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CNN Saturday Morning News
Interview With Michael Jacobson, Jim Rogers
Aired December 15, 2001 - 10:38 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: NBC is going to serve up some liquor ads along with its "Must See TV" lineup. The network will lift its self-imposed ban, and accept advertising from liquor distributors. NBC the first major broadcast network to change its policy on liquor ads.
Let's talk more about it. In Washington, Michael Jacobson with the Center for Science and Public Interest.
Michael, good morning to you.
MICHAEL JACOBSON, CENTER FOR SCIENCE AND PUBLIC INTEREST: Good morning, Bill.
HEMMER: You do not like this idea. Tell us where your objection originates, and why.
JACOBSON: Well, I think if we look back -- if we project ourselves 10 years into the future and look back at the year 2001, we'll see this development as one of the most disastrous impacts on the public health.
HEMMER: Disastrous? How so?
JACOBSON: What we're looking forward to is hundreds of millions of dollars of seductive television ads encouraging Americans, including children, to drink more alcoholic beverages.
HEMMER: There are several provisions that the network has put in. A few here: only after 9:00 Eastern time; only in primetime; only using actors over the age of 30; and they are required to run some socially responsible measures as well. Does that help your argument?
JACOBSON: It's just window dressing to make their despicable act look a little bit prettier.
9:00 to 11:00, there are millions of kids watching television. And adults don't need extra encouragement to drink, either. I mean, this isn't just about kids. But I think we're going to see even this bit of window dressing disappear over the years, gradually being eroded by greed and need on the part of broadcasters and the liquor industry.
HEMMER: Michael, we're talking about hard liquor, let's talk about hard facts too, though. What does the research say, in numbers, about the impact and influence?
JACOBSON: Well, right now beer is the No. 1 drink of kids -- the No. 1 drug of kids. That likely will gradually change if we're exposed to more and more liquor advertising on television. And there's nothing great about beer. You know, we're concerned about the tremendous amount of beer advertising on baseball games, the Olympics, and so on.
HEMMER: At some point. though, isn't it just the responsibility of the individual who's watching?
JACOBSON: Well, it's a combination of both. I think our society has to ask the question: Does it make sense to use the most powerful persuasive medium ever developed to encourage people to consume more of an addictive product like alcohol? And our answer is that it doesn't make sense.
HEMMER: Michael, hang on one second here.
Jim Rogers by the telephone now. He's the president and owner of Sunbelt Communications in Las Vegas. Joins us by telephone in Pocatello, Idaho.
Sir, can you hear me OK?
JIM ROGERS, SUNBELT COMMUNICATIONS: I can, Mike (sic).
HEMMER: It's Bill, but that's OK.
ROGERS: Bill -- I'm sorry.
HEMMER: That's all right. Mike's the other guy.
ROGERS: I was listening to Mike and...
HEMMER: Listen, I've been called worse; it's OK.
Hey, you've been running these ads now for about 18 months through your system, is that correct?
ROGERS: I have. We have...
HEMMER: What sort of reaction have you gotten, sir?
ROGERS: We've had no reaction. When we first went to the liquor people, we went to Seagram's and to Jack Daniels and suggested -- it was our suggestion that they run these ads on our television stations. We told them at the time that if there was any bad reaction, we would pull them off.
The particular ad that you're running right now is the one that we've run over the last 18 months. I will tell you we have had no inquiry, we have had no complaint. It's simply gone darn near unnoticed.
HEMMER: What are they saying about research here? I think this is the critical mark that Michael Jacobson is trying to make here. He says the numbers tell you it leads to some really bad influence on younger people. How do you defend that?
ROGERS: I don't buy that. I've never bought that. First of all, I don't think I ought to be in the censorship business. Secondly, I don't think that the cause and effect is there. I think most of the numbers in our business would show that we don't increase the purchase of any particular product. We may increase the purchase of a brand -- one brand as opposed to another.
HEMMER: What about Michael's assertion that down the road this will be just disastrous? I mean, is this bad precedent when you have a major network, NBC, going forward with it? I mean there's a big difference -- no offense, but there's a big difference between NBC and Sunbelt Communications.
ROGERS: There's no question about that. But at the same time, I think that there's self-policing in this area. I really don't believe that his creeping problem is a problem. And I think that we can't get into the business of stopping reasonable advertising -- advertising that does talk about the responsibility of the person taking the drink to drive carefully, not to overuse, et cetera.
And I think at this point we ought not to get into the business of stopping that because someone fears that somewhere down the line it will get out of hand.
HEMMER: Interesting comments, Jim.
I want to go back to Michael quickly here. You heard his initial comment there Michael, saying that they have gotten no reaction, in his estimation, to the ads being run. Is this much ado about nothing?
JACOBSON: Well, I have no idea what the reaction is out there. But public health officials, and former officials like Joseph Califano have been frightened and outraged by the networks -- by the local broadcasters and now networks deciding to accept this kind of advertising.
And anybody who thinks that this powerful advertising does not encourage increased consumption really needs to reed some primers on advertising. I mean, that doesn't make sense. I don't think anybody believes that.
HEMMER: It's an interesting issue. We're going to see more of that because the adds will be running real soon.
Michael Jacobson, Center for Science and Public Interest in Washington; Jim Rogers out in Pocatello, Idaho. Thanks, gentlemen; enjoyed the discussion. We will look forward to more down the road here.
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