Can Barack Obama Bail Out the Media By Getting Inaugurated?
As the New York Times reports—and the constant stream of network-news PR emails hitting my inbox attest—TV is going all out to provide coverage of Barack Obama's inauguration on Jan. 20.
HBO will carry a free inaugural celebration. CNN will be at the Newseum. MSNBC will be on the Mall. And Fox News will be broadcasting from a bar filled with increasingly surly, drunk Republicans. (Kidding. Fox had not yet commented on its Jan. 20 plans.) Nick, BET and MTV will be there.
The reasons? Hope, Change, Historic, blah blah blah. But also: for the media, in this economy, Obama's pretty much all we got right now. He runs for President and cable ratings skyrocket. He gets elected, and on Nov. 5, the public quaintly rushes out to buy physical newspapers. He moves merch from framed magazine covers to commemorative DVDs. Essentially, we need you to watch wall-to-wall Inauguration coverage on Jan. 20, then go out Jan. 21 and buy every product by every advertiser who buys time on the broadcast. Otherwise, the whole house of cards comes down.
Oh, if only he could be sworn in on a Thursday, in primetime! Damn constitution!
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1
I'm not up on the memes, but is there a term for what's going on with plastering Obama on every surface possible? It can't be Obameconomy, because that's already taken with the soon-to-be-president's actual economic policies. Any ideas?
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2
You mean no one from the Media except TIME's Amy Sullivan will be covering Reverend Wright? I thought he was the big story on 1/20/09.
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3
More proof that journalists like yourself are whores. You'd let Obama hump your mouth if there was a ratings boost to it.
- poniewozik Loved the season. Mrs Tuned In wd have put u on the main list RT @boredtodeath Thank u for incl us in Time's Top 10. We'll take hon mention. - 7 hours ago
- poniewozik @carr2n Virgin is the best, LAX-JFK - 7 hours ago
- poniewozik Did NPR interview abt multiscreen multitasking. After, automatically reached for iPhone in pocket. Like don draper wd have for cigarettes. - 8 hours ago
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