Maybe it’s the baby boomer in me. With narrowcasting having taken firm hold, a part of me still missed the mass shared experience that used to rule the days when there were but three major television networks.
Nonetheless, there are those increasingly rare events that bring us back to an almost single audience orientation–the Super Bowl, of course, and most recently the Summer Olympics. These television events represent precious gold for the right advertisers. The Super Bowl and the Olympics carry ever-escalating price tags for ad time but it’s a premium which many are glad to pay in order to sponsor a mega-TV event during an era when audience fragmentation is the norm.
Indeed the Olympics and the Super Bowl seem to bring us closer together whether it be feelings of patriotism relative to our country’s performance in the former or plain, good old-fashioned water cooler talk the day after about the happenings at either event.
Yet rather than a warm glow, NBC’s coverage of the Games left me cold. Yes, we still reveled in the performance of the world’s athletes and the emotions they stirred in us. But it was what we didn’t see or hear much about–and the time during which we got to see the events themselves–which proved troubling. Indeed look what NBC did (particularly to those of us on the West Coast) when it regained the Nielsen-dominating power of yesteryear.
For one, there was no Michael Phelps live on air which would have been around 7 to 8 p.m. Los Angeles time. Instead broadcast of the swimming events was delayed three-plus hours. And while Phelps’ dominating performance may have killed much of the drama relative to the outcome of events in which he competed, any last vestige of suspense succumbed to NBC’s decision to tape delay in order to keep us watching well into the night. Even the Saturday evening when Phelps won his eighth Gold Medal was tape delayed out West. We thus lost the precious chance to witness history as it was being made because it was counter to NBC’s audience-building strategy.
And relative to what we didn’t see or hear much of, I find myself fondly reminiscing about Jim McKay, the great ABC sportscaster who became synonymous with the Olympics. We sadly lost McKay earlier this year and in Beijing we lost his journalistic spirit, one which would have put in more consistent, intelligent, poignant context the Tiananmen Square revolt without undermining the athletes and the spirit of the Games.
Last year the International Olympics Committee predicted that the Olympics in Beijing would be a force for good and spur on progress in human rights. Instead to keep a tight rein on its country’s image, the Chinese government on many reported occasions stepped up human rights abuse during the Games.
I think McKay would have shed more light on this. Instead NBC seemed content for the most part to play host to a celebratory coming out party for China.
Indeed we should be grateful that media has changed so that we’re no longer so dependent on but three major TV networks. NBC’s work at Beijing has stopped my waxing nostalgic about those good old days.
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt Reach Divorce Settlement After 8 Years
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have reached a divorce settlement, ending one of the longest and most contentious divorces in Hollywood history but not every legal issue between the two.
Jolie and Pitt signed off on a default declaration filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday, saying they have entered into a written agreement on their marital and property rights. The settlement was first reported by People magazine.
"More than eight years ago, Angelina filed for divorce from Mr. Pitt," Jolie's attorney, James Simon, said in a statement. "She and the children left all of the properties they had shared with Mr. Pitt, and since that time she has focused on finding peace and healing for their family. This is just one part of a long ongoing process that started eight years ago. Frankly, Angelina is exhausted, but she is relieved this one part is over."
The filing says they give up the right to any future spousal financial support, but gives no other details. A judge will need to sign off on the agreement. An email late Monday night to Pitt's attorney seeking comment was not immediately answered.
Jolie, 49, and Pitt, 61, were among Hollywood's most prominent pairings for 12 years, two of them as a married couple. The Oscar winners have six children together.
Jolie filed for divorce in 2016, after a private jet flight from Europe during which she said Pitt physically abused her and their children. The FBI and child services officials investigated Pitt's actions on the flight. Two months later, the FBI released a statement saying it would not investigate further, and the U.S. attorney did not bring charges.
A heavily redacted FBI report obtained by The Associated Press in 2022 said that an agent provided a probable cause... Read More