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Stooping to a new low!
By Al
Ruechel | 05-02-02
Give me a break. Have you seen
MSNBC's latest promotional gimmick to get you to watch? They now
call themselves "America's News Channel". Doesn't it just
make you want to stand up and salute? They've got their cute little
Stars and Stripes logo on the bottom right hand of the screen. The
only thing missing is for all their anchors to wear American flags
on their lapels. Oh my gosh. The afternoon guy IS wearing a flag
pin. I'm going to be sick. It reminds me of the Dallas Cowboys
calling themselves America's Team. By the way, did you know the
reason the stadium in Dallas is open in the middle is so God can
watch? Didn't Ted Turner try doing that with the Atlanta Braves?
Maybe in had a legitimate claim because the Braves games were
carried on his super station from coast to coast. Tell that to
George Steinbrenner and his Yankees.
Of course, the hidden implication
here is that the other cable news networks must be less than
American. We all know the folks at CNN are leftist guerillas posing
as journalists. CNN's headquarters are actually located in Sao
Paolo, Brazil. It sort of looks like Atlanta if you squint your eyes
funny. And Fox, well can anything named after an animal really be
considered a legitimate news source. Come on folks get on the wagon
and let's roll, work with me baby! And did you hear the promise from
some of the new executives at MSNBC? We're going to make our network
even more bombastic and flamboyant to secure the younger
demographics. Never mind that it doesn't resemble news anymore. For
sure! Hey, what can say about a network that hires former Twisted
Sister lead singer Dee Schneider to do their voice over work? He's
got to be more American than James Earl Jones.
What this really is all about
students is ratings. All of the cable networks got a big boost as a
result of the World Trade Center Tragedy. Patriotism is still
running at an all time high and the promotional gurus know this is a
cash cow that can be ridden all the way to the ratings market. MSNBC
is getting its butt kicked and it can't figure out how to turn it
around. Fox took the direct approach nailing CNN and the main stream
networks because of what many perceive as an obvious liberal slant
on the news. Nobody thinks Fox is free of bias despite their motto
"We report, you decide". But viewers by the millions do
appreciate hearing from many sources that were ignored by the
mainstream media and enjoy hearing a twist to the news that sounds
more like its coming from their neck of the woods. They also like
some personality and fire in the bellies of the show hosts just to
make it interesting.
MSNBC did a pretty good job of
capitalizing on the weird factor with Ashley Banfield and her
strange glasses. She got a lot of press during the Presidential Vote
affair in Florida but looked like a fish out of water parading
around in Afghanistan doing those cute little stand ups with the
upset Afghan people parading around behind her.
"Look at that man. He's pretty
mad at the U.S. Let's see. I can't read that poster but I'm told it
says something bad about our policy."
"Now! Do you see those people
over there behind these policemen. We have to stay right here
because there's a lot of anger here and we don't want to get caught
in the middle of this. I think it's fair to say they don't like us
that much."
Argh! Give the woman a brain, please!
Yes, a lot of people like her but
even more find her annoying. And that's the problem MSNBC is facing.
You have to pay the bills and you can't do that without growing
numbers. And how do you grow numbers? You must create brand loyalty
and brand identity, and their ain't no identity that sells better
these days then the American flag. Preach it brother!
P.T. Barnum put it best. There's a
sucker born every day and all of these network promotional folks are
hoping we are just a bunch of sheep waiting to be lead to a news
drinking hole. Please, tell me you're not that stupid. I have no
problem with people having different tastes in the way they want
their news covered. We all have personal preferences based on
delivery style, editorial policy, entertainment value, and yes, even
sex appeal from those sitting in the anchor seat. I do have a
problem when one network is so desperate for ratings they are
willing to let the promotional types bastardize their news product
with the red, white and blue. My loyalties and my America and my
viewing habits aren't for sale no matter what MSNBC wants to call
itself. This is shameless, self-absorbed, manipulative promotional
garbage. Gee, that's never happened before.
Al Ruechel, copyright 2002, all
rights reserved
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