TV has had many names over the years such as "The Boob Tube" or "The Idiot Box." TV is not a semester at Cornell. Not even a fall viewing of PBS. Radio used to like to see itself as above TV and, in some corners, still does. Pacifica Radio, for example, loves to see itself as educational. In fact, the Pacifica Radio stations -- KPFA (Berkeley), KPFK (Los Angeles), KPFT (Houston), WBAI (NYC) and the joke in DC -- are licensed as "educational radio."
And we were reminded of how much alike radio and TV are when we caught the latest offering of The Marriage Ref. Madonna, Larry David, and Ricky Gervais, none of whom could be mistaken as half of a spousal success, showed up Thursday night to offer bits of faux wisdom.
For those who've missed the reality show, various couples are taped with marital complaints. Three celebrity judges are in a studio watching the clips (one couple at a time) and then speaking with the couple via satellite. Sadly host Tom Papa does most of the talking and he's neither as funny nor as appealing as Jerry Seinfeld and the other producers wish he were.
The show's been a dog since it began airing with Tina Fey making such a fool of herself in one episode that even we felt sorry for her. But our package included a note asking that we wait until watching the Madonna episode, or else watch it first, before making a decision. A smart recommendation because that episode actually was watchable.
Madonna, apparently relinquishing rights to her faux British accent, was more lively than she'd been in years. Her skin looked good, her hair looked good. She could have worn a better outfit (that dress screamed "K-Mart shopper" and didn't flatter her body) and Visine should have been used on the eyes (insomnia remains the one thing Madonna's never triumphed over), but it was the sort of TV appearance her fans always hopes she will do. She was funny, she was strong and she spoke like someone living in this world.
At one point, as the men were yammering away about one couple whose main problem (vocalized problem) was a lizard the wife dressed up, as the men insisted so much time must be wasted on the costumes and creating them, it was left to Madonna to point out the obvious -- after asking if any of them have children: The lizard was wearing doll clothes. It was also left to Madonna to state (repeatedly) that they were supposed to be helping these couples.
Whether they do or not is anyone's guess. That's not just because of the ruling the celebs make (which Papa shares with the couple) but because this isn't a court of law. We're not even told if the couple has agreed to abide by the decision of the judges. Not that the decisions are based on anything realistic. Only Madonna remained consistent (including in recommending that every couple shown with an ugly couch get rid of it). We mentioned the couple with the lizard. It was decided that the woman was in the wrong by the men. And Papa (how apropos) is in the middle of explaining the judgment when the wife points out her husband is the one who brought the lizard into the home to begin with causing Larry David to insist he has to change his vote to side with the woman.
Along the way we learned of Larry's continued disgust over his ex-wife leaving him (which actually is a funny story if you know the inside details), Madonna expressing that British men never want to talk about sex and Ricky explaining that when he couldn't get women to allow him to 'sample' their breasts, he sprouted two of his own.
But if this season of The Marriage Ref is remembered for anything, it will most likely be remembered for Madonna's appearance which recast her as human, likable, intelligent and able to tell a joke as well as to laugh at one.
Some may question that assessment. Those who do may not understand The Marriage Ref. It's not a show about helping couples. It's an update, Seinfeld's own plan, of the old celebrity game shows. Translation, the winner will always be the celebrity who uses the program best. Point, the program is diverting fluff.
But it knows what it is and doesn't attempt to hide that reality putting it far, far ahead of Pacifica Radio.
Pacifica exists these days on the propaganda model. If you know anything about the faux left, you know that they never have real answers or solutions, that they exist as a photo negative of the other side. So it's not at all shocking to you that the faux left (on MSNBC, for example) mimics the right-wing echo chamber today. That's what happens when you have no solutions or, for that matter, inherent talents. As Woody Allen's Alvy Singer put it in Annie Hall, "I'm a bigot but for the left." So once Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky defined the way the mainstream media largely worked in 1988's Manufacturing Consent, the shallow minds of the faux left immediately got started working the same model 'for the left.' Here's the model as worked by Pacifica and other faux left outlets:
1) 'Ownership' of air time
2) Medium's funding sources
3) Sourcing
4) Flak
5) Anti-capitalism ideology
We could go through the five step-by-step if we wanted or had the time today to write a book. Instead, we'll focus on "sourcing."
Who provides the information?
Pacifica and other outlets -- such as the laughable FAIR -- like to insist that the MSM refuses to weed their Rolodexes of the sources who get it wrong. "It" being war, the economy, the election outcomes, etc. But Pacifica and others never do their own weeding of those who get it wrong. You can be as wrong a Vera Wang worn with argyle socks and Pacifica will still book you.
Will still book you provided of course that you stick to their talking points. Last Sunday's New York Times featured a full page ad by the ACLU noting how America appears to be experience the third term of George W. Bush. Did you catch the ACLU on Pacifica last week? Did you hear or see Amy Goodman interview anyone from the ACLU about the ad?
Of course not. Of course not. Because one of the talking points you must maintain is that Barack is sent from heaven and you must sing Cole Porter-ish paeans to him, "He's delightful, he's delicious, he's de-lovely."
Which is how you get an A.N.S.W.E.R. spokesperson paying homage to Barry O in order to get a little Pacifica time (KPFA's The Saturday Talkies yesterday). We rolled our eyes as we listened.
How very shameful but how very necessary to get booked on most Pacifica programs.
Norman Solomon and Melissa Harris-Lacewell best exemplify the problems with "sourcing" on the faux left. Norman Solomon has spent how many years hectoring others on the need for disclosure? Yet in 2008, he was selective in his disclosures. He's actually paid by the few newspapers that grab his columns. So early in 2008, he disclosed in a column (for newspapers -- don't confuse it with his online columns that pop up everywhere like astroturf) that he was supporting Barack and would be a delegate to the DNC for Barack. Even after that column appeared (published in only a handful of papers across the country), Norman Solomon could be heard on all the Pacifica stations offering 'analysis' of the primary race which was really attacks on Hillary Clinton and praise for Barack Obama -- he did this without ever disclosing that he was already a delegate to the convention for Barack Obama. He didn't disclose it, the hosts of the Pacifica programs didn't disclose it. Were Lewis Hill (founder of Pacifica) still alive, Norman Solomon would not be brought on any Pacifica station again because that was unethical. Unethical was Melissa Harris-Lacewell's Pacifica appearances in 2008. In 2007, Lie Face began working for Barack Obama's campaign (among her 2007 duties were traveling to California to campaign for Barry O). But in 2008, she was allowed to pose as an independent analysis and to go from program to program trashing Hillary and praising Barack. Neither she nor her hosts (including Amy Goodman when MH-L first appeared on Democracy Now!) ever disclosed that she was working for the campaign.
Neither Norman nor Melissa were held accountable by Panhandle Media. Both are still brought on programs. And it's considered poor form to critique the unethical when they're on the left. Say what you will about Eric Massa but at least he had the decency to step down.
Did someone say "down"?
"Change comes from the bottom up, not the top-down." That's the ridiculous excuse offered for the sorry state of affairs in the United States on faux left media programs. Supposedly that belief existed prior to 2008. And yet, it was never offered as an excuse for any of George W. Bush's actions. When George W. Bush occupied the White House, he could be called out. At least near the end. With Barack in the White House, every day is like September 12, 2001. No strong criticism can be offered and, if you do offer it, your air time will be significantly reduced. For example, neither Chris Hedges nor John Pilger suffer from laryngitis nor have they taken vows of silence.
But if you won't offer warm testimonials to the White House, you won't get Pacifica time. That's how it works. There are a few programmers (such as Bonnie Faulkner of Guns & Butter) who don't play that game but they are few and far between.
"Change comes from the bottom up, not the top-down" was part of the calling out of George W. Bush but now it's repeatedly used as an excuse, a cop-out for Barack Obama.
The Corporatist War Hawk gets one pass after another. Pacifica Radio -- peace radio -- defends a War Hawk. The dreadful Aimee Allison defends Barack for ordering the deaths of Pakistani civilians -- and expresses no sympathy for the dead. And people act as if there's nothing outrageous about that. It's how you get claims, for example, that you're being offered "another in our series of health reform programs" -- but what you actually get is someone muddying up Dennis Kucinich's stance on Barry O's BigGiveAway to Big Pharma and the Insurance Companies.
Pacifica Radio: Radio for the powerful. Radio of diversions and faux issues. Can't call out the current War Hawk in the White House, can't lead a peace movement, can't even really cover one. But will do endless hours on Haiti. Because it's so much easier to focus on Haiti than it is to focus on ongoing wars. It's so much easier for Barack Obama and the Democratic Party. It's why so many people are disgusted with Pacifica Radio these days. Instead of making their lot with the left, Pacifica tied their fortunes to the Democratic Party and the reality is that the fortunes of that political party are sinking fast.
The Marriage Ref is fluff, pure fluff. But it doesn't pretend or present as anything else. Pacifica Radio, calling itself "free speech radio" and "peace radio," wants to pretend it's informing the public, "educating" according to their broadcast licenses, but all they do is minimize and clampdown on outrage by offering excuses and praise for Barack. It's a Cult of Personality. It's propaganda and, funnier than any episode of The Marriage Ref, they actually think they're fooling the audience.