Mmm. Social Poison.

He's so cute when he's mad. According to The Guardian, Philip Pullman recently opened up a can of whoop-ass on children's television broadcasters with phrases like, "Children are regarded by broadcasters as a marketing opportunity at best, a dangerous and feral threat at worst, and an expensive nuisance otherwise" and "This social poison goes much deeper than broadcasting, of course, but it's particularly visible there". Unfortunately the article in that reported this news was a bit lacking in the where-exactly-did-Pullman-say-this? department. Ah well.

It's nice to see that Pullman doesn't finger any specific country with these statements. I just shiver with delight when I hear him say things like, "There used to be ... a sense of responsibility among broadcasters: a feeling that this extraordinary medium ... should be used to make things better, richer, more interesting for those who made up the audience - especially for children." We're sailing dangerously close to Old Fogey Territory (where all the When-I-Was-A-Kid topics tend to surface), but I'm happy to see that somebody remembers how television once served a purpose above and beyond marketing.

Thanks to Big A little a for the link.