CNN Rejected Obama Half Hour Ad

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Source: The Huffington Post

While ABC offered the Obama campaign airtime and was rejected, The Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd reports that CNN rejected the campaign's attempt to purchase airtime for its half hour primetime ad set to air Wednesday night:

A spokesperson told Hibberd:

We were approached by the Obama campaign and declined their request. We did not want to pre-empt our programming lineup with a 30-minute spot. We rather use our air to continue to cover the campaign, candidates and issues like we always do from all points of view with the best political team on television.

Hibberd reports that Fox News was not approached by the Obama campaign. The ad is slated to air on MSNBC, making it the only cable news outlet to run the ad. NBC, Fox, CBS, and Univision will also broadcast the ad.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/28/cnn-rejected-obama-half-h_n_138687.html

[MikeNearMcChord]

1. I hope when the Obama Adminstration comes in

They will strip these media conglomerates naked with the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. Bring Democracy back to the airwaves.

[onenote]

53. What part of the Sherman Act do you suggest would apply?

[tridim]

2. I'm sure your advertisers will enjoy your viewership drop-off tomorrow night.

Idiots.

[brendan120678]

43. Flawed logic there...

Obama is paying the advertising costs to cover the entire thirty minutes of broadcast. Therefore, CNN is doing their advertisers a favor by continuing to air their commercials, while other stations will not have that opportunity.

[Common Sense Party]

3. "Fox News was not approached by the Obama campaign."

Really? No kidding.

:rofl:

[ladym55]

27. Probably didn't want all those O'Reilly viewers to have a stroke

They are all kind of old ...

[Throckmorton]

60. Martha, there is a darkie on the picture radio

Where did I leave my white sheet?

[TrogL]

46. Fox TV (KAYU) in Spokane is carrying it at 8 p.m.

http://www.myfoxspokane.com/myfox/pages/InsideFox/TVSchedule?pageId=5.9

[KamaAina]

47. The Fox network and Fox "News" are two different channels

Fox "News" is a cable channel here in the States that is loaded with enough right-wing bias to make your set tip over. It is the home of O'Reilly, Hannity, etc., etc. ad nauseam. :puke:

[heliarc]

4. I hope I don't get flamed for this...

But I'm a big supporter of the Equal time laws that seem to have fallen by the wayside in favor of cutthroat pay to play advertising...

I wonder how the 30 minute ad buy really helps us when it is such a blatant biased presentation of one candidate over the other. It's true that the overwhelming force of RNC scale fundraising has created an imbalance the other way in the past, but if the scale flips towards us, its not necessarily fair either. just saying...

[still_one]

6. there are no equal time laws thanks to reagan and Bill Clinton

this is one party buying ad time

cnn is a fraud. nothing stopped them during the swift boating of Kerry

In fact cnn is wose than faux

faux you know where they come from, cnn is a rattlesnake without a rattle

[heliarc]

23. We're in agreement...

I just wish buying 30 minutes of ad time wasn't the solution. I wish the FCC was.

[Roy]

28. You play the card dealt you. unilateral disarming is an idiotic tack

McCain/Palin should have to declare Fox, Msnbc, CNN, CNN-HLN, as well as most of the network broadcast stations on his FEC campaign disclosure reports. Most of the shows on these stations are no more than campaign commercials for him.

And you don't think Obama should employ the fruits of his hard work and brilliance to his (and our) full advantage?
When the laws are changed Obama will be happy to work within that framework, but the repukes enacted these rules because they gave them an advantage.
Fuck'em let them whine.

Now that Obama use these rules and beat them over the head, all of a sudden these rules need to be changed. But as a black man, Obama has live with this type of rule flexibility all his life, I know I have.
It sickens me every time this shit happens.

[onenote]

55. hey I have an idea. Let's repeal the First Amendment

No, media coverage, whether balanced or not, should not be treated as a political contribution. If my newspaper wants to ignore one candidate or be slanted in favor of one over another, so be it. Its been that way for most of the country's history (go back and read up on some of the 19th Century campaigns and how they were covered). There is no reason in this day and age to treat the electronic media differently from the print media.

[still_one]

30. I agree, but I don't think we will see that for quite some time /nt

[ACTION BASTARD]

25. The Christian News Network is far worse than Faux

by a long shoot.

[still_one]

31. Are they considered MSM? /nt

[melm00se]

36. Equal time

provisions remain on the books:

TITLE 47 § 315

Please don't confuse "equal time" with the "fairness doctrine" they are 2 completely separate issues.

"Equal time" requires broadcasters (with certain exceptions. The law addresses the specifics so you can look it up) to afford the same level of broadcast time to any qualified candidate.

So if Obama pays for and CNN runs a 30 minute spot, then CNN is obligated to give McCain the opportunity 30 minutes, in the same time slot (albeit on a different day) for the exact same amount of money - this also applies to the 3rd party qualified candidates.

I can see CNN's reluctance to carry a 30 minute spot, regardless of candidate, as accepting it could grow from 30 minutes to 60 minutes to 90 minutes to who knows how much time as other candidates chime in and a game of oneupmanship begins.

The "fairness doctrine" the OTOH does not apply to candidates for public office but rather to issues (usually controversial ones) and offering contrasting viewpoints so that only 1 side of an issue is presented.

This confusion is a common one as they, on the surface, appear to be interchangeable.

[onenote]

56. thanks for posting this.

[onenote]

54. the equal opportunities rule is still in force and hasn't changed much at all

Sorry, but those are facts.

And news programs and bona fide news interviews have never been subject to the e/o rule.

[stillcool]

7. well the McCain Campaign..

has FOX news and CNN. It's a shame that a candidate has to buy air time to get fair coverage, isn't it?

[heliarc]

20. It is...

That is my point.

[PSPS]

8. Are you kidding?

The corporate media is essentially a 24-hour pro-GOP ad. Five people, all "Bush Pioneers," own virtually every media outlet in the country today -- print, radio and television. It used to be that media ownership was much more diversified.

But I'm not worried about CNN not selling the time. First, their viewership is a small fraction of the over-the-air networks. Second, they're primarily interested in promoting the idea that this election is a horse race, complete with fake polls and otherwise slanted "reporting." This keeps their viewers watching their advertising and makes any theft of the election seem "plausible."

[heliarc]

17. I'm not kidding.

I agree with you that corporate media is a 24 hour ad for corporations and protects their interests...

I just hope that we can somehow enforce real FCC standards and campaign financing after this display of brash spending. I am a contributor to the Obama campaign and recognize that we needed brawn in the form of a deep war chest this time... but there's a monster born in this kind of campaigning. I think that the Networks need to be reigned in and forced to offer equal time. The FCC was created in part to protect the PUBLIC airwaves. That notion of the public airwaves has become a joke, but I think we need it back.

[krkaufman]

21. Seriously. Aside from the brief hours of Countdown and Maddow, it's all right-of-center coverage ..

... and even Olbermann is really just a centrist with an anti-Bush axe to grind. (I laughed out loud at Campbell Brown's comment on Monday's Daily Show that O'Reilly is coming from the far Right and Olbermann from the far Left. Or maybe I've missed all of Noam Chomsky's appearances on Countdown.)

[xxqqqzme]

41. I thought that curiously

strange as well. I do not consider Olbermann 'left'; Maddow, yes, but Olbermann no. It clearly indicates how far to the right the whorporate media has moved. That pendulum will have to make a hard left swing for the 'center' to be restored.

[krkaufman]

48. Yes, agreed. n/t

[onenote]

57. who are these five "Bush Pioneers" that own virtually every media outlet

including most newspapers, magazines, television and radio stations.

[last1standing]

10. This is nothing in this world that is "fair".

Everything just is. To complain that we have an advantage for the first time in modern history is to wish for failure.

If you want to set up a situation where all candidates begin at the same spot then you must advocate for completely government funded races with absolutely no outside money or in-kind contributions allowed. Other than that, we can only work within the system and do our best.

[tclambert]

14. "Fair" and freedom of speech don't mix well

Some people's freedom of speech counts for more than others. If a celebrity tells you something, it carries more weight and gets more attention. If a guy with a lot of money wants to buy TV time for ads promoting his point of view, is it fair to deny him?

And then there are smart people. In America, we ignore them. They're just nerds anyway. I mean, why would you go to a doctor for medical advice when you can skim an article in Reader's Digest, or listen to your local TV news, or watch Oprah?

[heliarc]

19. Fair and freedom of speech mix fine...

with rules and guidelines. That is the problem with media consolidation, and the problem with the FCC standing silent while the Networks treat political campaigns the same way that they treat Nabisco, or Chevrolet in their adbuys.

I favor regulation of the airwaves (cableways and satellite transmissions) to promote democracy I think it can and should be done. Sorry if I think that there should be an effort to be fair.

[onenote]

58. do you favor regulation of newspapers to promote democracy?

[tclambert]

61. How do you regulate celebrities?

Remember when Tom Cruise and Brooke Shields were feuding? People were taking medical advice from those two. And I remember wondering if somewhere in this universe a planet existed where the people took medical advice from doctors.

[tclambert]

62. Nabisco and Chevrolet can't openly lie

There still is a Truth in Advertising law. (Oh, please, tell me there still is.) It might be under the FTC's jurisdiction rather than FCC. Nabisco can't claim Oreos cure cancer, for instance. Political candidates are obviously held to a lower standard. It might be good if they weren't. What if their ads were refused, or they were fined for each factual error in their commercials? McCain's campaign would be broke.

[krkaufman]

18. Your point will have some merit if/when the scale ever flips ...

... but my scroll through AM radio dial in West Central Illinois, today, tells me that Democrats aren't in any danger of taking over the airwaves.

[norepubsin08]

32. who gives a fuck if it's not fair

as long as we win. We can clean up the mess once in the White House..with out the win..we won't even be allowed near the mess.

[IsItJustMe]

45. It's not very much fun fighting with your hands tied behind your back. When you do that, I

guarantee one thing, you will loose.

[redqueen]

49. You *have* noticed that stations routinely cut away from Obama's speeches

while showing McCain's in their entirety, haven't you?

I think it's an extremely safe bet that if there was the slightest chance broadcasters had given Obama more time, that the RNC would be raising holy hell about it.

[Zuiderelle]

51. I'm reserving judgement until I see it.

But I say... Fair is fair. If Obama's campaign can afford it and McCain can't, it demonstrates how much better he will be at managing his administration.

[heliarc]

52. I'm with you...

but I want the "public airwaves" back. I think where we got screwed was when Cable television got the right to do whatever it wanted and said that they weren't going to have any advertising because we were paying an arm and a leg every month to avoid that. Instead we got the shaft and C-Span is still a private corporation, when there should be the mechanism for C-Span like coverage in every home without paying a cent...

I might be extreme, but I think that Cable should be a public utility and the internet too. It's all been developed with taxpayer money... we should see the benefit of that.

It worries me that "fair" means whoever has the most money whether they are Democratic, Republicans, Libertarians, Green, anything.

I like our chances this time around, but I've seen us trounced too many times before because the REthuglicans have more dough. I'm inclined to believe that this time we're getting a little lucky because McCain is so controversial with the fat cats in the RNC, even though its true that Obama has run a kick ass campaign and has the money in the war chest to prove it.

[still_one]

5. no surprise there, cnn is a faux wantabe. If I was a shareholder I would be pissed

[2Design]

9. why would he turn down time on abc n/t

[mascarax]

11. Didn't ABC run all the anti-Kerry crap?

I didn't watch but seems like ABC was the one promoting propaganda in 2004.
Not that that's the reason.

[IndyOp]

12. We may someday find out that ABC was driving an impossible bargain in terms of $

in order to air the ad or that they were demanding some other conditions be met, like the Obama campaign allowing time for a McCain rebuttal immediately after the ad.

The Obama campaign was able to strike deals with other TV networks so I tend to think ABC was holding out for something that the Obama campaign did not think was reasonable.

We might not ever know.

:shrug:

[Bossy Monkey]

13. It's a little confusing

explained here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/28/obama-half-hour-primetime_n_138471.html In a nutshell, ABC has an hour show in that slot and didn't want to have to pre-empt it and then fill the empty second half-hour with something else. They offered other time slots on other nights but the Obama campaign wasn't interested. So then they offered the half hour, but by then the Obama campaign said they had already spent the money elsewhere.

[RBInMaine]

15. What time will it run on the east coast?

[rucky]

16. Screw cable news stations. That's not the audience we need to reach.

I say hit TLC and VH-1, E!, etc.

[iceman66]

22. CNN should just rename itself the "McCain Network"

[TheWraith]

24. McCNN. nt

[russspeakeasy]

26. CNN is Fox Lite...

I tune in to watch Cafferty....then off I go...Wolf can turn 4
words into 60 seconds of blather...

[llmart]

33. I absolutely cannot stand......

that self-important piece of shit Wolf Blitzer. Talk about a huge ego! Mr. Warmonger himself. He's about as bad as Limpballs. I wish they'd get rid of him.

[Quantess]

64. It really is. They are center-right.

Did you hear the great news that Glenn Beck will be moving to FAUX soon? He had about 2 solid prime-time hours on CNN "Headline News" every night. I emailed CNN at least 3 times complaining about him.

[2Design]

29. just noticed CNN will air time with mcCain after obama speech

This was in a headline ad and no link - sorry

[humbled_opinion]

34. So they will give free time to one side and make the other pay?

Yeah thats fair!!!!! If we keep letting them stamp on us we deserve what we get. Boycotts do work.

[eowyn_of_rohan]

35. Let's Reject CNN. Don't turn it on - switch to MSNBC

[GalleryGod]

38. Just decapitate CNN with your remote

Sheeeet..do you see me on the a$$hole Larry King's Show? No thanks, douchebags!

[ShortnFiery]

42. Amen! I'm there. No more Corporate News Network for me. eom.

[Dem2theMax]

59. Just take CNN out of your channel line-up. I'm the only one in the family

who knows how to work the TV software. No CNN, no FAUX. It's heaven.

[eowyn_of_rohan]

66. lol - how simple!

i hadn't thought of that.

[nyc 4 Biden]

37. K&R

This is BS! CNN sucks, I switched to MSNBC after CNN did that hatchet job on Joe Biden with their Special Investigation piece.

[ShortnFiery]

39. I guess we should not support MSNBC but at the same time push for Morning HO-JO to get kicked off

in favor of a more centrist show? :shrug:

[geiger]

40. this is the weirdest thing i have heard in a long time. LongTimeCNN viewer here NO MORE. eom.

[geiger]

44. also, just sent an email to CNN; they are off my desktop, and

unless I hear they have changed their mind about the broadcast tonight, I will never tune into them again.

This I say as someone who tuned into CNN from its beginnings as a political news junkie with advanced degrees in history and information science.

So much for "the best minds in politics," or whatever they call themselves. Whoever made this decision is fucking retarded.

[Zorra]

50. No surprise. CNN news on the hour on AM radio is shamefully biased toward McCain.

They are a pathetic RW propaganda machine.

[geiger]

63. It is very weird except that someone or somebodies are trying to have their own impact

on the election. So much for journalism ethics.

I just watched the piece, and I think rejecting the ad was also a jaded calculation that people would tune out after several minutes.

That's one of the things I like about Obama. He gives people more credit than that. And he sticks to strategic; he's not reactive, like the McCain's pathetic tactical campaign.

Time for change.

[stewert]

65. Boycott CNN & ABC

This is real simple, just boycott all CNN and ABC programs, that's what I plan to do.

[Imagevision]

67. CNN also declined to investigate the voter suppression in Ohio, CNN sells popcorn end of story....

[TankLV]

68. Well - that explains the hour long live mcINSANE feed every morning this week...

Fucking assholes...