Copy of Texts for Class 10

266

PART B Texts

THE CASE FOR TELEVISION JOURNALISM

by ERIC SEVAREID

C o u r t e s y

of

Saturday

Review

When

Eric

Sevareid

retired

from

CBS

News

in

November

1977,

his

fellow journalists

bestowed

on

him

tributes

befitting

a

statesman.

Newsweek

dubbed

Sevareid

"without

doubt

the

most

imposing of all broadcast commentators,"

and

the

Christian

Science

Monitor

called

him

TV's

answer to antiquity's oracle at Delphi.

In

his

two-minute commentaries on CBS's nightly news

broadcast,

he

perfected

his

own

literary

form,

blending

fact

and

opinion,

always

leaving

a

twinge

of optimism

in

the

air.

Though

he

was

originally

an essayist and became a

broadcaster

at

26

with

reluctance,

he

left

television

after

38

years

a

staunch

defender

of

the

medium.

h a s s e r i o u s

built - in

limitations

a s

well

a s a d v a n -

t a g e s , c o m p a r e d

w i t h

print.

B r o a d c a s t

n e w s

o p -

e r a t e s

in

linear

t i m e , n e w s p a p e r s

in lateral

s p a c e .

This

m e a n s

that

a

n e w s p a p e r or m a g a z i n e

r e a d e r

c a n

be

his

o w n

e d i t o r

in

a

vital

s e n s e .

He

c a n

g l a n c e o v e r i t a n d d e c i d e w h a t t o r e a d , w h a t t o

p a s s

by.

T h e

TV

v i e w e r

is

a

restless

prisoner,

o b l i g e d

t o

sit t h r o u g h

w h a t

d o e s

not

interest

him

kind

of

a d v e r s a r y

relation -

to g e t

to

w h a t

m a y

interest

h i m . W h i l e

it

is

b e i n g

s h o w n ,

a

local

b u s a c c i d e n t

h a s

a s m u c h

i m p a c t ,

s h i p be'tween

print

j o u r n a l i s m

a n d

e l e c t r o n i c

jour-

s e e m s

as

i m p o r t a n t ,

as

an

o u t b r e a k of

a

b i g

war .

n a l i s m exists

a n d

h a s e x i s t e d

for

m a n y

y e a r s

i n

H e c a n

d o

little

a b o u t

this,

little

a b o u t

t h e

v i e w e r ' s

t h e U n i t e d

States .

I n n u m e r a b l e

n e w s p a p e r

critics

u n c o n s c i o u s

r e s e n t m e n t s .

s e e m

t o

insist that

b r o a d c a s t

j o u r n a l i s m

b e

like

E v e r y o n e

i n A m e r i c a

w a t c h e s

t e l e v i s i o n

t o

their j o u r n a l i s m

a n d

m e a s u r e d

by

their

s t a n d a r d s .

s o m e d e g r e e ,

i n c l u d i n g

m o s t

o f

t h o s e

w h o

p r e -

I t c a n n o t

b e .

T h e

t w o

are

m o r e

c o m p l e m e n t a r y

t e n d

t h e y

d o n ' t .

S u p r e m e

C o u r t

J u s t i c e

Felix

t h a n

c o m p e t i t i v e , but

t h e y a r e

different .

Frankfurter

w a s

right;

h e

s a i d

t h e r e

i s

n o

h i g h -

T h e j o u r n a l i s m

of

sight

a n d

s o u n d

is

t h e

only

b r o w in

a n y l o w b r o w ,

b u t

t h e r e

is

a

fair

a m o u n t of

truly

n e w

f o r m

of j o u r n a l i s m

to

c o m e a l o n g .

It

is

a

l o w b r o w

in

e v e r y

h i g h b r o w .

T e l e v i s i o n is

a

c o m b i -

mass m e d i u m ,

a u n i v e r s a l

m e d i u m ;

as

t h e A m e r i -

n a t i o n

m o s t l y

o f l o w b r o w

a n d m i d d l e b r o w ,

but

c a n p u b l i c - e d u c a t i o n

s y s t e m

is

the

w o r l d ' s

first ef-

t h e r e

i s

m o r e

h i g h b r o w

o f f e r e d

t h a n

h i g h b r o w s

fort to t e a c h e v e r y o n e , so

far

as

that

is p o s s i b l e .

It

will

a d m i t

o r e v e n

s e e k

t o

k n o w

a b o u t .

T h e y

will

THE MEDIA 267

1. continued

m a k e p l a n s , g o t o t r o u b l e a n d e x p e n s e , w h e n

t h e y	b u y	a b o o k or	r e s e r v e a	seat in t h e	theater .
T h e y	will	not s t u d y	t h e w e e k ' s	o f f e r i n g s	of m u s i c

o r d r a m a o r s e r i o u s d o c u m e n t a r i e s i n t h e r a d i o a n d T V p r o g r a m p a g e s o f their n e w s p a p e r a n d t h e n s c h e d u l e t h e m s e l v e s t o b e p r e s e n t . T h e y

w a n t

t o

c o m e h o m e , eat d i n n e r ,

twist

t h e dial

a n d

find

s o m e t h i n g

a g r e e a b l e

r e a d y ,

a c c o m m o d a t i n g

to their

s c h e d u l e .

T V p r o g r a m m i n g i n A m e r i c a c o n s u m e s 1 8 t o

24 h o u r s

a

d a y ,

3 6 5

d a y s

of t h e

year .

No

other

m e d i u m

of i n f o r m a t i o n

or

e n t e r t a i n m e n t

e v e r tried

a n y t h i n g

like

that .

H o w

m a n y

g o o d

n e w

p l a y s

a p -

p e a r

i n

U.S.

t h e a t e r s

e a c h

y e a r ?

H o w

m a n y

fine

n e w

m o t i o n

p i c t u r e s ?

A d d

i t

all

t o g e t h e r

a n d

per -

h a p s

y o u c o u l d

fill

2 0

e v e n i n g s

out

o f the 3 6 5 .

Every n e w

d e v e l o p m e n t

i n m a s s

c o m m u n i c a -

tions

has

b e e n

o p p o s e d

by

intellectuals

of

a

cer -

tain

s t r i p e .

I

a m

s u r e

that

G u t e n b e r g

w a s

d e -

n o u n c e d

b y

the

elite o f

his

t i m e — h i s

d e v i c e

w o u l d

s p r e a d d a n g e r o u s

i d e a s

a m o n g

the

G o d - f e a r i n g ,

o b e d i e n t m a s s e s . T h e t y p e w r i t e r w a s d e n o u n c e d

b y	intellectuals	o f the	m o r e	elfin v a r i e t y — i t s	c l a c k -
i n g	w o u l d d r i v e	a w a y	t h e	m u s e s . T h e first	m o t i o n

p i c t u r e s w e r e d e n o u n c e d — t h e y w o u l d d e s t r o y

the

l e g i t i m a t e theater .

T h e n

the

s o u n d

m o t i o n

p i c -

t u r e

w a s

d e n o u n c e d — i t

w o u l d d e s t r o y

t h e t r u e art

o f the film,

w h i c h

w a s

p a n t o m i m e .

To

s u c h critics,

of

c o u r s e , t e l e v i s i o n

is

d e -

s t r o y i n g e v e r y t h i n g .

It

is

d e s t r o y i n g

c o n v e r s a t i o n ,

t h e y

tell

us .

N o n s e n s e .

N o n c o n v e r s i n g

families

w e r e a l w a y s

that

w a y .

TV h a s ,

in fact,

s t i m u l a t e d

t h o u s a n d s of

millions

of

c o n v e r s a t i o n s

that

o t h e r w i s e

w o u l d

not

h a v e o c c u r r e d .

It is

d e s t r o y i n g the

habit

of

r e a d i n g ,

t h e y

say .

This

is

n o n s e n s e .

B o o k

s a l e s

in

t h e

U n i t e d

States

d u r i n g

the

lifetime

of

g e n e r a l

television

h a v e

g r e a t l y

i n c r e a s e d

a n d

w e l l

b e y o n d

the

i n c r e a s e i n

p o p u l a t i o n . At t h e e n d of a p r o g r a m w i t h S u p r e m e

C o u r t J u s t i c e H u g o B l a c k , w e a t t h e C o l u m b i a

B r o a d c a s t i n g		S y s t e m	( C B S ) a n n o u n c e d					o n	t h e	air
that	if v i e w e r s	w a n t e d	o n e		of	t h o s e	little	c o p i e s		of
the	C o n s t i t u t i o n s u c h		a s	h e h a d h e l d i n				his	h a n d ,
t h e y	h a d only	t o write		t o	us .	W e	r e c e i v e d		a b o u t

1 5 0 , 0 0 0 r e q u e s t s at C B S — m o s t l y , I s u s p e c t , f r o m p e o p l e w h o d i d n ' t k n o w t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n w a s a c t u -

ally

d o w n

o n

p a p e r , w h o

t h o u g h t

i t

w a s

w r i t t e n i n

the

skies

or

on

a

b r o n z e

tablet

s o m e w h e r e .

After

my

first

TV

c o n v e r s a t i o n

w i t h

Eric

Hoffer, a

l o n g -

s h o r e m a n

a n d

author,

his

b o o k s

s o l d

out

i n

nearly

e v e r y b o o k s t o r e

i n

A m e r i c a — t h e

next

d a y .

TV

is

d e b a s i n g

t h e

u s e

of

the

E n g l i s h

l a n -

g u a g e ,

t h e y

tell

us .

N o n s e n s e .

Until

r a d i o

a n d

Eric	Severeid
t h e n	TV, t e n s of millions of p e o p l e living in s h a r e -

c r o p p e r c a b i n s , i n s m a l l v i l l a g e s o n t h e p l a i n s a n d

in

t h e

m o u n t a i n s ,

in

t h e g r e a t

city

s l u m s ,

h a d

n e v -

er

h e a r d

g o o d

E n g l i s h

d i c t i o n

in

their

lives.

If

a n y -

t h i n g ,

this

m e d i u m

h a s

i m p r o v e d

the

g e n e r a l

level

of

d i c t i o n .

T h e p r i n t - e l e c t r o n i c a d v e r s a r y r e l a t i o n s h i p is

a o n e - w a y

street.

Print

s c r u t i n i z e s ,

a n a l y z e s ,

criti -

c i z e s

u s

o n T V

e v e r y d a y ;

w e

d o

not

return

t h e

f a -

vor.

W e h a v e

t r i e d

n o w

a n d

t h e n ,

p a r t i c u l a r l y

i n

r a d i o

d a y s

with

" C B S

V i e w s

t h e P r e s s , "

b u t

not

e n o u g h .

On

a

n a t i o n w i d e

n e t w o r k

b a s i s ,

it's

a l -

m o s t i m p o s s i b l e

b e c a u s e

w e

h a v e

n o

real

n a t i o n -

a l

n e w s p a p e r s — p a p e r s

r e a d

e v e r y w h e r e —

to

criticize

for t h e

benefit

of

the

national

a u d i e n c e .

O u r g r e a t e s t

failure

is

in

not

c r i t i c i z i n g

o u r s e l v e s ,

at

least t h r o u g h t h e

m e c h a n i s m

of

v i e w e r s '

r e b u t -

tals .

H e r e

a n d

t h e r e , n o w

a n d

t h e n , w e

h a v e

d o n e

it.

It

s h o u l d

h a v e

b e e n

a

r e g u l a r

part

of

TV

f r o m

the

b e g i n n i n g . T h e

A c h i l l e s

heel

of

TV

is

that

p e o -

ple

c a n ' t

talk

b a c k

to

that

little

b o x .

If

t h e y

h a d

b e e n

a b l e

to,

o v e r

t h e

y e a r s , p e r h a p s

t h e

g a s

o f

r e s e n t m e n t

c o u l d

h a v e

e s c a p e d

f r o m

the

boiler

i n

T h e r e

is

the

m y t h

that

s i n c e

t h e

p i o n e e r i n g ,

g r o u n d b r e a k i n g TV

p r o g r a m s

of

E d w a r d

R .

Mur -

row

a n d

F r e d

Friendly

i n

the

1 9 5 0 s ,

C B S

N e w s

has

b e e n

less

d a r i n g ,

d o n e

f e w e r

p r o g r a m s

of a

h a r d - h i t t i n g

k i n d .

T h e

M u r r o w p r o g r a m s

are

im -

mortal

i n

this

b u s i n e s s

b e c a u s e

t h e y

w e r e

the

first. S i n c e

t h e n

we

h a v e

dealt,

forthrightly,

w i t h

e v e r y c o n c e i v a b l e

c o n t r o v e r s i a l

issue

o n e

c a n

think

o f — d r u g s ,

h o m o s e x u a l i t y ,

g o v e r n m e n t

cor -

r u p t i o n ,

b u s i n e s s

c o r r u p t i o n ,

T V c o m m e r c i a l s ,

g u n c o n t r o l ,

p e s t i c i d e s ,

tax

f r a u d s ,

military

w a s t e ,

268 AMERICA IN CLOSE-UP

1.

continued

a b o r t i o n ,

the

V i e t n a m W a r — e v e r y t h i n g .

W h a t

s h o r t a g e

h a s

o c c u r r e d

has

b e e n

o n

t h e

s i d e

o f

the

m a t e r i a l s ,

not

on

the

s i d e

of

TV's

w i l l i n g n e s s

to

t a c k l e t h e m .

I h a v e r e c e n t l y i n q u i r e d of o t h e r C B S N e w s

v e t e r a n s

if

t h e y

c a n

recall

a

s i n g l e

c a s e of

a

p r o -

p o s e d

n e w s

story

or

a d o c u m e n t a r y

that

w a s

killed

by

e x e c u t i v e s

of

the

p a r e n t o r g a n i z a t i o n .

Not

o n e

c o m e s t o

a n y o n e ' s

m i n d . S o m e

p r o g r a m s

h a v e

b e e n

a n a t h e m a t o

the

t o p e x e c u t i v e

level,

but

t h e y

w e r e

not

s t o p p e d .

S o m e

h a v e

c a u s e d

s e v e r e h e a r t b u r n

a t

that

level

w h e n

t h e y w e n t

o n

t h e

air.

N e v e r

h a s t h e r e

b e e n

a c a s e

of

p e o p l e

at

that

level

s a y i n g

t o

t h e N e w s

D i v i s i o n ,

" D o n ' t

e v e r

d o a n y t h i n g

like

that

a g a i n . "

For m o r e t h a n

13 y e a r s ,

I

h a v e

d o n e c o m m e n -

t a r y — p e r s o n a l

o p i n i o n i n e s c a p a b l y

i n v o l v e d —

m o s t

nights

of

the

w e e k

on

the

e v e n i n g

n e w s .

In

that

t i m e

e x a c t l y

t h r e e s c r i p t s

of

m i n e

w e r e

killed

b e c a u s e

o f

their

s u b s t a n c e

b y

C B S

N e w s

e x e c u -

tives .

E a c h

o n e

by

a

different

e x e c u t i v e ,

a n d

n o n e

of t h e m

ever

d i d

it

a g a i n . T h r e e — o u t

of

m o r e

t h a n

2 , 0 0 0 s c r i p t s .

H o w

m a n y

n e w s p a p e r

editorialists

o r c o l u m n i s t s ,

h o w

m a n y

m a g a z i n e

writers,

h a v e

h a d

their

c o p y

s o r e s p e c t e d

b y

their

e d i t o r s ?

T h e r e

i s

t h e p e r e n n i a l

m y t h

that

s p o n s o r s

[ a d v e r t i s e r s ]

i n f l u e n c e ,

positively

or

n e g a t i v e l y ,

w h a t

we

put

on

the

air.

T h e y

play

no

role

w h a t -

ever .

N o

p u b l i c

affairs

p r o g r a m

has

ever

b e e n

c a n c e l e d b e c a u s e o f s p o n s o r o b j e c t i o n . Y e a r s a g o , t h e y p l a y e d i n d i r e c t ' r o l e s . W h e n I s t a r t e d d o - i n g a 6 p . m . r a d i o p r o g r a m , nearly 30 y e a r s a g o ,

Ed	M u r r o w ,		t h e n	a	v i c e - p r e s i d e n t ,	felt	it	n e c e s -
sary	t o t a k e		m e t o	l u n c h w i t h e x e c u t i v e s			o f	the in -
s u r a n c e		c o m p a n y			s p o n s o r i n g	the	p r o g r a m .

A b o u t 1 4 y e a r s a g o , w h e n I w a s d o i n g t h e S u n d a y n i g h t TV n e w s , a r e p r e s e n t a t i v e of the a d v e r t i s i n g a g e n c y h a n d l i n g t h e c o m m e r c i a l s w o u l d a p p e a r i n t h e s t u d i o , t h o u g h h e n e v e r t r i e d t o c h a n g e a n y - t h i n g . T o d a y o n e n e v e r s e e s a s p o n s o r or an

a g e n c y m a n ,	o n	t h e p r e m i s e s		o r off.
After all,	in	t h e	U n i t e d	States TV	n e t w o r k
b r o a d c a s t i n g	m i g h t a t		its i n c e p t i o n h a v e		b e c o m e

a n a p p e n d a g e a n d a p p a r a t u s o f g o v e r n m e n t ; i t m i g h t h a v e g o n e c o m p l e t e l y H o l l y w o o d . I t d i d n e i -

ther.	It	g r i m l y			h e l d	to e v e r y	f r e e d o m t h e law			a l -
l o w s , a n d			it	f i g h t s for m o r e .
	W e	are		not	the	w o r s t p e o p l e i n		the	l a n d ,	w e
w h o	w o r k		as	journalists . O u r			p r o d u c t	in	print or	on
t h e air		is	a lot better,			m o r e e d u c a t e d		a n d m o r e		re -

s p o n s i b l e t h a n it w a s w h e n I b e g a n , s o m e 45

y e a r s

a g o ,

a s a

c u b

reporter .

This

h a s

b e e n

t h e

b e s t g e n e r a t i o n

of

all

in w h i c h

to h a v e

lived

as

a

journalist i n

A m e r i c a .

W e

are

n o

l o n g e r

s t a r v e l -

i n g s ,

a n d

w e

sit

a b o v e the

salt.

W e

h a v e a f f e c t e d

o u r t i m e s .

It

has

b e e n

a

p a r t i c u l a r s t r o k e

of

f o r t u n e

to

h a v e

b e e n

a

journalist

in W a s h i n g t o n

t h e s e y e a r s .

T h e r e

has

not

b e e n

a c e n t e r

of

w o r l d

n e w s

to

c o m p a r e w i t h i t s i n c e a n c i e n t R o m e . W e h a v e d o n e the j o b better, I think, t h a n our p r e d e c e s s o r s — a n d our s u c c e s s o r s will do it better t h a n w e . •

Copyright « 1976 by SATURDAY REVIEW/WORLD, INC

Saturday Review: a bi-monthly general arts review.

Christian Science Monitor: daily evening paper; general political tendency: independent; Christian moral attitude.

Gutenberg, Johann: (circa 1400-1468), German inventor of movable type.

Vietnam War: see page 15.

THE MEDIA 269

The Nature ofpretty much the same stuff." Then, of course, the networks of those

programs would say, "You're being

much too demanding." This is after

l a mass medium and you may

have highly advanced tastes." I

don't really. I like police dramas a

TV in A m e r i c allot, but

I

can't always

find

them

Richard

Burke

when

I

want them. So

the

argu-

ment here is that this compulsion

Richard

Burke

is

Professor

of Telecommunications

at

Indiana

Univer-

to do the least objectionable, the

sity,

Bloomington,

Indiana.

least risk in fact leads to a rather

mediocre, rather bland diet of the

PART

I:

In

the

programming

least objectionable

programming.

kinds of programs that you would

strategy, particularly of the net-

And by 'least objectionable' what

see listed here. In attempting to

works, what has always been the

people mean is, it doesn't have to

stay with programming that has

case is this. Within the prime time,

be good. You don't have to take

the broadest mass appeal they

i.e. from 8 in the evening until

any risks with it. You don't have to

obviously

will

take

programs

11

— that's what we consider our

put a lot of time into it. It just has

which are pretty safe. And they

prime time of the day — the net-

to be less objectionable than what

will take programs which aren't

works

traditionally

were

fairly

the other network is looking at.

very controversial, and they will

successful at sharing the mass

Because the theory is that large

do programs which have obvious

audience that was out there. That

numbers of people don't watch

large audience appeal.

is to say, NBC would have roughly

programs

anyway.

They

watch

Now in programming I think it is

30

percent,

and CB S would have

television. They go over to the tele-

reasonable to say that the great

had 30 percent and ABC would

vision and say, "What's on?" and

bulk of it is designed for mass

have had 30 percent. This is in the

keep turning through or pressing

entertainment, as opposed to news,

prime time. Those numbers would

the buttons, and somebody says,

information,

education,

instruc-

be slightly lower if you took them

"Oh, that's okay. Stop there. That's

tion. I think if you counted up the

over a day's time, but I'm concerned

fine." Well, in this theory that I am

hours here and you looked at a

only with the evening viewing

explaining very superficially here,

week's worth you'd say, "This is

time. And that other 10 percent of

what you finally stop at is what's

clearly an entertainment-oriented

the

audience

traditionally

would

least objectionable, at least for you.

medium." Now, what is the nature

have watched public broadcasting

So the networks will take and have

of this entertainment, of all the

or they would have watched inde-

taken this position that you don't

possible formats that we produce,

pendent stations or they might

have to win, you just don't fail.

of the western, the action drama

have, in the very early days of

You see if you take big risks, you

and the variety show and this kind

cable, been watching one of the

are likely to fail. So don't fail. That

of thing. This so-called situation

superstations. But by and large the

would be a primary rule. Don't lose

comedy is by far the most popular

networks were reasonably satisfied

your one third, and try to pro-

format that you would see here

to have 30 percent, 30 percent, 30

duce the least objectionable pro-

and also over a long period of time.

percent. Over the last 5 or 6 or 8

gramming possible.

When people are asked in various

years that number has started to

kinds of surveys what have been

drop, and they are obviously very

PART II :

Now, if you subscribe

their favorite programs from 1950

concerned about that. That number

on invariably 50 percent,

60 per-

to this analysis

of television

pro-

went down as low as 75 percent in

cent,

70

percent

of that

would

gramming,

particularly

by

net-

the last 2 or 3 years. In a commer-

identify

the

so-called

situation

works, what you find

out

is

that

cially based system

every viewer

comedy,

that is to

say a situation

there isn't really as much diversity

that you lose and every rating point

which is artificially contrived and

as there appears to be. I look at the

that you lose can be converted into

created each week with a cast of

schedule sometimes and in my best

dollars.

And the

advertisers are

characters

that

essentially

re-

efforts to find something least ob-

saying, "Well, now look. You used

mains

the

same. People come in

jectionable what I have to conclude

to be able to deliver to us, as they

and out. And that's really, not only

is that it's all objectionable and I'll

say, so

many

hundreds of

thou-

this season, but over a long period

be better off to

go

for

a

walk or

sands of viewers. You don't seem to

of time probably the predominant

listen to music or do anything but

be

able

to

do

it

any more. Why

format

in

this

entertainment

watch the television. And I think if

should we pay the same advertising

programming.

you looked at this and if you look

rate?"

In trying

to

get this 30

at a weekly television guide, you'd

percent

the

networks

have

been

say, "Yes, yes fine, I see 15 or 20 or

From: A talk by Richard Burke,

accused

frequently

of

producing

25 opportunities

here,

but

I

don't

delivered at Bloomington, IN,

what some critics have called the

have any real choice at all. It's all

April 24, 1986

270 AMERICA IN CLOSE-UP

The Herald-Telephone, Thursday, April 2 4 ,

A l l

Television

THURSDAY EVENING

6:00

6:30

7:00

7:30

8:00

8:30

9:00

9:30

10:00

10:30

11:00

11:30

12:00

W T W O

e

News

NBC News

Fortune

Happy Days

Cosby Show

FamHyTtes

Cheers

Night Court

Hill Street Blues

News

Tonight

GD

wnv

o

Dift. Strokes

Company

Little House On The Prairie

All In Family

Baseball: Cincinnati Reds at Houston Astros

News

Movie

wnu

Quilting

Business

MacNeil / Lehrer Newshour

Heart 01 The Dragon

Mystery!

Capitol Jrni.

I.U. Journal

Business

Gourmet

®

W R T V

o

News

ABC News

Ent. Tonight

Movie: "Invitation To Hell"

2 0 / 2 0

News

Benson

Nightline

—

WTVW

o

Benson

ABC News

News

Ent. Tonight

Movie: "Invitation To Hen"

2 0 / 2 0

News

B. Miller

WKRP

®

WISH

o

News

CBS News

Chance

Simon & Simon

Bridges To Cross

News

H's Heroes

Night Heat

®

WGN

—

Good Times

Jeffersons

B Miller

B. Newhart

Movie: "The Chosen"

News

WKRP

Trapper John, M.D.

®

WTHI

Œ)

News

CBS News

Newlyweds

Price

Simon & Simon

Bridges To Cross

News

Night Heat

wTBS

—

A. Griffith

Gunsmoke

Santord

Movie: "Psycho"

Baseball: Atlanta Braves at Los Angeles Dodgers

WHMB

Jim And Tammy

700 Club

L. Sumrall

Life

Lesea ARve

In Touch

Praise The Lord

Praise Lord

o

WTHR

News

NBC News

Jeopardy

Fortune

Cosby Show

Family Ties

Cheers

Night Court

Hill Street Blues

News

Tonight

(S)

M T V

—

VJ: Martha Quinn

Monkoes

VJ: Martha Quinn

VJ: Mark Goodman

Rock Influences

VJ

(S)

W X M

Star Trek

Too Close

Taxi

Movie: "Right Of The Phoenix"

B. Newhart

Benny Hill

H'mooners

—

W B A K

SD

Make A Deal

ABC News

Ent. Tonight

Company

Movie: "Invitation To Hetl"

2 0 / 2 0

Twil. Zone

Nightline

Sanford

ESPN

—

Horse Racing

SpoCtr.

SpeedWeek

Fashion

Stanley Cup Playoffs: Division Final

SpoCtr.

Outdoor Life

os

U S A

—

Cartoons

Radio 1990

Animals

Motorcycle Racing: Daytona 200 Classic

PetroceHi

Alfred Hitchcock Hour

EdgeNt.

N A S H

—

Country Rock

Be A Star

Fandango

Nashville Now

Country Rock

Videocount.

Be A Star

Fandango

Nashville

©

C N N .

—

Newswatch

Showbiz

Moneyline

Crossfire

Prtmenews

Larry King Live

News

Moneyline

Sports

NewsNlght

C S P N

—

Viewer Can-In

National Press Club

Congressional

Hearing

Viewer Call-in

Today In Washington

UFE

—

Simmons

It Figures

Family

Cassie&Co.

Regis Philbin s Lifestyles

Dr. Ruth Show

Movie: "September Storm"

A R T S

—

"Dinner At Ritz" Cont'd

Shortstories

Music Of Man

Montserrat Caballe The Woman, The Diva

At The Met

Madrigal

Music

©

C B N

—

Green Acres

Rifleman

Alias Smith And Jones

Wackiest Ship in The Army

700 Club

Don't Die

Girt From U.N.C.LE.

Groucho

PAY TV CHANNELS

GD

H B O

—

Movie: "Between Friends" Cont'd

Movie: "Cat's Eye"

Movie: "Code Of Silence"

Movie: "Act Of Vengeance"

©

DB

—

Disney

Ozzie

Movie: "Treasure Island"

Island

Movie: "Country"

"Darby 0 Gill And The Little People"

©

S H O W

—

Movie

Showtime

Tom Petty & Heart breakers

Movie: "D.C. Cab"

Honeymooners

' T e n From Your Show Of Shows"

@

M A X

—

Crazy About The Movies

Movie: "Supergirl"

Movie: "Body Heat"

Comedy

Movie: "Fanny Hill"

THE MEDIA 271

The Herald-Telephone, Thursday, April 2 4 ,		A l l

Television

Movies

EVENING

8 : 0 0 0 SD ** "Invitation To Hell"

(1984, Drama) Robert Urich, Susan Lucci. A devilish woman serves as the director of a country club where she seduces men physically and women materially. (R) g (2 hrs.)

® #*% "The Chosen" (19*1, Drama) Maximilian Schell, Rod Steiger. Based on Chaim Potok's novel. A friendship slowly develops between a worldly, assimilated Jew and the son of a Hassidic rabbi. (2 hrs.)

® ffi * * * "Flight Of The Phoenix"

(1966, Adventure) James Stewart, Peter Finch. When contact with rescuers becomes impossible, crash survivors begin repairing an old airplane forced down in the desert. (3 hrs.)

© ++ "D.C. Cab"( 1983, Comedy) Mr. T, Adam Baldwin. Drivers of a nearly bankrupt Washington taxicab operation become heroes when they rescue two kidnapped children. 'R' g

8:0501)	"Psycho" (1960,
Suspense)	Anthony Perkins, Janet.

Leigh. A young woman encounters a psychotic killer at a secluded motel after stealing a large sum of money from her employer. (2 hrs., 25 min.)

9 : 0 0 ® "Code Of Silence" (1984, Adventure) Chuck Norris, Henry Silva. A maverick Chicago cop wages a solitary war against rival drug-running gangs. 'R' g (1 hr., 41 min.)

© + + * "Country"(1984, Drama) Jessica Lange, Sam Shepard. Threatened with foreclosure of her farm, an Iowa woman struggles to hold on to her land and keep her family together. ' P C (1 hr., 49 min.)

m +**V> "BodyHeat"(1981,

Suspense) William Hurt, Kathleen Turner. A smalltime Florida lawyer is persuaded by his lover to murder her husband. 'R' (1 hr., 53 min.)

1 1 : 0 0 ® * * "September Storm"(1960,

Adventure) Joanne Dru, Mark Stevens. An international group attempts to recover a large Spanish treasure from a sunken ship. (2 hrs.)

CD "Act Of Vengeance" (1986, Drama) Charles Branson, Ellen Burstyn. Based on the true story of Joseph "Jock" Yablonski, whose crusade to rid the United Mine Workers union of corruption led to violence and ultimately to murder in December 1969. O

® + * * "Darby O'Gill And The Little People" (1959, Fantasy) Albert Sharpe, Sean Connery. An old Irish

caretaker who is about to lose his job to a younger man captures the king of the leprechauns and forces him to grant three wishes. 'G' (1 hr., 35 min.)

(g) ir-kVt "Ten From Your Show Of Shows"(197Z, Comedy) Sid Caesar, Imogene Coca. Ten classic skits from the original telecasts of "Your Show Of Shows," with personal anecdotes by

Sid Caesar. G' (1 hr., 32 min.)

1 1 : 3 0 ® * "Fanny HU/"<1983, Drama) Lisa Raines, Oliver Reed. A woman of pleasure hopes to gain fortune in 18thcentury London. 'R' (1 hr., 30 min.)

1 2 : 0 0 0 **H "The Barbarian And The Geisha" (1958, Drama) John Wayne, Sam Jaffe. The first American ambassador to Japan receives cold rebuffs from the emperor and devotion from a geisha. (2 hrs.)

272 AMERICA IN CLOSE-UP

This Is Not Your Life:

Television

as the Third Parent

Benjamin Stein

1 EN YEARS AGO, I spent one year study- TH ing the handful of powerful people here in Hollywood who govern the general

• B i themes and specific social and political messages of prime time commercial television. The conclusion, now not seriously questioned, was that a politically and socially homogeneous clique makes television in the image of its own world view. That world view has little in common with the views of the larger society and is, in fact, often at war with observable reality.

For the past five yea'rs, I have been studying the other end of the funnel: the effect of mass culture, specifically television, upon the viewing public, and particularly upon young people. In a nutshell, I have been trying to discover more about the intersections of youth culture and mass culture.

To that end, I have questioned groups of students at ten high schools in the Los Angeles area. I have also just spent eight months sitting in on classes at Birmingham High School, a large middle-class school with students of every ethnic description located in suburban Van Nuys, California.

One basic hypothesis seems to me almost unassailable: American mass culture, particularly the mass culture purveyed by television, is so powerful, intrusive, attractive, and ubiquitous, so thoroughly unchecked in its ability to instruct and command, that it is virtually a "third parent" in the lives of

American children. For the child of 1986, television is a source of values, an encourager for the future, a confidant, a narcotic, a blanket of security and inadequacy — in short, a parent.

The Way the World Really Works

Over and over in the past five years, I have talked to boys and girls who receive almost no clear messages about what the world is supposed to be from parents or friends. Frequently, a child has only one parent at home, who is often absent. The children can barely recall even talking with their parents about any subject beyond home life. Yet they have an extremely well-developed idea of how the world is supposed to work. There is supposed to be trouble and danger, but it will all work out in the end. There is supposed to be action and excitement, but a resolution leading to calm. Force and strength generally can be expected to solve problems. The people who trust in goodness and act honestly will triumph. These are the values of television.

If you ask a child who has seen nothing but chaos and disappointment in his or her own life just why he or she believes that things will turn out all right in the end — and if you push and don't take silence for an answer — you almost always hear a variant of, "Because that's the way it happens on 'Remington Steele'."

4. continued

Although the children I talked to live in Los Angeles, none of them is part of the gilded world of television or movie production. Their parents are far more likely to be working two jobs each than to be inking million dollar deals at Paramount. Yet these young people are convinced that a larger, more glamorous world awaits them somewhere beyond Ventura Boulevard. When you probe for details about that world, the promised land sounds surprisingly like the countries of "Dynasty" or "Dallas" or "Family Ties."

In fact, many of the children I talked to are morally certain that the "real" world is much more like the world they have seen on TV than the one they can smell and touch. More bizarre still, many of them believe that the world of "Diff rent Strokes" or "Miami Vice" is the real world, every bit as authentic and available as Van Nuys Boulevard or their own kitchens.

That is, when discussing life, these children talk about things that happen to them every day — fights with parents, car crashes, problems with school — and then they talk about events on "The Cosby Show" or "Webster" as if they, too, were part of daily life — as in a sense they have become.

Days of Their Lives

The more time I spent with these children, the clearer it became that for many of them, there is no longer any line between what is real and what is on TV. It is all one large sphere of experience — with television comprising by far the more compelling, coherent, accessible, attractive portion. . . .

Television appeals to young people as a friend and a source of values, but it also tends to confuse them about what their rational expectations should be. That is, TV shows are so much more attractive as a way of life than the lives of the children I talked to, and the children are so unable to tell that TV is a fantasy, that they are both uplifted and saddened by TV shows. In a word, TV offers a better way of life, which encourages kids to believe life can be better than it is, but TV's way of life is also maddeningly unavailable.

THE MEDIA 273

"On television, no one is ever lonely, and no one's parents ever neglect them, and no one is ever bored, and no one ever gets left out. That's the way life should be," said the daughter of a broken home, whose stepfather routinely beat her when drunk. "Sometimes when I see how easy it is for Bill Cosby's kids, I get crazy thinking about my own life."

Another student in Encino told me matter-of- factly that he measures his goals against the way people live on television. "If I can live even half as well as the people on 'Dallas' by the time I'm their age, that'll be doing really well," he said. "Even 'Falcon Crest' would be all right."

If mass culture on TV offers a coherent world view, is perceived as at least as "real" as reality, and is indeed considered part of reality, if it offers moral solace and moral structure, and also implicitly holds up standards for personal accomplishment to children, it looks — at least to me — very much like a parent. If children see the world of TV shows as part of their world, not as a fantasy separate from it, they will — and do — accept television's messages as part of the general wealth of experience offered by the world. Again, in the absence of clear family structure, meaningful communication between parents and children, and a well-ordered educational system, TV rushes into the void with a world view packaged in living color, with pretty girls, handsome men, and great cars to make it more tempting — all at the touch of a button. Is it any wonder that such an attractive, teaching, moralizing, comforting parent is so appealing?

All of this offers an important, even crucial challenge to us, the real parents, so to speak, in the society: If we have allowed a third parent to become part of our American family, we had better pay close attention to what the new parent is teaching our young about the world, and about us.

At the least, it looks as if that new parent has already taught our children that there is no difference between reality and fantasy. That lesson is definitely not going to help them or us. [7]

Benjamin Stein, who appears in the movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off, is a long-time observer of youth and mass culture.

274AMERICA IN CLOSE-UP

©The Likability Sweepstakes

"... And thafs the wonder, the wonder of this	country,
that a man can end with diamonds here on the	basis of

being liked!"

— Death of a Salesman

Willy Loman knew how important it was to be well liked. Since Eisenhower won with the primitivist slogan "I Like Ike," Americans seem to require a pleasing affability from their Commander in Chief. Under Ronald Reagan, geniality was raised to an art form; the President became the nation's

surrogate grandfather.

Pollsters say that the advent of television campaign coverage made "image impressions" more important than issues. Likability is one component of that impression. In a campaign where no single issue commands attention, it becomes even more significant.

Since last winter, Bush strategists had known they had to spruce up the Vice President's image. George Bush was seen as awkward, wimpish, maladroit. So Bush's handlers engineered a make-over. They had him utter self-deprecating cracks about his lack of charisma. They arranged for him to be photographed amid his photogenic grandchildren.

As Bush's negatives receded, he sought to raise those of Dukakis. After slipping up in the first debate, Bush smiled and said, "Wouldn't it be nice to be the Ice Man, so you never make a mistake?" His aides later christened the contest the Nice Man vs. the Ice Man. The idea was to portray Bush's occasional goofiness as engaging, and Dukakis' competence as soulless.

The Dukakis camp came late to the likability, wars. Competence was what counted. So what if he sometimes seemed to be running for Accountant in Chief? After the first debate, however, polls showed this to be costly, a T I M E poll revealed voters thinking that Dukakis had won, but that Bush (by 4 4 % to 38%) was more likable. Dukakis aides began pushing for a "kinder, gentler," warmer Dukakis. In short, they wanted more Zorba, less Zeno.

The new strategy was simple: depict the Nice Man as incompetent, and the Competent Man as nice. The Governor began to act more like Mike Douglas than Mike Dukakis. In North Dakota he pecked two

Willy Loman: character in the play Death of a Salesman Mike Douglas: American actor.

V

f

George Bush and Michael Dukakis

cheerleaders on the cheek and led a crowd in a spirited rendition of Happy Birthday. No more clenched fists; Dukakis began showing open palms.

But likability goes deeper than gestures. "It is the ability to disclose a sense of the private self in public," says Kathleen Hall Jamieson, a scholar of the presidency. "In the television age, candidates have to be comfortable with public intimacy and selfdisclosure." But Dukakis, as last week's debate showed, is uncomfortable with self-disclosure. His manner suggests it's none of your business.

"Competent people are sometimes seen as arrogant," says Bush's director of polling, Vince Breglio. "He's made competence his emblem. But competence is only a part of image. A President has to be open and caring, as well as tough and hard. He must project a comfortable image. It's tough for Dukakis to retrace his steps now and make himself nice."

This week the Dukakis campaign unveils commercials that attempt to thaw out the Ice Man. The ads, says Dukakis media chief David D'Alessandro, "show who he really is." Dukakis talks directly to the camera. In one he recalls what it was like to be a young father. In another he sketches his hopes for the future. But do not expect Phil Donahue. Says D'Alessandro: "Dukakis has a limit as to how much he can do as far as changing his persona." Maybe all this touchy-feely stuff is not so important after all. Noted campaign manager Susan Estrich after the debate: "I think we shouldn't make too much of

likability."	- By Richard Stengel
by Arthur Miller.

Dilemmas

Question:

(Respondents were asked to pretend they were editors) For each of the following stories, please say whether that story should almost always be reported, whether it should sometimes be reported depending on the particular circumstances, or whether it should almost never be reported.

Story should be reported . . .

Almost always

		THE MEDIA 275
A CIA spy's life may be in danger if
his name is made public. The spy		78%
has played a key role in a major
	18%
news event.
A woman who has been held hostage
escapes and runs half naked Into the		76%
street. One of your photographers
	21%
takes her picture.
You have obtained some secret
government documents dealing with	6% 26%	68%
an important national security issue.

Sometimes, depending on	You have a poll that says who will
particular circumstances
	win the election, but there are still	13%	27%		60%
Almost never	four hours left to vote.
"Reprinted with permission of	A woman is in despair because her
American Enterprise Institute for Public	son has just been killed in a car
Policy Research"	accident, and one of your	6%	48%		46%
	photographers takes a picture
	of her.
	A reporter has sent back a story from
	an area where American troops are
	fighting-even though the president	20%	41%		39%
	has declared the area "off limits" to the
	press.
	A major fire has occurred in your area.
	Your deadline is approaching, but you	10%	54%		36%
	aren't certain that all the facts in the
	story are completely accurate.
	A reporter discovers that someone
	who holds public office is a	23%	41%		36%
	homosexual.
	A reporter has learned that a
	government official has broken the	34%		48%	18%
	law. However, the source of that
	information can't be revealed.
CIA: Central Intelligence Agency, the	U.S. government department that collects
information about other countries, especially in secret.