More DNC coverage that cable news was too busy to carry; Shearer says "it's a branding op"

Of course I'm partisan to Brian Schweitzer ... he's a native Montanan, like I am. Also, John Bohlinger, whom I've known since childhood, is his (Republican) lieutenant governor. But that's not really the reason I think the cable networks should have televised his speech last night to the Democratic National Convention. They should have televised it because it was a helluva lot more entertaining than anything they had to offer.

Rocking nervously behind the podium, like a preacher working his first Billy Graham Crusade, Gov. Schweitzer roused the whole Pepsi Center to its feet while making frequent and voluble pitches for alternative energy. (Livingston, Montana, is one of the country's windiest vistas and site of some of the earliest wind farms.) Cutaway shots on C-SPAN showed Presidents Clinton and Carter laughing while getting out of their seats. They know when a speaker has got the crowd on his side.

Here's what you missed:

Then there was the fire-breathing address by the reliable red meat eater Dennis Kucinich, whose "Wake up America!" chant got the crowd fired up:

And here is Kansas Gov. and VP short-lister Kathleen Sebelius:

None of which got much, if any, coverage on the commercial networks. I ranted about this yesterday in a blog post titled, Why do cable news channels talk over everything at the conventions?

Harry Shearer, voice of most of the "Simpsons" characters who matter and host of the weekly "Le Show," wrote this reply:

Good question. My answer: because the conventions are a branding opportunity. That's what they're paying dearly for, the opportunity to market themselves--how many times does Wolf Blitzer have to repeat "the best political team on television" before he has an aneurysm? The podium is a backdrop, nothing more.

Comments

[CableTechTalk]

Not to be completely self-serving, but if I see one more story about ratings for convention coverage, I'm going to puke. There's a chart in the Washington Post today: "TV Rating Drop." The description reads, "Despite the expected media convergence, network television ratings for Democratic convention coverage have generally been dropping since 1960."

Oh, network coverage? Like broadcast networks? Couldn't you just as easily write, "All viewership of broadcast television has generally been dropping since the Eighties?" (The share lines crossed about a decade ago.)

Beyond the big three - ABC, NBC, CBS - and their limited coverage, the convention is available on PBS, CNN, FOX News, MSNBC, C-SPAN, BET, and TV One. That also doesn't count what's available online.

The only counter to how the commercial networks have covered the convention is to take satisfaction in the fact that alternative, unfiltered coverage is also available.

Me? I like to watch on C-SPAN. My wife prefers her coverage with commentary on top.

[Stooge]

Harry Shearer is completely right. Though Blitzer's really annoying line is "the only cable network broadcasting from the convention floor." It's silly enough when entertainment news shows use that sorta lingo ("We're first on the red carpet!"), but it's a shame to see CNN resort to such trivialities.

[Andy]

I don't know about the other two, but CNN appeared to air all (or nearly all) of the Schweitzer speech. That's where I was watching it.

[Thanks, Andy. MS was at a break when I checked while on Fox, it was clear something was getting the natives riled up in the background, but what? --AB]

[Yellowbird]

What more do you need to see to understand that TV does not serve the people?

It's a toy. An expensive toy. And the enemies of freedom are selling us this toy.

So why pay them every month? You can buy a heck of a computer and connection with that cash.

I did. I've been off TV 14 years and counting.

[Carol Solstad]

I am deligted to read this blog and the comments. I turned off the cable chanels and went to C-Span. I was so annoyed by them all. I kept hearing applause during the speeches and not the speeches because I was force to listen to cable babble. I was particularly disappointed that I could hear my own U.S. Senator Claire McKaskill at all. I did here the Montana governor and was delighted. What is wrong with these people and the networks that pay them, do they thing we are all idiots.