Nine Percent Approval Rating? US Network Television News FAILS Big Pharma...

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Nine Percent Approval Rating? US Network Television News FAILS

" Big Pharma " ...

 

Opinion by Consumer Advocate Tim Bolen

 

Saturday, December 10th, 2005

 

In 1999 " Big Pharma " went to the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA)

and got permission to advertise drugs, drugs, and more drugs directly

to the American consumer. Their intent, as it became obvious, was

two things: (1) sell more drugs to the American consumer, and, (2)

control the media, especially US television..

 

TV network news, it appears, got the lion's share of advertising

dollars. I estimate that 55% percent of all advertising during the

News Hours are paid for by " Big Pharma. " More, about a third of the

entire newscast, itself, is focused on how wonderful your " local drug

peddler " actually is. Almost every night a new wonder drug (snort) is

presented, that will absolutely save humanity - and, of course, this

never actually happens. Network TV news is just about ALL advertising

hype - with the occasional brainless " car chase - endlessly documented

by the 3.5 million dollar ($3,500,000) network helicopter. "

 

Television News departments have sold out for the money - there is no

doubt about that. Even more, the networks, beyond the news features,

couldn't go even part of a season without another boring TV series

about life in a hospital - without ever mentioning that those same

hospitals are the number one (#1) killer of Americans, ahead of heart

disease and cancer.

 

Yes, US television has sold out to " Big Pharma. " There is no doubt

about it. But, the question is " Did TV do 'Big Pharma' any good? "

And the answer is " no, it did not... " and, we can all laugh about that.

 

What do I mean " no, it did not..? " There's an easy answer - in two

parts:

 

(1) Despite the fact that " Big Pharma " spent billions of dollars,

since 1999, on television, a recent Harris poll shows that only nine

percent (9%) of the American public believes what the pharmaceutical

industry says is the truth. In a recent article on Common Dreams

newswire, titled " Fact squad on prescription Drugs " it is explained that:

 

WASHINGTON - December 7, 2005- According to a October 2005 Harris

Poll, only nine percent of the American public considers the

pharmaceutical industry generally honest and trustworthy. If

perception were reality, the prescription drug industry would be in

Chapter 11.

 

Whether it is anger at the callous disregard for human health revealed

in the Vioxx and SSRI scandals; irritation with the incessant peddling

of drugs directly to consumers and giveaways to doctors; ire at the

frustration with the concealment of adverse clinical trial findings;

exasperation that safe, cheap drugs are barred from importation from

Canada; or disgust with conflicts of interest in the drug approval

process and the buying of political influence, over 90 percent of the

public views the drug industry with suspicion. A majority say they

want more, not less, regulation. Indeed, industry sales are down this

year and companies are laying off thousands of workers. But these

selective factoids can be deceiving: Pfizer is among the companies

cutting its workforce, while its profits for 2005 will be $8 billion.

Hold your pity. "

 

(2) The television news industry has hurt itself with its bald faced

promo of drugs, drugs, and more drugs. The image, I think, of the

average network news channel broadcaster is very similar to that of

those young people, male and female, standing on the corner of Sunset

Boulevard in Hollywood every night, ready to sell themselves to

anybody who'll give them the money they need for clothing, shelter,

drugs, and the slightest bit of approval from their strong-arm pimp.

 

It's just that the rewards in TV news are slightly, but not much, higher.

 

Stay tuned...

 

Tim Bolen - Consumer Advocate

 

Copyright 2005 by Bolen Report