A Note from the Publisher

NEW YORK: In the aftermath of hurricane Sandy, which shuttered the World Screen offices for a week, our publisher, Ricardo Guise, reflects on television’s ability to alert communities about natural disasters and the ways in which the Internet is changing the way we work.

I recently read a report pointing to new evidence that watching television for more than two hours each day will cut my life expectancy by a year and a half. Even if I exercise and eat my veggies every day!

This could be really bad news for me, given the fact that, despite my wife’s incessant (and utterly annoying) admonitions, I refuse to eat vegetables or exercise. I don’t even know what a squash looks like.

So I have been feeling a bit fragile lately. What is a couch potato with bad eating habits supposed to do?

This was on my mind when hurricane Sandy visited New York and forced me to stay home for an entire week. Our offices in downtown Manhattan had no electricity, all transportation in the city came to a halt, and the weather was positively miserable, so I was forced to spend a lot of time on my sofa watching TV. I probably shaved hours off my lifespan as I viewed stuff that I never would have watched under normal circumstances—such as a documentary about a lion that befriended a coyote, and an excruciatingly long and pointless game of baseball. I also watched what now seems like an infinite number of pundits pontificating about the presidential election, and endless political commercials in between.

But Sandy was by far the big winner of the airwaves, as stations presented me with scary maps showing the relentless advance of the mega-storm, a parade of wet and frazzled weathermen, and finally, images of horrific destruction.

If anyone had any doubts about the impact of television, this week of hurricane coverage was a clear reminder of TV’s unique ability to offer a distressed community live information and powerful images as it confronts a disaster or attack.

The fact is that nothing comes close to giving us the trusted video reporting available on television. No wonder Japanese citizens know to turn to their public broadcaster when an earthquake strikes. And no wonder the viewership of CNN—the world’s first 24-hour news service—took off exponentially during the first Gulf War.

Television has a singular capacity to build powerful emotional connections with its viewers. Americans of a certain age will always remember the arresting image of CBS anchorman Walter Cronkite (“the most trusted man in the country”) wiping a tear off his face as he announced to the nation that President Kennedy had died. Of course, advertising agencies and advertisers have known this ever since the tube was invented, and they create commercials for television that are meant to build an emotional connection between the audience and the brands. No other form of communication—not radio, not magazines, not newspapers, not even the Internet—can do this. It’s not about giving us more information on that car so we can make a rational purchase (any other medium can do that). It’s about making us fall in love with that sexy car!

TV mesmerizes us in many ways. I assiduously watch several dramas on television, undoubtedly further reducing my time on this Earth. The quality and complexity of the shows currently being produced is just astonishing. And nothing is more thrilling to me than the live broadcast of a great soccer game. As we are so used to getting our daily exposure of fantastic entertainment at home, we may forget television’s other role as a public-service provider. Sometimes, it takes a natural disaster to remind us.

So as I watched the regular updates on the flooded subway stations, the power outages, the devastation in several neighborhoods, the announcements from governors, mayors and city officials, I was reminded of TV’s ability to alert, protect and mobilize a community.

But I have to say, I was also very impressed by how helpful it was to have access to the Internet. During this entire week of general paralysis, World Screen’s two daily newsletters and eight weekly newsletters were sent out without incident or delay. Even though our entire staff had no access to our offices, we were all able to seamlessly do our work from home. In the Internet age, during a moment of crisis, the physical office has become less necessary.

What will always be necessary and irreplaceable is the ability and commitment of a company’s staff. No matter what technology we are presented with in the future, having a great team matters the most. I thought of this as I tried to figure out why the lion didn’t just eat that stupid coyote. There I go again digressing about shortened life spans…

As the end of the year approaches, I feel a certain pressure to announce a healthy New Year’s resolution. I first considered quitting my job and becoming a monk in Tibet, but this would present some serious lifestyle and logistical challenges. After much deliberation, and considering the enormous sacrifice this action will require—and hoping my wife will be proud of me for such courage and willpower—I have decided to firmly commit to eating more low-sodium potato chips (after all they are made of legumes!) as I watch my favorite shows.