Do not attempt to adjust your set

President Obama has called for a new era of responsibility – recognition on the part of every American that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and world to serve others. It is the price and promise of citizenship.
http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jjmnolte/2009/10/15/leaked-memo-reveals-the-white-house-has-control-of-your-television-set/
On September 10th of this year the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF) posted a press release informing the world that “from October 19-25, more than 60 network TV shows [will] spotlight the power and personal benefits of service,” and that this “unprecedented block of TV programming is the first wave of a multi-year ‘I Participate’ campaign.”
On its face this all sounds rather benign in that silly, liberal do-gooder kind of way. The networks have launched these kinds of campaigns before and other than some clunky exposition awkwardly inserted into your favorite show to meet the mandate — no harm, no foul.
But this year there are a couple new strangers in town: “Volunteerism” and “Service.” You’ve heard of them. Their names have been bandied everywhere since President Obama took office, and this internal memo from the EIF to network showrunners obtained by Big Hollywood shows that the entertainment industry is well acquainted and eager to introduce both to as vast an audience as possible.
................
“The ability to both entertain and inform is one of the hallmarks of a broadcast network,” says Nina Tassler, president of CBS Entertainment. ”Integrating messages of volunteerism and service into America’s favorite television shows can have a powerful and lasting impact that benefits both the audience and the country at large.”
NBC president Angela Bromstad agrees. ”The week of volunteer-themed programming in October provides an opportunity for the networks to tap the power of television,” she says.
The ultimate goal, says Stephen McPherson, president of ABC Entertainment is “to get people thinking about what they can do in terms of volunteering, and then to act on that.”
“The most satisfying result for us is when our programs entertain viewers as well as inform them—and maybe even call them to action,” FOX Entertainment president Kevin Reilly points out.
The memo:
http://www.docstoc.com/docs/13226597/eif-doc
http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jjmnolte/2009/10/15/leaked-memo-reveals-the-white-house-has-control-of-your-television-set/
On September 10th of this year the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF) posted a press release informing the world that “from October 19-25, more than 60 network TV shows [will] spotlight the power and personal benefits of service,” and that this “unprecedented block of TV programming is the first wave of a multi-year ‘I Participate’ campaign.”
On its face this all sounds rather benign in that silly, liberal do-gooder kind of way. The networks have launched these kinds of campaigns before and other than some clunky exposition awkwardly inserted into your favorite show to meet the mandate — no harm, no foul.
But this year there are a couple new strangers in town: “Volunteerism” and “Service.” You’ve heard of them. Their names have been bandied everywhere since President Obama took office, and this internal memo from the EIF to network showrunners obtained by Big Hollywood shows that the entertainment industry is well acquainted and eager to introduce both to as vast an audience as possible.
................
“The ability to both entertain and inform is one of the hallmarks of a broadcast network,” says Nina Tassler, president of CBS Entertainment. ”Integrating messages of volunteerism and service into America’s favorite television shows can have a powerful and lasting impact that benefits both the audience and the country at large.”
NBC president Angela Bromstad agrees. ”The week of volunteer-themed programming in October provides an opportunity for the networks to tap the power of television,” she says.
The ultimate goal, says Stephen McPherson, president of ABC Entertainment is “to get people thinking about what they can do in terms of volunteering, and then to act on that.”
“The most satisfying result for us is when our programs entertain viewers as well as inform them—and maybe even call them to action,” FOX Entertainment president Kevin Reilly points out.
The memo:
http://www.docstoc.com/docs/13226597/eif-doc