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OPINION: AMERICAN SPIRIT AWARDS
by Gary Grossman
Just as the TV set itself has changed, so have the delivery systems where we watch shows, the styles of programming, and the television business.
In truth, while I work hard to keep up with technology and embrace the ever-quickening pace of change, I am concerned about what has happened to the
business we loved and what's yet to come.
I'm concerned as a television producer, writer and director. Moreover, I'm concerned as a parent...and an American citizen. Trust me my concern is real.
I have concern that the television business as we know it -- no matter how successful for some -- is at risk for all. At risk because we have abandoned
precepts that balance entertainment and responsibility...because we have confused fiction with truth...because we have redefined the word "reality."
I'm distressed. I'm disheartened. And most of all, I'm disappointed in what's become of television and radio, press and journalism. And I can't believe
what it's done to the nation.
Is there any reason we should be surprised by the shouting matches we see at a town hall meeting after a generation has grown up on beat-downs that are passed off as
television talk shows? Where's the difference? The public now sees it all as completely acceptable behavior...common place.
Is there any reason we should be surprised by the threats of violence -- and violent attacks -- against our members of congress after the fights that are encouraged on
weekly reality shows -- encouraged in the name of entertain-ment...encouraged for the sake of ratings?
Are we too naive to think it doesn't influence behavior? It does. And deep down we have to know it.
Is there any reason we should be surprised that the country is so polarized when, on TV competition series, you win or you lose. But if you lose, you're not through.
You get the chance to bad mouth the winner, guaranteeing that your video will go viral.
Tila tequila and Fava flave... the health care and economy debates. They're becoming indistinguishable on TV. Loud, rude and angry.
We had the means to educate, entertain and inform an American citizenry; to move the country forward. For years the networks and local stations did that.
Washington safe-guarded the process through strict license renewal procedures aimed at assuring that stations were held accountable to the communities they served.
Coming up in this business as a rock DJ, I knew the rules. We broke for news on the hour and the half hour. That was at WHUC, a small 1,000-watt station in Hudson,
NY and at radio stations across the country. The result -- if you listened to radio -- even top 40 -- you heard the news.
In local television, we had to canvass viewers with community ascertainment surveys to base our public affairs record and create programming that would address the
needs and concerns of a diverse city. That was at WBZ-TV in Boston and every television station across the country. The result -- television shows that mattered locally.
The issues were the central focus, not boisterous personalities who considered themselves above the news...or worse yet, the news itself.
But that has all changed. Television. Prime time. Day time. All time. If the public owns the airwaves, as the Telecommunications Act of 1934 maintains, show me how
that's true today. Show me how the public is better served.
Of course, we can't reset the clock. But given everything that's changed in the last 25-years, is free speech better honored today given all the hate speech that's carried daily on
America's radio and TV? Is the media more responsive to the cities and towns they reach when the concept of local ownership is a thing of the past? Is prime time
television really better?
Traditionally, there's something unique, brave and wonderful about our voice. Not just the sound and the volume, but what we have to say to the world. Yet we --
the story tellers of the American experience -- are not the gate keepers of the media. Congress, the FCC, political parties, lobbyists and special interest groups are. And, in turn,
through legislation, too many of the monolithic broadcast and cable giants have become virtually uncontrolled, and maybe by now -- uncontrollable. And along the way the press
is less like the heralded fifth estate of old and more like a slum landlord, posting eviction notices on the time-honored basics of unbiased reporting and intelligent debate.
We let this happen through action and inaction... through the trust of others and through promises that were never kept.
No matter where you stand on political lightning rods like the old Fairness Doctrine, media consolidation, and internet neutrality, can we agree that as producers, writers,
directors, actors and artists we have all lost something precious? Can we agree as members of the viewing public, we miss it?
We create less worthwhile content in a 300 channel universe than we did on four channels. And, though we are no less creative, we have fewer creative opportunities.
As a result, American culture is really on the line. We are exporting the worst imaginable images to the rest of the world through television and we've compromised the meaning
of responsible broadcasting at home. We've shown how easy it is to trade civility, honesty and respect for 15-minutes of fame.
Reality TV. We all have guilty pleasures and watch a few shows. But even a little internet research, or a glance at "TV Guide" reveals that we have had more than 700 reality
shows in recent years. Multiplied by 8, 13, 26, or 100 episodes, and you'll get the true picture of television these days.
And what's real about most Reality TV? Very, very little. The shows are manipulated, assisted, time-shifted, pre-arranged and re-arranged, and still they're called
"unscripted." We're told there's no acting. Nothing could be further from the truth. The impact is profound and probably permanent. By now, too many viewers,
let alone network executives, have grown up on reality.
And what is the real reality we're left with? A marketplace where bookstores are quickly disappearing and publishing is in a tailspin...an America where public education,
public broadcasting and public radio are de-valued and de-funded, and where the network's financial bottom line can't seem to buck the trend.
This year was the anniversary of a seminal speech about television. Vital Speeches of the Day considers it one of the 25 speeches that changed the world. Number 22
in fact. It was delivered May 9, 1961 before the National Association of Broadcasters. The speaker -- FCC Chairman Newton Minow. Though he has since re-clarified his comments, they bear repeating today in the original context as reported. Chairman Minow stated:
When television is good, nothing -- not the theater, not the magazines or newspapers -- nothing is better. But when television is bad, nothing is
worse. I invite you to sit down in front of your television set when your station goes on the air and stay there without a book, magazine, newspaper, profit-and-loss s
heet or rating book to distract you -- and keep your eyes glued to that set until the station signs off. I can assure you that you will observe a vast wasteland.
That vast wasteland of 1961 included Bonanza, Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color, The DuPont Show of the Week, Ed Sullivan Show,
Jack Benny, Alcoa Premiere, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Dick Powell, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Red Skelton, The Steve Allen Show, Naked City, Perry Como,
David Brinkley's Journal, Armstrong Circle Theatre, The Untouchables, Dr. Kildare, Ben Casey, CBS Reports, 77 Sunset Strip, The Bell Telephone Hour, Rawhide,
Route 66, and Twilight Zone. That was the schedule that Newton Minow criticized. It looks pretty good from 50 years out.
For the most part, those remarkable shows, and many classics that followed, fiction and non-fiction alike, have given way to a schedule that we should be ashamed of. It
has transformed our industry, our businesses, our culture and our lives. And while there is good work done by good people, too much of TV today depicts the worst in us.
And the truth of the matter is -- it's not true.
Is it possible to bring the noise level down on today's TV programming so we can hear the heartbeat of the American Spirit?
Truth be told, there are dynamic portrayals of the American spirit in some observational documentary series. And a handful of television networks continue to devote time on
their schedules for programming that truly raises the high bar of excellence.
But generally speaking, many programmers set the bar so low, we trip over it when we, as creators of content, go in to pitch anything meaningful. The American
spirit is hardly visible through a cloud that obscures better content. That cloud is reality TV.
Nonetheless, The Caucus for Producers, Writers & Directors believes in the importance of trying...of communicating great stories about the American spirit -- created
by television's talented community; told through the most memorable performances imaginable -- enjoyed by viewers, valued in schools, and honored in government.
We still have it within us.
We didn't invent the American Spirit. And I sincerely hope we won't be the last to embrace it. But it's increasingly harder to find on television.
Gary Grossman is a multiple Emmy Award winning television producer. As co-owner of Weller/Grossman Productions and a successful new branded entertainment marketing and television production company, World Media Strategies,
he has produced more than 9,000 television shows for 36 networks. He is author of two political thrillers, "Executive Actions" and "Executive Treason" and two non-fiction
books that explore television history. He has served as chair of the Government Affairs Committee for The Caucus for Producers, Writers & Directors, and is a trustee of Emerson College, and a member of the Thriller Writers Association of America.
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