Political pressure on local news stations..What should a lib do?

[cally]

This discussion started on another thread. I think Dems should pressure local abc affiliates to not air the Oprah show with Arnie or at least pressure them to offer equal time. The discussion, so far, has brought up free speech, dem focus, and pragmitism. I think it needs a new thread before we totally hijack the old one. Here's the discussion so far:

cally (1000+ posts) Thu Sep-11-03 10:43 AM
Response to Original message

16. Is there any chance we can force the local affilieates


to not air the show? Is there legal action or political pressure that would force them to not air it?

I'm open to suggestions.


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demdave (915 posts) Thu Sep-11-03 10:49 AM
Response to Reply #16

17. While I understand you motivation, that sounds like silencing opposing


views. I refuse to endorse it. When it comes to the commercial arena I believe in voting with your feet and your wallet, or in this case...your channel changer. Anything past that is oppressive and usually looked down upon in these forums. I thought the whole idea was to oppose free-speech zones and the like. Not try to be the ones herding the opposition into them.


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cally (1000+ posts) Thu Sep-11-03 11:23 AM
Response to Reply #17

19. We should probably start a new thread on this


but I completely disagree. I believe in allowing candidates equal time. When the right wing junta uses the airwaves to promote one political view, then we have to stand up and demand equal time or use our political power to tell the affiliates and sponsors that we will not support the selling of one candidate over another. I would feel the same if it was a Dem. candidate.

The Oprah show has been taped and I doubt anyone can stop it. The question of whether the show will profile other candidates is still open to debate. The local stations may be more worried about interfering in an election and may respond to public pressure better.


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lib71 (289 posts) Thu Sep-11-03 11:39 AM
Response to Reply #17

21. exactly demdave


this sort of outcry is curious...Arnie's the biggest story out there, so complaining about him getting airtime is akin to tilting at windmills. Plus, holding onto the quaint notion of "equal time" as some sort of viable rule at a time when Arnie's movies are playing nonstop on cable and the equal time/fairness guidelines have been gutted by Ronnie is a pointless exercise.

We have no time to attack Oprah Winfrey because she wants ratings. We have to work, in whatever level of involvement, in telling our fellow voters in CA what a disaster a Schwarzenegger governorship would be.

NO ON THE RECALL/YES ON BUSTAMANTE


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PROGRESSIVE1 (1000+ posts) Thu Sep-11-03 11:44 AM
Response to Reply #21

22. While I agree that we must spend our resources to...


defeat this "coup de grace", I see no reason as to why I cannot stop watching Oprah! If anyone is angry about this I say that you have the right to vote with your remote as I will! If this interview hurts Arnold's campaign than I will thank Oprah, but if it helps him and the Bush/Rove team then I will vote "NO" on Oprah! I respectfully and humbly ask that my fellow DUers vote accordingly.


No Recall, Yes Bustamante!


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http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=109049#109441

[blueseas]

1. There is a federal law

Called the Equal Opportunities Rule . This means the media is required by federal law to: give equal time to each candidate running for a particular office.

So contact ABC news and ask if they will be complying with the Federal Law

[cally]

2. One shameless kick

:kick:

[AlGore-08.com]

3. Not watching a show does NOT equal lower ratings for that show

I often see folks post varitions on the idea that "I won't watch show X and their ratings will go down". Just F.Y.I. to folks who don't know, ratings don't work like that. Unless you have been selected by AC Neilson to be a "Neilson Family", the TV industry has no way of knowing what you are watching.

From AC Neilson, the company that rates TV programs:
http://www.nielsenmedia.com/FAQ/ratings.html#How do you figure out the ratings?

How do you figure out the ratings?

Nielsen Media Research continually measures television viewing with a number of different samples all across the U.S. The first step is to develop representative samples. This must be done with a scientifically drawn random selection process. No volunteers can be accepted or the statistical accuracy of the sample would be in jeopardy.

Nationally, there are 5,000 television households in which electronic meters (called People Meters) are attached to every TV set, VCR, cable converter box, satellite dish or other video equipment in the home. The meters continually record all set tuning. In addition we ask each member of the household to let us know when they are watching by pressing a pre-assigned button on the People Meter which is also present. By matching this button activity to the demographic information (age/gender) we collect at the time the meters are installed, we can match the set tuning – what is being watched – with who is watching. All these data are transmitted to Nielsen Media Research’s computers where they are processed and released to our customers each day.

In addition to this national service, we have a slightly different metering system in 55 local markets. In each of those markets Nielsen Media Research gathers just the set-tuning information each day from more than 20,000 additional homes. We than process the data and release what we call "household ratings" daily. In this case we can report what channel or program is being watched, but we don’t have the "who" part of the picture. To gather that local demographic information, we periodically (at least 4 times per year) ask another group of people to participate in our diary surveys. For these estimates, we contact approximately 1 million homes each year and ask them to keep track of television viewing for one week, recording their TV viewing activity in a diary. This is done for all 210 television markets in the United States in November, February, May and July and is generally referred to as the "sweeps".

You may also check out the "What TV Ratings Really Means" button on our Public Web site. This link provides detailed information about how Nielsen Media Research measures television and the Internet.