PLATFORM : The New Mantra

In the constant scratching and scrambling for ever better ratings and money . . . it is worth pausing to ask: How goes the real war? How goes the battle for quality, for truth and justice, for programs worthy of the best within ourselves and the audience? . . . The battle to make television not just entertaining but also, at least some little of the time, useful for higher, better things?

The answer . . . is “Not very well.” . . . Too often for too long we have answered to the worst, not to the best, within ourselves and within our audience . . . .

Thoughtfully written analysis is out, “live pops” are in. “Action, Jackson” is the cry. Hire lookers, not writers. Do powder-puff, not probing, interviews. Stay away from controversial subjects. Kiss ass, move with the mass and for heaven’s and the ratings’ sake, don’t make anybody mad--certainly not anybody that you’re covering, and especially not the mayor, the governor, the senator, the President or anybody in a position of power.

Make nice, not news. This has become the new mantra.