Hits and misses from media to politics

Welcome back!


With the incredible tragedy in Haiti, it makes it a challenge to blog on the usual media and political circuses that surround us. If you haven't got around to donating, click the Canadian Red Cross or  the American Red Cross. Or a charity that you trust to get all the money there and fast. While I'm at it, regardless of one's political leanings, you've got to admit that the Canadian and American governments kicked into gear in record time which is one of the few blessings out of the terrible disaster.


Then there's televangelist Pat Robertson, who never misses an opportunity to miss an opportunity. Take a look at his comments on the Haitian disaster, and you'll see why. The really sad part is that Robertson's comments get a tremendous amount of media coverage instead of the enormous outreach efforts by the Catholic Church, Protestant churches and people of all faiths - as well as those who don't act out of faith - just plain old compassion for a nation in desperate need. Pat it's time to retire!
And now onto totally important inane matters that help to keep us sane.....


In my last posting I had blogged on the NBC late night fiasco. A few forests have been felled reporting on it but I haven't seen anything on the very clever PR move by Conan O'Brien.  Since he took over the audience has dropped from 5 million to 2.5 million and yet he is coming out smelling like roses since he released this statement.


How did he accomplish that?
First, he cloaked it in the right context - "no one should waste a second feeling sorry for me. For 17 years, I've been getting paid to do what I love most and, in a world with real problems, I've been absurdly lucky." PERFECT


Once he set the context he made clear his [unselfish] motive in fighting NBC for trying to push the Tonight Show's slot to 12:05 -  "Like a lot of us, I grew up watching Johnny Carson every night and the chance to one day sit in that chair has meant everything to me. I worked long and hard to get that opportunity, passed up far more lucrative offers, and since 2004 I have spent literally hundreds of hours thinking of ways to extend the franchise long into the future." BULLS-EYE


Finally, he makes his ask: "It was my mistaken belief that, like my predecessor, I would have the benefit of some time and, just as important, some degree of ratings support from the prime-time schedule. Building a lasting audience at 11:30 is impossible without both." SIMPLE AND REASONABLE


By all accounts, he wrote it himself! Jay Leno's supporters are few and far between, making him look like he is only self-interested and going back on his word. I wonder who his advisors are?


Politics


How not to answer a question at a news conference. 

Check out California Republican Gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman's attempt to not answer the question at her news conference:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmI2z5PVYGQ&NR=1

As a rookie to politics she can be forgiven. However, the lesson here is that you have to address the question before you are given the license to bridge. Perhaps she thought that the answer would be far worse than the 'dodge'? Tell the truth even if it hurts. The public is more forgiving of the truth than of sounding like the 'same old/same old' politician.

Until next time....

The Buck Stops with Obama

Welcome back!

Late Night TV Shuffle

Jay Leno is mercifully shifted back to late night after floundering around in prime time with a show that had no business being in prime time. Instead of creating a new format, he ended up trying to shoehorn his standard late night show where it clearly didn't work. Conan O'Brien lost the audience lead, that Leno had bequeathed him, to David Letterman so he is fortunate that his Tonight Show will just be pushed back to 12:05 a.m. [Hey who said scandals aren't audience builders?] Let's hope that NBC's programmers replace it with some intelligent scripted shows and not try to paper the time slot with more mindless reality shows.

Obama Takes Responsibility- Will it be Enough?

Well, the political and institutional fall-out has continued from the attempted Christmas Day bombing. [The fact that it was combined with a huge number of Holiday air travelers of course made it far worse than it was.] What is interesting to note is how President Obama responded. At first he left it to Homeland Defense Department Secretary Janet Napolitano whose instinct seemed to be to reassure the American public that things were in control. Her famous 'the system worked' clip clearly irritated (although context got quickly lost) as the first instinct of the public is that they want to hear their leaders convey a strong sense of outrage mixed with determination [think Giuliani after 9/11] once something like this happens.

The fact that it actually happened over Canadian airspace, by the way, largely went unnoticed in the media. [What a lot of people on both sides of the border don't realize is that the people in Detroit are actually NORTH of Windsor, Ontario!]

So the President kicked into gear two days later and began to send a tough message that something was clearly wrong with the intelligence system and this got reinforced as more and more information came out about the 23 year old Nigerian 'underwear bomber' whose own father begged the C.I.A. to do something about his son. This information really ratcheted up the outrage factor and the President had to keep abreast of it.

Hence the speech today from the White House. When a leader steps up to the plate and admits that 'the buck stops here' (the famous quote from 'Give 'em hell' Harry Truman) it demonstrates leadership. Did it work? Take a look at this MSNBC piece contrasting the Bush and Obama approaches to admitting fault and taking responsibility.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6I09dtMdbE

All politicians can learn from that!

Until next time, hope your 2010 is going better than the Messrs. Obama, Leno and O'Brien!