ABC Restricts Debate Clips to 30 Seconds; Cable Channels May Cite ‘Fair Use’ - tape delay for West

[housewolf]

Source: http://tvdecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/

April 15, 2008, 7:10 pm
ABC Restricts Debate Clips to 30 Seconds; Cable Channels May Cite ‘Fair Use’
By Brian Stelter


Maybe Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton can sum up their policy differences in 30 seconds or less on Wednesday night. They will have to if they are going to get their points across well on networks other than ABC, which is sponsoring the hotly anticipated Democratic debate that evening. According to the usage guidelines circulated by ABC, other news organizations are only allowed to excerpt half a minute from the broadcast.

That means choosing only one 30-second clip to use on television and the Web between 11 p.m. Wednesday and 5 a.m. Thursday. ABC defends the restrictions as being “very reasonable.” After all, ABC is footing the bill to stage the debate at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. “We have an obligation to our West Coast affiliates to not make chunks of the debate available until their viewers have had a chance to see them,” an ABC spokesman said.

By tape-delaying the debate for its West Coast television stations, the network seems to be treating the debate as a television show rather than as a live news event. When cable news channels sponsor debates, they telecast the forums live across all time zones.

Indeed, the cable news channels may make it their business to skirt ABC’s rules. Fox News, CNN and MSNBC can be expected to use “fair use” justifications to show more clips from the debate, especially if the two candidates have a newsworthy exchange.

Bill Carter contributed reporting.


Read more: http://tvdecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/15/abc-restricts-debate-clips-to-30-seconds-cable-channels-may-cite-fair-use/

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I didn't realize till reading this article that the debate will be tape-delayed for the West Coast. Grrrrr!
This should be posted in GD-P - I can't post it because I'm out of posts till mid-morning tomorrow.

[merwin]

1. That's 100% fucked up.

Seriously.

[FrenchieCat]

2. Boy....I can see Hillary rehearsing her one liners on the questions

that she will be fed by the Oh-so-short-one-Stephanapolous. Obama is too tall for him to like.

[nvme]

3. HEY

DON'T START WITH THE SHORT CRACK'S.

[goclark]

4. I'll post it for you in GD-P

[SeattleGirl]

5. Damn, but that pisses me off!

I guess we West coasters don't pay attention to politics or something.

Must be too busy sipping our lattes. :eyes:

[MattP]

6. Cable would be alot better

I would rather watch the Debate on cable so it would be played live and then replayed a few times in full. Being on a prime time channel it will be pushed for time and can't go over and will be stopped for commercials alot.

[gateley]

7. Which network was it that excluded some of the candidates from their debate --

I think in NH? Only the top 4 could participate -- something like that. Was that ABC?

[FrenchieCat]

9. I'm sure Obama won't be offered no pillow....

They are probably gonna try and fuck him up. It's their last chance to do it.

I heard that stephonopolous was on Sean Hannity's show today.....taking notes, or some shit. :eyes:

Here's the scoop on that.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=5518957

[heliarc]

8. I seem to recall that it is a Network's OBLIGATION

to make available slots for events that serve the public... like debates and the like. I would hope that there be a greater attention paid to this fundamental obligation that the privilege of a network's license carries with it. The infraction is not lost on me. I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore.

[Diane R]

10. WE only get the tape delay version?!!! Crap.

[keopeli]

11. This is Old Media. Every clip of value will be posted on the net very quickly.

Anyone who really wants to see it will have access pretty quickly.

That said, this is pretty lousy. What are they going to do? Sue everybody? Over a presidential debate. They better hope they get a Bush Judge.

peace

[qanda]

12. I guess we'll be seeing a lot of this tonight....

"Could you please put a spoiler tag on that-- Not everyone lives on the wrong coast"

[Rose Siding]

13. Will there not even be a streaming feed?

This tape delay is a very foolish decision. No wonder the networks are struggling.

[Vinca]

14. Now taking bets on which word the Clinton campaign will blow

all out of proportion. 30 seconds isn't enough to prove what you said was taken out of context.

[ORDem]

15. Tape-delayed? Like, they're going to show it sometime between midnight and 5 AM on the Left Coast?

Sheeeeesh.