CONVENTIONAL VIEWING

Sometimes, television can predict the future......

TV NETWORK EXECUTIVE
We're thinking about cutting back on our coverage.
TOBY
You only covered two hours a night last time. How much more can you...?
EXEC
We're talking about an hour.
TOBY[laughing]
You can't do an hour a night, that's just...
EXEC
See you don't understand. We're talking about an hour for each convention. We cover the acceptance speeches, that's it.
TOBY
One of these times you guys are going to come in here and say that and it's going to be true.

[The media directors look at him seriously.]

TOBY
Look, this is obviously a--do not eat the fruit--this is obviously a, a negotiating position for you, so what is it you need? You want us to vote a member of the Rules Committee out of the convention every night or something? The secretary should eat a jellyfish?
EXEC
You know what sir, don't talk to me like I'm other people. The four of us are news directors and there isn't a day that one of us isn't begging the person we work for to let us for the love of Jesus Christ do the news.
Is the Republican nominee Rob Ritchie? Yes. Is his running mate Jeff Hesten? Yes. And that question, as impossible as it may be to believe becomes even less suspenseful when talking about the Democratic ticket.
And will there be anything of any force or consequence in the platform? No. Will there be a floor fight over it? What does it matter? And you're getting huffed because the four of us are questioning the wisdom of presenting a four-day infomercial, in primetime, under network news, simulcast?
We'll show the acceptance speeches. And the balloons. The balloons aren't news but it's nice television.
('The West Wing')

On Tuesday, July 27th, not one of the major broadcasting networks bothered to show anything from the second night of the Democratic National Convention in Boston, not even the one hour of coverage they offered up on the other nights.

This week, the Republican National Convention is being held in NYC, and the networks have chosen to scrap the opening night coverage instead so that they can begin their miserly three hour coverage with the Tuesday night speaker.

Why? Because a human cartoon action figure who groped his way into office will be the headliner. The networks are probably not even looking at this as a news story, but more as an entertainment piece.

Considering that the networks get control of their airwaves for practically nothing, they should have been broadcasting the entire convention as a public service. Those people still without cable should be given the chance to see the entire convention process, to better inform their choices. The networks should not be making the decision for them.

MEDIA DIRECTOR 1
We understand you have a counter offer.
TOBY
Yeah. You broadcast all four nights of the convention.
MEDIA DIRECTOR 2
Why?
TOBY
'Cause the public owns the airwaves, not you, and you have a legal obligation to the public.
MEDIA DIRECTOR 3
The public could care less about the nominating conventions. So why?
TOBY
You have an FCC public obligation.
MEDIA DIRECTOR 3
Show me a station that's lost its licence for not showing enough public interest programming.
TOBY
I can't.
MEDIA DIRECTOR 3
So why?
TOBY
'Cause if you don't the Justice Department is going to investigate you for anti-trust violation.
MEDIA DIRECTOR 4
Anti-trust violation?
TOBY
A joint decision not to compete for the best convention programming.
MEDIA DIRECTOR 2
You're accusing us of conspiring not to show money-losing programming?
TOBY
Not me so much as the Justice Department. 15 U.S.C. section 1. "Every contract combination or conspiracy in restraint of trade or commerce is declared to be illegal. Every person who shall engage in any combination..."
MEDIA DIRECTOR 3
All right, we get it. We all have lawyers that we'll have to talk to.
TOBY
Yes, no. There isn't going to be a horse race to cover, either in New York or San Diego. But we gave you the air waves for free 70 years ago and 357 days a year you can say who's up and who's down, who won the West and who lost the South.
But what's wrong with 8 days, not every year but every 4 years, showing our leaders talking to us? Not a fraction of what they said, but what they said.
And then th-the balloons.
MEDIA DIRECTOR 3
Like I said.....
TOBY
You have to talk to the lawyers.
MEDIA DIRECTOR 3
Yes.
TOBY
Talk to the lawyers.
('The West Wing')
\/
[_]

I would have complained to the FCC myself, but it's run by the son of the Secretary of State, so what's the use?

But I do like balloons........

BCnU!
Toby
(not him, a different one)
(Tubeworld@aol.com)