Category: media

Politics And Oscar’s Best Picture?

Why were Fahrenheit 911 and “The Passion of the Christ” left off Oscar’s Best Picture list? “As with almost everything to do with both of these pictures, few can agree about why they were left out. While arcane academy rules and the vagaries of Oscar campaigns seem to have worked against Moore and Gibson, some insiders argue that Oscar balloting is a relatively straightforward meritocracy — the community simply liked other pictures better. Others point to a lingering distaste among some voters for Mel Gibson’s public pronouncements during the film’s release publicity campaign.”

How Podcasting Will Change Radio

“Radio executives can afford to write off podcasters now because there just aren’t enough listeners to make it a worthwhile. But when 20,000 “high-value demographic” listeners regularly tune into a show, that show will attract advertisers. And advertisers will attract radio stations. It’s a trend I call “program backdooring” — where the show will develop enough of an audience to make a ‘real’ radio station take notice.”

Are The Oscars Losing Their Allure?

“The glaring problem facing the Oscars is that when you have too many contests, one on top of the other, they begin to cancel each other out. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which hands out the statues, has tried to ease the problem by shortening the season in the last couple of years, moving its ceremony to late February from a customary slot in late March. But relentless campaigning still yields grueling political elections without much surprise. A collective yawn has begun to rise. A cover story in this week’s Variety traces the long-term decline in the television ratings of all awards shows, including the Oscars. The consensus is that the format desperately needs overhaul.”

FCC Crackdown Confuses Broadcasters

American broadcasters are complaining that the FCC’s crackdown on content has left them unclear about what will be deemed acceptable and what will not. But the pressure group Parents Television Council is unsympathetic: “They’re lucky they got away with as much as they did. It reminds me of a person who has been speeding as much as they wanted and now they’re getting tickets.”

Powell’s Failed FCC Reign

How will Michael Powell’s term heading the FCC be remembered? “As chairman of the F.C.C., one of the government’s most important regulatory bodies, Mr. Powell should have been an advocate for reasonable regulations that protect consumers and promote competition. Instead, he brought to his position an extreme commitment to deregulation that seemed to serve big business’s interests most of all.”