Re: Altering live TV pictures

["Douglas J. Broda" <djbroda@mindspring.com>]

At 07:17 AM 1/15/00 -0500, Sptseditor@aol.com wrote:
>In a message dated 1/15/00 1:34:23 AM Eastern Standard Time, 
>djbroda@mindspring.com writes:
>
>While I understand what Doug is trying to get across here, I disagree with 
>this comment. Sports should be no different than news. They shouldn't be 
>superimposing TV ads over stadium ads. What if you were watching a 
>performance on A&E or Bravo, only to have a Dunkin' Donuts ad on a backdrop 
>behind the performance? No one would claim that was ethical, and the rules 
>should be the same across the board.
>

Sean, I'm not sure it would be unethical. Tacky, yes. Out of place, yes.
Something that would turn me off seriously, yes. But unethical may be a bit
strong.

I mean, the "ads" behind home plate that are added by TV *infuriate* me. I
want to see what the place really looks like... to get the feel of the park
as much as I can. That bugs me tons more than, say, supering a Best Buy ad
over a Marlboro ad would, since it distorts the real feel of the park much
more for me. But I don't think it's unethical in an entertainment program,
much as I might dislike it.

Sports fits right in between news and "pure" entertainment, like a film. I
mean, there's a classic blooper in Die Hard 2 where Bruce Willis' character
is supposed to be at a snow-and-terrorist beseiged Dulles Airport, and uses
a pay phone with a Pacific Bell card on it (they shot the scene in
California).  I don't think many people would say that if they had picked
that up in post-production and digitally supered the right phone company
over it, that would have been unethical.

The Cokie Roberts thing I thought was unethical... relatively minor, and
not likely to occur again after the flak, but over the line. The CBS ad
super would be in the same category.

Just my opinion, and reasonable minds definitely could differ. :)



Douglas J. Broda
Broda and Burnett
Attorneys at Law
80 Ferry Street, Troy, NY 12180 USA
(518) 272-0580
djbroda@mindspring.com