• by John Gaffney , June 13, 2002

Overregulation Riffs: I have never pretended to understand the goings-on in Washington. I like what Sting sang about politicians: “They look like game show hosts to me.” They act a lot like game show hosts, too. And I’m more concerned than ever that these hosts, for some reasons, are very far away from asking the industry to “come on down.” Congress and various Beltway agencies are whipping the ad industry on two critical topics. At the risk of sounding like Bob Dole, I want to know “where’s the outrage.” The FTC is trying to make cigarettes ads (what’s left of them) responsible for everything from lung cancer to juvenile delinquency. I have always felt that the problem is about smoking, not ads for smoking. Yes, we should be ethical about keeping smoking ads away from kids. But the legal accountability issue is going too far. And on Capitol Hill, Senators are considering an ignorant proposal to restrict pharmaceutical companies from advertising. If the drug companies had to cut back on ads, some politicians seem to be saying, the drug industry would roll back prices. Please. If the car industry had to stop advertising would they roll back sticker prices? Should the oil companies be forced to stop advertising so they can roll back prices? Yeah, right. Naïve questions. But not as naïve as the business acumen of a politician that ties advertising directly to pricing issues. Washington needs to balance economic growth concerns with business ethics concerns. They should focus on stopping terrorism and growing the economy. Restricting advertising in any category is not a priority for anyone right now, in my opinion........

Rolling Stone Riffs: I have confidence that Ed Needham will produce a new, more relevant Rolling Stone. It will be about pop culture. It will forever leave behind the serious look at rock ‘n roll and the attitude, philosophy and culture that went with it. It will no longer pretend to address the heroes of the sixties and the music that matters to the 35-plus audience. I also fervently believe there’s a business opportunity for someone to cover rock ‘n roll and the attitude, philosophy and culture that went with it, as well as the music that matters to the 35-plus audience........

Trade Group Riffs: Got some truly constructive feedback from some readers who explained the reasons why the Newspaper Association of America is supporting the repeal of the estate tax. Thanks for that. I happen to think the NAA is an effective and even outstanding trade group, 99 percent of the time. I still don’t think it should have made a political issue such a high priority at this time.