This morning I watched The First Lady give a live presentation about her new program called "Let's Move" on the White House's website. (see previous post) Also for the full video of Mrs Obama's presentation click here.
It got me wondering why such an important topic was not being covered on tv. (Maybe I will be corrected and find out that it was on tv, but I could not find it.) I pondered the idea of how shows must make their money based on ad support. That led me to the idea that advertisers basically determine what is shown on tv.
These are basic assumptions, so I did a bit of research. eHow provided a good article that says:
Television advertising is a very important aspect of the television industry. These advertisements typically pay for the cost of the programming you are watching, as in situations with major networks the television programs are being provided to you for free, rather than by a monthly subscription charge (cable, satellite). Time slots for advertisements are sold by television networks for the highest possible price. In an ideal situation, the price advertisers pay for commercials will cover the cost to produce the show and still make enough money for the network to profit off of it.
Statistic collectors, like the Nielsen Company, determine what types of people are watching what shows. This, in turn, helps advertisers to determine where and when to spend their advertising dollars.
When I consider cable and satellite, I can't help but wonder if that small box on top of the tv transmits two-ways. I think I will have to research this a bit more, but I wonder if cable companies are able to collect data of what we are watching and sell it to the ratings people as well.
Either way, I also believe that there is a way to take our collective pulse of what we are watching and enjoying and using that information to make more of the same. Similarly, Hollywood seems to make it their business to know what collectively scares us. I see disaster films shifting from the Russians blowing us up, to us blowing ourselves up, to the earth destroying itself and humanity, to viruses wiping out people and turning everyone into zombies. We seem to go through phases of collective fears that the media draws on and reflects back to us via tv shows and movies. I suppose you could take from this shift that humanity seems less divided and we have perhaps moved from a collective fear that one country will destroy the other, to an outside enemy doing it. But I digress...
These observations lead me to realize the power and importance of the internet. Live webcasting happens 24 hours a day, all over the world. Anyone can stream live video from their iPhones and anyone with internet access can watch it. (unless you live somewhere that blocks these liberties).
The thing I love about internet video is that for the most part, although it is often less polished that what I see on my HDTV, it is more genuine. I am excited to see that in the 21st century, anyone can become a celebrity, thanks to youtube! There are also many other sites that host and promote independent video. Anyone can self-publish on blogs, websites or in print. We can connect with countries all over the world from our homes and offices.
And so part of my reason for having this blog is to share videos that I find that inspire me and / or are having a positive impact. I also like to share things that make me think and make me laugh. I hope you find some of those things here too.
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