Yasser Arafat is STILL dead! I like you Mel, but you're completely wrong on this one. The guy not only ignored standard network policy, he also ignored the explicit instructions specifically given on what to do when Arafat died. And he pissed off a lot of a customers, to boot. That's nil-3 for the producer. Case closed.
Re: Yasser Arafat is STILL dead! tcmahoney I like you Mel, but you're completely wrong on this one. The guy not only ignored standard network policy, .. he also ignored the explicit instructions specifically given on what to do when Arafat died. ah, the tricky part. i guess we're not going to come to a consensus in this matter, but couldn't we be talking about political interference in journalism here? And he pissed off a lot of a customers, to boot. CSI.. That's nil-3 for the producer. Case closed. home win, i'd say cheers, cocu
Re: Yasser Arafat is STILL dead! Wrong, cocu. First of all, the quote button is your friend. Get to know it and use it. Read Mel's link. The executives at CBS knew it was big news, but they also knew it wasn't as dramatic as, say, a terrorist attack or a 7.5 earthquake hitting California. They not only had a general procedure (contact a senior executive before interrupting broadcasting), but a specific procedure relating to Arafat's illness and impending death. The producer ignored both of those directives. If I screw up like that in my job, I get fired. Why is that so hard to understand? And how is interrupting or not interrupting CSI New York a political decision? I hate that our media has become a GOP tool, but that doesn't apply in this case. Unless you can point to a surge of millions of Americans suddenly becoming pro-Palestinian because their show was interrupted.
Re: Yasser Arafat is STILL dead! Oh no you're right; I'm not arguing that; what I'm laughing at are two things: (1) That we have networks that are so corporatized that this is the priority (2) That I'm pretty sure that - and maybe I'm wrong - very few people called up and wanted to take food out of a man's mouth over this. In the post-Janet Super Bowl era, though, maybe we want our CSI uncut, our Private Ryan re-cast in a nice-nice D-Day, and nothing on television ever criticizing the Reagans or showing interracial relationships among starlets and gridiron stars. Michael Powell For Lifetime FCC Chairmanship! Get in line behind me!
Re: Yasser Arafat is STILL dead! Phooey. I like what blogger Roger Ailes had to say about Michael Powell: "[Colin Powell's] commitment to affirmative action extended only as far as getting his otherwise unemployable son, Michael, a patronage job as America's tit monitor." Now that's a great line. Oh, and to get back on topic, Yasser Arafat is still dead.
Re: Yasser Arafat is STILL dead! How do you know his dead? Maybe he's relaxing in Rancho Recardo in the French Reviera! he has enough cash to fake his own death
Re: Yasser Arafat is STILL dead! i actually misunderstood your reply at first and have been ranting to myself and the monitor about the importance of the conflict for the last ten minutes or so, all of which i have now deleted. the point i misunderstood was they did get it's big news, it just wasn't as DRAMATIC as in morbid viewing pleasure for CSI target group. not dramatic enough, stay comfortably seated in your comfy couch and have another beer - wait a minute, i may be losing my point here, but i'll continue nonetheless. it's good journalism that recognizes the historical significance of the moment and reacts to it. in my view, it's a political downplay of the significance of a prominent politician to keep the news in a scroll-below. come to think of it, it's actually less sensationalist. o-oh, dejà-vu of a losing point. let's just say it's a veritable tool to do so and could be used in such a way. ahm, just read on. i guess the real tragedy of it all is the maybe not so few passionate CSI viewers jumping up from the couch in agony, screaming something to the likes of, "so who's he anyway and why is his death so important to interrupt my favourite program?" looking back, not alot of points made. "this post is brought to you previewed and correctly quoted for your maximum viewing pleasure"
Now, about Arafat, frankly I hoped for more. Yes he was a terrorist, but in 1994, I was willing to forget that. I was hoping that he could have been the one to persue peace. I mean, Begin was a terrorist. The British had a death warrant out on him at one time. Yet he was able to make peace with Egypt. I had hoped that Arafat would have been the Palestinian Michael Collins -- the terrorist who puts a stop to terror and leads his nation to peace. Collins realized that terrorism was not an end but only a tactic. Collins realized that terrorism continued would lead to disaster for his people. So Collins decided to stop. Arafat never made that decision. I believe that Arafat was afraid that the forces he unleashed would in the end be turned against him, in the same way that Collins met his end by an Irish bullet, not a British noose. And also, people might start to ask where all the US/EU/Arab aid money went, and how Mrs. Arafat was able to live such a lavish lifestyle in Paris. My hope is with Arafat gone, and Sharon soon to retire, a new generation of leaders might emerge.