The "revelation" in this video -- a Townhall exclusive -- probably won't come as any great shock to most conservatives. Hollywood and the entertainment industry in general is notoriously liberal and frequently seeks to shift Americans' cultural sensibilities leftward. Even though it seems obvious to many of is, it's still a tad jarring to hear a top television executive cavalierly discuss the dearth of conservative-leaning programming on the major networks. Fred Silverman has been a heavy hitter in network television for decades, holding influential programming and leadership positions at CBS, ABC, and NBC. Listen as Silverman frankly admits that there's only one ("progressive") perspective in television entertainment today, and how right-leaning comedy programs are simply "not available:"
The hot-button topic of Hollywood liberalism and its effect on mass culture is the subject of a new book by Townhall columnist Ben Shapiro. Primetime Propaganda: The True Hollywood Story of How the Left Took Over Your TV tackles the issue head-on, and is packed with revealing interviews with sources within the industry. Ben explains the importance of his project in a new column available on the home page. One of his key takeaways:
You get home from work, kick off your shoes, and plop down in front of the TV,
hoping simply to chill out. Instead, you get unmitigated liberalism pouring out of your
TV. But you continue to watch because it’s great. It’s fun, thrilling, dramatic, or
hilarious. We think it has no impact on us.
But it does. Television made Barack Obama. Television it supported bigger and
bigger government, from Welfare to health care; pushed abortion-on-demand and the
radical gay agenda into the mainstream; it stumped against war and for meaningless
buzzwords like diversity and dangerous buzzwords like multiculturalism. Television has
done more to change the politics of our nation than simple politics has.
To borrow a television term, stay tuned for another exclusive video on the Tipsheet this afternoon.