When Rupert Murdoch offered to give free television time to the candidates running for president, he dropped a nuclear bomb on the broadcasting industry.
Harley Hefferman, the CEO of Zig Zag News, was up in arms. "Doesn't the man know that political broadcasting is a business?""I guess not," I said. "But it's an interesting idea to give free air time to the people who will run the country."
"Baloney. Elections are won and lost according to how much money is spent on a campaign. Everyone knows that he with the most commercials wins. If we give away the air time, anybody could run for president."
"Perhaps, but in every election your industry raises the rates, and if someone can't pay them, you say that he has no business being in the race. It's refreshing to see the candidates offered free time. I think it's a good thing."
"You worry about the candidates - what about the network stockholders? Don't they count for anything in a presidential election?"
"They count for something but not much. I never met a broadcasting company stockholder who would be any good as president of the United States. Why don't you just go along with Murdoch and look good in the eyes of the public?"
"You really don't understand how this business works. We count on political advertising every four years. The revenue means more to us than Christmas. If we start giving away free air time, the politicians will expect us to do it all the time. It's one thing to give free air to President Clinton, but who the heck wants to give it to Alfonse D'Amato?"
"I think that you're overreacting," I told him.
"It's out of the question," he said.
"How about this," I suggested. "Give free air time to all the candidates except Steve Forbes because he's the only one who can afford it. Whatever you charge him will make up for all the others who don't pay."
"That's not such a bad idea. But our real problem is Murdoch. If he keeps giving away air time, we'll be no better than the British, and everybody knows what a terrible government they have."