Vision

16 T I K K U N W W W. T I K K U N . O R G J U LY / A U G U S T 2 0 0 8 technology,isanextraordinarilyeffectivetoolforinfluencingpeople’svalues,behaviors,and beliefs,especiallywhenitoccursinacontextwhereotherviewsaresystematicallymarginalized .Itistimetotrysomethingdifferent. What might a commercial-free U.S. media look like? I would like to offer the following suggestions in the spirit of sparking discussion and subsequent action. I suspect that any mediasystem,commercialornot,willbeflawedandsubjecttoitsownformsofbias.Thekey question,therefore,iswhetheracommercial-freemediasignificantlyimprovesupononedependentoncorporatefunding . As I envision it, a commercial-free media would begin with a ban on all commercial sponsorship.Themediawouldbesupportedprimarilythroughgenerous—andlegallyguaranteed —public funding. The funds themselves would be distributed to promote diversity (class,race,sex,etc.)onalllevels,fromproductiontoperformance.Localmediaalsowouldbe generouslysupported. How would people learn about the products and services that are available? It’s worth notingherethatadsroutinelyincludemisleading,exaggerated,orfalseclaims,crucialomissionsregardingthedownsideofproducts ,andemotionalmanipulation.Assuchtheyareextremely poor sources of information. To replace them, publicly funded websites and publicationswouldbecreateddevotedtoreliableratingsofproductsandservices.Evaluators wouldbehiredwhoareindependentfromtheindustriesbeingassessed. Would we have fewer media sources if we went commercial-free? Possibly. But perhaps not, given that local media would flourish. In terms of quality, the enormous cultural diversitythatwouldbeunleashedwouldeasilyputourcurrentmediafaretoshame.Wealso havecluesfromtheBBC,Pacifica,andothercommercial-freestationsthatqualityimproves when programmers are not pressured to appeal to the lowest common denominator to increasesales . As a psychologist, I am concerned that children are already engaged with the media 6.5 hours a day while spending 2.25 hours with their parents. Our challenge is the wise use of media,notitsendlessproduction. Howwouldlifefeelwithoutthemarketingdeluge?Commercial-freeatlast.■ AllenD.Kanner,Ph.D.,isaco-founderoftheCampaignforaCommercial–FreeChildhood(www.commercialfreechildhood .org), co-editor of Psychology and Consumer Culture and Ecopsychology, and a Berkeleychild,family,andadultpsychologist. IsurrendertoloveinNasiral-DinandNazareth. IpocketmykippainKhirbatIribbin wonderingwhatmighthavebeen. Ipleadforthebringerofrainanddewtocome tothegrovesofDayral-Dubban. Ilaydownmyarms(forwhatit’sworth) alongtheroadtoTarbikhaandTallal-Turmus. Iprayintheholytongueofreachingandremembering fortheHouseofBreadandtheHouseofMeat. IwashmyselfinthecustomofWa'aratal-Sarris, firstfeet,thenhands,thenwithablutionsoftheface. —JoshuaWeitz VISION politics_2.qxd:Politics 6/11/08 12:34 PM Page 16 ...