antiquity
06-11-2002, 12:26 PM
Star power gives Congress a thrill
June 11, 2002
BY BOB DART
COX NEWS SERVICE
WASHINGTON -- Lights. Camera. Action. Legislation.
Julia Roberts tearfully testified about a disease that strikes young girls. Denise Austin warned about the dangers of childhood obesity. Even Kermit the Frog lobbied for a bill regulating the breeding and sale of exotic animals.
Is this any way to write the laws of the world's most powerful nation?
Well, yes. Congress often plays the fame game in conducting its business. Celebrities are used almost daily to push causes on Capitol Hill. Stars, not experts, testify before committees that write the bills and allocate the federal funding.
"We're living in an age of optics. Expertise does not photograph well. Julia Roberts does," explained Eric Denzenhall, a partner in a crisis management firm and author of several books on the media and celebrities. "Celebrity pays bigger dividends than knowledge" in creating the buzz needed to push a cause.
"Basically, we live in a culture where celebrities are opinion leaders," said Robin Bronk, who manages media relations for the Creative Coalition.
The Creative Coalition is headed by actor Billy Baldwin. Its mission, said Bronk, is to provide guidance and education to ensure that "when celebrities do speak out, they do it responsibly" and knowledgeably.
Several years ago, Garth Brooks roped House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., to push for funding for the National Endowment of the Arts. Promoting debt relief for Third World countries, Bono, the lead singer of U2, accompanied Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill on a trip to Africa. Tom Cruise led an Earth Day rally on Capitol Hill.
But the stars most often appear as witnesses before Congressional committees.
Since C-SPAN, CNN, MSNBC and Fox News all have 24 hours of air time to fill each day, Congressional hearings have become a mainstay of cable TV. And increasingly, video crews from "Entertainment Tonight," "Access Hollywood" and even MTV set up alongside the major networks in the ornate committee rooms.
"A celebrity in Washington attracts a lot of attention," Rafe Greenlee, a spokesman for the Screen Actors Guild, told the Hill, a weekly newspaper that focuses on Congress.
"Celebrities looked to politicians to validate them as part of the company of serious men and women. Politicians looked to celebrities to validate them as part of the company of the famous," observed Ronald Brownstein in his book, "The Power and the Glitter" (out of print).
The phenomenon is sometimes surreal.
During a rural recession in 1985, the House Agriculture Committee dramatized the plight of farm families at a hearing. But rather than summoning actual suffering farmers, the panel brought in several millionaire actresses who had portrayed farm wives in movies or on TV.
Testimony on the problem was provided by Jessica Lange, from the movie "Country"; Sissy Spacek, who starred in "The River," and Jane Fonda from "The Dollmaker." Sally Field, who starred in "Places of the Heart," couldn't make it, but her statement was read to the committee.
After several movie stars lobbied for a bill protesting Germany's treatment of Scientologists, one congressman went on the House floor to complain.
"It is important that we not have Tom Cruise or John Travolta setting foreign policy in this country," said U.S. Rep. Doug Bereuter, R-Neb. "I think that's a driving force behind this legislation. It is very unfortunate."
The simple reason that stars are called to testify at hearings is that those are the hearings that news crews cover. Most days, dozens of congressional committees are competing for attention.
"Expertise or content has no currency" when it comes to attracting coverage, said Denzenhall, whose latest book, "Money Wanders" (St. Martin's Press, $24.95), deals with media manipulation.
"But it is too easy to blame just media," he said. "The fact is we as a culture are interested in celebrities. Then we lash out at the media for reminding us of our true nature."
Among the most effective witnesses are celebrities who personify their causes. Mary Tyler Moore testifying about the need to fund diabetes research. Michael J. Fox on Parkinson's disease. Christopher Reeve arriving in his wheelchair to speak for the American Paralysis Association. Naomi Judd lobbying for funding to fight hepatitis C.
June 11, 2002
BY BOB DART
COX NEWS SERVICE
WASHINGTON -- Lights. Camera. Action. Legislation.
Julia Roberts tearfully testified about a disease that strikes young girls. Denise Austin warned about the dangers of childhood obesity. Even Kermit the Frog lobbied for a bill regulating the breeding and sale of exotic animals.
Is this any way to write the laws of the world's most powerful nation?
Well, yes. Congress often plays the fame game in conducting its business. Celebrities are used almost daily to push causes on Capitol Hill. Stars, not experts, testify before committees that write the bills and allocate the federal funding.
"We're living in an age of optics. Expertise does not photograph well. Julia Roberts does," explained Eric Denzenhall, a partner in a crisis management firm and author of several books on the media and celebrities. "Celebrity pays bigger dividends than knowledge" in creating the buzz needed to push a cause.
"Basically, we live in a culture where celebrities are opinion leaders," said Robin Bronk, who manages media relations for the Creative Coalition.
The Creative Coalition is headed by actor Billy Baldwin. Its mission, said Bronk, is to provide guidance and education to ensure that "when celebrities do speak out, they do it responsibly" and knowledgeably.
Several years ago, Garth Brooks roped House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., to push for funding for the National Endowment of the Arts. Promoting debt relief for Third World countries, Bono, the lead singer of U2, accompanied Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill on a trip to Africa. Tom Cruise led an Earth Day rally on Capitol Hill.
But the stars most often appear as witnesses before Congressional committees.
Since C-SPAN, CNN, MSNBC and Fox News all have 24 hours of air time to fill each day, Congressional hearings have become a mainstay of cable TV. And increasingly, video crews from "Entertainment Tonight," "Access Hollywood" and even MTV set up alongside the major networks in the ornate committee rooms.
"A celebrity in Washington attracts a lot of attention," Rafe Greenlee, a spokesman for the Screen Actors Guild, told the Hill, a weekly newspaper that focuses on Congress.
"Celebrities looked to politicians to validate them as part of the company of serious men and women. Politicians looked to celebrities to validate them as part of the company of the famous," observed Ronald Brownstein in his book, "The Power and the Glitter" (out of print).
The phenomenon is sometimes surreal.
During a rural recession in 1985, the House Agriculture Committee dramatized the plight of farm families at a hearing. But rather than summoning actual suffering farmers, the panel brought in several millionaire actresses who had portrayed farm wives in movies or on TV.
Testimony on the problem was provided by Jessica Lange, from the movie "Country"; Sissy Spacek, who starred in "The River," and Jane Fonda from "The Dollmaker." Sally Field, who starred in "Places of the Heart," couldn't make it, but her statement was read to the committee.
After several movie stars lobbied for a bill protesting Germany's treatment of Scientologists, one congressman went on the House floor to complain.
"It is important that we not have Tom Cruise or John Travolta setting foreign policy in this country," said U.S. Rep. Doug Bereuter, R-Neb. "I think that's a driving force behind this legislation. It is very unfortunate."
The simple reason that stars are called to testify at hearings is that those are the hearings that news crews cover. Most days, dozens of congressional committees are competing for attention.
"Expertise or content has no currency" when it comes to attracting coverage, said Denzenhall, whose latest book, "Money Wanders" (St. Martin's Press, $24.95), deals with media manipulation.
"But it is too easy to blame just media," he said. "The fact is we as a culture are interested in celebrities. Then we lash out at the media for reminding us of our true nature."
Among the most effective witnesses are celebrities who personify their causes. Mary Tyler Moore testifying about the need to fund diabetes research. Michael J. Fox on Parkinson's disease. Christopher Reeve arriving in his wheelchair to speak for the American Paralysis Association. Naomi Judd lobbying for funding to fight hepatitis C.