Sunday, March 18, 2018

Non-core politics

Last week during the walkout Viacom opted to suspend its programming on a number of its networks, including BET, Nickelodeon, and MTV.


There are a lot of different ways to read this, but I read it primarily as a mixture of these two:

  • Whoa, this is amazing! The folx in Parkland have been able to mobilize people in powerful ways — including media outlets that usually stay out of it.
  • Wow, Viacom has really leaned into progressive issue coverage as part of their business model.

The thing that I find most interesting about it, though, is the consideration of what messages were shown on different Viacom networks. MTV's image very clearly states what the issue is, where MTV stands, and is followed by a call to action for people to join. BET did something similar, but couched it in Viacom messaging rather than their own. And Nickelodeon, well, Nickelodeon played only on the idea that kids are leading the way and didn't actually say anything about what they're leading on.

I hesitate to dive too far into speculation about why each message was constructed the way it was, but there's a lot to be said about the differences that makes me think that while plenty of people at the network clearly care about the issue, there's a definite brand filtering that recalls Naomi Klein's work in No Logo. Brand Identity is set up as something to be consumed in particular ways, as progressive, as kids, or something else. And similarly, there seems to be an evolution from how Sarah Banet-Weiser talks about the move towards diversity being couched in "good business" language that distances the politics.
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