Five Dollar Media Journal

Watching television at the laundromat, it occured to me how similar most Spanish-language television is to English offerings. The neighborhood where I live is inhabited mostly by Latinos—obviously, the courtesy TVs would cater to them. So while washing my dirty whites, I can watch my favorite telenoticias, deportes, or even programs like ¡Onda Max! or Sabado Gigante. A lot of the commercials, though somewhat more flashy, are very reminiscent of English ads. I can even recognize similar formats (reality TV, dramas, comedy, etc.) just from the commercial snippets. The fact that it is all in a different language seems to make no difference. There are some slight cultural peculiarities, such as the bluntness of their humor, the liberal female wardrobe,

Unsurprisingly, KDTV 14 is often the number one station in local ratings. Univision attracts the single largest audience in the Bay Area, mostly because the Latino population is fairly united in viewing, while the English-language audiences are spread apart.

One of my favorite interstitial segments on Late Night with Conan O'Brien (replayed tonight) is the comparison between the audiences and one-night stands. A few audience members get upset at being set up for a night, only to be "disposed" of the next. While Conan tries to pacify them with typical "soothing" lines, members of the prior night's audience appear and expose his "ruse". Many become offended at the sight of Conan's last conquest and the thought of 1700 others, but an interested few stay behind for some action.

I think they're for Toyota...car commercials that parody scenes from memorable movies. They play in slow motion, enhancing the mock drama of the situations. One recalls a scene from Chariots of Fire, using the music of the same name—a college-age guy realizes his friends are driving off without him and sprints after them. Another one, performed to Pavarotti in aria, shows another (or perhaps the same) college-age guy being ambushed in a drive-by, Godfather-style, falling under a barrage of water balloons.

It's worth mentioning how the characters involved are young and playful, but not so much that they aren't below driving age. And by associating driving the vehicle with acts of fun, it is logically proven that "this car is not fun to drive" is a fallacious statement.

I detest Jay Leno, but I can't receive David Letterman on KPIX over the air. So I'm watching the Nightline report about the White House's recent denouncement of the national media. In the face of suicide bombings, U.S. deaths, and Iraqi protests, there has been much progress in Iraq. The problem, according to the White House, is that the media's typical fascination with conflict overpowers anything non-conflict. (Currently, Koppel is ripping apart WH Communications Director Dan Bartlett over issues such as the timeframe of the Iraqi reconstruction and the costs going into it.)

I haven't sought the traditional media for information regarding Iraq. Some time before the war, I caught wind of an Iraqi who had occasional Internet access and posted his personal thoughts on the situation. Since acquiring a digital camera and more liberal means of access, his views have proven more enlightening than any news wire. Only deep analyses of the region's dynamics could attract more of my attention.

Apparently, I am among those cited in a new trend of people paying more attention to the Internet than to television, given access to both. Many cite the "infinite variety" of information available online. While not quite infinite, there are certainly more facts and opinions to be had online. At this moment, I am also among those who watch television while browsing the Internet (I wouldn't be able to write this otherwise), who compose about half of those with both Internet and television.

[Ted Koppel's closing thought: Level with the public about what is going wrong. I suppose this means official acknowledgment that the post-war efforts are not ideal, instead of the intermittent lamentation over fallen Americans and shock over car-bombings which are actually typical of the region.]

The most recent Dairy Processing Board campaign is pretty stunning. Through (simulated?) X-ray footage, we get a "direct view" of milk's calcium benefits. The whole message has such a seriousness compared to their previous comedic situations. For years, milk on television was something to be laughed at, an instrument of dignity loss. With a new health consciousness overtaking food commerce, we are now seeing the industry's reflexion.