In a piece titled, “Hollywood Shoots Itself in the Wallet”, Patrick Ruffini has some thoughts on Zogby’s poll that 75 percent of Americans tune out the Oscars:
That so many people view Hollywood through this political prism is pretty remarkable in a country where people are more interested in the latest with Nick and Jessica than in the condition of Social Security.
And yet: liberals get all pissy when conservatives decide to tune out institutions that don’t represent them and create new ones — just look at the sneering at “Faux News” and Rush and homeschooling and values voters. In Hollywood as in mainstream media, there is a price to be paid when an institution decides to leverage its prestige to push a political position where none is warranted; it’s a price that is paid in viewership, influence, and profit — in this case, a 30% falloff in viewers.
And BTW: I see Chris Rock just lost the other sixteen conservative viewers with his monologue… Nice!
While there’s a price to be paid in TV ratings, Hollywood’s balance sheet seems astonishingly bulletproof.
Update: Not surprisingly, Hugh Hewitt also has some thoughts on the Oscars.
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