Here We Are Now, Entertain Us
H.L.. Mencken's old dictum that no one ever went broke by underestimating the intelligence of the American public seems to be borne out in a new survey showing that, even though we think what's on TV is junk, we keep on watching. The Washington Times reports:
Americans may watch an average of 12 to 17 hours of television a week, but they continue to hate what they see.When asked which of the new fall programs they were looking forward to viewing, a whopping 86 percent said they were anticipating "nothing," were unsure of the lineup or dismissed the new offerings altogether, according to a poll released yesterday by the Associated Press and AOL.
Viewers see a dim future. Almost two-thirds — 62 percent — say TV programming in general is "getting worse." ...
There are too many reality TV shows on the air; the genre was cited by 71 percent of the respondents as being too abundant. Crime and talk shows followed, each cited by 49 percent, and game shows, cited by a third.
This reminds me of other surveys showing that most Americans think Congress is corrupt, but their congressman is upstanding; and public schools are a disaster, but their public school is great.
Likewise, we apparently all hate reality, crime, and game shows -- except for the ones we watch.
Comments
Me: TV's so bad....
Crowd asks: "How bad is it?!"
Me: Last night, the only programs that held my interest were "Lost in Space" and David Cassidy's life story - complete with bad shag wig and corduroy bellbottoms.
And that's out of, what, 400 channels!!!
Posted by: Michele | September 14, 2007 4:24 PM