Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Something really unusual in Hollywood

The National Association of Broadcasters is a nationwide group that acts as a kind of networking umbrella for everybody who works in broadcasting. They cover television, radio, and similar technologies. They lobby for the interests of broadcasters before congress, and they put on a huge national convention every year.

Last year, the convention was in Las Vegas, and was attended by about 111,000 people. The keynote address was unusually controversial. It was given by Tim Robbins, who works in a variety of media (acting, writing, directing, music, etc.).

Although there was a no-recording clause for the speech, and although everyone had to turn off their video cameras, someone caught a brief audio clip of the most controversial segment. In short, he railed on the media for the low moral character of their shows, and eloquently called for a change for the better. He got quite a round of applause for it, too. It's remarkably inspiring, so if you have a few minutes, give it a listen.

1 comment:

Shana said...

He has a point. However, it's a bit patronizing to assume that what airs on television is not what people want and that broadcasters should only give viewers what's "good" for them/us. It's like the whole popular vote vs. electoral college vote issue. Too simplified but whatever.