Universal goes green across networks
NBC Universal isn’t painting its Rockefeller Center headquarters green – at least not yet. But the company is pushing all of its networks to deliver environmentally friendly programming this week.
Just in time for Earth Day, “Today” will have daily segments on renewable energy, “Dateline NBC” will report on melting snow on mountains in Bolivia and Jim Cramer will talk about “green” stocks on CNBC’s “Mad Money.”
The network also is encouraging its affiliates to report on environmental issues on local newscasts.
Green is the password in late-night entertainment, too, where “Last Call with Carson Daly” brings on Darryl Hannah to talk about organic skateboards.
NBC Universal says it will also specifically seek out advertisers with green-friendly messages when it’s selling commercial time on NBC and its other networks this spring.
The company says it isn’t only preaching to others; NBC Universal is installing large solar panels at the company’s movie studios in California, and has eliminated all plastic foam from company cafeterias.
This “Green Week” effort is the second in six months. NBC Universal is following the lead of corporate parent General Electric Co., which is among many companies sensing that the public looks kindly on pro-environmental efforts.
“We don’t shy away from the fact that green, so to speak, should be green,” says Lauren Zalaznick, the Bravo network chief and head of the NBC Universal Green Council.
For example, the “Today” show drew strong ratings last fall with its “Today Goes to the Ends of the Earth,” when it sent Ann Curry to the Antarctic, Matt Lauer to Greenland and Al Roker to the equator.
Among the other efforts, Tim Russert was asked to question presidential candidates about environmental issues last fall on “Meet the Press,” Zalaznick says.
One expert on environmental journalism, however, says he’s uncomfortable with the green focus reaching into NBC’s news department.
“I would greatly prefer to see these issues come up from reporters and editors and not from CEOs when, my guess is, they are much more concerned about marketing and demographics than they are about news judgment,” says Dan Fagin, director of the Science, Health and Environmental Reporting program at New York University.
Such environmental issues are a big concern now among people in their 20s, particularly those with money, Fagin says. That’s the sweet spot that TV advertisers pay a premium to reach.
The irony, he adds, is that environmental issues aren’t getting much attention in the presidential campaign.
Zalaznick says she sees nothing wrong with the company encouraging news programmers to focus on environmental issues.
“This is about awareness,” she says. “Nobody argues that picking up garbage is not a good idea, or recycling your cell phone is not a good idea.”
Two other “green weeks” are already in the works, Zalaznick says.