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Originally Posted by Toy Soldier
One show - even a show with a huge viewership - isn't enough to risk things like people boycotting the channel en masse, or more likely (and even worse for them), people boycotting the companies that advertise on the channel which will lead to them pulling their ads... And ads are all that matter to commercial channels. Without ad revenue, they're done.
Which is what I'd say about the above as well Maru; I don't think companies are necessarily "left leaning", it's all showmanship, all they really care about at the end of the day is sales and profit and thus they are terrified of boycotts. I mean just look at Starbucks recently... Scrabbling to "not seem like the bad guy" to appease their customers, but not because they actually care about anything that has happened, because they're feeling it in their pocket.
But again, that's the double edged sword... That is the other side of freedom / free speech / the free market. Yes you have the political freedom to say whatever you want, but because everyone ELSE has the same freedom, you can quickly find yourself (or your brand) "cancelled" for it. Faster than ever in the social media generation. And as you say... Broadcast media is an industry that's already under threat, with the best content slowly but surely transitioning to subscription based, streamed media.
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I think it's a bit of both. It's about the "way things are being done" more than anything. Companies/Sponsors have to appeal to a younger demographic/workforce, which means creating a company philosophy that adapts to their version of work ethic... I had a job interviews recently that reflected that... they don't expect you to answer the phone. They send an email, give a range of times and then tell you you are "free" to appear. I was told that the newer generations don't like to answer the phones, much less check voice-mail... they are more difficult to get in for interviews.
I agree completely that freedom of speech doesn't mean freedom from consequences... we all have to co-exist... there will discrepancies naturally, but however minor or major the offense we try to cause others, there will be some form of backlash. Individual responsibility is key here when it comes to utilizing those rights.
I'd argue that suggesting we should give a green light to more of that behavior could lead to advocating something similar to the current form of political correctness... except in this case, it would be more right-leaning... where most right-leaning folk tend to believe that this world by nature will always be have bad people in it... so maybe we should all just learn to accept this regardless, without creating a scene every time someone says something "off-script" from what
each consider ideal.
I think we need to get rid of PC altogether, because it for the large part it is a major reason why there has been such a decline in social discourse... we are all responsible for making the media arbitrators of cultural justice and now here we are reaping exactly what we sow.