The "Foundation for a Better Life" ads
G,
Your comment has generated quite a big and productive discussion here at the FSTV offices. Some have called for the immediate and permanent removal of the spots from our line-up, some are equating them with "the winning Regan Ads in the early 80s, certain quaint Pepsi and Coke Commercials, and any number of other corporate propaganda pieces ensuring that people remain complacent."
I have a somewhat different take, similar to yours in some ways. I too feel that the messages in the spots themselves are benevolent, and I'd go a little further maybe, I find some inspiring. We do not air every spot produced by this campaign, to be sure. Some are in direct opposition to our mission. But I think others are worth airing, like the "generosity" spot which shows school children conducting a food drive for needy families. Is the spot radical in its critique of the systems which make people poor? No. But is it a story worth showing on Free Speech TV? I think it is.
Most of what we see on television, in the prime real estate anyway, are commercials which, ultimately, try and get people to buy more stuff. The best of our programming suggests that television can also be a medium where people can be encouraged to be more active as global citizens, not just as consumers. Some of these spots do a good job in this vein, I think. Some, clearly, do worse, and we don't air those.
The Anschutz connection stands apart, for me, from the content question. I don't think it would be appropriate for Free Speech TV to make space on this rare television platform to broadcast messages that were, in effect, public relations whitewashing for criminal corporate or individual actions. In my brief research, it appears as though Anschutz may indeed be the funder, but there is no mention, in fact the campaign web site states that the funder prefers to remain anonymous. Perhaps ironically, in the postings I've seen on Indymedia and elsewhere, the people connecting these positive message spots to Anschutz are not Anschutz PR staff, they are the people who are critical of the guy and his actions.
Ultimately, what I'd love to see happen is more of this kind of conversation, happening online and on-air. The Free Speech TV online community offers a number of ways for people to expose the malfeasances of corporations and individuals, and to highlight ways for people to organize and resist. We also have a toll free viewer comment line, and we regularly broadcast these very kinds of statements (888.FSTV.TLK). So I hope you continue to challenge and educate our staff here with your ideas and feedback, and that this effort grows and encourages others to do the same, whether in online print, on-air audio, or online and/or on-air video "vlogs."
These are my two cents at any rate.
Eric
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Hey Thank you very much for this information. We'll definitely look into this!
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Hi. I just got dish network recently and I started watching FSTV, I like a lot of the programming (not the stuff claiming that bush was behind 9/11) but today I could have sworn I saw one of those 'pass it on' ads from the foundation for a better life. The messages in ads are benevolent enough, but the foundation is funded by Philip Anschutz, who is a billionaire with ties to the bush administration and many corporations, including close affiliation with a few oil companies. He also owns more than half of Regal Entertainment Group and has used his influence in that area to censor content from motion pictures that doesn't align with his own conservative christian views. He also donates heavily to conservative causes, and as a result of the favor this buys him in the white house is able to do things like drill an exploratory oil well through a native american historical site. I figured some of you would be interested in hearing this and am curious what people have to say about it.