Network
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Ryan Tucker provides some history of how news networks went from public service to sensationalism.
Ryan Tucker provides some history of how news networks went from public service to sensationalism.
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SATURDAY NIGHT CINEMA is a local public television program presented by KSPS PBS
Network
Clip | 3m 2sVideo has Closed Captions
Ryan Tucker provides some history of how news networks went from public service to sensationalism.
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Beatrice Straight won an Oscar for her performance in this week's movie, Network.
That is significant not just because of her performance, but because she is only on screen for five minutes and two seconds, which makes it the briefest performance to ever win an Oscar.
That's amazing by itself.
But Ned Beatty is also in Network and only for five minutes and 53 seconds, and he received an Oscar nomination, but I guess he couldn't clinch it like Beatrice.
I mean, he had a whole 52 more seconds than she did, and he couldn't seal that deal.
What a hack.
Seriously, though, all these Oscar nominations are due to the director Sidney Lumet.
He is quoted as saying, there are no small roles, only small actors.
And if that Oscar win and nomination for Beatty and Straight isn't a testament to that sentiment, I don't know what is.
Lumet was furious that Network lost the Best Picture Oscar to Rocky, and I have to wholeheartedly agree.
That is insane.
I think Rocky still would have lived on as strongly as it has, even if he had lost to Network.
For those who don't know, back in the day there were really only the big three television networks ABC, NBC and CBS, and they ran the news as a public service obligation to keep people in the know to major events in accordance with Congress and the FCC.
The FCC also created a policy called the Fairness Doctrine, which required broadcasters to present controversial issues of public importance and to do so with contrasting viewpoints.
Networks ran new shows as a financial loss, using profits from entertainment shows to fund them.
And they only ran for about 15 minutes around the early 60s, specifically in 1963 during the Kennedy assassination.
The public became hungry for information, which then made news programs profitable, and the networks pounced on it from then on, turning news shows from 15 to 30 minutes and creating shows like The Huntley Brinkley Report and CBS Evening News.
So much so that in 1987, the chairman of the FCC, Dennis Patrick, stopped enforcing the act, saying it was against free speech.
Congress repealed that same year, but Reagan vetoed it.
Now, in regards to the movie Network, it doesn't really matter if you feel that the policy promoted balanced public discourse and prevented media outlets from dominating the ratings with a single viewpoint, or that you think it was a form of government censorship.
What matters is that you understand what was happening.
In 1976 as the news circuit began its sensationalism.
Now you can deeply enjoy the thick satire of the movie Network.
Before I move on to the movie, I'd like to point out that PBS still operates their news in the way it was originally intended.
With facts and transparency.
What a novel idea.
At least I feel that way.
Hopefully these tidbits make your watching even more enjoyable.
This Saturday on KSPS PBS.
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