NBC, Why?

NBC is going green and it is hard to be in favor of their effort.

In recent years, it has been common for television networks to paint themselves green for a week and talk about making a serious effort to achieve environmental sustainability. These efforts usually include a green version of the network logo and special PSAs filmed with the network's most visible stars about keeping our planet healthy and making a personal effort because, "every person can make a difference" or some similar slogan.

News networks are probably most effective at this type of prolonged focus. The big four (ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox) also have their versions, but because their programing contains mostly fictional material it is harder to wrench in a message about sustainability. Most of the messaging gets shifted to the PSAs and the news programing on these networks. Until this coming week, when NBC programing will include mention of the environment and sustainability in a few of its scripted shows. This NY Times article mentions: 30 Rock, The Office, Community, The Biggest Loser, and Heroes. Wait, people still watch Heroes?

Some of the shows seem to include the emphasis in creative and appropriate ways. No surprise here, but 30 Rock seems to have come out ahead with its storyline where Alec Baldwin's character decides everyone on staff must cut their carbon footprint by 5%. Also no surprise, Heroes seems to have the most disappointing and forced inclusion. Characters filling up a recycling truck and talking about the importance of taking care of the earth, what is this Captain Planet?

There are two major issues here. One is that extreme right wing conservatives are already convinced that the General Electric/NBC conglomerate are aggressively pushing a fictitious climate change agenda in order to profit off the backs of average Americans. I don't deny that General Electric will profit from a shift in the economy. However, I believe that has much more to do with GE being a company that bet the market would shift towards green than it does with GE hatching a massive disinformation plot to convince people of impending doom just to sell wind turbines and smart appliances. GE might have lots of power to influence the market, but they are hardly lying about climate change to do so. So the first issue in NBC's programing debacle is that it probably only serves to reinforce the theories of the extreme right.

The second issue, which is actually more troubling, is that NBC seemingly told/asked writing staffs on several of its major shows to incorporate a particular theme into their show, regardless of whether or not it fits well with the show's overall makeup (see again: Heroes). Beth Colleton, vice-president of "Green is Universal" (nice pun by the way), claims that NBC did not dictate to the shows and that there was no interference with the creative process on the shows.

Isn't telling a show that you would like them to incorporate a message (any message) by definition interfering with the creative process?

In NBC's defense, it is possible that they merely asked the show writers to consider including some sort of reference to the environment. But come on, really? I find that one as hard to believe as the idea that GE and NBC are brainwashing people into thinking there is global warming. NBC would do well to leave the focus on the environment to its logo and its news programing, where a dedicated focus on a topic cannot be called a deviation from the norm. Everything else is just a little too much.