Topic: Television Networks

A Red Book prediction regarding the increased use of the word "vagina" in mainstream advertising is revisited. The hosts play a montage of the words "vagina" and "penis" being used on television, predicting that "penis-based" advertising will soon follow the "vagina meme" seen in recent feminine hygiene commercials.

A satirical consulting session suggests that the January 6th committee should stop the hearings while ratings are high, as subsequent sessions may suffer from viewer fatigue. Suggestions for maintaining interest included staging a disruption or shifting focus to breaking news in Ukraine. The segment also addressed debunked claims that Donald Trump advocated for the hanging of Mike Pence.

The Michael Cohen congressional hearings received gavel-to-gavel coverage on network television, potentially overshadowing the diplomatic summit occurring simultaneously in Vietnam between the United States and North Korea. C-SPAN notably relegated the hearing to C-SPAN 3, while prioritizing other content on its primary channels and radio station.

The hosts discuss how media pre-programs audiences to interpret information based on existing biases. They play a clip from the ABC daytime show "The Chew," which sounds phonetically like "The Jew," to demonstrate how easily the mind can be led to hear what it expects. This serves as a metaphor for broader media manipulation and the "brainwashing" mechanisms used in political coverage.

ABC aired the premiere of the series How to Get Away with Murder, which featured graphic sexual content and profanity. The depiction of a gay investigator propositioning an IT worker for information is noted as a significant shift in network television standards. Concerns are raised regarding the lack of FCC fines for the Disney-owned network despite the explicit nature of the scenes.

Barbara Walters drew criticism for her "douchey" comments regarding the "great expense" of traveling to interview Lindsay Lohan. The hosts also discuss her interview with the reality star "Honey Boo Boo," noting the contrast between the child's behavior and the mother's actual personality off-camera.

John Dvorak critiques the "ID Channel" (Investigative Discovery), noting its focus on sensationalist true crime programming. He expresses surprise that former high-profile news anchor Paula Zahn now hosts a show on the network, reminiscing about her previous career at CBS.

The hosts investigate why the word "vagina" has suddenly become prevalent in network television comedies like "2 Broke Girls." They conclude that advertisers for feminine hygiene products pressured networks to normalize the word to make their commercials more acceptable. Spending on ads for tampons and cleansers reportedly rose to $218 million in 2010.

A Durex advertisement for a finger vibrator on network television is cited as an example of shifting standards in broadcast advertising. The ad's suggestive nature is compared to ubiquitous Cialis commercials. The hosts discuss the irony of such products being advertised while other content is frequently censored or rejected by networks.

Television networks are accused of intentionally stalling the declaration of a winner to maximize advertising revenue and showcase expensive studio technology. The competitive nature of broadcast markets is highlighted, with networks monitoring each other to ensure they do not end the "too close to call" narrative prematurely.