Americans are becoming addicted to television. Whether you read the newspapers or keep up with the news online, our default leisure activity is watching TV. The amount of hours the typical American spends watching TV on average is appalling, and it is on a continual climb. CNN Analyst Taylor Gandossy wrote about this increase an article called “TV viewing at an all time high.” Gandossy writes, “the average American television viewer is watching more than 151 hours of television per month.” The public is spending six more hours a day watching television. To put this obscure number of 151 hours into perspective: there are on average 720 hours in each month, minus 210 hours if people sleep 7 hours a night. That leaves 510 hours for us to fill with work and leisurely activities. Almost 30 percent of that free time is spent in front of the television. Americans have become a complacent audience. The networks don’t need to lure us into turning on the tube instead of reading a book or socializing-we willingly subject ourselves to the whims of the media. And why shouldn’t we? Americans work longer and more stressful hours than people many other countries. We deserve a little down time in front of the TV.
TV can be a great way for people to relax and kickback, but what we watch in those 151 hours can be extremely influential on our lives. The billions of dollars spent on television advertising alone is enough to convince anyone of the impact television has on how we make everyday decisions. While these commercials may seem harmless in our daily decisions, television’s power becomes troublesome when the future of our country is in the hands of the network news channels.
Americans have become so entranced by television that major candidates don’t have to try to get us to listen to them, we are a captivated audience, but what are we truly hearing? The majority of people trust the cable network channels like CNN, MSNBC and FOX News to deliver the news. However, these big corporate networks are not always providing unbiased and fair news-in the 2008 presidential race, the media failed to provide unbiased coverage of the two candidates.
The American public turned their TVs on to learn more about the two candidates and the media was putting on “The Barack Obama Show.” There was not a channel one could turn on without hearing about the new democratic candidate. MSNBC correspondent and Wall Street Journal writer Eugene Robinson discussed the failure of the media in the presidential election on SMU’s campus last November. He attributed the extensive media coverage to the novelty of Obama. “Obama was new to the national stage, whereas McCain was already an established political icon. Also Obama was the first legitimate African American candidate-there was more to explain with him.” According to Robinson, from the time Obama won the democratic candidacy in June until the election, the op ed page of the Wall Street Journal had 42 more articles about Obama than McCain.
While Robinson does not believe the media is responsible for Obama’s victory, I cannot help but wonder if it should be held responsible.
The media, especially network cable, made the Obama campaign a spectacle. This extensive media coverage dovetailed well into his use of the Internet to milk his fundraising-allowing him to raise a record amount of money. Which was then used for more advertisements and further media coverage. All the while, Americans were watching TV, 151 hours a month for five months leading up to the elections, 755 hours where “Obama blank” was the headline that sold. Networks are less concerned about responsible coverage when there is a profit to be made.
In a time where American’s understanding of newsworthiness has celebrity gossip ranked above the decisions of the Supreme Court, the celebrity status of Obama made him a more appealing candidate-he became another reality TV star, who won the public’s heart. And due to the overwhelming TV coverage of his campaign, on November 4, 2008 America voted, and Barack Obama became the next American Idol.
Claire Sanderson is a junior CCPA and Political Science double major. She can be reached for comment at [email protected].
