• by September 22, 2002

Will Bob Dole Host? It may be sacrilege at this point, but I never liked George magazine. My problem was that George wanted to make celebrities out of politicians and make politicians out of celebrities. A big problem with today’s media is that we’re happy to blur those lines. Now comes the ultimate blur. Fox Network, if you haven’t heard, is reportedly planning a series called American Candidate. Would be politicians will compete for a chance to actually run for the presidency. Like it did with American Idol, Fox is hoping the American public hangs on every cliché and that the American news media latches onto the finalists. I think this program is way over the line. It has the potential to add static to the political process. Media should facilitate the political process. The American public will vote via the ratings. You, the planning/buying community will be involved in a decision to vote with advertising. Does this show represent the line you won’t cross?

Pop Goes The TV Ad: TNT tried it, now Court TV will too. Pop-up banner ads on the lower right of the screen will be common by the end of this year, at least on the major cable networks. Here’s the challenge though: Can you get money for the pop-up banners? Or are they value-added?

CBS, PBS, Same Difference: I believe CBS when they say they will air next year’s Master’s golf tournament without commercials. There will be no commercials because Augusta National, the club that controls all rights to the events, cut loose its sponsors because the club was afraid the sponsors would face pressure from the National Organization of Women. The NOW was upset because Augusta doesn’t allow women as members. I believe CBS intends to show the tournament commercial free. But I’ll bet there’s a fair amount of behind the scenes talking still in place. I’m also thinking that golf, low-key at its best, would be insufferable without commercials.