Since I was waiting for my new mattress I was working from home today, and practically salivating at being able to watch news considering the firing of FBI Director Comey last night. In order to appreciate both sides' spin, I bounced between CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News all day, but what really caught my eye were the commercials.
I know that most under 30s and probably most under 50s don't watch regular TV anymore, preferring to get their news online or in podcasts, much to the advertising world's chagrin. The demographics who do still watch live TV tend to be Republican and elderly, so naturally every channel has a portion of commercials for beauty products, food, and other regular consumer goods. But an obvious difference emerged rather quickly.
CNN had the most mainstream commercials, and while there were promos for their own shows, it wasn't overwhelming. Their content was fairly sensationalist, but centrist. MSNBC is a shameless self-promotor even during their commercial breaks, and unsurprisingly leans liberal on any political coverage, but I find it eminently watchable overall.
I will preface this next part with the caveat that I am an under 40 liberal Democrat living in New York City.
Fox News was biased to the right as expected, focusing on the White House official talking points of Comey not performing his job well in regards to the Clinton investigations. They did make salient observations on Anderson Cooper's eye roll rudeness, and that there should be a certain level of journalistic respect maintained on issues despite partisan differences. However, they were also equally divisive with some of their reactions to liberal viewpoints, so I'd call Fox a worthy news source as long as watchers are exposed to other channels as well.
Getting back to commercials, I've NEVER seen as many for gold coins, silver funds, and other dubious investments in my life! It's putting a giant gold bow on a pile of money and screaming "protect your nest egg" while trying to sell a huge pyramid scheme. The first tenet of advertising is "Know your audience," and man have they taken that to heart. Frankly, I was horrified to think that the majority of the audience are watching this day in and day out since they aren't working anymore, and are worried about their money lasting through retirement. In short, the perfect suckers.
In this administration, and this country, it's mostly a case of what is legal is what generates cash, so I don't see this being stopped anytime soon. But there should be limits on the veracity of what is allowed, the times something is shown in a given period, and stronger oversight other than who can pay for a promo.
Verdict: Fox, you are guilty of accepting these ads and playing them ad nauseam. MSNBC, check your ego a bit. And CNN, you can go on with the mainstream ads. FCC, you need to change the rules! It's probably for the best I'm usually working elsewhere during the day so I don't over-analyze these things on a regular basis.
I know that most under 30s and probably most under 50s don't watch regular TV anymore, preferring to get their news online or in podcasts, much to the advertising world's chagrin. The demographics who do still watch live TV tend to be Republican and elderly, so naturally every channel has a portion of commercials for beauty products, food, and other regular consumer goods. But an obvious difference emerged rather quickly.
CNN had the most mainstream commercials, and while there were promos for their own shows, it wasn't overwhelming. Their content was fairly sensationalist, but centrist. MSNBC is a shameless self-promotor even during their commercial breaks, and unsurprisingly leans liberal on any political coverage, but I find it eminently watchable overall.
I will preface this next part with the caveat that I am an under 40 liberal Democrat living in New York City.
Fox News was biased to the right as expected, focusing on the White House official talking points of Comey not performing his job well in regards to the Clinton investigations. They did make salient observations on Anderson Cooper's eye roll rudeness, and that there should be a certain level of journalistic respect maintained on issues despite partisan differences. However, they were also equally divisive with some of their reactions to liberal viewpoints, so I'd call Fox a worthy news source as long as watchers are exposed to other channels as well.
Getting back to commercials, I've NEVER seen as many for gold coins, silver funds, and other dubious investments in my life! It's putting a giant gold bow on a pile of money and screaming "protect your nest egg" while trying to sell a huge pyramid scheme. The first tenet of advertising is "Know your audience," and man have they taken that to heart. Frankly, I was horrified to think that the majority of the audience are watching this day in and day out since they aren't working anymore, and are worried about their money lasting through retirement. In short, the perfect suckers.
In this administration, and this country, it's mostly a case of what is legal is what generates cash, so I don't see this being stopped anytime soon. But there should be limits on the veracity of what is allowed, the times something is shown in a given period, and stronger oversight other than who can pay for a promo.
Verdict: Fox, you are guilty of accepting these ads and playing them ad nauseam. MSNBC, check your ego a bit. And CNN, you can go on with the mainstream ads. FCC, you need to change the rules! It's probably for the best I'm usually working elsewhere during the day so I don't over-analyze these things on a regular basis.
posted by AnonymousX at 6:13 PM
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