This is a well thought-out opinion piece about Carlson’s advertiser exit by @jackshafer with some very good points. As you can imagine, though, we disagree with it. And that’s okay. Here’s why: politico.com/magazine/story…
1) Calling it “stupid” is also “stupid”. Hate crimes spiked in the U.S. I’m 201y by 17%. You can argue that is for a variety of reasons, but one of them is the unbridled rhetoric coming from opinion shows and websites. If you’re a target of these crimes, words matter.
2) Fox is a network unlike any other. Its audience and reach are massive. They are impervious to any criticism, pushing the inflammatory rhetoric further daily. It has gotten worse, not better. They don’t care. Why? There’s money in outrage and they ain’t giving it up.
3) Shocker! Companies actually care about their brands. Over half of these advertisers AT LEAST came to this decision on their own without any contact. When you’re trying to appeal to a diverse consumer base, why would you want your logo on a show that denigrates many of them?
4) What is the alternative, really? Angry letters? Picketing? That will never change the coded and uncoded rhetoric that Schafer claims he detests. So do we ignore it? Has ignoring the rise of hate ever worked? No. No, it hasn’t.
5) Schafer, like most critics of this, is a media personality. Without question, we get the worry. They’re concerned it will fall back on them at some point. But this is a pattern with Carlson. It’s not a one time thing. Advertisers are smart enough to know this.
6) Everything from how we communicate to what we watch is now paid for with ad dollars. In the last 2 years, advertisers have accidentally funded everything from election influence on social media to nazi websites. We are making them aware of their tremendous responsibility.
7) Platforms and networks are taking less and less of a role in monitoring what happens under their purview and they control our lives more than any other time in history. What you’re seeing is citizens trying to take back a little control. And that, sir, is not “stupid”.
*IN 2017 BY. Shit.
