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I don't know what you plan to do with your tax rebate, but I'd like to put mine to a good cause: buying the FCC a spine.

Tonight's Democratic presidential debate is sponsored by ABC, and as the New York Times pointed out, the network is treating it like some run-of-the-mill TV show. Or, to my way of thinking, like a special episode of Desperate Housewives.

Not only is ABC broadcasting the debate on time-delay to us here on the West Coast -- making the debate far less important, evidently, than the Oscars, which get broadcast in real time everywhere in the world.

But ABC is banning any other broadcast news or Web outlets from using more than a single 30-second clip from this presidential debate until the morning after it's over: "We have an obligation to our West Coast affiliates," a spokesman said, "to not make chunks of the debate available until their viewers have had a chance to see them."

Their viewers? Their viewers are American citizens, entitled to take free and unfettered part in the electoral process which -- at last reading -- is not a moneymaking opportunity, but a civic duty.

Rather than rolling over to the privatizing of public discourse, the FCC should muster some guts and insist that networks, broadcast and cable, take turns broadcasting presidential debates in real time, commercial-free, to the entire nation, in what is beyond question the public interest.

Silly me. I forgot that this is the FCC, the agency that defined Howard Stern's show as "a bona fide news program" just so Stern could throw lewd lines at then-gubernatorial candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger, without having to devote any air time to any of the other candidates in an election that, to Californians, wasn't a joke but a vital exercise of political responsibility.

Oh wait, my bad -- the Stern show did want to interview one other gubernatorial candidate. The porn star.

All contributions for an FCC spine implant will be much appreciated.

Comments

[LittleBrother]

the FCC should muster some guts and insist that networks, broadcast and cable, take turns broadcasting presidential debates in real time, commercial-free, to the entire nation, in what is beyond question the public interest.

________________________________________

"[R]eal time" is all well and good, but how about real DEBATES? I would amend, or modify, the conditions to mandate that the debates be structured like old-fashioned boring debates, and be produced by anyone BUT the networks.

The bizarre reality-teevee dog and pony shows, or beauty contests, that we're stuck with now are not mature, rational "debates" at all. They are celebrity showcases, "moderated" by celebrity infotainwhores who are all about posturing and irrelevancy. Even the PBS moderators like Jim Lehrer, or bloviator Charlie Rose are unfit to moderate a real DEBATE.

I rant thus because it really wouldn't advance the status quo to simply demand that the networks put out their typical self-promoting dreck without commercials and in real time. If you're going to demand that, you may as well go the whole nine yards and demand that the networks withdraw completely from staging the debates. Obviously, network executives have no experience in creating television programs for grownups.

[Fleisch]

The FCC, rather like the FAA, and other so-called regulatory agencies, suffers from its schizoid position of both promoting and regulating the same industry. And like the other faux-regulatory agencies, it spends 95% of its time promoting, and fearing that the 5% of regulating (which it gets bullied into when there's a public uproar) might interfere with the promoting.

The public airwaves have been bought and paid for by corporate America--rather like the rest of the government.

[azcamp]

ABC did such a bad job that I called to express my disgust with the poor quality of the anchors and the research. No wonder ABC News is in the toilet .Talent like Brian Williams, Tim Russert and Chris Mathews are more versed in real politics than Charlie Gibson and George S. With American and Iraqi casualties on the rise, unemployment at at all time high, people facing gas at $4 per gallon, this debate should have focused on issues that voters have on their minds. This was a blatant attempt to trivialize the issues as if voters are not smart enough to understand what is causing the recession, that we do not have an exit strategy from this costly war and we are divided on free trade issues.

The debate questions were stale rehashing of what we have little interest in and we do not relate too. We are interested in the future of our country and ABC was not interested enough to give the nation anything but gossip and trivia. Both candidates deserved better, PA voters deserved to be better served and the American people deserved to have a debate that was good for the country.

Such a display of unprofessionalism should cause the sponsors of the debate to wonder if they got what they paid for. Surely, ABC will never get another political debate. Let's stick to NBC, CBS and the cable guys for real news.

[oracle99]

Last night was almost a public media lynching of Barack Obama. It wasn't a debate. There was no discussion of the issues but the same accusatory guilt by association in this case lead by George Stephonoplos ( ex Clinton aide) and Charles Gibson. This was a shameful display of what our political system, aided by the media has come down to. As Barack tried to say....it's these small unimportant things that keep people distracted and turned off. The MSM is really the "great whore" pandering to lies, innuendo, and sensationalistic news reporting.

The MSM is really the "great whore" pandering to lies, innuendo, and sensationalistic news reporting. Anyone that tries to hold themselves to a standard above their gutter tactics by telling the truth is attacked for it.

[lennix]

total piece crape i have ever seenin my life shame on you abc a sad day in news and your station and two of the biggest morons i ever seen in my life yes its a sad day

[Sloane7]

[phone] [e-mail] Newsroom Fax Machine 212.456.5150�Cristi LandesManager, Programming 212.456.5107 [e-mail]�Wayne Fisk Director, Programming 212.456.5327 [e-mail]�Jeff Fitzgerald Executive Director, Operations 212.456.5554 [e-mail]�Heidi Oringer Executive Director, Entertainment 212.456.5541 [e-mail]�Jon Newman News Coverage 212.456.5100 [e-mail]�Joyce Alcantara Assignment Manager 212.456.5106 [e-mail]�Jim Kane Deputy D.C. Bureau Chief 212.222. 6604 [e-mail]�Andrew Kalb Executive Director, Programming3 05.567.2269 [e-mail]�Robert Garcia Executive Director, News & Sports 212.456.5103 [e-mail]�Peter Salinger (THE MAN IN CHARGE OF ELECTION COVERAGE) Director, Special Events & Sports 212.456.5105 [e-mail]�Steve Jones Vice President ABC NEWS RADIO [e-mail]

[UTMark]

Just be happy you didn't watch this "debate". It was "vomit-in-your-mouth" horrible. ABC should be ashamed. Charlie and George humiliated themselves. No wonder we end up with presidents like Bush with a media like this. Just awful.

[SharonB]

I don't think anyone should feel badly about this. From what I have read about the debate, 30 seconds is more than enough time.

[coolkraft]

they should use a forever delay...this was an embarrassing waste of time....they are a pathetic excuse for a network and it was yawn yawn yawn and switching to a hockey game for us

[Tumult]

Sorry, it was streamed live from the local station. WMVI?
It was a horrible debate, maybe 30 minutes of what approached real questions.
And they were going for alot of "gotcha" garbage.
Seemed slanted in Clintons favor, but I think that is just because Obama tries to "explain" things and Clinton sticks to talking points, so they directed more of the "gotcha" questions at him.
She sounded good on a few of her answers, the ones she did not try to undercut him.

[Chacha]

Disgusting! I guess I have to get by with 'live' snippets from the blogs instead. No fun to watch a debate which is already analyzed and commented on. I am very disappointed.

[SubparDude]

:

I'll bet Senator Clinton switches sides on at least 3 issues between the Eastern and PST broadcasts.

Yikes.

:

[Chewelahboy]

Outstanding! - We will have to watch the Left Coast broadcast closely to see what is edited out during the delay, and what audio sweetening they add. Watch for a change in Hillary's wardrobe, and listen for wild cheers following Hillary's remarks:)... and oh, yes perhaps they can find a shot of Chelsea smiling.

[oneisone]

ABC is ridiculous, showing itself to have no interest whatsoever in the public good. Everyone should boycott ABC FHOWS AND SPONSORS FOR A FULL MONTH TO SHOW THEIR DISPLEASURE AT THIS ACT OF pure greed, pure self-centered self interest, and oh aren't they owned by DISNEY. ADD DISNEYLAND DISNEYWORLD. EMPTY PARKS FOR A MONTH AND THEY WILL STILL BE DENSE BUT START TO GET THE MESSAGE THAT THE PUBLIC FINDS THEIR GREED A LAUGH, THE SIGN DISNEY is at bottom rotten to the core.

[kbacher]

The perverse irony is that by delaying the broadcast, fewer people are likely to watch it. I live in Washington State. If we could see the debate live, I would leave work an hour early to get home in time to watch it. But since it'll be delayed 3 hours, I'll probably first check the Internet for a synopsis, and use that to decide whether to even turn it on. So much for ABC's ad revenue.

[betch]

I hope you were saved from wasting a couple of hours. ABC blows. They could not have perpetuated a bigger waste of time. Fire them all.

[on2them]

This is TOTAL BS! ABC has a responsibility to broadcast and stream the debate like every other network has in past debates. I'm so sick of this crap.