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Networks may limit convention coverage - Politico (7/9/08)”

Major television networks are considering curtailing coverage of the Democratic National Convention after Monday’s announcement that Barack Obama will accept his party’s nomination in a Denver stadium.

The West Wing - “The Black Vera Wang” (2002):

MAN: We’re thinking about cutting back on our coverage.

TOBY: You only covered two hours a night last time. How much more can you…?

MAN: We’re talking about an hour.

TOBY: [laughing] You can’t do an hour a night, that’s just…

MAN: See you don’t understand. We’re talking about an hour for each convention. We cover the
acceptance speeches, that’s it.

TOBY: One of these times you guys are going to come in here and say that and it’s going to be true.
[...]
TOBY: Look this is obviously a–do not eat the fruit–this is obviously a, a negotiating
position for you, so what is it you need? You want us to vote a member of the Rules
Committee out of the convention every night or something? The secretary should eat
a jellyfish?

MAN: You know what sir, don’t talk to me like I’m other people. The four of us are news
directors and there isn’t a day that one of us isn’t begging the person we work for to
let us for the love of Jesus Christ do the news. Is the Republican nominee Rob Ritchie?
Yes. Is his running mate Jeff Hesten? Yes. And that question, as impossible as it may
be to believe becomes even less suspenseful when talking about the Democratic ticket.
And will there be anything of any force or consequence in the platform? No. Will there
be a floor fight over it? What does it matter? And you’re getting huffed because the
four of us are questioning the wisdom of presenting a four-day infomercial, in primetime,
under network news, simulcast? We’ll show the acceptance speeches. And the balloons.
The balloons aren’t news but it’s nice television.
[...]

MEDIA DIRECTOR 1: We understand you have a counter offer.

TOBY: Yeah. You broadcast all four nights of the convention.

MEDIA DIRECTOR 2: Why?

TOBY: ‘Cause the public owns the airwaves not you, and you have a legal obligation to the public.

MEDIA DIRECTOR 3: The public could care less about the nominating conventions. So why?

TOBY: You have an FCC public obligation.

MEDIA DIRECTOR 3: Show me a station that’s lost its licence for not showing enough public interest programming.

TOBY: I can’t.

MEDIA DIRECTOR 3: So why?

TOBY: ‘Cause if you don’t the Justice Department is going to investigate you for anti-trust violation.

MEDIA DIRECTOR 4: Anti-trust violation?

TOBY: A joint decision not to compete for the best convention programming.

MEDIA DIRECTOR 2: You’re accusing us of conspiring not to show money losing programming?

TOBY: Not me so much as the Justice Department. 15 U.S.C. section 1. “Every contract combination or conspiracy in restraint of trade or commerce is declared to be illegal. Every person who shall engage in any combination…”

MEDIA DIRECTOR 3: All right, we get it. We all have lawyers that we’ll have to talk to.

TOBY: Yes, no. There isn’t going to be a horse race to cover, either in New York or San Diego, but we gave you the air waves for free 70 years ago and 357 days a year you can say who’s up and who’s down, who won the West and who lost the South but what’s wrong with 8 days, not every year but every 4 years, showing our leaders talking to us. Not a fraction of what they said but what they said. And then th-the balloons.

Unfortunately what passes for the Justice Department’s Anti-Trust Division is on an eight year vacation.