Informing America

Submitted by Virge on Wed, Dec 5, 2007 - 11:18
in

Executive 1: "We need a new face... someone that beams honesty and understanding... someone who knows what's really going on and can explain it clearly."

Executive 2: "Nope. Viewers don't want smart talking heads. They want dumb people that they can relate to."

Executive 1: "Bullshit. They expect presenters to be informed. They look to them to help make sense of the world's confusion."

Executive 2: "That's so last century. That's from back when people had faith in science and technology to make a better world. It's different now. They know they'll never understand, so they just want television to reassure them that they're in line with the crowd. Talk shows are the new opiate of the masses."

Executive 1: "But if that's true, you could put absolutely anyone up as a face. As long as they have sex appeal and a clear voice."

Executive 2: "Bzzzt. Wrong. Don't need sexy. Don't want sexy. Physical attractiveness is another thing that places a barrier between the presenter and the viewer."

Executive 1: "No way! I still call bullshit. You CANNOT make a popular talking head out of a loudmouthed slob with a preschool education."

The rest is history.

Comments

Submitted by Judah on Fri, Dec 7, 2007 - 02:12.

Oh come on, Virge; it's The View. They're not television newscasters. No one expects them to be authoritative.

...although, looking up the show on Wikipedia, I found a quote that's very funny in this context:

"The idea of women talking to one another on daytime television is not exactly radical. The idea that those women should be smart and accomplished is still odd enough to make The View seem wildly different. It actively defies the bubbleheads-'R'-us approach to women's talk shows...."
--Caryn James, writing in the New York Times

Submitted by Virge on Fri, Dec 7, 2007 - 03:35.

I guess I'm just sheltered. I watch very little TV. It blew me away that anyone could run a chat show where one of the hosts is so staggeringly ill-informed that she doesn't know if the earth is flat and doesn't know of any history before Jesus.

Maybe the appeal of the show is in making its viewers feel smart.

Submitted by Judah on Fri, Dec 7, 2007 - 03:39.

Haha, maybe. I can't really help you there; I've never seen the appeal of any of these shows.

Nice redesign of your journal, by the way. It's much airier now.