Tim Robbins was scheduled to give a keynote address at NAB, the annual convention of the National Association of Broadcasters. But when they read his prepared remarks, which begin as biting, sometimes profane (so use headphones if you're at work) satire and end with serious criticism, they asked him not to give it, but it was the audience that needed to hear it.
David Bianculli describes what happened (though you can see it in full on the three videos on this playlist I made).
Actor-writer-director Tim Robbins, who has been known to speak his mind when standing in front of an audience, was asked the give the keynote opening speech Monday at the 2008 National Association of Broadcasters convention in Las Vegas.
Then he was asked not to give it -- or, more accurately, advised that the speech he had written might be a little too preachy, scolding and negative to go over well before the 1,000-plus broadcasters in attendance.
In the end, Robbins gave it anyway, delivering important remarks, before an important audience, which bore echoes of newsman Edward R. Murrow's 1958 "wires and lights in a box" speech and FCC Commissioner Newton Minow's 1961 "vast wasteland" address -- thoughtful, prescient speeches beseeching news directors and broadcasters, respectively, to raise the standards of their pervasive and influential medium of television. (Minow's address, like Robbins', was at an NAB convention.)
Robbins hadn't planned to read the speech. Instead, after a short sampling of clips from his movies, Robbins was to join the moderator on stage and sit for an impromptu Q&A session. I was that moderator.
What happened instead is that Robbins opened by mentioning the speech he'd written, but was asked not to read. He said its text would be available, eventually, elsewhere, in some other medium. Then, as a segue to the Q&A presentation, I pointed out that I had read the speech in the green room backstage, likened it in terms of content and setting to the Murrow and Minow speeches, and pointed out that a few years ago at the Oscars, Robbins had gotten a lot of heat for speaking out against the Iraq war.
Bianculli then asked the audience if they wanted to hear it and many clapped, so Robbins did.
He began (full text and audio is online, but it is worth watching at least part to see his delivery):
I'd like to thank you for the invitation to address you here at the National Association of Broadcasters. When I first received the invitation I was a little confused because the last time I had contact with the national media I seem to remember them telling me to shut the hell up.
I would like to start with an apology. To Rush and Sean, and Billo and Savage and Laura what's-her-name. A few years ago they told America that because I had different opinions on the wisdom of going to war that I was a traitor, a Saddam lover, a terrorist supporter, undermining the troops. I was appealing at the time for the inspectors to have more time to find those weapons of mass destruction. I was a naïve dupe of left wing appeasement. And how right they were. If I had known then what I know now, if I had seen the festive and appreciative faces on the streets of Baghdad today, if I had known then what a robust economy we would be in, the unity of our people, the wildfire of democracy that has spread across the Mideast, I would never have said those traitorous, unfounded and irresponsible things. I stand chastened in the face of the wisdom of the talk radio geniuses, and I apologize for standing in the way of freedom.
So when they asked me to come speak to you I said, "Are you sure? Me?" And they said, "Yes."
And I said, "You know, I have a tendency to say things that I believe at the time to be well-intentioned but that are actually traitorous." And they said, "Sure, cool." And then I read the press release and it said, "Mr. Robbins will be speaking about the challenges of new media and delivery systems." Oh, OK. But I just want you to know I'm not sure I know what that fucking means.
He goes on in this manner for about 2/3 of the speech (which is a bit under 30 minutes), but gets more serious at the end:
Now is the time to admit and recognize that we aren't just businessmen but the guardians of the human spirit, with a responsibility to the health of this nation. That we can lift this country up with our programming, that instead of catering to the gossips and the scolds and the voyeurs we can appeal to the better nature in our audience, the better nature of what this country is all about."
This is a country filled with people of great compassion and tremendous generosity. This is a country that has survived dust bowls and depressions, that united to defeat Hitler and fascism and communism. We are a resilient people and a tenacious people. And we are ready for change.
Imagine a new broadcasting industry aesthetic, that respecting the better nature of the American people, produces shows that promote strength instead of fear. That does not divide, but inspires, that does not promote hate, but unity, that will not tear the weak down, but build up their strength. Imagine a world of broadcasting where the American people are encouraged to reject despair and distrust. And when they turn their TVs and radios off at night and go to sleep they possess strength, and unity and compassion for those they disagree with. That's not out of the question. You can make that happen. It will be difficult, and will fly in the face of conventional wisdom, and standard operational procedures. But do we have any choice? The road we are on is leading us to a corruption of our former selves. We are better than that. You can help us reclaim our better nature, our perfect union. It isn't necessarily a matter of country before profit, or of patriotism and truth before personal comfort. There could be money to be made in appealing to our better selves. Wouldn't that be great?
And if there isn't and we came out of it a little less rich but more unified and healthier as a nation wouldn't that be something we could all be proud of?
Asked to respond to the Robbins speech, NAB Executive Vice President Dennis Wharton said the NAB "found Mr. Robbins’ remarks to be entertaining and thought-provoking, although we were not expecting the expletives that were not deleted. We obviously disagree with some of his comments regarding media ownership, but we respect his right to give them."
But this coda may paint a slightly different picture.
TV Newsday reports(free registration required):
NAB [senior vice president, meetings and conferences] Pam Magnani found herself out of a job this week, possibly due to her role in scheduling Tim Robbins as the keynote speaker at the NAB convention last week, according to sources...
At the NAB opening session, Robbins upset some broadcasters—delighted others—with a humorous, but profanity-laced speech that criticized media and called on broadcasters to air programming that "can lift us up into a more enlightened age." Although some walked out, most in the huge ballroom gave him a standing ovation.
Among those upset by the speech were members of the NAB board of directors.
According to one source, Magnani's involvement in giving Robbins the prime convention spot led to her departure, although it is not clear whether she was fired or resigned.
Magnani could not be reached for comment Thursday evening.
NAB spokesman Dennis Wharton would not discuss the matter, saying: "The NAB does not comment on personnel issues."
And my experience covering a NAB radio conference for the San Francisco Bay Guardian in 2000 in San Francisco (Dennis Wharton was around back then too).