The lack of media coverage over the Paralympics induced NPR to comment why they received so little attention compared to the Olympics. One caller blamed corporations, not the lack of demand. Corporations set the agenda and since they don't sponsor these games, they don't show them even though we want to see them.
If this was true, if we really are empty vessels to be filled, then why don't companies sponsor the Paralympics and then cover it? We'd watch something we want to watch and they'd get more airtime for sponsors. This doesn't happen because what matters most is viewership. This is why if a basketball game runs over, it cuts into sitcoms after it. This is why most shows get canceled after the first season. This is why we have any sort of entertainment at all and not corporations force-feeding us an endless stream of ads.
This caller likely replaced their preferences for the desires of everyone else. Just because your preference isn't popular doesn't mean it's because of some secret cabal is holding you and your brethren back. Maybe you just like unpopular stuff.
Monday, September 15, 2008
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2 comments:
This reminds me of the discussions about women's pro basketball. WNBA teams can't get the number of fans that the NBA can. But they still demand "equal" treatment: extra large sports facilities (that they can't fill), extra large pay checks (that no one's willing to pay), etc.
Sometimes it feels as though all we get for "entertainment" is corporations force-feeding us ads. I realize it's not actually the case, but sure seems that way on occasion. I solve this by not watching TV.
I agree about the Paralympics and WNBA but that logic can't be applied universally; just because the Smithsonian is less popular than baseball doesn't mean it shouldn't be funded, or that it shouldn't have the fabulous facilities it does have.
Some of us are so happy that there are good folks out there keeping the 'unpopular' arts alive, so we aren't forced to like what everyone else does...or go without.
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