who needs TV?
When 19 year old R&B singer Chris Brown was accused of beating his girlfriend Rhianna, he didn’t go on 60-Minutes looking for contrition.
Bill Clinton and Hillary might have taken a chance with Mike Wallace twenty years ago, but times have changed and so has the media.
Chris went directly to the people via Youtube.
By using Youtube, Chris was able to control his own message and bypass the ‘intermediaries’ who would doubtless have edited his message or asked him hard questions.
Who needs that one?
By taping his own message and taking it direct to ‘the people’, Chris was able to control what he said and how he said it.
And, at more than 1 million hits so far, by last count, it seems to be working.
Of course, this ‘direct to the people’ stuff is nothing new.
In 1952, when Richard Nixon was caught with his hand in the slush fund, there was a hue and cry to toss him off the Republican ticket. (He was running for VP with Eisenhower).
It looked like the end for ‘tricky Dick’. (If only!)
Reeling from the scandal, Nixon, who understood the new medium pretty well, bypassed the Republican Party and went directly to the people over the then relatively new medium of television. He bought and paid for a half hour of air time on TV during prime time (these were the days before even cable), and delivered the now famous Checkers speech. (Checkers was the name of a small dog someone had given his daughters). “The dog is not going back” he said, almost on the point of tears.
The result- the party was overwhelmed with telegrams in support of Nixon, he stayed on the ticket, became VP for two terms under Eisenhower and later corrupted and almost destroyed the Presidency and the country in Watergate. So it goes.
I don’t think Chris Brown is going to do that… but you never know.
Meanwhile, in the 50s only about to be disgraced VP candidates could go directly to the people.
Today, pretty much anyone who is disgraced can get their own channel.
Chris Brown is only 19, so he gets the new medium.
Gov Sanford? Eliot Spitzer? Sen. Ensign?
Why don’t you guys just get your own Youtube channel?
2 Comments
Michael Rosenblum July 22, 2009
Dear $
Well, Chris Brown is no Nixon, that’s for sure, and that’s kind of the point here – that anyone can get air time now. Chris, I read about in The Times of London, so he does get some traction.
As for 60-Minutes, well, they spend a lot of their time covering people and stories a lots less important than Chris Brown.
In the past few months they have devoted their rather considerable resources to:
Reggie Bird reality star from Big Brother
Ken Marslow whose son Michael was shot in the head 15 years ago
Andrew Symonds, Cricket Player
“Housewife Superstars”
“Childhood Romances”
Yeah….
Some really great journalism there.
Right from the pages of…. The National Enquirer?
Oh, Chris Brown would fit right in.
Right in.
$ July 22, 2009
Yet another foolish comparison.
Chris Brown is the same as presidents Nixon and Clinton.
You really have to put down the pipe before touching the keyboard.
Frankly, few if any really care about this has been artist.
That’s why he’s not on a program like 60 Minutes.
Sure, like your VJs, let him produce his own message.
It will get the audience it deserves.
And achieve the same amount of impact and success.
Just like your VJs.