SNL Is the New CNN
It’s up to Saturday Night Live to decide who will be the Democratic nominee for the election 2008.
The role SNL takes on in the nomination process is an incredible example for the way political debates are being turned into entertainment in the U.S. at the moment. At the same time however, it’s an incredible example how political issues are permeating the entertainment sector, creating a new arena for public discourse. There simply is no retreat to hide from the debate over Hillary vs. Barack.
While the traditional news media is busy analysing the electability of Obama in key states and commenting on Hillary’s risk of being hurt by a badly timed remark from Bill, SNL is stealing the show. Here, questions are raised about the news media’s fascination for Barack Obama. Here, the 3am phone call ad is put into context. Here, the candidates can establish themselves as a real person with – shocking – a real personality.
In contrast, on CNN and its counterparts the candidates are treated as abstract entities. They are equations, composed of surveys, polls, demographics and, well, momentum. To the pundits it’s a horse race for the right formula to win over public opinion. They miss just one point; to the public it’s a highly engaging debate about the future of America. Thank god, the writer’s strike is history. Otherwise we would miss the full spectrum of perspective TV can offer.
By Kolja (double post)
3 Comments, Comment or Ping
Christian Lüdde
Goooooood Morning,
I think this is a fair claim and I wish I’d be really what turns an election around. Obviously John Stuart, Stephen Colbert, Saturday Night Live, youtube (!) and their likes bring back the personality of the candidates. But CNN is having their monstrous screen and leads in the viewing figures (http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/0,1518,540936,00.html , http://allthingscnn.blogspot.com/2008/02/cnn-ratings-primary-debate.html) and Americans seem to remain attached to this kind of ‘politainment’. I agree that in the primary process especially liberal voters are tempted to consider the media covering more of the candidates’ personality and the very successful comedy shows by a higher margin. But who cares about those shows when it comes to the general election. Conservatives don’t wanna hear people taking about bitches on TV. They don’t appreciate the “beep” in the John Stuart Show. The bible belt, the republican Midwestern voters and the South can not be reached with liberal East and West Coast TV. So, I don’t quite agree that SNL really is the new CNN and that charts and figures are dead. Show me some evidence if you think I’m wrong!
Mar 22nd, 2008
Kolja
Ok, my outrageous claim might have been misleading. It’s just sad to see that the analysis offereb by CNN and the likes most of the time only revolves around campaign strategy. Call it a meta-discussion if you want.
SNL isn’t the new CNN when it comes to audience share, it’s the new CNN when it comes to discussing the actual pros and cons of the candidates. The experts of the traditional news media talk about these points too, but only in regard to how they change the candidates’ chances of being elected, not in terms of what a certain policy might mean to voters, and that’s my point.
Instead of putting the poltical strategy in context, the talk is all about the campaign strategy. I do understand why that’s more exciting – you can talk about front-runner and momentum and do-or-die situations. I just don’t believe it does a good service in providing the voters with some facts on which they can base their decisions upon.
Mar 22nd, 2008
Dirk
Well, Kolja only spoke of the influence SNL has on the *Democratic* nomination, and that influence is evident and even admitted by the MSM media: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/05/us/politics/05press.html
Cable news, especially Fox News, played the first sketch on an almost continuously loop the next day. The ripple effect was significant. Why would Clinton reference that sketch in the Ohio debate to prove her point about a supposed bias against her if SNL doesn’t matter?. Why would she appear there the next week if it doesn’t matter? Why would Huckabee go there? And about the “lead in the viewing figures”. Remember, CNN is still cable. On a regular night, they rarely get more than 2 millions viewers. Even the debate you referenced only attracted some 7 million viewers. SNL, a network show, pulls these numbers every week:
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/tv/la-et-snl13mar13,0,5294859.story
Mar 22nd, 2008
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