. Knoxville is a masochistic Peter Pan, complete with a troupe of adoring Lost Boys whose parents clearly didn't complete the job of coaxing them into maturity... continue reading
Most debate surrounding the media frenzy over the Washington snipers is either a question of quantity - how much is too much? - or a question of quality - how much speculation turned out to be wildly incorrect? These are worthy questions. No one can argue the amount of coverage wasn't massive, and the 24-hour focus on the serial killings of ten people sent waves of fear across a metropolitan area of more than 4.5 million people who had to think twice before pumping gas. But the fear justified the coverage. The killer was eluding police and killing people in... continue reading
Rupert Murdoch is beloved by many political conservative junkies for adding the diversity of Fox News Channel to the cable lineup. But for those who cherish traditional values, the sewage-laden Fox entertainment network continues to be a hugely difficult problem. One of the Australian-American tycoon's latest business moves was a failed attempt to acquire the DirecTV satellite company away from General Motors. When DirecTV announced it would merge with EchoStar's Dish network instead, Murdoch deployed his Washington lobbyists and publicists to torpedo the deal with federal regulators at the Federal Communications Commission and the antitrust division of the Department of... continue reading
The next time you see a network correspondent standing in front of a Baghdad backdrop, just think of those TV knife-set commercials, because the question of the day is: "Now how much would you pay?" In exchange for the appearance of being at the hot place at the hot time, the networks are paying a high price: their credibility. The networks love to talk about their unselfish work of public service, and heaven knows networks hate to spend money on foreign reporting, which usually cause Americans to flip to game shows. But in a sad quest to be Johnny-on-the-scene and... continue reading
Several years ago, I met a man with an extraordinary story. "Ernesto" (since he would request anonymity, I'm not using his real name) was a Mexican who had migrated to the States and applied for citizenship. Living in Houston, Texas and waiting for final approval, "Ernesto" worked day and night at three jobs, doing the kind of menial, minimum wage labor - washing dishes in a restaurant late at night, delivering newspapers early in the morning, and odd work here and there in between the two - that no one else wanted to do. Saving his money meticulously, "Ernesto" finally... continue reading
Journalism is never more amoral than when dictators are the mandatory "get" for a news puff piece. For the 40 th anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis, the network anchors were all scrambling to get an interview with Fidel Castro, the dictator-celebrity. Which network superstar would get the first opportunity to reward the communists for their exclusive by lauding the achievements of the glorious revolution? Best known (or caricatured) as the woman who asks the ridiculously off-beat questions like "if you were a tree, what kind of tree would you like to be?" ABC's Barbara Walters also has the chops... continue reading