Wednesday, December 14, 2005

Too much publicity:

In showbiz some stars get all the press. Jen (Aniston or Lopez) can't buy a cup of coffee without it ending up on a cover of Us Weekly. More details about Tom and Katie's baby has been released than facts on the latest Bush war. Jon Stewart has become bigger news than the news he's lampooning.

Stewart has appeared on tons of magazine covers and all the news shows. Publicity is good for Stewart's "The Daily Show." Reminding the public that it's relevant and they really should catch the show that night.

But last week, the Comedy Central publicity machine stepped way over the line.

On Monday, a horrible thing happened when a staff member took his own life. One can only imagine the pain that his family, friends and co workers are going through.

An item appeared on the news wires and around the world regarding why there would be not show shot on Monday. The article published the name of the deceased and that he took his own life. It also mentioned that the Comedy Central sent in a grief consoler - showing that they are a sensitive company that's not afraid to tell the Drudge Report or any other news outlet that's willing to follow it up with "Mondays- Thursdays at 11 PM."

The gentleman who took his life was neither a celebrity nor a politician. There was no reason that the public needed to know that a private citizen had passed away or how it happened. This is the sickest use of the press as a publicity machine and Comedy Central show apologize to the victim’s family - privately.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

So true.