578
ROBERT BRUSTEIN
Minow1-to assign the blame for media deterioration to cynical
broadcasters who persistently undervalue the level of public
taste. In short, public disapprobation lights on the person
of
the Madison Avenue villain; and thus, instead of urging politi·
cal reform, critics of the media recommend palliatives for
the
"improvement" of the mass arts-apparently satisfied that
if
the Madison Avenue villain would only mend his ways,
the
major abuses of the media would somehow magically disappear.
It is more likely that the media would collapse altogether, since
they are based on these abuses. But before elaborating
this
point, let me demonstrate why I find the new allegory so
in·
adequate as an explanation of the sources of these problems
and so useless as a path to a solution.
I
First of all, it should be obvious that the Madison Avenue .
villain, whatever his importance to the prosperity of our econ. !
omy, is simply not equal to
his
assigned role. One has only
to
glance at the work he actually performs to see that his allegon.
cal significance has been over-inflated. Prototypically, of
cou~
the Madison Avenue villain is an adman-but he also works
I
in a variety of positions created by advertising and the media
over the past twenty years. To mention but a few of these,
he
can be an editor or publisher of mass circulation books
and
I
magazines, a book club organizer, a network executive, a pro–
ducer or packager of TV shows, a network continuity man, a
I
quiz contestant, a casting director, a story editor, a script editor,
a market researcher, a motivation expert, a public relations man,
an agency representative, and a press or actor's agent. None of .
these jobs is essential to anyone's health, balance, or sense
of
fulfillment. But if the Wall Street villain was always an exploi.
ter, the worst thing to be said about the Madison Avenue villain
is that he is unnecessary, for he markets something that hr
has
1. "I do not accept the idea that the present over·all programming
is
aimed accurately at the public taste.... A rating, at best, is an indica·
tion of how many people saw what you gave them." Speech before
the
National Association of Broadcasters, May 9, 1961.
