rm007's Journal: Moral Values? Go figure...

Today's New York Times is running an article about the apparent disparity between the moral values of voters and what they choose to watch for entertainment. That is, despite the alleged importance of moral issues for voters, particularly those supporting President Bush, according to the article: "representatives of the four big broadcast networks as well as Hollywood production studios said the nightly television ratings bore little relation to the message apparently sent by a significant percentage of voters." For example, in the greater Atlanta market, reaching more than two million households, "Desperate Housewives" is the top-rated show. Nearly 58 percent of the voters in those counties voted for President Bush. And in the Salt Lake City market, which takes in the whole state of Utah and parts of Nevada, Idaho and Wyoming, "Desperate Housewives" is fourth, after two editions of "C.S.I." and NBC's "E.R."; Mr. Bush rolled up 72.6 percent of the vote there.

What the article does not say is that "moral values" were cited by only about 22% of voters as being the main driver in their decision making and dispite the hoopla surrounding its "number one" ranking, it barely edged out the economy and Iraq as key issues in exit polls. And, of course, even in Salt Lake City, something like "Desperate Housewives" could rake up over 25% of the viewers (still a pretty good figure in today's multi-channel world) and only have supporters of Senator Kerry glued to the screen (yeah, and if you believe that's what's happening, I have some recreational property in Florida that might interest you....) Nevertheless, the article hit a few buttons for me. I have been wondering about something similar in the guise of Fox network programing. Fox, the darling news source of the conservative right, seems to specialize in morally dubious entertainment - reality shows that set out to humiliate and debase by misleading contestants (My Big Fat Obnoxious Boss), reality shows based on family conflict (Trading Spouses) and titillation drama (The OC, North Shore). Am I the only one that sees a big disconnect here?

[note: in the interest of full disclosure, I awknowledge being a big fan of "24" on Fox.]