 | Bob Gabordi is executive editor of the Tallahassee Democrat and Tallahassee.com. He can be reached through this blog, at bgabordi@tallahassee.com or (850) 599-2177 |
| Posted 2/4/2010 9:12 AM EST on tallahassee.com My post on freedom-of-speech issues in the controversy over Tim Tebow’s Super Bowl commercial generated a lot of discussion. Some people question how 30 seconds of air time that costs more than $2.5 million can be considered “free speech.” So did the Supreme Court for a long time. After all, many scholars believe the Founding Fathers were thinking about political speech, not commercials to get you buy toothpaste. (OK, maybe toothpaste didn’t come into broad use for a few more years. Maybe a nice set of George Washington wooden teeth would have been a better example.) But all that changed in the last part of the 20th century when the courts offered greater protections under the First Amendment to commercial speech. Still, that shouldn’t matter here. Nor should CBS’ inconsistency in deciding which ads it accepts. That’s for CBS to decide and for the rest of us to criticize. Advertisers are buying the right to express their viewpoint or pitch their product; they are buying access to CBS’ viewers. The difference in that seems to be lost on some people. But they are two totally different things. Tebow’s ad – if it is anything like what we’re being told – is closer to political speech than commercial speech anyway. That the ultra conservative group Focus on the Family is paying for access to CBS’ viewers shouldn’t matter. Critics say CBS refused an ad from the United Church of Christ in support of gay and lesbian membership in the UCC in 2004 on the grounds that it was too controversial. Don’t you just hate it when the “liberal media” goes all Rush Limbaugh on us? Come on, CBS, what are we supposed to do with all those “liberal media” bumper stickers? Personally, if I were king of CBS, I would accept them all. I’d just keep raising the price of the ad spots to weed out those who really don’t want to reach my audience. Hey, this is such a totally American event, a day to eat, drink and celebrate who and what we are: couch potatoes. What’s so wrong with a little political free speech and a lot of capitalism added in? Does CBS really think that a little political controversy is going to stop Americans from watching football? I highly doubt it, but that’s for CBS to decide. Until I’m the king. You can send your comments by clicking the button below, e-mailing me at bgabordi@tallahassee.com, sending a private message on Tallahassee.com, Twitter @bgabordi, LinkedIn or Blogger.com. You can also find links to my blogs on Facebook but you have to request to be my friend. |
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