President Barack Obama wants to make another primetime address to the nation, but the networks are puking in their soup over it. The White House has another address scheduled for Tuesday, and the networks are raising holy hell over having to shift their schedules to make room for him.
Tuesday is a prime choice cut for the four major networks (five if you count the CW) and shows like American Idol, Bones and The Biggest Loser are having to play musical chairs because of his address.
One unidentified insider told TV Week that the bigger issue to the networks is (wait for it) money. He or she claims every time the President interrupts their programming, they lose at least a couple of million dollars in advertising revenue that they claim can't be replaced.
So what's stopping the networks from just not airing the President's message? They've done it before under President Bush's term. Fox once refused to interrupt their programming, so they could air meaningless tripe like Trading Spouses at a time when the whole country thought the world was one "Bring it on" away from meeting the business end of the evildoer's Swiffer.
This is very disappointing news. Money and business are important to keep the lights on, but when did the networks altogether stop seeing themselves as a public trust? I've got an uneasy feeling that if aliens attacked and started laying waste to humanity, the networks wouldn't let the Emergency Broadcast System interrupt their programming for fear that the Dinty Moore people would never speak to them again.
As a compromise, the White House is considering having shorter 10-minute "fireside chats" instead of a whole address. That's assuming that the White House hasn't yet sold their fireplace to cover the deficit.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
3-21-2009 @ 9:26AM
dennis phillips said...
It would go alot faster if he addressed the nation without congress and the swaybots (clapping and twittering during the speech!).If he wants to talk to America,we should be his only audience.Probly only take about 15 minutes.
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3-21-2009 @ 11:34AM
Sam said...
THIS
3-21-2009 @ 2:20PM
CJ said...
I think you've missed the point.
This is not an emergency broadcast. He wants to sell his budget to the American people. And as important as the budget is, its not make it or break it enough to break programing.
The networks are business too and every time they lose money, people lose jobs. They're laying off also. Pres. Obama delaying DTV has already cost both the networks and small television stations millions. Now, he wants to cost them even more by breaking into primetime whenever he feels like it. And he's the kind of president that is going to feel like it alot.
I understand people want to hear what the president has to say. Doesn't he have a Youtube channel? Check it out.
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3-21-2009 @ 10:21AM
K.V.C said...
Do we really need weekly updates? Obama has never said no to an interview, so why doesn't he just go on Leno every night and give his updates?
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3-21-2009 @ 10:46AM
Ryan said...
That's a brilliant idea. Better yet, those late night talk shows apparently take very little prep time for the host, aside from his contributions in the writers' room. If NBC would just make President Obama the 10 p.m. host instead, the networks could keep their schedules, the President would get the popular access he desires, and we wouldn't have to see Leno any more. It's win-win-win.
3-23-2009 @ 4:02AM
travis said...
Well, wherever & whenever, he decides to feed his ego next, let's hope he sticks with speech writers, after his "special olympics" comment on Leno...
3-21-2009 @ 10:42AM
Jimmy said...
The last time I checked, the networks were allowed to use the airwaves free of charge. They belong to us and the President is our representative. They need to get over it. If the president asks for the time, the network's responsibility is to say "How much time and when?"
That being said, I never watch these addresses. If it's something really important I'll watch it on YouTube.
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3-21-2009 @ 11:37AM
Johnzo said...
any president who wants to speak to his constituents more is a good thing. the networks should be happy to accommodate him... why don't they just air it during katie couric's, charlie gibson's, and brian william's new hours instead?
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3-21-2009 @ 11:44AM
Chris said...
He really just needs to shut his yapper. Every time he addresses the nation, the Dow drops. He's hurting the economy just by speaking, and he hasn't made that connection yet.
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3-21-2009 @ 8:24PM
B said...
Yeah, and a recession magically occurred on January 20th at 12:00 PM EST.
THAT EVIL OBAMA RETROACTIVELY CAUSED THE GREAT DEPRESSION WITH HIS RETROACTIVE SOCIALIST POLICIES!
We can only pray that Obama can't do too much to destroy America before the great Ronald Reagan's trickle down economics can save us.
3-22-2009 @ 4:42PM
Jamie said...
Don't you know that the Dow went up during one of his speeches the otherday and Fox News lied and said it dropped about 70 points. Silly conservatives.
3-21-2009 @ 12:32PM
Adam said...
I love the guy, I've met him, and I even have a picture with him, but enough is enough!! Seriously, why do do it in the middle of the day and allow Americans to do it at the leisure online? The primetime addresses should be sparse and only utilized at extremely urgent junctures in history. If you have one every week it becomes the President who cried wolf, and no one but the most ardent supporters will watch them. EPSN shows his bracket every 5 minutes, so there's nothing that can convince me that anything the President says will reach the general public no matter what time he speaks. In the era of CNN, Drudge, Fox, et.c his message will reach the people.
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3-23-2009 @ 8:13AM
mike said...
I think the networks quit being a public trust sometime around the removal of the Fairness Doctrine during the Reagan years. If you remember back then, it was not uncommon for your local tv/radio station to go on the air once a year to say their license was up and they were looking for public input on their year of successes and benefit to the public for submittal to the FCC. Now they are a business pure and simple and answer to nobody but their stockholders.
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3-21-2009 @ 1:28PM
Deb said...
I won't be watching mr obama no matter what time he comes on the air. With so many news channels and the evening news on just a few hours before his grandstanding, why can't he make his speech then. Anyone who wants to hear what he has to say will find it. He doesn't have to interrupt a whole week of network programming for his propaganda.
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3-21-2009 @ 3:23PM
segsig said...
He has been making a huge push for transparency. Being upfront and open about policy is best done when the most people would be watching. Plain and simple.
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3-21-2009 @ 6:07PM
DaveD said...
So seqsiq - Obama i going to say something new this Tuesday?
Transparency is one thing - ruining your "100 day honeymoon" is another. He's closing in on doing just that.
He won't say anything new. He'll simply use yet another 10-15 minutes to try to make his case for letting him do what:
(a) He was elected to do,
(b) He campaigned to do,
(c) He apparently is unable to do without these constant 10-15 minute appeals to his constituency.
I voted for him and think he's able to do a good job. I also expect that won't happen overnight. Or in 6 months even. It takes time. And it takes building something called a coalition.
So seqsiq, are you saying I'll need to deal with a weekly dose of Obama at his discretion? Because that's what he's starting to request and do... and that's what you're suggesting.
3-21-2009 @ 3:23PM
MrTim said...
Aren't there four or five 24 hour news networks that are continuously embarrassing themselves trying to find something to talk about? I think they would provide perfectly adequate coverage if the networks don't want to.
It's great if he wants to talk to the people, but he doesn't need to drown out everything else to do it. Personally I'd rather watch him on Leno or Letterman anyway.
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3-21-2009 @ 9:40PM
Eludium-Q36 said...
Agree with Deb, CJ, Mr Tim etc. Addresses during primetime are real intrusions in today's world. Anyone < 60-yrs gets their news/info from the Web or cable news channels. His primetime addresses aren't welcome and we'll all either change the channel, pick something off our DVR, or watch something on Hulu or Youtube. There are SOOO many ways to avoid these useless talks now. If it's REALLY important we'll find it on anycablenewschannel.com.
3-21-2009 @ 11:16PM
Preston said...
People do want to hear what the President Obama has to say about the state of our economy. It's going in a downward spiral as we speak and we do need to hear updates from him. And the networks are going to have to deal with his primetime addresses because this is a crucial time in our nation right now. So what if you're going to lose millions of dollars? The President wants to speak when it is necessary!
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3-22-2009 @ 8:23AM
Rocketboy said...
The president, no matter who they are, cannot fix economies. That's not within their power anymore than a single person with a bulhorn can stop a riot. We don't need to hear updates, BECAUSE THERE'S NOTHING TO UPDATE. The update I want to hear is why he's "shocked" when something takes place that's specifically allowed by a law that HE PASSED. I don't want to hear about false anger over puffed up smoke and mirrors, I want to hear true anger over the people that are making workers at AIG afraid for their well-being. I want to hear about true anger over this modren-day witch hunt.