What would happen if an anchor, broadcaster or TV personality ...

[ColbertWatcher]

... said something live on the air that the sponsors or the networks didn't like?

Nothing obscene, mind you, but what if someone were to start telling the truth about the insurance syndicate's lies?

Would they be fined? Fired? Sent to Somalia or North Korea to do their reporting?

[masuki bance]

1. They would go missing. nt

[EFerrari]

2. Phil Donahued

[global1]

3. Ask Dan Rather or The Dixie Chicks......nt

[HubertHeaver]

4. Siberia

[Greyhound]

5. As written about above, it has happened before. Ask Bill Maher. n/t

[MADem]

6. Back in the days when single "sponsors" controlled entire blocs of programming, they were able to

wield a lot of clout. If GE or Ford or Magnovox "owned the hour," they had the right to make script changes.

Now, if a sponsor doesn't like the way a show is going, they simply withdraw their ads and spend elsewhere. If they're simply being petulant, someone else will swoop in and buy up those ad slots.

[tkmorris]

7. Dan Rather

In short they would be discredited, ridiculed, blacklisted, and forgotten. What's worse they all know it and it's their darkest nightmare.

[proud patriot]

8. In the book "Manufacturing Consent" Chomsky called it Blacklisted

He listed many examples through the Reagan years.
Betcha there is many more examples now .

[proud patriot]

9. MSNBC fired a wonderful anchor ! shoot what was her name ?

she covered 9-11 from the streets of manhattan .
I'm going to search her ...I'm mad at myself for
not remembering her name .... I can see her face w/
glasses ..

She had made a comment before the invasion of Iraq and
was dixie chicked to court TV ...

[proud patriot]

10. Ashleigh_Banfield

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashleigh_Banfield

She was amazing on Sept 11th 2001 . Street inerviews
just amazing ..She made a comment about the invasion of Iraq
and abracadabra she fucking dissapeared on TV .

[Historic NY]

12. NYTimes story

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/05/business/media/05ASH.html

[KharmaTrain]

11. It's Their Dime...It's Their Game

I've known plenty of people who said things advertisers didn't like and lost their jobs. It doesn't have to be political...it can be the morning zoo guy shooting off his trap or showing up at a station remote drunk. It can be the sponsor doesn't like the voice or a dozen other reasons that have no reason...but it's their dime and in the corporate world, they are the truth and the word.

There have been people speaking out against the insurance companies. Ed Schultz has been critical since day one, but those voices are far and few between. It's a bone from the corporates who earn more from Geico and AIG and Pfizer and not from "the little guy". All you are are numbers...ratings...a tool to justify charging more to their corporate pals who then pass along the costs.

It's the golden rule...ye who has the gold makes the rules. You work at the "pleasure" of the corporates and if you don't like it...blog.