Moyer's NOW, Carville Crossfire

By The Masher, AlterNet. Posted May 13, 2002.

The Best Not-Well-Enough-Known Show in America

Did anyone watch Bill Moyers put the heat on the chemical industry on Friday night? Does anyone know about Moyer's newish show, NOW, on PBS every Friday evening? It's the best show on television that not enough people are watching. We've all complained about creeping infotainment, media concentration, the lack of serious investigative TV, the tabloid nature of the magazine shows and on and on. Now we've got a show worth supporting, so let's spread the word. Press on the show has been minimal. Journalists, critics: How about some articles?

Last Friday's NOW offered a thorough analysis of the impact that thousands of untested chemicals are having on children, whose growing bodies are far more vulnerable than adults are to chemical exposure. The show was smart, sophisticated, comprehensive but not hysterical: No rash unsupported claims were put forward. Yet the evidence is overwhelming that we are in the process of being slowly poisoned. The chemical industry, which is not subject to testing requirements, is free to unload new and potentially dangerous materials onto the marketplace everyday.

Moyers' show advanced his earlier PBS special "Trade Secrets," and in the Masher's opinion this show was actually stronger. Moyers took the time to engage with community activists like West Harlem's Peggy Shepherd and focused on the many dangers, some controllable, some not, of air in New York, as pregnant women don special backpacks to test their exposure to all types of pollutants. Read more at www.pbs.org.

The chemical industry should be feeling some heat. Just last week, "Blue Vinyl," a "toxic comedy" by filmmakers Judith Helfand and Daniel B. Gold aired on HBO. Blue Vinyl took Trade Secret's message and made it fun, which isn't easy when dealing with PVCs. The film traces the environmental and health hazards of the world's second fastest-selling plastic. But don't take my word for it. Respected TV critic Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times called it "that rare muckraking film with a sense of humor."

If you missed Blue Vinyl, there is still another chance to catch it. It airs Thursday, May 16 at 7:30 am on HBO. Since it's hard to laugh that early, if you can figure out how to program your VCR -- unlike the Masher -- then tape it and give it to your friends. For more about the national campaign for safer consumer products, see www.myhouseisyourhouse.org.

Carville and Begala Kick Ass on Crossfire

Alan Bisbort, media critic for the Hartford Advocate, brings us up to date on the fireworks on CNN's Crossfire. He explains that the recent addition of Clinton mad dogs James Carville and Paul Begala as cohosts for the left on Crossfire (replacing Bill Press) is sending the Republicans rushing to the sidelines with their tails between their legs. Marc Racicot, ex-Enron executive who is now head of the Republican National Committee (isn't that interesting; from Enron to the Republicans?) was so rattled by tough questions on a recent show that he "fired off a memo to all Republicans warning them to avoid the show."

Here's a short exchange:

Carville: "What, is Mark Racicot, the Republican National Chairman, afraid to come on the show?"

Tucker Carlson: "that is absolutely -- "

Carville: "He's a weenie from the left, this is James Carville."

Not exactly enlightening -- but refreshing to see the left being as obnoxious as the right has been.

Bisbort advises visiting www.mediawhores.com for a daily running tally of great exchanges. Not surprisingly, according to Bisbort, Crossfire is now the most popular news discussion show on TV. It seems that CNN and MSNBC are finally getting smarter in the face of being overtaken by Fox in the cable news category. CNN with a revamped Crossfire and MSNBC with a new show with Phil Donahue debuting in the summer are beginning to understand that progressives can play serious hardball, and it is good for ratings too.

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