Messages With a Mission, Embedded in TV Shows

This article highlights the influence a foundation has on TV shows: in addition to other projects aimed to promote health and education, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation serves as an influencer of public attitudes towards these issues by helping to shape story lines in many popular shows. According to the article, “the foundation’s messages on H.I.V. prevention, surgical safety and the spread of infectious diseases have found their way into these shows.”

Before reading this piece, I was completely unaware of the indirect influence that many philanthropies have on the formation of television shows. Apparently, foundations make substantial contributions to networks so important social morals and ideals appear within plot lines. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, in particular, has literally paid for programming that blatantly promotes their mission of health and education awareness. For example, a grant by the Gates Foundation to the Norman Center led to the meeting of the writers of ER and experts on H.I.V. and safe surgical practices. This meeting led to a plot line of a recent episode: the kidney transplant of a main character, Noah Wyle.

The article made an important distinction between the presence of these behind-the-scenes endorsements and blatant product placements. I agree that this discreet practice is much more effective than their direct product counterparts. I also found it interesting that these foundations argued that their mission was not about “planting a message;” instead, they intended to “start from the vantage point of ensuring accuracy.”

Overall, I thought it was interesting that entertainment media receives funding from philanthropies. Now that I’m aware of such actions, it makes me wonder how often moral messages come directly from producers and writers, or if big-spending foundations has a substantial influence on a program. We’ve talked about the significance of content and the major influences on this content, but I’d never considered this additional influence before. What do you think of the actions of these foundations? Do you think programs should site major donors in their credits if a specific philanthropy had a significant influence on the script of a show?

Article can be found at: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/02/arts/television/02gates.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=message%20embedded&st=cse