Monday, April 25, 2011

This is America: Why is our Television Trending Fascist?

I never watched an entire episode of ONE LIFE TO LIVE or ALL MY CHILDREN in my entire life. But after a week of analysis and outcry following the cancellations, I'm angry. And I think this is a Network moment. “I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore.” Here's why:

They didn't do their homework.

From the beginning, the argument that there weren't enough viewers to be profitable didn't pass the smell test. After massive community outcry and mobilization, it's just plain as day that there is, in fact, an audience out there. A passionate, educated, diverse, and very loyal audience. Is it possible that Corporate missed this? If so, it might be because they glanced at the broadcast Nielsens and called it a day.

But this is 2011—people watch continuing dramas on the Internet, they record them, they share them on their smart phones, in their dorms, at their parents' or friends' homes... they have ALL MY CHILDREN playing at my barbershop, for goodness sake. My barbershop is not a Nielsen family! If executives in their ivory towers are making rash decisions based on faulty intel, your treasured TV show may be the next to go. Buy what's even more frustrating is that I get the sense it might be possible they're just not all that interested in the numbers—the facts--to begin with. It’s not supposed to work that way.

The elitist cronies are in, the people's favorites are out.

Mario Batali owns restaurants (yes, more than one!) in Manhattan (of all places) that charge thirty dollars for a pork chop. Seriously. Tim Gunn, another Manhattanite, is such a snob it can be hard to take him seriously. He had this to say about Meryl Streep—Meryl Streep! "I would love to have a chat with Meryl Streep about the semiotics of clothes... I think she believes she's too smart for fashion.” What does that even mean?

These two men are successful and, quite possibly, hard workers with kind personalities. But they are displacing classic stories about families dealing with real problems in the real America. It makes me wonder what's next. Will Sesame Street be canceled to make room for a child-rearing themed talk show hosted by Angelina Jolie?

People lost their jobs for no good reason.

What makes me the most mad is the suits' insouciant, almost flippant attitude when it comes to protecting American jobs. Hey guys, haven’t you heard? “It's the economy, stupid,” And such little effort is being made to help keep more people employed. By their own admission, ABC will be putting hundreds of Americans out of work. The new shows will employ far, far fewer support staff and essentially no writers or actors. Batali and Gunn, of course, will make out like robber-barons.

Companies around the world understand that the right way to do business in the USA--in these difficult times of stubbornly high unemployment—is to create jobs. Just today, the Karsan corporation—a Turkish company!--promised to open up a plant in Brooklyn and employ 800 New Yorkers if it wins the bid to manufacture city taxi cabs. Is it possible that ABC parent company Disney, which thinks itself one of the most patriotic of American multinationals, doesn't get it? Or is it possible they just don't care?

This is bigger then ONE LIFE TO LIVE or ALL MY CHILDREN.

I'm not okay with corporate executives bulldozing programs that are beloved by millions of ordinary citizens, just in order to clear the way to expand the media empires of a couple of their friends. That's not how American capitalism is supposed to work, and that's not how Television is supposed to work. We need to take back our TV!

Kevin Mulcahy Jr. is a staff contributor at welovesoaps.com writing theater reviews and other in-depth features.

43 comments:

  1. I do believe TV is trending fascist even more so in the last decade because more and more of the programming is all about dictating to people on how they should live and work. There are a lot of so-called experts on life and living, and they're all out there ruining people's lives instead of making it better. Sorry but I tend to agree with this headline!

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  2. This is one of the most BRILLIANT posts I have seen amongst the anger and grief of the cancellations. Well done!!!

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  3. I believe it's more of a Tyranny than Fascism .
    Plato and Aristotle define a tyrant as, "one who rules without law, looks to his own advantage rather than that of his subjects, and uses extreme and cruel tactics -- against his own people as well as others"
    The only difference is that ABC has a tyrant of their own in disney .

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  4. Your so right. It's not really about what the viewers want, it's about what puts more money in the networks pockets. They are stuffing reality shows down our throats, because it takes no talent to do reality so they are cheap to produce! This hopefully opens eyes to a very outdated rating system. Something has to change or we will continue to lose beloved shows.

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  5. I believe it is also discrimination. Everybody over 50 should rise up and protest along with all of the soap fans. They are not even counted! That is total age discrimination. If anyone knows a savvy lawyer out there this is a made to order class action discrimination suit!

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  6. Awesome post!! Thank you for sharing our pain even though you havent personally watched these soaps! They are apart of our lives, and have been apart of my entire life. It is just a sad sad moment to hear our soaps, characters we know and love, and we have counted on to be there every day for so long! I hope your post makes it around!!!

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  7. *wont be there any more...sorry I cant even think straight hearing GH is cancelled LOL

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  8. This is an extremely well-written article. Thank you so much for presenting these facts to the public. This is not just about soap fans or the daytime genre. It is about GREED! ABC Disney does not care about the ratings or their viewers or their hundreds of employees soon to be out of work. They care about the very top dogs in the corporation making as much money as possible. But they underestimated the loyalty and intelligence of the daytime audience. We want quality scripted drama and we will NOT be tuning in for yet another cheaply produced reality show!

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  9. no medicare, no social security. no soaps. old age will be spent eating catfood staring at a graffiti wall, waiting for the grimreaper to come. do you think the ebenezer koch bros. will finally be happy then??

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  10. I agree with the author and other commentors. It is all about GREED - one of the seven deadly sins BTW. What is so sad is that ABC/Disney will cancel these shows, throw numerous people out of work after uprooting them from NY to LA, put on ridiculous replacements shows and will be dumbfounded when the ratings don't magically appear. None of the loyal daytime drama viewers will watch the new trash. We will all be over at CBS or NBC watching the few dramas remaining on TV. Thanks for a brilliant, inspiring article. Keep up the good work - we are behind you 100%!

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  11. Well, many tyrants have been overthrown, and the death knoll of ABC is ringing. Most of the people on Facebook have been sounding out, what about the people NOT on FB? And Protest ABC Across America is on FB. Are there any protests from people not on FB?

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  12. What a bunch of CRAP. Soaps = dying art. Let them go out to pasture. You are delusional if you think these clunkers are making the network any money.

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  13. Fascism? That's an outrageous and not intellectually supported accusation.

    It's capitalism and short sighted, creatively barren execs know how to monetize reality shows easier than soaps.

    I love soaps but really, I can't remember the last time it was really about people struggling with problems that we all face. Or if they did, they were doing so in a restaurant that looked like they were serving 30 dollar steaks.

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  14. AbC/Disney will get exactly what they deserve; Crickets. Just because a pile of crap (aka 'realityshows') is free, doesn't mean people actually would like to consume it. These used to be the "PUBLIC airwaves"...We, the public would lease them to a 'broadcast company' who would in turn broadcast something viewers wanted to see, then they would sell ad time to manufacturing companies who wanted to sell something. That is what made the Soaps. Remember, they sold soap. It was a win/win for everyone for around 40+ yrs. In fact, they started on RADIO before people even had TV's in their homes. It works. Now, Herr Frons thinks he has a better scheme; 'let me put my buddies on the tv and people stuck at home will be FORCED to watch' (like no-one has a remote control). They don't even care really, that 'Spew' or 'Bite Me' or whatever, and dim gunn's show will be canceled within a yr. It is not about the numbers it is an ill-advised attempt at social engineering. Marginalizing seniors, home-makers, un-employed, night-shifters, students, etc. Afterall, 'you should be down in the mines working during the day, not at home watching tv'. In addition to remote controls, they apparently do not know we have dvr's as well. 'Fascism' IS 'Corporatism', the author is correct in his assessment, anyone who says otherwise is either lying to you to keep you calm like with cattle on the way to the slaughterhouse, or they are just STUPID.

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  15. i wonder how much money the "clunker" brian frons has MADE for the network (subtracting his bloated salary of course)..taking into account the very recent BOYCOTT he inspired. i wonder how long the other corporate suits will subsidize him and his passe show "ideas". when this episode is all over we will see which entity had better numbers, our beloved Soaps or the abominable mr frons.

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  16. DO Something; http://www.abcnetworksucks.com/

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  17. Love you're article...so many ppl are going to be out of a job..2.5 million watch All My Children and OLTL so I have no idea where Mr Frons gets his numbers...just how many viewers is enough for a program to be safe...

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  18. Great comments. Yes we are deeply mislead by the "dummy box" that we gather around every evening.
    I to have been watching since a kid.
    TV has gotten so bad that I do not even subscribe to cable or dish.
    We need to stick together as a Country and stop watching TV if this is how it is going to be. When we were young our parents changed politics by standing together. Is there a page or petition that we can sign for ABC?

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  19. Even facebook tells you how to play a game. Welcome to fascist America. Home of greed.

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  20. Thank you your article is very inspiring . Please keep posting anything and everything you can to think of to help save all my children and one life to live . I have a suggestion for the people who don't own computers , that can not vote online or voice their opinion . Ask the neighbor ask a friend, or go to the public library , except they don't own a computer so they probably won't get this message anyone that could help print this message in the newspaper or on a television commercial even by radio, everyone should have a chance to vote . If everyone gets a chance to vote and voice their opinion , our soaps are counting on EVERYONE'S votes this may be our only chance . Who ever you are where ever you are now must be the time to take a stand and vote we all must be heard no matter what. All Nations ,all States , all Countries, Worldwide we are the only ones that can save all of the soaps All My Children One Life To Live and yes even General Hospital . At This Point nothing is safe .These soap operas have been on now 41 YEARS let's stand up let's all stand up ask somebody for help if you need to borrow a computer if you need a ride we must all take a stand all counted voats don't add up unless everyone is counted and everyone votes .Send letters, make phone calls .This is our time let's all make it count google Brian Frons sign the petition to fire him it's almost at 12,000 signatures call Disney call abc anything and everything .What ever We can do must be done now Disney and abc's telephone number is ###### 1-818-460-7477 call call call call morning & call noon & call night we have been watching abc morning noon and night for over 41 years so , What ever happened to being loyal we have been here now 41 years that's pretty loyal. Change this decision prove that abc and Disney is loyal .if it comes down to switching channels millions and millions of Viewers will be gone never to watch any disney or abc again don't take the jobs don't take the soaps hear us loud and clear we need a are soaps NOTHING CAN REPLACE all my children One life to live and general hospital . Thank You from the O'Reilly family in Tucson Arizona .

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  21. I loved your article. Please keep posting anything and everything you can to think of to help save all my children and one life to live. Who ever you are where ever you are now must be the time to take a stand and vote we all must be heard no matter what in the whole world. We are the only ones that can save all of the soaps All My Children One Life to Live and yes even General Hospital. These soap operas have been on now 41 YEARS let's stands up and do our best to keep our Soaps on. Send letters and make phone calls. This is our time let's all make it count Google Brian Frons sign the petition to fire him it's almost at 12,000 signatures call Disney call ABC anything and everything .What ever We can do must be done now Disney and ABC’s telephone number is Number 1-818-460-7477. Please call morning, call noon & call night we have been watching ABC morning noon and night for over 41 years so , What ever happened to being loyal we have been here now 41 years that's pretty loyal. Change this decision prove that ABC and Disney is loyal. If it comes down to switching channels millions and millions of Viewers will be gone never to watch any Disney or ABC again don't take the jobs don't take the soaps hear us loud and clear we need a are soaps NOTHING CAN REPLACE all my children One life to live and general hospital. Please help us find a way of ratings. Do not do the Age thing! Do it by how many viewers that watch. New way to rate show these days.

    Thank You from the Hoffman’s family in Phoenix, Arizona.

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  22. I have been a loyal fan of all my children since the beginning. I hav eloved this show. and all the actors and actresses. Don't you think Disney should really be ashamed of theirselves when they made them move to Ca. to cut costs. Then asking the actors and actresses to take cuts in pay [which they did willingly to save amc and then cancel the show. We the fans will be making drastic changes ourselves if they cancel our show. We will cancel our subscriptions to all the magazines about our soaps. Never go to the Disney theme parks again nor watch any daytime abc programs again. You know the old saying sh-- rolls down hill.? Is Disney ready for that.??? [email protected]

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  23. Great post...I think you are correct--it is about giving their famous cronies TV shows whether anyone wants to watch them or not. It is not about the "bottom line" it is about people skimming off the top.

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  24. EXCELLENT article, so well-written. Thank you for saying exactly what we soap fans have been saying! Perhaps if people hear it from a self-declared "non-soap fan" people can start to hear US and what we have been saying for the last few weeks! This horrible decision goes beyond killing off the soap genre. It can and will, as a long-term effect, give executives the power to ultimately kill off scripted programming altogether. Who wants that?!
    FYI television execs: A cheap show isn't good, & a good show isn't cheap!

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  25. Awesome article, I couldn't agree more. Nielson ratings are without a doubt flawed. There has to be a better way to determine viewership ~ if they even care!! Thanks for saying what so many of us are thinking. It would be nice if someone (ABC/Disney) were listening!!

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  26. I agree with this post! I said from the beginning that the Nielsen rating system has absolutely no idea who is watching what anymore...I wish someone had taken the time to TRY to get true numbers before killing over 80 years worth of work, dedication and fan devotion just willy nilly. This is just dumb dumb dumb....and I am mad mad mad.

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  27. Kim Comeau GoodwinMay 2, 2011 at 1:32 PM

    This is just the most perfect article. Thank you for saying exactly how we all feel.. It is how we all feel....

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  28. LOVE IT LOVE LOVE IT!!! Did I mention that I love it. I am 25 and all my friends watch it but not at home on their TV. They watch it on their laptops and most don't even bother with cable too busy with work, school, friends and for them to think The Chew and The Revolution are targeting younger people I think someone lost a few brain cells. No young person is going to want to watch some large dirty man talk about food. Are you kidding me? That is a stab in the back to replace our shows that some have watched all of their lives for something called The Chew. What an insult to all the employees, cast and crew who worked so hard for so many years to get kicked down with deception and corporate greed. As Brian Frons and Anne Sweeney and of course Disney are sitting in their 5,000 to 10,000 million dollar mansions saying you can't get blood from a stone. I lost all respect for ABC and no longer watch anything but my soaps and the channel changes. I know for me it doesn't matter I'm not a neilson box owner but hundreds of thousands of us have informed sponors we have shut off our tv's and not watching their ads nor buying their products regardless of Neilson's 25,000 boxes in the entire US. Something is wrong with this picture last time I remembered it was 2011 and we can fly to the moon but can't find out who is watching what. They don' want to know or they would..

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  29. I look at it like a mafia run organizaton their hands are into everything, they can say hey you don't count if your over 34. Who else is allowed to discriminate. Only if you really young you deserve TV. Well I only get 1 year left until I am over the hill not to deserve TV. I know Anne Sweeney and Brian Fron's vote wouldn't count if they were on the other side. So mad they unemployed all those people and we all know there are no jobs only a few will find a place to act like they love. It is rotten and I will never turn on ABC again...

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  30. Great article. Thank you for "telling it like it is". For anyone who wants to fight to save our soaps please go to: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_208782609143799&ref=ts
    Thank you.

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  31. This is such a great article!! Thank you so much for posting the opinion of millions of fans of these shows, I have been watching for over 35 years, these shows are a part of our every day lives. I DVR them every day, millions of us do, we are not counted!!! ABC doesn't count those over age 49 either. Canceling these shows is a slap in the face to ABC's loyal viewers, I left ABC on constantly in my house, now I only watch these shows, I will never watch anything on ABC again. For those of you who aren't soap fans, think of losing your favorite sport on TV, I am a huge sports fan.... think of watching your sport five days a week and then having it be cancelled. ABC SUCKS!!! Brian Frons and Anne Sweeney do what they want, not what their viewers want, they will single handedly ruin a network. Jamie Oliver got cancelled, shows how much people want food shows, and he was a good guy doing a good thing. Who wants to watch a snotty Chef... no one!!!

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  32. I am in need of a new tv...but why buy one if I am not in control of what I watch? As long as the corporate big wigs are making the choices for me... pretty soon there will nothing left worth watching!

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  33. I enjoy your writing. Got me thinking, are we changing so much that soon we will get rid of Television all together? ABC assumes that the young are too busy for day time television, and the elders are not watching. (bogus), then I have to assume nobody is watching television and soon he will get rid of it all together.

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  34. Best article I have seen on this so far. You called it exactly how it is. People want to make fun of soap viewers but they are missing the larger issue which is ABC could care less what the public want to watch. However without viewers I'm not sure how long any of them will be employeed as well. I no longer watch ABC because I was 50 this year and apparently they are not interested in my opinion any longer.

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  35. I absolutely LOVE your article....it is so true....have been an avid AMC and OLTL fan for over 40 years.....I used to record them every single day for all the years that I worked....now that I am retired...wham ABC cancels them...we, the fans, are fighting mad...we are praying that another network will pick them up!!

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  36. Kudos to you. Your article was brilliant and passionate. You hit on the very elements that we are fighting for. Thank you for telling it like it is

    Camille Gnolfo

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  37. ABC has no respect for their loyal viewers which is why they will LOSE THEM.

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  38. This says it all! Exactly what everyone feels. The Nielson Ratings are worthless and I for one will not participate in it ever again. I have received requests by mail in the past to participate, and next time, its garbage. Now we are being told what to watch on TV. What good are the Nielson Ratings? People say what they want, but don't get it. All to save 40%. If this goes through, ABC will be a goner in time too!

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  39. Hopefully this article will wake America up. This is so much more than saving two beloved shows. The real question is, what's next? The media is becoming just as Orwell envisioned.

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  40. Folks, you are delusional. Because shows you don't like are cancelled, that means that TV is fascist?

    How dumb. And you wonder why people think soap opera watchers are so dumb.

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  41. Fifty Something PariahMay 16, 2011 at 9:42 PM

    For some reason,, I am in the undesirable over 50 demographic. My spouse has retired with a generous pension and I'm about to retire with plenty of disposable income. My children are struggling, thanks to the economy. So, I make the purchasing decisions for four generations of my family. I determine whether my elderly parent is wearing POISE or DEPENDS, whether my husband uses VIAGRA or CIALIS, whether my daughters use TAMPAX or KOTEX and whether my grandbaby wears HUGGIES or PAMPERS. I determine what food products are stocked on my family shelves, what laundry detergent we use, etc.

    One would think the networks would bend over backwards to pander to someone like me, but I'm a pariah to them. Or they think I'm so stupid that I can be trained to forget about scripted drama in favor for their cheap, junky, binge-purge-yak fest programming. Thanks, but no thanks. I stop watching ABC when OLTL goes off the air.

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  42. I am glad that you are on the side of the soaps-especially All My Children. Thank you for a powerful viewpoint.

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