Wednesday, 14 October 2015 06:46
Privatizing Democracy: You Had to Pay to Watch Last Night's Debate on CNN on
TV
MARK KARLIN, EDITOR OF BUZZFLASH AT TRUTHOUT
Airing presidential debates only on pay-TV is another step toward
privatizing democracy. (Photo: Mohamed Nanabhay)
CNN aired the first Democratic debate last night, October 13. It also aired
two Republican debates (a "main event" and an "undercard" debate) on
September 16. On August 6, FOX held the first Republican debates (also
televised in separate lower and upper tier candidate - based on polls -
segments).
CNN bragged on its CNN Money site that "23 million [viewers] watched [the]
GOP debate, a record for CNN." Adweek reported that 24 million viewers
watched the first FOX GOP "main event" debate. As CNN Money stated in its
article,
Historically the most popular events on TV have been shown by broadcast
networks, not cable channels like CNN. According to Nielsen data,
Wednesday's debate ranked as the #10 cable program ever, behind 8 college
football games on ESPN and the Fox debate last month.
The Democratic debate viewership totals were not in at the time of the
writing of this commentary, but an October 14 CNN Money article has already
predicted that "preliminary Nielsen ratings indicate that CNN's Tuesday
night debate was the highest-rated Democratic debate ever."*
So the CNN and Fox cable news channels have enhanced their branding,
audience and potential advertising and campaign advertising revenue by
burnishing their images as "go-to" television political outlets - with the
full cooperation of both major political parties who negotiated details of
the debates with the two stations.
Overlooked by the corporate media, however, is that there was a profound
loser in the airing of the first political debates of the duopoly political
brands in the United States: democracy. By offering the debates on
television only to paid subscribers of television packages that included CNN
and Fox News, the most important political interaction between candidates
for president of the United States was, essentially, privatized.
Yes, as the The Motley Fool website estimates there are an approximately
robust 95 million pay-TV subscribers (although cable TV subscription is
falling, as The Motley Fool article details, due to competition from the
internet and other new technologies). However, the disturbing irony remains
of offering presidential debates that can only be viewed on television by
those who have paid for access to the channels.
Given the tremendous impact of television on molding perceptions in the
United States, this amounts to a capturing of a very large political space
of discourse and spectacle by for-profit entities. These companies limit TV
viewing of the debates to those who have paid for access in their cable
subscription packages.
It is a dangerous precedent that diminishes a vigorous democracy to require
a payment for watching presidential debates. In many ways, the cable
stations are promoting their "star" news personalities as much as offering a
forum that is billed as an exchange of policies and ideas. Forget for the
moment that analysis of the debate descends into an analysis of performance,
"gotcha moments," superficial interaction and personal style - not to
mention the vital role calculated sound bites play in post-debate coverage.
Yes, modern presidential debates are spectacles and often are more
superficial entertainment than an in-depth exchange of policy viewpoints. In
the long-term debates should be restructured to emphasize substance over
performance. Nonetheless, in an age when television remains our primary
national influencer of political perceptions in a presidential race
(although the internet is making increasing inroads into that terrain),
debates should be televised for free and be accessible in the public domain.
Despite CNN's bollixed offer of streaming the debate live on the internet
(which many people couldn't obtain for a variety of reasons, including
buffering problems), to watch it on an actual television you had to ante up.
Furthermore, toward the end of the debate, CNN even aired advertisements on
television.
Why shouldn't a presidential debate be conducted in a neutral setting (not
the tacky Wynn Casino, which received a windfall of publicity) with
questioners who are experts in their fields? Why shouldn't there be a pool
camera that makes the debate available to any station that wishes to air it?
No one should have to pay to become engaged in democracy.
*The Los Angeles Times reported later Wednesday that more than 15 million
people had watched the event on CNN on television, a record for a Democratic
debate.
Not to be reposted without the permission of Truthout.
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Wednesday, 14 October 2015 06:46
Privatizing Democracy: You Had to Pay to Watch Last Night's Debate on CNN on
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MARK KARLIN, EDITOR OF BUZZFLASH AT TRUTHOUT
Airing presidential debates only on pay-TV is another step toward
privatizing democracy. (Photo: Mohamed Nanabhay)
CNN aired the first Democratic debate last night, October 13. It also aired
two Republican debates (a "main event" and an "undercard" debate) on
September 16. On August 6, FOX held the first Republican debates (also
televised in separate lower and upper tier candidate - based on polls -
segments).
CNN bragged on its CNN Money site that "23 million [viewers] watched [the]
GOP debate, a record for CNN." Adweek reported that 24 million viewers
watched the first FOX GOP "main event" debate. As CNN Money stated in its
article,
Historically the most popular events on TV have been shown by broadcast
networks, not cable channels like CNN. According to Nielsen data,
Wednesday's debate ranked as the #10 cable program ever, behind 8 college
football games on ESPN and the Fox debate last month.
The Democratic debate viewership totals were not in at the time of the
writing of this commentary, but an October 14 CNN Money article has already
predicted that "preliminary Nielsen ratings indicate that CNN's Tuesday
night debate was the highest-rated Democratic debate ever."*
So the CNN and Fox cable news channels have enhanced their branding,
audience and potential advertising and campaign advertising revenue by
burnishing their images as "go-to" television political outlets - with the
full cooperation of both major political parties who negotiated details of
the debates with the two stations.
Overlooked by the corporate media, however, is that there was a profound
loser in the airing of the first political debates of the duopoly political
brands in the United States: democracy. By offering the debates on
television only to paid subscribers of television packages that included CNN
and Fox News, the most important political interaction between candidates
for president of the United States was, essentially, privatized.
Yes, as the The Motley Fool website estimates there are an approximately
robust 95 million pay-TV subscribers (although cable TV subscription is
falling, as The Motley Fool article details, due to competition from the
internet and other new technologies). However, the disturbing irony remains
of offering presidential debates that can only be viewed on television by
those who have paid for access to the channels.
Given the tremendous impact of television on molding perceptions in the
United States, this amounts to a capturing of a very large political space
of discourse and spectacle by for-profit entities. These companies limit TV
viewing of the debates to those who have paid for access in their cable
subscription packages.
It is a dangerous precedent that diminishes a vigorous democracy to require
a payment for watching presidential debates. In many ways, the cable
stations are promoting their "star" news personalities as much as offering a
forum that is billed as an exchange of policies and ideas. Forget for the
moment that analysis of the debate descends into an analysis of performance,
"gotcha moments," superficial interaction and personal style - not to
mention the vital role calculated sound bites play in post-debate coverage.
Yes, modern presidential debates are spectacles and often are more
superficial entertainment than an in-depth exchange of policy viewpoints. In
the long-term debates should be restructured to emphasize substance over
performance. Nonetheless, in an age when television remains our primary
national influencer of political perceptions in a presidential race
(although the internet is making increasing inroads into that terrain),
debates should be televised for free and be accessible in the public domain.
Despite CNN's bollixed offer of streaming the debate live on the internet
(which many people couldn't obtain for a variety of reasons, including
buffering problems), to watch it on an actual television you had to ante up.
Furthermore, toward the end of the debate, CNN even aired advertisements on
television.
Why shouldn't a presidential debate be conducted in a neutral setting (not
the tacky Wynn Casino, which received a windfall of publicity) with
questioners who are experts in their fields? Why shouldn't there be a pool
camera that makes the debate available to any station that wishes to air it?
No one should have to pay to become engaged in democracy.
*The Los Angeles Times reported later Wednesday that more than 15 million
people had watched the event on CNN on television, a record for a Democratic
debate.
Not to be reposted without the permission of Truthout.