Are you looking for hard hitting, serious journalism? Don't turn to the syndicated "newsmagazines" like Access Hollywood, Entertainment Tonight, or The Insider (not that anyone ever did, of course). They are apparently admitting right up front that they have every intention of pumping up the Obama mythos by treating him "like royalty."
TV Week is reporting that all the so-called "newsmagazines" (a misnomer for sure as tabloid spectacles are more to the truth of the matter) are going to try and fuel a ratings bump by promulgating Obamalot in a direct emulation of JFK's mythical "Camelot" years in office -- which in itself was another self-perpetuated media myth.
It’s a symbiosis in which shows such as “Access Hollywood” and “Entertainment Tonight” cover the Obama family like royalty, bringing back a Camelot mythology to the White House. In return, they are enjoying a ratings bump with unexpected staying power.
Admitting it up front, bald faced like this is all the more galling for its sycophancy for The One. But, worse, it shows the willingness to obscure reality and present a gauzy fairy-tale story to mislead the American public.
But why would politics change the downward fortunes of the ratings for these inaptly named "newsmagazine" TV shows?
Growing interest and coverage of the Obamas may reverse a ratings trend in the newsmagazines, as the genre, along with the rest of syndication, is down year-to-year. If viewers continue to tune in to learn about the Obamas, it might transform the president-elect into the standard go-to subject of newsmagazines, like Britney Spears or Lindsay Lohan.
Based on the latest ratings these TV bubblegum shows imagine that Obamalot will be a continuing ratings booster into the future. Perhaps they are right. If so, so much the shame for it.
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
If Obamalot is like Camelot, then...
November 25, 2008 - 02:12 ET by L.N. SmitheeIf Obamalot is like Camelot, then that means that beneath the veneer of a President who is a dedicated husband and father is a horndog who takes full advantage of his celebrity status.
So...whom do you think is Obama's Marilyn? Scarlett Johansson, maybe?
"Well, I've got nothing against the press...they wouldn't print it if it wasn't true..." -- Joe Jackson, "Sunday Papers"
Rosie O'Donnell,
November 25, 2008 - 02:34 ET by Warner Todd HustonRosie O'Donnell, maybe?
EEEEYUCK! I even grossed myself out with that one.
why is it such a surprise
November 25, 2008 - 07:16 ET by abeautifulpersonwhy is it such a surprise that people are positive with their new president?
while i appreciate that many here at NB think obama is the anti-christ (literally), its human nature and reasonable for people to think positively about their decision for a new leader.
and when you are accusing info-tainment shows on TV, its kinda funny. i mean, who criticizes these kinds of TV shows for lacking in journalistic integrity, even after they claim - up front - of their bias?
its sorta like smacking around your grandmother for not keeping up at the family reunion's 3-legged race.
There have only been three
November 25, 2008 - 07:22 ET by Warner Todd HustonThere have only been three presidents that Americans have lionized upon their taking of a first term office. George Washington, John F. Kennedy and Barack Obama. The first was richly deserved yet quickly wiped out by partisan bickering. The other two were manufactured by the media and ladled out to a blinded, misled public.
For you to act as if this is normal behavior (especially from the press) revels an ignorance of history that would be astounding if it weren't promulgated by the worst "educational" system in the free world.
Sadly, you are too typical of the idiots that America has spawned over the last 50 years.
Anti-Anti-Anti
November 25, 2008 - 08:37 ET by Copperhead Ridge"while i appreciate that many here at NB think obama is the anti-christ (literally),"
I've never thought of him in that sense, but I've thought that his followers share similarities with the followers of the anti-Christ.
I don't watch shows like the one at issue here, but if I did, I'd make sure I had my O-sickness Bag at hand. It's the Obama Barf Bag.
Obamalot. That's funny. I think of it more like Spam-a-lot. It's such a silly place.
I wouldn't say it was a
November 25, 2008 - 09:14 ET by sherylsimsI wouldn't say it was a *surprise* given how they have acted toward him prior to the election, but I do think it is over-the-top and a little disgusting. I remember all the negative press George Bush got when he "stole" the election (twice) and how nobody in the press EVER did a positive story on him. The bias is just getting old now.
while i appreciate that
November 25, 2008 - 10:46 ET by motherbeltwhile i appreciate that many here at NB think obama is the anti-christ
(literally), its human nature and reasonable for people to think
positively about their decision for a new leader.
First of all, we are not talking about "people" in general; we are talking about the media.
And we all remember how positively they all thought about Bush when he was elected.
<insert hysterical laughter>
The State as God, The Shahinshah as Christ
November 25, 2008 - 11:43 ET by Unsanewhy is it such a surprise that people are positive with their new president? This coming from a poster who views the State as God and the new President, the Shahinshah, as Christ.
To further back Warner Todd Huston's response, I cannot remember a single President who was as worshipped by the media in history. My parents remember Kennedy and they say the adulation upon him wasn't nearly as bad.
"THIS IS YOUR FINAL WARNING!!! A WAR ON FREEWILL IS COMING!!!" - Nevermore, "Bittersweet Feast", from This Godless Endeavor (2005)
Not having TV EVER in my home again.
November 25, 2008 - 03:00 ET by upcountrywaterOne nano-second of that... it just ain't worth it...
Graven images of the 0bamaman and kin, fried on my retinas..
Oh hell no, like eating this: obama man can
DEMOCRAT
Aclu</
Awful
November 25, 2008 - 07:07 ET by Red JeepWatched 5 seconds of the "obama can man"...throw up time.
I think the MSM will get a ratings bump from their Obama obsessive coverage, and then the decline of the MSM will continue, perhaps at a faster rate because of the excessive Obama coverage.
My TV was off last night as it is most nights anymore, and probably will be off at least for the next 4 years.
Well I watched a bit more
November 25, 2008 - 07:27 ET by motherbeltWell I watched a bit more than that, but I could't get through it either.
Should have had a barf alert.
mb, sorry, It was a comedy, or so i thought ..Not funny now..
November 25, 2008 - 15:17 ET by upcountrywaterDEMOCRAT
Aclu</
Vacation time
November 25, 2008 - 05:47 ET by TexndocI've already decided I'm working Christmas just so my partners will give me a week off in January. To travel far far away. Guess which week I want to be freezing my behind off with the Euro-weenies and have the TV set unplugged in my hotel room.
Royalty Indeed
November 25, 2008 - 06:00 ET by HockeyKidAnd the Emperor has no clothes. Some people never learn.
"Beauty is only skin deep, but liberal's to the bone." - me
They are apparently
November 25, 2008 - 07:28 ET by motherbeltThey are apparently admitting right up front that they have every intention of pumping up the Obama mythos by treating him "like royalty."
and this is new.....how?????
Oh, wait!! They are admitting it now!
Royalty?
November 25, 2008 - 09:54 ET by Spinningplates2A royal pain in the A$$.
Due to
November 25, 2008 - 08:44 ET by jackie3Due to the vomit inducing nature of programs such as E.T, ect. I avoid watching them at all cost.
Hopefully, the majority of people will get sick of Obamalot and turn it off.
Never under estimate the power of stupid people in large groups.
More like Obama'hood'
November 25, 2008 - 11:21 ET by PopularTechWill they do a special with his terrorist friends?
Obama and Ayers Pushed Radicalism On Schools (The Wall Street Journal)
Obama worked closely with terrorist Bill Ayers (WorldNetDaily)
Censored Global Warming Videos
Yeah, this is ridiculous.
November 26, 2008 - 10:50 ET by JRJ08Yeah, this is ridiculous. Why should we treat our new presidents like "royalty"? Better we should talk trash about them, and show the world we have no respect for or confidence in a leader who just won an electoral landslide at a time when the country is in full crisis mode. Yeah, that's the ticket. Show our enemies that we're just as childishly divided by ideology as we ever were, while promising that the government will continue to experience partisan gridlock and petty in-fighting. That is really a good plan that will make the Republican Party the most admired and respected political movement in this great nation's history.
Contradictions Collapse
November 26, 2008 - 11:17 ET by UnsaneThis from a poster who has an 11X16 poster of The Shahinshah on every wall of his house; who probably wants the Washington Monument destroyed and replaced with a 2000 foot gold staue of The Shahinshah that turns and faces the sun as it rises and sets.
Better we should talk trash about them, and show the world we have no respect for or confidence in a leader Hey, sorta like how some people called Bush "BusHitler", made movies about him getting assassinated, and constantly called him evil, a dictator, the Antichrist? And by the way, only High Schoolers like yourself give a crap about what the world thinks of the United States. I don't. The way I see it, the planet is full of total ingrates that will be screaming for the United States to come back if we just went away the next morning. So save this crap about "the world". By the way, I don't have much confidence in a leader who constantly voted "present" in the Senate and had to be dragged kicking and screaming to the desert to meet with those he voted on via support (or perhaps not) for defense budgets, flag officer promotions, etc.
who just won an electoral landslide at a time when the country is in full crisis mode. An electoral landslide? I don't think so. And a crisis mode? I look at my IRA plunging through the floor and think to myself "I'll be able to buy more shares in January!" and "So what?" as I have another quarter century to go until I can begin to cash out...which by that time this will be a distant memory. Shockingly, for a full crisis mode (that you so ache for as you need any excuse possible for the Shahinshah you so worship to turn America into a whiny Socialist Nanny State), America seems to be getting along just fine.
Show our enemies that we're just as childishly divided by ideology as we ever were Ah, the childish whine of a committed Socialist who is demanding we ALL shut up and become parasitic, thieving Socialists just like you. The only ideology we are permitted to unite under is Socialism, right? And good to see you so deeply cared for national unity under Bush, you no doubt you screamed, screamed, screamed, screamed and screamed was an evil dictator. I bet you really cared about how we were divided over ideology at that point or what our enemies thought of us. And as if you should care about what our enemies think of us! I have seen your morally relativistic crap posted elsewhere.
while promising that the government will continue to experience partisan gridlock and petty in-fighting. Ever heard of "checks and balances" and federalism? Yeah, horrifying, isn't it?
That is really a good plan that will make the Republican Party the most admired and respected political movement in this great nation's history. And it should be. Not that I am a party man - I am not - but do you recall what political party ended slavery in this country? Do you recall what political party basically made it possible for LBJ to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964?
"THIS IS YOUR FINAL WARNING!!! A WAR ON FREEWILL IS COMING!!!" - Nevermore, "Bittersweet Feast", from This Godless Endeavor (2005)
If you think today's GOP
November 26, 2008 - 14:54 ET by JRJ08Yours is the sort of response one would expect from a recalcitrant 12-year-old who points a finger at everyone else, while ignoring his own deficiencies. If you think today's GOP bears even the remotest resemblance to the Republican Party that passed the Emancipation Proclamation, you need to bone up on your U.S. History and current events. Any past proud moments of the Grand Old Party have been all but eclipsed by the last 8 years of gross incompetence. Also, if you think gridlock is an example of "checks and balances" at work, you're just being argumentative. Finally, if you're not, as you say, a "party man", then why do you repeat the party talking-points here as if there were any truth to them? Your stridency and certainty here is downright chilling. You accuse me of "moral relativism" here and probably don't even know what it means. My remarks were directed at the premise of the article, yet you take it directly to a personal level. This behavior is not atypical of this website.
Contradictions still collapse
November 26, 2008 - 15:00 ET by UnsaneIf you think today's GOP bears even the remotest resemblance to the Republican Party that passed the Emancipation Proclamation, you need to bone up on your U.S. History and current events. I note you completely ignore my reference to the passage of the Civil Rights Act, among other events. You really do not want to get into a historical discussion with me.
Any past proud moments of the Grand Old Party have been all but eclipsed by the last 8 years of gross incompetence. Well, amidst some things that even a Rightist such as myself finds appalling, there is much brilliance. Foreign policy. A government that understood (you don't, being a Socialist) you cannot tax your way to wealth, and it is not the government's job to steal from people because some of us are more successful and produce more. The Supreme Court picks are doing great. And don't even mention Katrina - that reflects local incompetency, not that of the federal government.
Also, if you think gridlock is an example of "checks and balances" at work, you're just being argumentative. How so? Government is divided into three branches for a reason. I actually think gridlock is a wonderful thing - because it ensures the government won't screw things up even further in the economy and society.
Finally, if you're not, as you say, a "party man", then why do you repeat the party talking-points here as if there were any truth to them? I'm not, as I live in a state where voters don't even register as party voters and all primaries are open. And I find it very amusing that you whine about my alleged "talking points" when all you do on NB is vomit Socialist propaganda and parrot everything your beloved Socialist God, The Shahinshah, says. Contradictions keep right on collapsing.
A lot of the things I utter on NB are truthful - as oftentimes I have LIVED them.
Your stridency and certainty here is downright chilling. Well, I won't be going wishy-washy to appease you. Does it bother you that I am guided by a philosophy I believe to be correct? Apparently it does.
You accuse me of "moral relativism" here and probably don't even know what it means. Sure I do. A great example I cannot access at the moment is your whining on the Vietnam War that I caught on a thread a week or so back. What, you think I don't read your posts and see what you say?
My remarks were directed at the premise of the article, yet you take it directly to a personal level. This behavior is not atypical of this website. (Unsane at this point tunes and plays a violin. So weepy.) Your whiny behavior at being confronted with actual ideas and a sound philosophy is not atypical of Leftists and Socialists who inhabit NB. Why don't you go back and quote for me where I hurt your delicate, fragile wittle feelings and made it personal?
If it wasn't so much fun watching you flip out, I'd leave. Me, flip out? Explain the post I just responded to. You have flipped out because I do not slavishly devote myself to the Shahinshah, and you can't handle it. I'd suggest leaving, as I soon will, because I need to work - you know, that thing that other people do who you so wish to steal from - and commute to my family's home where I will actually enjoy Thanksgiving, which is a day you apparently are too consumed by extreme hatred and anger to enjoy. I pity that.
If nothing else, you are entertaining... like a cheap parody of a slasher movie. Well, I like to be entertaining while educating you. That's a good thing. You aren't entertaining at all. You are actually depressing. You can do so much for yourself and ascend to great heights you aren't even aware you can attain - yet, you desperately want to be a slave, a waif, a serf to a Nanny State, and want ALL of the rest of us to join you there in that Hell. To make matters worse, you routinely mock those who actually DO want to make something of themselves and not be coddled and nannied to death by the State.
"THIS IS YOUR FINAL WARNING!!! A WAR ON FREEWILL IS COMING!!!" - Nevermore, "Bittersweet Feast", from This Godless Endeavor (2005)