The Hollywood Reporter's (THR.com) James Hibberd is reporting that the TV networks are "reluctantly" shuffling their on air schedules to fulfill their "responsibility" to air President Obama's important campaign speech... er, I mean address to the nation next week. The Nets are solemnly claiming the mantle of the patriotic American fulfilling their civic duty to air presidential addresses, it appears.
It is all well and good that they should do this, of course. Keeping the nation informed is one of those long-held, self-proclaimed charges of TV news organizations, of course. But, curiously enough, that same attention to a patriotic, civic duty to air presidential speeches didn't seem so compelling to them while Bush was in office because they often refused to air his speeches to the nation. Or, as in at least one instance, they left the speech early to go on to primetime programing.
Granted, Hibberd reports that TV execs are carping about having to cover the repeated Obama speeches, but Hibberd also reports at least one TV exec on the subject of this "responsibility" he suddenly finds so important.
"I believe in the president and his policies, and as broadcasters we have a responsibility to provide the airtime," said another network insider. "But these frequent primetime requests are wreaking serious havoc with our schedule and our advertisers. Ratings are down everywhere and the airtime is costing us all significant dollars when we can least afford it."
Perhaps the networks only find that patriotism deep within when they "believe in the president and his policies"?
So what of Bush?
Let's look at just a few examples of the "responsibility" these same networks felt between 2000 and 2009:
Back in 2004, as Bush prepared to go on TV and talk about the administration's position on Iraq, the Hollywood Reporter made mention that "Networks Won't Air Bush's Primetime Speech." Instead they aired such shows as “Fear Factor,” the finale of “The Swan” and “A Beautiful Mind."
In 2005, the Networks dumped out early on a Bush speech to go to their regularly scheduled primetime programs.
The following year, 2006, ABC and CBS announced their uncertainty of carrying a Bush primetime speech because he had the temerity of wanting to address the nation during May sweeps.
Where was that "responsibility" for civic duty during those instances? Oh, I remember now. It was the eeeevil Bushhitler in office then. They HAD no obligation to civic duty as far as they were then concerned. No, airing TV reality shows was far more important in the Bush years than an informed citizenry.
Anyone surprised?
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Great another lecture....
March 19, 2009 - 05:19 ET by NavyBuckeyeWell I for one am glad I have Dish. I will go directly to VS. or some other manwork and enjoy the subpar programing. Because it will be far better than what ever the Great Windbag has to say.
I don't need to hear another lecture from this man. That is these little speeches are: lectures. Lectures on how he is right and we need to buy into his great plan.
You know, the "We need to pass this now or we will be in dire straights!!!"
Then after it is passed "We need to curb spending!!!"
Or
"The Omnibus is important and we need to stop earmarks, but not these earmarks, just the ones not in my bills or my puppeteers bills!!!"
Wait, there's more:
"Those bad CEO's how dare they take your money and give it as bonuses!!!!" (All the while a manilla envelope is being stuffed in his coat pocket by the same guy.
Yep. Definately what I need to hear or watch.
It's like it is the late 1930s and the new regime is on the campaing trail in Germany. The only difference is that this group of fascists is blaming it on the rich and not the Jewish community...wait....
“Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter” - Thomas Jefferson
They are so pathetic.
March 19, 2009 - 06:33 ET by Massage_Master07They are so pathetic. Quite sad, really. :o(
If it wasn't for double standards, liberals would have no standards at all.
teleprompter/crawler
March 19, 2009 - 06:43 ET by xyzzypoofsInstead of airing the Great O's speeches, why not just feed the teleprompter output to a crawler at the bottom of the screen. That way we won't have to miss a minute of American Idol.
XYZZYPOOFS...
March 19, 2009 - 07:57 ET by danybhoyThat's just the problem, the process to nominate & elect our President has become like American Idol. It's a reality show, & the problem is, all too often, reality bites. In American Idol terms, Obama will end being like Ruben Stoddard. You know, that fat guy who won in the 2nd season who really should'nt have won, & has had no career at all. Problem is, Ruben won't destroy this nation like Obama will in a manner similar to that of Jimmy Carter. The current economic trouble has it's roots in the Carter ear CRA, thanks Mr.Peanut.
BTW, I believe the MSM & cablenews should cover EVERY SPEECH HE DOES, because when his teleprompter goes down, HE GOES DOWN. He gets exposed for the mindless fraud he is, even if the MSM & most of cablnews won't tell them about what they clearly witnessed. Which exposes most of the media as the hack frauds they are. Some of us knew what was going on, & more are figuring out that what they are seeing & how its reported is BS. Their time will come.
"The Fairness Doctrine = Jim Crow laws for Conservatives". Jim Quinn from "Quinn & Rose"
American Idolatry...
March 19, 2009 - 08:49 ET by Mother...Just don't forget to put the right 'tape' into Teddy Ruxpin and all is well. Otherwise he skips and er...uh...eh...er...uh...eh...
Sanjaya!!
March 19, 2009 - 09:12 ET by slickwillie2001More like Sanjaya I think. Obammy has a similar hard-core ethnic base of blind support, and the same legions of dizzy women and feminized males swooning over his pretty smile. Obammy is more of a trend or a phenomenon than a politician.
Pretty smile?
March 19, 2009 - 13:05 ET by MotherBleh. I don't think so. His purple lips totally gross me out.
That way we won't have to
March 19, 2009 - 10:19 ET by Dan The Man 2That way we won't have to miss a minute of American Idol.
My wife was livid whan I gleefully told her TOUS was going to interupt her Tuesday night shows. She cursed briefly and asked why theidot has to interrupt her shows.
Perhaps this woul be a good campaign ploy with the braindead, put out how many times TOTUS interrupted their favorite programming. Reminds me of teh movie Idoicracy. I wonder if taht would fly. In the last 50/60 days of his admin has it been 3 or 4 times for a National address. I do know this is the 2nd time I recall TOTUS has pissed my wife off, and you dont dare do that.
Nuke em til they glow then shoot em in the dark.
It'll be Netflix or Dish DVR'd programming
March 19, 2009 - 06:56 ET by IgnatzJFahrquarI've got a lot of Survivorman to catch up on.
Soon the nutworks will realize their viewship is sinking faster than B Hussein's poll numbers and start nixing these little onesided news conferences.
"All generalizations are false, including this one.” Mark Twain
off topic
March 19, 2009 - 08:24 ET by AJBThere will be no more Les running around in the woods! I just loved that show and was sad to see the supposedly 'last' episode.
I say go ahead. If Obama
March 19, 2009 - 07:01 ET by iBlogI say go ahead. If Obama gives a few more of those twon halls like yesterday he'll be toast. That was a terrible showing by POTUS yesterday. A few more of these off teleprompter rambling incoherent answers and people will start to see him for what he is.
Idol
March 19, 2009 - 07:04 ET by nadadhimmiIt's my understanding that Obama wants to pre-empt American Idol to give a speech. This is his method. He would give speeches following a huge music group with tens of thousands of fans, then claim the huge crowd was there to hear his "enlightenment". What rubbish. People are catching on much more quickly than I thought they would and it is becoming fashionable to ridicule Obama and his policies publicly. This guy will fold up faster than a card table and his office may be threatened if liberal judges ever drop their biases and hear the legitimate questions of military personel about the legality of Obamas office and orders. Liberals however "feel" the military owes it's loyality to "the one" rather than the Constitution. This is a true cult of personality similar to the ones set up by Mau, Hitler, Castro, and especially Stalin. Americans however, won't put up with his shit for too long.
speech next week
March 19, 2009 - 07:49 ET by SickofLibsDamn. And the stock market was showing signs of life recently.
lest ye forget...
March 19, 2009 - 07:51 ET by AJBDon't forget, its their STATED policy that it is their RESPONSIBILITY to ensure the Obama administration SUCEEDS at any cost. So, you're surprised??
I'm starting to discover
March 19, 2009 - 07:59 ET by TheBigBI'm starting to discover that watching Spongebob Squarepants is more intellectually stimulating than one of Obama's speeches.
"We're following a story of a train/car collision at this time. According to Metro Communications dispatch staff, there is believed to be a person trapped. At this time, we don't know if they are trapped in the car or in the train."
heh....has everyone here
March 19, 2009 - 08:04 ET by bazzarworldheh....has everyone here forgotten how horrible of a public speaker Bush was? All of the teleprompter screw ups in the world won't add up to the number of Bush-isms that were conceived in the past 8 years. I'm not sure that's something I'd like shown on our airwaves.
~Speaking of an utter waste of bandwidth
March 19, 2009 - 08:19 ET by choselife3xWhat's your point?
Hope and Change= Despair and Socialism
has everyone here forgotten
March 19, 2009 - 10:29 ET by Dan The Man 2has everyone here forgotten how horrible of a public speaker Bush was?
You are dead wrong, President Bush was really good with crowds and was great at extemporanous speaking. He was not good at speeches though at first and admitted it. The problem with TOTUS is taht he doesnt think at all as evidenced by his thanking himself. Shows he does not read any speeches beforehand. Troll on Dude.
Nuke em til they glow then shoot em in the dark.
re: March 19, 2009 - 09:04
March 19, 2009 - 10:54 ET by xyzzypoofsre: March 19, 2009 - 09:04 ET by bazzarworld
heh.bazzarworld said: "...has everyone here forgotten how horrible of a public speaker Bush was? All of the teleprompter screw ups in the world won't add up to the number of Bush-isms"
Yes it was always interesting to watch the CBS hacked up, spliced and chopped out of context versions of Bush's speeches and then flip over to Fox News and watch the full - un-edited version. At least Bush wasn't afraid to talk to the press without a teleprompter, and met with and debated foreign leaders without a teleprompter. I'll take a soft-spoken thinking president who is human enough to make a few mis-spoken sentences while having the courage to do the right thing over a smooth-reading imbecile whose only worry is whether or not he looks good on camera any day!
Re 'Bushisms'
March 19, 2009 - 11:29 ET by slickwillie2001And let's not forget, the merdivorous Craig Ferguson (on after Letterman), an alcoholic himself, would take regular President George W. Bush speeches, slow them down 1/2 time, and play them suggesting that the President 'had started drinking again'. He didn't do that once, it was a regular feature of his show, thirty or forty times.
Do you think we will see tapes of Obammy altered, with the suggestion that he is 'back on coke'?
Just Sign Him Up!
March 19, 2009 - 08:26 ET by northoneWhy don't one of the networks just give The Great One his own series? He's on Leno tonight. Next Tuesday will be how many in the line of primetime presidential addresses? Michelle has the print media covered, what with "Vogue". Let's just pray Obama does his neck stretches before going on the tube so he doesn't pull something turning his head side to side while trying to keep up with the teleprompter.
C-R-A-S-H-!
March 19, 2009 - 08:28 ET by northoneSo Obama feels the need to once again take up primetime to enlighten us with his rhetoric. Well, so much for the stock market rally. There'll likely be an implosion next Wednesday morning.
Propoganda...
March 19, 2009 - 08:55 ET by Georgia GirlI like to stay informed (and especially feel convicted to keep up on what the Left/Obama administration is up to), but Obama's "talks" are just really creepy. It feels so much like a constant stream of propoganda -- like he is putting all his energy into brainwashing an entire country to go along with his liberal agenda. And the more he talks, the less he really says.
This is a president who must feel he can just talk his way in and out of things with the American people. The question is: Will Americans fall for this? There are some hopeful signs that the moderates have had enough, and I'd say that's key. We have to get a really good candidate to get him out in 2012, people. That is a change we can hope for!
He can try
March 19, 2009 - 09:48 ET by BlondeHe's overexposed as it is....sheesh, everywhere you go there's Comrade Obama. In the airport (bookstore) on TV...Leno, news, creepy commercials, prime time addy's.
I've tuned him out long ago, and I think even the liberal Obama lovers are going to find him creepy before his hundred days are over.
The great George Harrison & the Wilbury's come to mind "overexposed, commercialized, handle me with care". Obama would be wise to heed that counsel, but he's too self-absorbed and in love with himself.
We are not amused.
I hope he fails, too.
So right. This is a case
March 19, 2009 - 09:59 ET by maggieqpublicSo right. This is a case where the media’s bias may work in favor of conservative, thinking Americans. Obama is starting to look mighty ordinary.
Absence makes the heart grow fonder.
In the vast and frightful world of media bias...
March 19, 2009 - 09:02 ET by timothe...this story gets a ho-hum. Obama is still new on the job and the economy still sucks, so he will get the air time he desires. No big deal. (I certainly won't watch it, though.)
However, this is one more example of the liberals desire to overreach with their power. There will be public backlash to Obama's constant presence in the media. We conservatives just need to bide our time.
"Contempt prior to investigation is ignorance. "
Um...
March 19, 2009 - 09:25 ET by Warner Todd HustonSo, Timmy, are you saying the US position on Iraq at the height of the war wasn't important? Because that is one of the speeches that the Nets wouldn't cover. I think you aren't paying attention.
Hold on there...
March 19, 2009 - 22:34 ET by timotheFirst, I object to your use of the name "Timmy" to address me, as the use of the tender name "Timmy" is a liberal tactic of denigrating the people who disagree with them. You should be ashamed of yourself for using such a tactic.
I think we have little credibility attacking the networks for covering Obama extensively during his first 100 days of office. I agree the media treated Bush horribly, but you wrote the column as if Obama is getting preferential treatment because they are televising his speech. I think the case you made was weak initially and your reply was even weaker by comparing Obama's coverage during his honeymoon to Bush's coverage during the height of his unpopularity.
That said.....I appreciate the sacrifices you make to help make this site as great as it is!! Thank you.
"Contempt prior to investigation is ignorance."
Obama: Affirmative Action President
March 19, 2009 - 09:41 ET by The Smokin FrogThis is the media's new 'responsibility' because Obama is our first affirmative action president. This of course is not what Conservatives avow. Conservatives don't believe that any group is inferior. So naturally we don't believe Obama should be protected from the evil right wingers, or that the public has to be told regularly what Obama meant to say, or that it is he needs special treatment.
But now that we are all socialists it is only natural that the stations put on the Dear Leader when ever requested. How do you look in brown? I think it makes me look fat.
Re AA President
March 19, 2009 - 10:35 ET by slickwillie2001Yes, he is our first Affirmative Action President, and we have to start saying that. A majority of Americans are against the concept of affirmative action because it is reverse racism. Every school and college he enrolled in, in his entire life was by AA; every grade and degree he was ever awarded was via AA, every job in his entire life was obtained through AA, including the Presidency. He got a free ride throughout his Presidential campaign via AA.
Now it continues; the liberal media are applying AA in their lax treatment of him. They think it's so important to celebrate our first black African President that he should be treated differently from any other President.
And long after he has left office, his Presidency will be judged through the lens of Affirmative Action.
Thank God for Digital TV!
March 19, 2009 - 10:12 ET by jarrett.edwardsWhere I live we don't have cable and
Satellite is just too expensive for me, so I thank God that Digital TV has come, I can therefore watch something else
like RTV which will be showing the A-Team and I can watch Mr. T. I'd
pay to see Obama take on Mr. T.
Maybe the teleprompter will malfunction
and everyone will see that the emperor has no clothes.
Tuesday night's speech
March 19, 2009 - 12:36 ET by waincroftwill definitely not be categorized as "Reality TV." I've heard enough propaganda from Barry Booby to last a lifetime.
If he gets his own show, maybe he can borrow his theme song from Howdy Doody...It's Barry Booby Time, It's Barry Booby Time.
Remember the marionettes Phineas T. Bluster, Dilly Dally and Flub-a-dub? I can think of some Liberals to whom you could assign those roles!
Round up the RINOs
Won't be watching, unless-----
March 19, 2009 - 13:55 ET by Roscoe MendagoI would watch, if Obama would agree to dispense with the teleprompter and rely on notes and memory. Now that is worth watching, Obama speaking from his bear trap memory, informing America of his plans, [schemes]. That coupled with a REAL Q&A news conference, oh why not, the man's a genius.
Obama's lack of REAL substance is a flaw that he cannot allow to be revealed, that coupled with his inability to speak extemporaneously, showing how empty and without core values this charlatan really is will hasten his less than 4 year term, my prediction.
This guy is going to get us all killed!!!!
The...ahem...commercial
March 19, 2009 - 14:15 ET by MikeLIThe...ahem...commercial networks, are, basically, irelavant, these days.
I just what to know "if", AMERICAN IDOL, will be rescheduled.
Re AI
March 19, 2009 - 16:01 ET by slickwillie2001AI is being pushed from Tues/Wed to Wed/Thurs for next week only. But it's so appropriate that Obammy pre-empts American Idol, since his election was more like a season of American Idol than a normal election. Instead of Paula, Randy and Simon, we had K-K-Katie, Chris, and Charlie, and they fawned over Obammy as much as the originals do over their winners.
They have to prop up their
March 20, 2009 - 00:05 ET by RR GOPThey have to prop up their boy for the sake of their credibility and to force their ideology to work (it won't, but they'll say it's so, and that's all that's needed).
One of the 34% who thinks George W. Bush was a great President. One of the 61% who wants to bring back the stock and pillory (yep...approval for Congress now at 39%...do you believe that!?).