SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer gestures as he speaks to reporters at the White House briefing room April 2, 2003 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Ari & I: May 4, 2001
Russell Mokhiber questions White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer
May 04, 2001
Mokhiber: Ari, I have a question about commercialism's reach into areas that were previously off limits to commercialism. Alcatel, the French telecommunications firm, has procured the rights to Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech. They are running ads nationwide to use his speech to sell telephone equipment. They have also procured the rights to Lou Gehrig's farewell speech at Yankee Stadium in 1939 -- to sell telecommunications equipment. I know the Yankees were here today, and the [Yankee's] radio announcers are required to say on a double play -- "there's a Jiffy Lube double play," or on a home run,"there's a Coor's Light [Silver] Bullet blast." Does the President believe there are any limits to commercialism in terms of where it can and cannot go?
Ari Fleischer: There are of course a series of laws that govern communications activities. That's a question that you need to address to the Federal Communications Commission.
Mokhiber: Well, I was actually interested in the President's beliefs. For example, would he be offended by an oil ad on the back of a Texas Rangers shirt?
Ari Fleischer: The President believes that the law needs to be followed within the bounds of the free enterprise system.
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Russell Mokhiber
Russell Mokhiber is editor of the Washington, D.C.-based Corporate Crime Reporter. He is also founder of singlepayeraction.org, and editor of the website Morgan County USA.
Mokhiber: Ari, I have a question about commercialism's reach into areas that were previously off limits to commercialism. Alcatel, the French telecommunications firm, has procured the rights to Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech. They are running ads nationwide to use his speech to sell telephone equipment. They have also procured the rights to Lou Gehrig's farewell speech at Yankee Stadium in 1939 -- to sell telecommunications equipment. I know the Yankees were here today, and the [Yankee's] radio announcers are required to say on a double play -- "there's a Jiffy Lube double play," or on a home run,"there's a Coor's Light [Silver] Bullet blast." Does the President believe there are any limits to commercialism in terms of where it can and cannot go?
Ari Fleischer: There are of course a series of laws that govern communications activities. That's a question that you need to address to the Federal Communications Commission.
Mokhiber: Well, I was actually interested in the President's beliefs. For example, would he be offended by an oil ad on the back of a Texas Rangers shirt?
Ari Fleischer: The President believes that the law needs to be followed within the bounds of the free enterprise system.
Russell Mokhiber
Russell Mokhiber is editor of the Washington, D.C.-based Corporate Crime Reporter. He is also founder of singlepayeraction.org, and editor of the website Morgan County USA.
Mokhiber: Ari, I have a question about commercialism's reach into areas that were previously off limits to commercialism. Alcatel, the French telecommunications firm, has procured the rights to Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech. They are running ads nationwide to use his speech to sell telephone equipment. They have also procured the rights to Lou Gehrig's farewell speech at Yankee Stadium in 1939 -- to sell telecommunications equipment. I know the Yankees were here today, and the [Yankee's] radio announcers are required to say on a double play -- "there's a Jiffy Lube double play," or on a home run,"there's a Coor's Light [Silver] Bullet blast." Does the President believe there are any limits to commercialism in terms of where it can and cannot go?
Ari Fleischer: There are of course a series of laws that govern communications activities. That's a question that you need to address to the Federal Communications Commission.
Mokhiber: Well, I was actually interested in the President's beliefs. For example, would he be offended by an oil ad on the back of a Texas Rangers shirt?
Ari Fleischer: The President believes that the law needs to be followed within the bounds of the free enterprise system.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.