Tag Archives | Television

Sid Vicious Does A New York Cable TV Call-In Show

By on December 31, 2012 in News 0

During the 1970s, if you were bored you could ring your local cable variety show to speak to “the punk of your choice” about authenticity and other problems. Via Open Culture:

Late-seventies broadcast from The Efrom Allen Show on New York cable television finds the shirtless Vicious sitting on a panel with his girlfriend Nancy Spungen, Stiv Bators of the Dead Boys, and Cynthia Ross of the B Girls. “THAT’S SID VICIOUS ON YOUR SCREENS, FOLKS,” scrolling text tells the viewers. “IS SID VICIOUS? WHO CARES? CALL 473-5386 TO SPEAK TO THE PUNK OF YOUR CHOICE.”

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Deporting Piers Morgan

By on December 26, 2012 in News 64

There are plenty of stories about the WhiteHouse.gov petition to have Piers Morgan deported (66,000+ at latest count as I write), but none that I have seen discusses whether or not the United States government could deport the television personality just for making on-air remarks that gun-loving Americans deem unpatriotic (or worse). Any suggestions as to legal theories for possible grounds for kicking our poor old Piers? For those of you not yet familiar with the controversy, here’s some video of his comments followed by Politico‘s report:

CNN anchor Piers Morgan isn’t benefiting from much Christmas cheer, at least according to one measure: The number of signers on a petition urging the White House to deport Morgan has skyrocketed by late Tuesday afternoon to nearly 66,000 names…

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Verizon Files Patent For Cable Box That Watches You As You Watch Television

By on December 11, 2012 in News 22

Another reason not to own a TV, via Yahoo! News:

A Verizon patent idea envisions spying on TV viewers for the sake of serving up related ads. For instance, a couple snuggling in front of the TV could end up getting bombarded by commercials for romantic vacations, flowers or even birth control. The system could also detect a person’s mood or identify objects such as pets, soft drink cans or a bag of chips in a person’s hand, and room decorations or furniture.

Such a patent idea would turn TV set-top boxes into spy boxes with sensors for both seeing and hearing the activity in front of the TV. Many TV viewers already own such set-top boxes to access pay-per-view services, digital video recordings and Internet streaming.

The patent filing even suggests the tracking system communicating with whatever smartphone or tablet a TV viewer might happen to have in his or her hands.

… Read the rest

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Americans Love Torture and the Idea of Nuclear War Because the TV Tells Them To

By on October 6, 2012 in News 14

Picture: wizardryo (PD)

James writes at My Bloggity Blog:

In a shocking new poll it was revealed that American’s are more like 24’s Jack Bauer than ever before in their mindset about torture and ways to eliminate terrorists. This poll which was conducted for Foreign Policy revealed that American’s are much more in favor of torture and specific torture methods than they were during the Bush administration which put nearly all of these measures into place and when these torture methods were legal. The kicker is that American’s are also increasingly more in favor of using nuclear weapons to eradicate terrorists regardless of the harmful effects to the environment. It should also be noted that most terrorists don’t even congregate in large enough numbers to justify even a 2,000lb bomb never mind a nuclear bomb.

A quarter of all Americans are willing to use nuclear weapons to kill terrorists.

… Read the rest

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Beheaded George W. Bush on HBO’s ‘Game of Thrones’

By on June 14, 2012 in News 16

Via WFLA 540 AM:

In the DVD release for HBO’s Game of Thrones, Episode 10, showrunners Dave Benioff and D.B. Weiss admit to using the severed head of former president George W. Bush in the scene below. The show-runners statement follows:

“The last head on the left is George Bush. George Bush’s head appears in a couple of beheading scenes. It’s not a choice, it’s not a political statement. We just had to use whatever head we had lying around.” — Dave Benioff & D.B. Weiss

You can see the footage at the 1:10 mark in this video:

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Humans Will Live On Mars In 2023

By on June 5, 2012 in News 22

Guess how they’ll get there? Via a reality television event that will fund the whole project. Seriously, that’s what the promoters are claiming and the story has spread far and wide. From the official Mars One site:

Mars One’s mission objective

Mars One plans to establish the first human settlement on Mars by April 2023. The first crew of four astronauts emigrate to their new planet from Earth, a journey that takes seven months. A new team will join the settlement every two years. By 2033 there will be over twenty people living, working and flourishing on Mars, their new home.

The vision of Mars One

A manned mission to Mars is one of the most exciting, inspiring and ambitious adventures that mankind can take on. We see this as a journey that belongs to us all, and it is for this reason that we will make every step one that we take together. This will also be our way to finance the mission: the mission to Mars will be the biggest media event ever!

The entire world will be able to watch and help with decisions as the teams of settlers are selected, follow their extensive training and preparation…

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We Need A Media War On All Fronts

By on May 21, 2012 in News 1

Radionette TV SetWhen do you feel like you are over the hill?

When you get letters like this one from Jose Hevia after writing an op-ed featuring an essay from your recent book Blogothon, recounting your experiences as a network TV insider turned independent media outsider. The essay offered a case study of how the nominally non-commercial network, PBS, turned its back on a human rights TV series I co-produced. It is about the challenges progressives face in offering a counter-narrative to parochial mainstream thinking.

My critical correspondent wondered what I was whining about:

Complaining that the old media is getting more and more monopolized is … Who cares about old media? … Nobody is my inner circle under 30 watches old media any more.

Bye.

Take that, old man. Ha, ha, ha.

I am not sure his view is totally true, what with Comedy Central, movie channels galore and unlimited sports coverage.… Read the rest

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The Axis of Indifference In The Media World

By on May 15, 2012 in News 0

BlogothonThe following is an excerpt from my new book Blogothon. It was originally given as a speech to a media conference and has been updated slightly.

Foreign correspondents have always been revered within journalism. That’s why covering Iraq or other wars are assignments so many reporters cultivate. Many see them as a ticket up the media pecking order.

Being “under fire” promise excitement, danger and—let’s face it, on TV —precious “face time.” Going overseas is often a route to more visibility and  better jobs at home on the strength of your “bravery.” War reporting can be the macho oxygen of ambition.

Just as covering a turbulent world is attractive in the ranks, up in the suites of media power  “foreign news” is, according to Michael Wolff, a “nostalgist’s beat” said to turn  off American audiences and tune them out. That’s why decision-makers shutter bureaus and redefine news of the world as news of American power in the world.  (They also realize financial savings by doing so, of course.)

In an age of globalization, as global news grows more important, it is covered less.… Read the rest

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Pro-Marijuana TV Advertisements Run In Colorado

By on May 11, 2012 in News 9

This coming fall, Colorado residents will vote on whether to legalize possession and cultivation of marijuana statewide, via the Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act. The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol is running a series of television ads urging legalization — their first spot, in honor of Mother’s Day, encourages young adults to let their parents know that they prefer pot:

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On Why We Love Sociopaths

By on April 20, 2012 in News 14

340x_screen_shot_2010-11-03_at_6.28.33_pmWhat does the ascendance of the sociopath as a pop culture figure mean? The New Inquiry on our ever-growing fascination with “disconnected” characters:

My greatest regret is that I’m not a sociopath. I suspect I’m not alone. I have written before that we live in the age of awkwardness, a strong case could be made that we live in the age of the sociopath. They are dominant figures on television, for example, and within essentially every television genre. Cartoon shows have been fascinated by sociopathic fathers (with varying degrees of sanity) ever since the writers of The Simpsons realized that Homer was a better central character than Bart. On the other end of the spectrum, the flagships of high-brow cable drama have almost all been sociopaths of varying stripes: the mafioso Tony Soprano of The Sopranos, the gangsters Stringer Bell and Marlo of The Wire, the seductive imposter Don Draper of Mad Men, and even the serial-killer title character of Dexter.

… Read the rest

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