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Friday, August 8, 2008

KOMO Television Baits and Switches on Marijuana Infomercial

posted by on August 8 at 13:26 PM

Local televisions stations have refused to run an infomercial about marijuana laws because, according to one executive, the infomercial promotes the use of marijuana. But one of those stations, KOMO TV, made thousands of dollars without even airing the show.

“Smoking marijuana is illegal and we don’t promote things that are illegal on our television station,” says Jim Clayton, KOMO’s vice president and general manager. “We don’t tell people to go rob banks, either.” He says he rejected the program because airing it would jeopardize the station’s license with the Federal Communications Commission.

“It supported that people smoke marijuana,” Clayton says. But when repeatedly pressed for an example of how the show advocated marijuana use, Clayton told me, “I don’t know. I watched it a few weeks ago, and I don’t remember anything specific.”

rick_steves_tv.jpg

Producers of Marijuana: It’s Time for a Conversation, hosted by mild-mannered travel writer Rick Steves, say the program doesn’t advocate pot smoking, only talking about pot laws. Alison Holcomb, director of the ACLU of Washington’s Marijuana Education Project, which created the show, says, “There’s nothing in the show that advocates that anyone use marijuana.” The script never advises that anyone smoke marijuana, nor does the screen ever flash an image of pot. “In fact, there are specific statements addressing situations in which individuals shouldn’t use marijuana, and that young people should not use marijuana.” She adds: “Everything in the program is about the impact that marijuana laws have on communities.”

In addition to KOMO (the ABC affiliate), KIRO (with CBS) rejected the 30-minute show outright, and KING (along with its sister station KONG, both with NBC) would only allow the program to air after 1 a.m. Neither of those stations returned calls to The Stranger.

More than anything, KOMO’s decision seems more about the political conviction of the ad rather than its content. But that came as a shock to the ACLU.

Holcomb says the ACLU provided copies of the script in advance on the condition it would be approved before renting KOMO’s studios and paying for KOMO’s crews at Fisher Plaza. She says she asked KOMO to “tell us if you will have objections to the content before we incur the expense of filming the audience portion in their studio, and we never heard any objection.” But, she says, “Once we filmed it and handed it to them, they wouldn’t sell us any time slots.”

Clayton says he had initially supported airing the show because he thought it was about medical marijuana. “We looked at it differently because it would be for a specific medical service,” he says. But he changed his mind on Monday, August 4, after a meeting with ACLU of Washington director Kathleen Taylor.

But if KOMO was actually afraid of losing its federal license, whether or not the show focuses on medical marijuana would be irrelevant; the federal government doesn’t distinguish between recreational and medical pot.

Clayton says that if the ACLU wants his station to discuss marijuana laws, the group should run a ballot initiative. The problem, of course, is that only a minority of the electorate supports reforming marijuana laws, so, in order to win a ballot measure, the ACLU must first encourage a public conversation about pot.

“We’re trying to provide information that’s not tainted by either the hysteria of reefer madness, nor by the giggle factor of Cheech and Chong,” says Holcomb. However, KOMO and the other stations can’t resist cashing in on commercials for the White House’s hysterical anti-drug campaign or ads for beer and Viagra during breaks in movies and sitcoms that depict pot smoking. But when presented with the bland truth of pot policy, local TV stations can’t afford it.

The ACLU’s show is now only available on Comcast’s On Demand cable and at MarijuanaConversation.org.

RSS icon Comments

1

surprised? didn't think so.

Posted by max solomon | August 8, 2008 1:35 PM
2

Well James Clayton makes a very good comparison - discussing marijuana reform is a lot like ROBBING A BANK.

Thank god KOMO only airs high quality, law abiding programming, none of that crap tv show with dudes robbing banks.

Could he be a bigger retard?

Posted by IQ | August 8, 2008 1:40 PM
3

This speaks volumes about KOMO and all the garbage they spew about "commitment to the community" blah blah blah.

I've seen the program. It's very informative. Drug law reform is only a matter of time.

The robbing banks comparison is priceless. I think that tells us all we need to know about the executive leadership at KOMO. They can't even make a valid argument. They're idiots. What did you expect from a guy like Clayton who came to Seattle from FOX in NY.

Everyone reading this should call and complain:
KOMO (206) 404-4000

Posted by Volumes | August 8, 2008 1:45 PM
4

Time for KOMO to win a Schrammie.

Posted by jackie treehorn | August 8, 2008 1:56 PM
5

So by James Clayton's logic, Comcast On Demand advocates robbing banks?

Posted by 420 | August 8, 2008 1:57 PM
6

Too funny. Try Googling this Clayton guy and learn about what a talented guy he is..

http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/tv/archives/115821.asp

Efforts to kick start KOMO's newscast began in September, when Clayton changed the newscast's music and moved in a sharper-looking set with bolder blue tones. KOMO's logo used to consist of unassuming lowercase call letters, but that was replaced by commanding capital letters standing at attention on a dark background.


Lovin' the bolder blue tones dude... they're like.. trippy and shit.. psychedelic.

Posted by local news sucks | August 8, 2008 2:03 PM
7

So now free speech must be government approved? Fuck that!

Posted by Vince | August 8, 2008 2:11 PM
8

You can't have pudding if you don't finish your broccoli.

Posted by Will in Seattle | August 8, 2008 2:23 PM
9

You see, it's all cause the man wants to keep the weed down so that he can continue to make tons of money from the pharmaceutical companies. It's just a plant, maaan!

420 smoke weed everyday.

Posted by burgin99 | August 8, 2008 2:25 PM
10

well, obviously Keck needs to open up his checkbook and buy a tv station for the Stranger kooks to run so they could should shows like this...it would be like SCTV for the new millenium.

But who on the Stranger staff is the Edith Prickly?

Posted by michael strangeways | August 8, 2008 2:27 PM
11

It's much more important that people learn the hard facts about Cannabis causing such a severe reduction in body size that users melt into the couch. KOMO likely rejected the show because it failed to mention this phenomenon or the fact that the brain when exposed to Cannabis morphs into a fried egg, that every person who smokes Cannabis lives in their mom's basement and can't get a job, that the most common cause of death for fourteen year old boys is their friend shooting them with their dad's gun after smoking Cannabis, or that every black kid who smokes Cannabis hangs out on their front porch all day. It likely misses the mark on the most current reason to support Cannabis prohibition: If Cannabis were legalized, the terrorists win, as everyone knows terrorists bomb buildings in support of Cannabis legalization and not that they exploit prohibition-induced black market pricing to fund their operations.
In short, I applaud KOMO for its diligent efforts to air the facts and not expose the public to any blatant misinformation.

Posted by Black Market | August 8, 2008 2:27 PM
12

I think Ari's got the right kind of glasses - not cat-eyes, but they do sort of jump out from the page.

Oh, and KOMO is actually trying to sell their broadcast HQ, so if Keck can scrape up the scratch to take over the whole building, he's got himself a broadcast studio (broadcast equipment extra, presumably).

Posted by COMTE | August 8, 2008 2:31 PM
13

Meat, @8. You can't have your pudding if you don't eat your MEAT.

Posted by ... | August 8, 2008 2:37 PM
14

KOMO's not the only offender. Did anybody last night see KING 5's breathless account of an "extreme pot raid" in Grant County?

Posted by Joe M | August 8, 2008 2:42 PM
15

Why is it that Rick Steves, whom I've hated for years for his cloying Europe travel monologues [trashing many nice little places with moronic American zombies who travel with a Steves checklist], is doing such a fantastic job on this cause?

I still hate his travel show/books, but the man is fantastic, I'd love to shake his hand and express my appreciation.

Oh yeah, fuck KOMO.

Posted by Karlheinz Arschbomber | August 8, 2008 2:43 PM
16

Every day in the Bush White House is extreme pot day.

Every. single. day.

Posted by Will in Seattle | August 8, 2008 3:56 PM
17

Using the same logic they would have refused to run shows in the 1950s that questioned Jim Crow laws. Or basically any program that advocates civil disobedience.

Laws aren't set in rock, they change and morph in time, and they do that in response to public debate and conversation about those laws.

And that's from someone who can't stand potheads.

Posted by bob | August 8, 2008 5:24 PM
18

There is only one piece of logic that is, or should be, relevant to KOMO or any other TV station in considering whether to air this or any other paid advertising: will doing this make money for our shareholders?

In this case, the negative fallout, whether justified or not, could easily cost them more than the ad revenue.

Posted by David Wright | August 8, 2008 6:08 PM
19

@18 KING ran the show 11 times. I guess that pretty much destroys your "negative fallout" argument.

And where's the "negative fallout" for Comcast, where the show is still available on demand.

KING, the new preferred local affiliate for Stranger readers.

Posted by lame | August 8, 2008 6:55 PM
20

You can view it at:
www.marijuanaconversation.org

Posted by hackattack | August 8, 2008 11:53 PM
21

You can see the show free at:
www.marijuanaconversation.org

Posted by brokenlaws | August 8, 2008 11:54 PM
22

To Black market #11. Where do you get your information?? From G Bush. Get your head out of that nasty hole you've got it in and do some real research. Its Ignorant people like you that need to be educated of the facts of cannabis!! Not Reefer Madness.

Do you know US Govt. holds a patent on the medicinal use of cannabis (patent #6,630,507) for the prevention and treatment of a wide variety of diseases including stroke, trauma, auto-immune disorder, HIV dementia, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. It was based on research done at the NIH, and the assignee is the US Dept. of Health and Human Services.

This patent, awarded, not by, but TO the US Government completely contradicts the official stance that cannabis has no current medical applications..
Mabe you should watch it. You could not be more wrong with what you wrote. I hate Ignorance with a voice. J Johnson

Posted by moslow | August 9, 2008 3:23 AM
23

@22: Do you need a link to a sarcasm to english dictionary?

Posted by derek | August 9, 2008 10:11 AM
24

@23 You have something to say?? No sarcasm Only Facts!!! As far as an english dictionary look up F and then O.....You and the other Idiot should get together or are you one in the same?? Either way you both need to get informed or keep your ignorance to yourself!! Racist talk about black kids and your brain frying like an egg from smoking pot.. Freaking stupid and uninformed. Not a bit of truth in B M's post and you come back with a question to me about sarcasm to english dictionary?
Thank the Gov. for your alcohol that has burnt your brains like a candle.......

Posted by moslow | August 10, 2008 1:09 AM
25

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/374022_webltrs8.html

doesn't anyone else ever write when we see local stories every day in the paper about grow houses getting busted and medical examiners who steal dead people's drugs (low)

Posted by darral good (seattle420 | August 11, 2008 7:13 PM

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