Published 2013.01.07 in CommPRO.biz

An Open Mind?

In a long overdue move Al Gore and his partner Joel Hyatt cashed out Current, a non-starter cable channel for lefties (a role already more than adequately filled by MSNBC). They have been trying to unload this turkey for years. Qatar owned Al Jazeera, the Middle East news network paid an astonishing five hundred million for Current. The network never had more than a handful of viewers; however, it does have distribution deals with most all of the sources where folks pick up cable content. Al Jazeera has worked to gain a spot on cable for its English broadcasts, so we can assume that’s what they ponied up a half-billion dollars for, Current’s cable slots.

The ink was barely dry on this deal when Time Warner, the number two cable company in the US, announced they were dumping Current. They gave no reason and say they have an “open mind” on returning the channel to Al Jazeera, a claim that is pretty hard to swallow. A case of Islamophobia seems a much more likely reason. Violent opposition to Al Jazeera by the Bush administration spooked the cable operators and reinforced their unwarranted bias against anything with the slightest connection to Islam. If bias concerns Time Warner, they obviously have not been watching Current or any number of other channels in their line-up.

Time Warner used a clause in the Current agreement that allowed them to dump the network if it was sold. Some have suggested that the cable giant took the “out” as a negotiating tactic to cut a better deal. Given the logistics involved –you don’t just flip a switch to take a channel down– that seems unlikely. Besides, a threat of a cut-off is a much more effective negotiating tool. Shame on Time Warner; there is no more reason to block Al Jazeera than BBC America. With the thousands of channels Time Warner offers subscribers, there is surely room to retain the space Current occupies. It’s not like anyone is going to be forced to watch Al Jazeera, it just should be available.

Al Jazeera’s plan to convert Current to Al Jazeera America sounds interesting to any open-minded individual or organization, as Time Warner claims to be. The plan calls for as many as ten bureaus in the country, up from the five they now have, and as many as 300 staffers. Just the potential for them to offer coverage of more than major happenings in America to the people of the Middle East is more than enough reason to encourage their growth.

While the First Amendment applies only to government interference with speech and the press, the spirit of that guardian of the people’s right to know should lead Time Warner to do the right thing, the ethical thing. Knock off this nonsense and offer Al Jazeera to your customers.

Our First Amendment??

Five big tobacco companies, 

AKA Merchants of Death, have filed suit against our Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA rolled out a batch of gruesome warning labels –the first new ones in 25 years– and they are due to go on every pack of cigarettes in September. Big tobacco is suing to stop the new labels based on their First Amendment rights.

Their what!

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

That First Amendment?

We’re talking about beefing up warnings on the sale and use of a drug that kills about a half million people in the United States every year. We don’t see any difference between these labels and the king-sized skull & cross bones on a box of rat poison. The new warnings are certainly more dramatic than the current bland text warnings. If there’s a First Amendment issue in that difference we sure can’t find it.

Before enabling the use of something harmful, even life threatening, one must make an ethical decision. Everything that is legal is not necessarily ethical. It’s easy to rule out certain potentially harmful sectors in our culture, but there is no way to protect against everything. There is, however, no way to rule out tobacco, we know how to protect against this lethal substance. Those who are part of this world are drug dealers pure and simple. Their drug, tobacco, happens to be legal but that doesn’t make it ethical nor any less lethal.

Don’t listen to, “Back when we started we didn’t know.”  We knew. A hundred years ago during World War One cigarettes were called “Coffin Nails.” American “Doughboys” sang “If the Fatimas don’t kill you the Camels will.” They knew. R.J. Reynolds knew. He shipped his “Camels” by the millions “Over There” where they were handed out, “Free” to our troops. R.J. was secure in the knowledge that they would get hooked and be forced to buy them by the time they returned home.

Those who have chosen to cross the great ethical divide and take part in this evil enterprise will find a way to justify their action. But for Big Tobacco to challenge a need to warn those who buy cigarettes, that is a new low. Since they can’t ban tobacco, the least the FDA can do is to warn smokers of the devastating outcomes they risk. Seeing the gruesome conditions cigarettes trigger every time they light up may help, especially for those lighting up the first time.

Many of those who have escaped this horrific habit say getting off cigarettes was the hardest thing they ever did. Enduring the physical pain when your body screams for a narcotic, be it heroin or nicotine, is near unbearable. Then there’s a  constant craving that lasts sometimes for years. The health risks, Cancer, Emphysema, Heart Disease, they all await that first puff. Not taking that first puff is the easiest way to breathe easy.