Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Introducing the "Snap Back" Award

I intend to periodically select individual(s) that I believe are worthy of recognition by bestowing upon them the "Snap Back" award. This dubiously named award recognizes any individual guest on radio or television who puts a radio or TV News host in his or her place.

Commercials control everything on television. So it has to be frustrating for guests on news shows who want to speak, but are limited in doing so because they're cut off by the announcer's need to "go to commercial." One question that I have is -- given that news is 24-hours now, do you mean to tell me that there's not enough time for a speaker to be invited for more than two minutes -- without selling Viagra or toothpaste? Better yet, does anybody feel the anxiety I suffer when the doomsday signature news theme pipes in slowly, waiting to devour the guest in silent mouthing of words? When that happens, I've already stopped listening to the substance of what's being said -- my concern is whether or not the guest will be allowed to finish his or her thought -- before the screen fades to black.

My Snap Back award is for the guest who is compelled to put the news host in his or her place, not because of personal hubris, but because the guest feels compelled to speak his or her mind! Can we not assume that the guest was asked to appear on the show to speak and not sit on the stage as a "potted plant" in backdrop?

Alternatively, I will also give Snap Back awards for any guest who tells his or her truth, without letting the host reinterpret what they've said; or for correcting the media's take on an issue.

I came up with this idea this evening while watching a guest (drum roll) tell David Shuster, a replacement host on Tucker Carlson's MSNBC (news?) show, that the media was not fair to candidate Dennis Kucinich during last night's Democratic Debate (drum roll louder), held in Philadelphia, because NBC's Tim Russert asked Kucinich a moronic question (music is coming on, now) about UFOs during a time (its crescendoing) when there are much more serious topics in need of spirited debate and discussion.

(Drum roll continues) I inaugurate the first inductee, former Congressman Tom Andrew (Maine), who is now the National Director of Win Without War, a non-partisan group that assails misreporting about this country's military debacles in Iraq (click the link to get their mission statement as I am certain to be misrepresenting what they do). I was glad that someone reprimanded the media for making a laughingstock out of the one unique candidate with the guts to speak his mind. I am a Kucinich supporter. Still.

So, kudos Mr. Andrews. I'll be visiting your site. Often. Perhaps you should have a school or classes for Fighting the Media on their own plastic turf, Mr. Andrews?

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