In response to the last set of comments (and I'm getting so lazy/busy I'm not even bothering to google for my ideas before I post them): We need a political organization, a PAC, maybe, to advocate for our rights as television watchers. Not to protect us from smut, etc., but to protect us from excessive advertising, and just plain bad TV. This would be a huge consitency. Tons of people watch TV. We deserve to have our voices heard!! Too many consumer rights organizations are down on television. We need to embrace it and then organize *around* it. Go where the people are.
I don't know exactly what we'd do, but any time a bill came in in DC we would BE there! And our marches would be HUGE.
Someone here mourns the demise of Viewers for Quality Television which apparently folded for lack of funds. LACK OF FUNDS??? How can you lose when you're trying to raise money for a cause like that??
Sad, so sad, when a good group folds.
I would just like to point out a couple of things that argue for the importance of a television advocacy group: the recent CBS cancellation of that Ronald Reagan movie, which some are calling a Another Victory for the New Conservative Media -- ugh.
Someone in South Africa contrasted the decision to pull the Reagan thing for supposed bias with the supposed accuracy of the Jessica Lynch special -- "Saving Jessica Lynch" -- double ugh.
Although made for TV specials of political biography or national heroes may make great fodder for American studies dissertations regardless of their quality or lackthereof, I think we as helpless TV viewers deserve better!
There was another piece of news lately that also argued for the need for this, but I now forget it. Maybe it will come to me later.
This isn't what I was thinking of, but there has been a lot of talk lately on how we need liberal talk radio to counteract conservative talk shows, but I think we need to lobby mainstream TV like these conservative groups are, too. "Kill your television" bumper stickers are not the answer to reaching the masses. Better television is.