Mr. Susan Sizequeen Sarandon at NAB

((Tim Robbins has a big ***. Being married to Susan Sarandon-who along
with Helen Mirren is the professionally respectable contingent of a coven
of admitted celebrity size queens including Janet Jackson, Pam Anderson
ex-Lee, Kirstie Alley and Madonna-ensures that this is the case and it's
well documented. What he does not have is a big IQ or he wouldn't have
talked like this at NAB. Bret.))


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tim-robbins/addressing-the-national-a_b_96836.html


"The following is my opening keynote speech for the National Association
of Broadcasters Show in Las Vegas, which I delivered Monday night.

To listen to the speech, click the play button below:


Hello, I'm Tim Robbins. I'd like to thank you for the invitation to
address you here at the National Association of Broadcasters. When I first
received the invitation I was a little confused because the last time I had
contact with the national media I seem to remember them telling me to shut
the hell up.

I would like to start with an apology. To Rush and Sean, and Billo and
Savage and Laura what's-her-name. A few years ago they told America that
because I had different opinions on the wisdom of going to war that I was
a traitor, a Saddam lover, a terrorist supporter, undermining the troops.
I was appealing at the time for the inspectors to have more time to find
those weapons of mass destruction. I was a naïve dupe of left wing
appeasement. And how right they were. If I had known then what I know now,
if I had seen the festive and appreciative faces on the streets of Baghdad
today, if I had known then what a robust economy we would be in, the unity
of our people, the wildfire of democracy that has spread across the
Mideast, I would never have said those traitorous, unfounded and
irresponsible things. I stand chastened in the face of the wisdom of the
talk radio geniuses, and I apologize for standing in the way of freedom.

So when they asked me to come speak to you I said, "Are you sure? Me?" And
they said, "Yes."

And I said, "You know, I have a tendency to say things that I believe at
the time to be well-intentioned but that are actually traitorous." And
they said, "Sure, cool." And then I read the press release and it said,
"Mr. Robbins will be speaking about the challenges of new media and
delivery systems." Oh, OK. But I just want you to know I'm not sure I know
what that fucking means.

But it is an honor to be speaking to you here at this years National
Association Broadcasting convention even if I don't know what the hell I'm
talking about.

I owe a lot to broadcast media. I got my start in radio in the early 20s.
In my early twenties. And it was television.

But these tremendous inventions have benefited us all.

Radio has come a long way from the early days when family's gathered
around the trusty old Philco to listen to such programs as Superman,
Sherlock Holmes and Amos and Andy. Thanks to music and sound effects, this
magical medium was able to transport families to a place where a man could
fly, a brilliant detective could solve the most perplexing of crimes, and
two white guys could portray ridiculously offensive black stereotypes for
the amusement of millions.

The first broadcast occurred on Christmas Eve in 1906 at Brant Rock, MA,
when a man named Fessenden played his violin, sang a song and read Bible
verses into a wireless telephone of his own invention. His goal was to
find financial backers, but no investor of the day believed that radio
could ever replace the most popular leisure activity of the day; listening
to the hoot owl while playing the zither as your 14-year-old niece bounced
on your knee. Some of you may remember. It was all the rage in the early
century.

But soon broadcasting over the radio caught on and zither playing and
child molestation were a thing of the past. Radio reached a boom time
during the Depression as people begin to listen to and depend on radio to
lift their spirits during that catastrophic economic crisis. Shows such as
The Bickersons taught people life is not so bad as long as somebody has got
it worse.

President Roosevelt became the first "radio president" and his "fireside
chats" set the stage for later presidential weekly addresses such as;
"chew the fat with Ike," "LBJ's bull session," and George W's "Hooked on
Phonics and Strategery Hour."

Radio continued to expand and soon, the public turned to their radios for
news, which began to mature during World War II with the regular reports
of the bombing of London by Edward R. Murrow, with his "London After Dark"
series, where Murrow coined the famous phrase: "Good Night and Good Luck"
as well as the lesser known phrase; "Die, you Nazi cocksuckers."

In the post war years, the radio business exploded when 90% of all
American's claimed radio was their primary source of news and
entertainment. To meet this incredible demand Philco built 6 million
radios in 1947. And to provide content for those 6 million radios, we were
introduced to some of the greatest drama, comedy and musical entertainment
this country has ever seen.

In the '70s, radio took a serious nosedive when Edwin Armstrong invented
FM to eliminate the static and noise associated with AM and unwittingly
provided a home for easy listening jazz rock, overly dramatic disco songs
and 20 minute psychedelic sitar jams.

In the '80s and '90s the FCC, under pressure from the Reagan and Clinton
administrations, changed the rules limiting the number of radio and
television stations a business entity could own, paving the way for such
conglomerates as Infinity broadcasting and Clear Channel to buy up local
stations and put them under the umbrella of their larger corporations.
Again the community benefited because due to Clear Channel and Infinities'
conservative approach, listeners no longer had to be subjected to
perplexing controversial subjects, or confusing varied opinion, or
alternative rock. And as a bonus these large companies, with the help of
Mr. Reagan and Mr. Clinton got rid of that annoying Fairness Doctrine,
freeing its listeners from the burden of hearing equally from all sides of
the political debate. What a bore.

This new world of conglomeration also brought us back to a simpler, more
exciting time with regard to natural disasters and calamities. Your local
station would now be broadcasting from a city many miles away and should
there be a tornado coming your way you wouldn't know about it until the
funnel was in full view. Exciting times.

In the 1950s, television began to replace radio as the chief source of
revenue for broadcasting networks. It quickly became apparent that talking
about "Old Sandusky Lager" on the radio didn't quite have the same impact
as watching a buxom flaxen haired temptress in a skin tight dress play
pool in a bar while she drank "old Sandusky Lager." Beer sales
skyrocketed.

In the '60s, American television networks began broadcasting in color
bringing a new vibrant reality to the content of the day. Suddenly it
didn't seem unusual that an astronaut was dating a scantily clad genie
that lived in a bottle in his living room.

Television also brought the horror and reality of war into our living
rooms airing footage of the war in Vietnam. Building on the mistakes of
the past, war is now televised in an easily digestible sanitized version.
The current administration has proven that war doesn't have to be
upsetting, or sacrificed for, or even reported on at all. We have come a
long way, baby.

But what is the state of broadcasting today? Some critics have noted that
there is a dangerous lack of diversity and opinion. That may be true, but
imagine the nightmare of having to rectify that situation.

I propose a much simpler solution, which I've separated into three prongs,
or a Satan's trident if you will.

First, erase all diversity. Thankfully the majority of what is broadcast
over television and radio is of two opinions and that feels good. That's
simple. But unfortunately there is a tiny minority out here on the
airwaves expressing a different view outside of the Democrats and
Republicans nexus trying to confuse us all. Can we please shut them up?
How expensive could it be to buy Pacifica Radio? These people are driving
us apart.

Secondly, let's stay focused on Sex Scandals. Stop with the in depth
reporting that gets outside of the sound bite. More sex scandals! Surely
with a little more prying, a little more effort we can find more sexual
deviants. And trust me, sexual deviancy is something we can all agree on.
It's deliciously intoxicating to watch unfold. It's titillating.

The absolute zenith of news, the perfect storm of reporting, the shining
city on the hill in news coverage was Lewinsky v Clinton. Now that was
fun. We couldn't get enough of that. There were salacious details, semen
stains, oral sex. And the president lied. He threatened every notion of
marriage and the sanctity of family. He put our country at risk. And when
he did lie we held his feet to the fire. We reported on every angle, every
permutation of the story. We held hearings, appointed an independent
council, led off every newscast for months about the lie, played it until
there was no hiding from it, and then held him accountable by impeaching
him. It is our moral responsibility to report on the sex lives of the
powerful. It is the only thing that kept our country alive at that point.
It righted our ship of state. It saved our collective soul. And it was
great, juicy fun. Imagine what would have happened to our country's soul
if the president lied and nothing was done about it, if impeachment was
off the table. Where would we be today if we did not hold our president
accountable?

Third, find more racially divisive news and play that constantly. As long
as we hate each other we will never be bothered with this gnawing lefty
obsession with information. Let's make the purpose of the media salacious
entertainment, not information. The more our news outlets and talk radio
can distract us the better. We love distraction. When the nattering nabobs
of negativity tell you that the economy is falling apart, that gas costs
four dollars a gallon, that they are foreclosing on your home, that there
is chaos in Iraq, when these propagandists spread this "information" it is
our moral responsibility to distract. I don't know about you but show me a
starlet without panties getting out of a car and suddenly the world seems
like a better place. Show me Knight Rider drunk on the floor eating a
hamburger, and I won't ask why my kid has no health insurance. Let's stop
burdening people with facts. I bet some of you are saying; "Sure Tim,
there's no question, sex scandals, race riots and drunken TV stars are a
lot of fun, but shouldn't broadcasters see themselves as part of the
larger picture? Isn't there an obligation to honestly report on what is
going on, to pursue stories past their headlines? Haven't criminal acts
occurred in government? Shouldn't there be accountability for inept policy
decisions? Shouldn't someone be fired?" And you know something? I didn't
hear any of that because I'm still thinking about that starlet getting out
of the car without her panties. You see, that doesn't take any energy. I
know exactly what to think about.

Now some of you are concerned with that unrelenting pesky competition. You
know, the new technologies; the Internets and satellite radio and
television. The problem is there are too many people in this country that
take the notion of creativity and invention too damn seriously. Just when
one technology is centralized, conglomerated, monopolized, along come new
technologies and delivery systems to threaten the good work born of
deregulation. Just when we were getting close to a national playlist for
our music, satellite technology is threatening to provide music that
people actually want to hear. Just when we were close to a national news
media, providing a general consensus on what the truth is, along comes the
Internets that allow its users a choice on the kinds of news it watches.
And the You Tube. My God we've got to stop them. Recently when we were
about to enjoy our great national pastime of 'tearing apart a presidential
candidate with relentless repetition of ugly things his friend said', You
Tube provided the candidates reasoned response and millions watched and
responded positively.

Well you here at NAB have the power to stop this dangerous technology. The
question is, how? I respectfully suggest that you do what others have done
when facing the competition of new technologies. Get compromising
information on your enemy and expose them in a sex scandal. Or call them a
racist, or better yet a traitor. That not only undermines your competitor,
but provides the public with fantastic entertainment.

Of course you can do that. And no one in this current world would fault
you for it. It is, after all, where we stand today. In all seriousness
folks, let's face it. We are at an abyss as a country and as an industry.
And I know that saying we are at an abyss isn't the stuff of keynote
addresses but all sarcasm and irony and rude pithiness aside, we are at a
critical juncture in this nation's history. This is a nation divided and
reeling from betrayal and economic hardships. And you, the broadcasters of
this great nation have a tremendous power, and a tremendous potential to
effect change. You have the power to turn this country away from cynicism.
You have the power to turn this nation away from the hatred and the
divisive dialogue that has rendered such a corrosive affect on our body
politic. You can lift us up into a more enlightened age. Or you can hide
behind that old adage; "I'm just a businessman, I provide what the
audience wants." Well, I'm here to tell you that we don't need to look at
the car crash. We don't need to live off of the pain and humiliation of
the unfortunate. We don't need to celebrate our pornographic obsession
with celebrity culture. We are better than that.

Some of you are trying. Some of you are inspiring people towards altruism
and compassion with your programming. Some of you are trying to lift the
civic dialogue into a more responsible and adult arena. But I know you do
so against the odds of ratings and job security. It is really up to the
leaders in this room. It is up to you, the scions of this industry to
leave behind formulas and focus groups and your own fears of job security.
Only with your courage and your vision can we begin to imagine a world of
broadcasting where the general consensus of those with real power say
"Enough is enough. Now is the time to move away from our lesser selves.
Now is the time to stop making money on the misfortunes of others and the
prurient and salacious desires of the public. Now is the time to admit and
recognize that we aren't just businessmen but the guardians of the human
spirit, with a responsibility to the health of this nation. That we can
lift this country up with our programming, that instead of catering to the
gossips and the scolds and the voyeurs we can appeal to the better nature
in our audience, the better nature of what this country is all about."

This is a country filled with people of great compassion and tremendous
generosity. This is a country that has survived dust bowls and
depressions, that united to defeat Hitler and fascism and communism. We
are a resilient people and a tenacious people. And we are ready for
change.

Imagine a new broadcasting industry aesthetic, that respecting the better
nature of the American people, produces shows that promote strength
instead of fear. That does not divide, but inspires, that does not promote
hate, but unity, that will not tear the weak down, but build up their
strength. Imagine a world of broadcasting where the American people are
encouraged to reject despair and distrust. And when they turn their TVs
and radios off at night and go to sleep they possess strength, and unity
and compassion for those they disagree with. That's not out of the
question. You can make that happen. It will be difficult, and will fly in
the face of conventional wisdom, and standard operational procedures. But
do we have any choice? The road we are on is leading us to a corruption of
our former selves. We are better than that. You can help us reclaim our
better nature, our perfect union. It isn't necessarily a matter of country
before profit, or of patriotism and truth before personal comfort. There
could be money to be made in appealing to our better selves. Wouldn't that
be great?

And if there isn't and we came out of it a little less rich but more
unified and healthier as a nation wouldn't that be something we could all
be proud of?"<<



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