| Topic Name: |
Hey TV People : NO ONE CARES ABOUT MJ!!!! |
| Message Name: |
Dear Viewers... |
| Date Posted: |
06/08/2005 |
| In Reply To: |
To: Cable and Broadcast News Networks, News Feed Services, Affiliate Producers.
Fr: America
Re: Michael Jackson
Hi. I know we don't talk much, what with the bitterness over whether you're overly 'conservative' or 'liberal' and everything, but I think it's time for an intervention, after seeing a 'countdown clock' on how long the Jackson Jury is taking to come up with a verdict.
See, here's the deal: we don't care.
I know, I know, it's hard to believe, but ask around. Talk to people out here that don't work in TV news. Not one of us wants to see live shots on our local news from Santa Maria, or endless speculation from current or former lawyers that like being on TV (Dan Abrams, I'm talking to YOU). We certainly don't want to see it on actual network newscasts.
If you're wondering why we don't watch you anymore, this is a perfect example. So, please, stop it, before you kill your ratings.
Sincerely,
America |
| Message: |
FROM: "The Media"
RE: Michael Jackson et al.
I agree. An intervention is long overdue. But maybe you should be the focus of the intervention.
Not to sound arrogant or anything (which you'll undoubtedly accuse us of being anyway in addition to every other pejorative you can hurl our way), but trying to do serious news is so g--dam frustrating when you see the ratings for shows like "The O'Reilly Factor"... or "Fear Factor" for that matter.
It's not that we don't want to do stories on AIDS in Africa, the growing gap between rich and poor, the abuse of government power... right down to what the City Council did last night. Fortunately, I'm in a position as a producer-type to make those decisions and will happily boot out Jackson, Crowe and whatever the celebrity flavor of the minute is. But mind you, that's a local newscast, 30 minutes out of 24 hours.
News channels, with the ultimate news hole, have to vamp. And for the love of Nielsen, they're afraid of that old "newswheel" format of taking the top stories of the day and repeating them -- updating when necessary -- over and over.
We've read the surveys, we've heard the complaints, but the problem is, you all vote with the remotes. You say you hate it, but you still watch it. What else are we to do when ratings services measure us not by the quality of our content, but by the quantity of those who watch it? Where's the incentive?
If you really want to send a message to the big bad media, stop watching the MJ coverage. Tell you what. The day the verdict comes down, just turn off the TV. Turn off the radio. Let's give the MJ verdict the lowest HH in the history of cable news. Instead, start tuning into "NewsHour", "Nightline," and of course, your local stations. Flick off O'Reilly and Hannity and Nancy and whoever. Start buying newspapers again (yes, even USA Today) and reading them. If you really want change, you've got to demonstrate it, besides telling something anonymously to some pollster.
And then maybe somebody will understand. The industry will start to shed itself of its excess airheads and bring back trusted journalists and so-called "real news."
I know this is a long uphill struggle for you. But as they say in AA, the first step towards recovery is admitting you have a problem -- call it "tabloidholism" for lack of a better term. But I know it's a problem you can lick and have done so before, from Morton Downey to "Who's Your Daddy?"
Sincerely,
The News Folks
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