I have a million questions for all of you today and I am going to start off with the 800 pound gorilla in the room: With all of its politics and dependence on advertising dollars, can television really be a trustworthy medium from which to gather direction for our lives? Network tv, cable, even PBS require money to survive...money given by organizations who drive the programming we watch.
My gut knots up when I think about this because if I am to be honest with myself, and all of you, I have to admit that I frequently take what I see on tv as fact, without truly questioning the source, without digging for facts. How did I become such a numb drone? (This question is rhetorical...don't feel obligated to answer it.)
Wait, quick aside here: I just realized that Monday was the first day in ages I did not see or hear the tv. Even on Oprah's "Live with Less" challenge, I was able to watch one hour everyday. Of course, I spent that hour watching her show.
Ok, back to the matter at hand...with advertising money guiding what is shown on television, maybe we should be a little more skeptical about items it would appear we cannot live without. Case in point, did we really NEED thr Post-It Highlighter from 3M to read A New Earth? Now this is just a theory, but could that fact that 3M sponsored Oprah's webinar have anything to do with her recommendation to clutter our homes with frivolous, non-bio-friendly plastic pens? So using the equation sponsorship=endorsement, should we then question the motivation behind the other companies, products and dare I say it...charitable orgs...that Oprah chooses to promote? As many of you either commented or emailed, why did she tell us to buy several packs of specially marked P&G disposable diapers instead of giving directly to UNICEF in order to help the needy parties directly?
And I shudder to ask: How do you think Oprah's Favorite Things are chosen?!
Finally (sorry for talking your ear off today!), HOW OPRAH AND I ARE ALIKE...We both have a hard time taking time to have fun. Remember the 21-Day Cleanse episode when she was floored that everyone in her audience had fun everyday even though she didn't have time to do the same? She said something along the lines of, "I work too hard." Just like Oprah, I have a million things I prioritize over my own relaxation and enjoyment of the day. I have the best job in the world to counteract my personality because I have to completely focus on service to others and can't even consider my to-do list. Still, knowledge is power and if I am willing to break my habit, I can change.
*****A word from LO's mom:
Just wanted to let you all know that LO is enjoying her retreat but going a bit crazy not being able to respond to all of your comments. She looks forward to them and reads them daily on her blackberry. LO will be back home (and at the computer!)this weekend, but she wanted me to say hi to everyone until then and to let you all know she's thinking of you.... LO's Mom
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
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18 comments:
I hope that Lo (aka Robyn) is feeling content in the recommended Oprah fashion!
I have to disagree with you slightly. I don't think it's an issue of Oprah endorsing a product because they are a sponsor. I think she finds a product she loves, decides to tell everyone about it, and the offers of sponsorship pour in or she might pursue them. I think this particularly true of the 3M pens. She already had the inventor on because she loved them so much and I think she saw an opportunity with the webinar. Now, whether exploiting that opportunity is right is up for debate, but I really don't think she searches out sponsors then supports their products.
I'm sure Oprah endorses products that she likes and uses, it's just that she's in a different economic stratosphere than most of the planet. ;)
Is it bad to admit that I didn't by the Tolle book because, with a 10 part webinar, I didn't see the point? I mean, you've got the author in the room and people (including Oprah) asking questions - why do I need the textbook? It reminded me too much of college. :)
I don't think anything on TV is reliable, whether it's network or cable. For that matter, the entire media network (print, tv, web) is sponsored by SOMEONE. The best we can do is seek out as many sources as possible and draw our own conclusions.
reagrding the "As many of you either commented or emailed, why did she tell us to buy several packs of specially marked P&G disposable diapers instead of giving directly to UNICEF in order to help the needy parties directly?" I have a possible answer - let's say you buy diapers on a regular basis. Those are crazy expensive and add up FAST. Maybe buying the marked diapers would allow parents (or grandparents) to help a great cause without spending more (or much more, if the special diapers cost more, I don't know). Maybe giving to UNICEF would be "better" or "more direct," but it might not be possible. Also, people who don't buy diapers would/could buy and either give away or donate the diapers to people or organizations that either purchase diapers or need diapers donated (in fact, the pampers website has a "donate diapers for twice the good" button/link). In that case, the diaper purchaser is both helping the cause AND another person or group (ie, my parents church collects diapers for both a pregnancy resource center and a battered women's shelter, depending on who has a need for which sizes collected).
I'm somewhat on the fence...how on earth could Oprah possibly have the time to shop for the products she endorses? I think it's more plausible that she endorses the products she likes that are GIVEN to her or are SHOWN to her by her staff. She's got help, and lots of it!
LO--in some ways you & Oprah are more alike than you realize. Your LO project--it's an unpaid form of advertising. You are telling the world something. It's just a different message than Oprah's. Thank goodness!!!!!
~~MTV
I work in marketing, and the department does use celebrity endorsements as one promotional method. While the endorsers have an element of personal buy-in for a retail product, they are also getting a lot of money in exchange. A LOT. I don't doubt for a minute that the recommedations made on television aren't driven by money. And if the product endorsement also matches the demographic of the viewer, well, that's a match made in heaven, everyone wins.
Hope you're doing okay LO - the thing with Ekhart Tolle - I was mixed about it - I thought it was amazing that she got so many women (I wonder if there was even 1 man in the class) to join together to discuss topics of interest - I did not purchase the book although I thought about it about 100 times - but just was like - this is B.S. - who the f is this guy - never heard of him and then he decides to make some almalgam of Buddist teachings - and all of a sudden he's a savior - I was really kind of disgusted by how O kept insisting "this book is going to chnage your life...blah blah blah" If a book could change my life that much I would have read it by now and I think my classic education (I was an English Lit major) changed my life more than that book could ever - I read some of the message boards I wanted to be "a part" of it - it does get cultish or cliquish? I didn't want to be the "only" one NOT reading the book as it seemed or so it was presented to us. "Everyone" was watching, "everyone" was doing this - it's a bit idolatrous isn't it? And contraditory - look at the logic... "Find your own way but don't dare do it without asking this person first what to do, what to think and how to think". The more I think about it - it's just creepy. She's losing her edge - the reason women loved her in the early days is because she was every woman - she was someone you could relate to, she was skeptical - to be honest I think she just is searching for answers to her own unhappiness and then just whatever interests her she passes on to the public - no problem - if we eat everything hook line and sinker as from the God's mouth to her ear - then we're the ones that are just stupid and lazy...(You can tell I'm in a great mood!)
LO, insert my comments yesterday here (reinforced by MTV's comments above). :) As far as your similarilities...us readers have a small idea of what your day-to-day activities include. I would love to watch "a day in the life" of O, to see really what she [and everyone else] does each day. We got a small taste with her blogging about the 21-day cleanse (which took forever for daily updates, by the way), but I'd love more details.
PS Why is O's site requiring me to download Adobe Flash player updates? Why no default? This annoys me because I can't view it on public computers. Arghh.
I have a story about one of Oprah's Favorite Things she featured a couple years ago. Oprah has her own personal flight attendant, who shops for her meals prior to the flight. The flight attendant lives in or near Geneva, Illinois, and frequently stopped at my friend's sister's shop, Moveable Feast, in downtown Geneva, where she would purchase Home Food Deeply Fudgy Brownies. These became Oprah's favorite brownie. They are delicious. Moveable Feast does not offer any endorsement money to Oprah, but they were very grateful for the publicity bump it gave them. You can mail order the brownies. I guess even Bob Greene likes them, although he told Oprah she shouldn't have them laying around her house. Oprah especially likes the fact that they can be a couple days old and still moist.
I hope it's ok with them that I mention this here. Their shop is not a secret, so.....
http://www.moveablefeastgeneva.com/
Hi Robyn,
I wanted to comment on television being a trustworthy place to get information. As an immigration lawyer, I watch Lou Dobbs occasionally on CNN and the O'Reilly Factor on Fox. The misinformation the shows provide about immigration and immigration laws is appalling. So, I figure if the stuff I know about is being reported wrong then I cannot trust the other information I hear about stuff I don't know about. I think it is important to identify sources of information that are factual and not skewed due to politics, advertising money, etc. Books and articles by experts in the field are a great source of information. I prefer them every time over television. Television is entertainment and news shows are just another form of entertainment masquerading as legitimate, informative resources.
Remember the big car give away in 2004? I was always curious why O got so much praise for being generous when she didn't pay for those cars, Pontiac did - she just gave them an hour long commercial for their new model. The audience was supposedly chosen because each person needed a new car but couldn't afford one, but did they need a nearly $30k car that some couldn't pay the income tax on? I think sometimes O really does showcase things she likes & thinks others will enjoy, but then I think there are times when she will team up with an advertiser to get what she wants in the end. If she wants to make a big splash, she'll take what she can get.
Then I remembered the horrible fiasco of 27 dresses, where you & your friends wanted to cut her slack for sending you to such an awful movie because you thought she must have been misled about how funny the movie was - to which I thought was a cop out because you shouldn't recommend anything wholeheartedly if you haven't actually seen/read/used.
Oh - and news stopped being "news" quite awhile ago, everybody has a bias and it comes through, so I agree with yogagrrl, you have to look at it all and weasel out the truth the best you can! :)
Much thanks mommaLO for all the typing!
We are enjoying a fantastic TV series here in Australia, which looks at advertising, its power and how they make us do what they want but think it is what we want!
You can download the programs to watch.
The Gruen Transfer
http://www.abc.net.au/tv/gruentransfer/default.htm
C'mon, LO..."Retreat" from the Blackberry! It'll still be there.
Lisa
(heading to a little cottage in Indiana with no land line or computer... and I WILL survive! Probably thrive!)
LO's mom: I am having visions of my mom posting for me and it's really very funny. I love my mom but she's not exactly tech savvy.
I work in PR (don't hate me) and I used to be a reporter. It makes one a tad cynical. I reckon it's all to do with product placement and endorsements. I think some of the more exotic and expensive things she might pick herself. Even then...
I read somewhere (I can't remember where) that Oprah is pretty strict about how people use her name when their product is feature on her show. They are not allowed to even use the phrase "As seen on Oprah."
To me, that suggests that she is doing the seeking, and not the other way around. It seems that opportunities would abound for her, because marketers know anything she touches turns to gold. So I would have a hard time believing she has to do anything to get things on her show.
LO, I discovered your blog a week ago via Andrew Sullivan. I feel a bit cheated that I didn't think of this first! GREAT IDEA. I could go on a bit more with this line of thinking, but it doesn't relate to this particular post.
I understand what you mean about TV as gospel. I think it's a rut many of us fall too easily into because we lead busy lives and still need to feel connected to the world around us. TV is a spoon fed medium and not many consider how the agenda of the networks shapes the information that is delivered to us.
I have found, that as I continue to juggle my daily tasks, that I enjoy the internet for news and connection much more than I ever did TV. the internet waits for me to make dinner and doesn't simply move on to the next program. It allows me to share interesting stories with friends in a nanosecond. I have a great many blogs I enjoy reading that link to actual reputable sources and when I say "wait a minute, is that TRUE?" the power is at my fingertips to find the answer, to know more.
I haven't turned my TV on in 8 months other than to watch favorite shows, sports events and for my son. I've become a bit arrogant in that I specifically and actively choose to exclude myself from his culture. I don't want to be influenced by somebody else's version of what I should wear/do/think/vote for etc....I prefer to read the pure information and make my own mind up.
The internet is not free of ads, but those of us who resent the subliminal messages and blatant corporate plugs can just ignore them and continue to get our daily fix here.
So, I applaud your honesty, your humility and this project. this posts questions the exact meme you explore in this blog while admitting your own culpability.
kudos!
I actually liked the 3-M pens... They did help with keeping track of things I found most important. I agree it was not completely needed but they were helpful and cute :)
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