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Something fishy is going on with an upcoming program about obesity on your friendly public television station and this Broadcasting & Cable story provides all the sordid details about what is going on.
It seems there is a new set of programs coming out on PBS in April called "Fat: What No One Is Telling You" as part of the "Take One Step" series of shows. Learn more about this documentary and even meet the producers as well as an interview with them.
From what I can see, the filmmakers are mainly going to highlight the problem rather than seek out solutions to the obesity epidemic. That's not really my concern, but it is an interesting sidebar. (Why examine a problem in a series of shows on public television if you aren't going to offer suggestions about how to address that problem? But I digress.)
While the subject matter is indeed an important one that needs to have a platform and is absolutely relevant programming for public television, it's the inclusion of one particular major sponsor--a pharmaceutical company--who just so happens to have a brand new over-the-counter weight loss pill to offer overweight and obese people that has many concerned.
The culprit in all of this is GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) who provided what is described on the PBS web site as "major funding" for this show set to be aired beginning on April 11, 2007. While their sponsorship deal with PBS may seem like it's just a generous act of care and compassion by a company concerned about the delicate subject matter of the series, it's difficult to ignore the fact that GSK recently got FDA approval to sell the first over-the-counter version of the diet drug orlistat called "Alli" which they have already invested a lot of time and money into bringing to the market.
Don't you know they'd love to get as many people as they can taking this drug as soon as possible. Sponsoring a show like this is one way to get their proverbial fingers in the wallets and purses of Mr. and Mrs. Fat America!
While the rules of public television prevent GSK from mentioning their new weight loss drug as part of their sponsorship, that hasn't stopped them from talking about obesity in suspiciously generic terms on their web site. With an image of a measuring tape beneath an article called "Obesity: Why Weight Matters," the link to "Find out more about obesity" takes you to a page full of a bunch of statistics about obesity without providing any real solutions (just like the documentary itself they are sponsoring!).
It's basically setting up a straw man argument that SOMETHING really needs to be done about obesity or else it'll keep getting worse and worse in the years to come. Hmmm, I wonder what we can do about all of this?! Does this sponsor GSK have an answer for us? Ding ding ding, oh that's right! Maybe I'll try "Alli" the next time I'm shopping at the pharmacy.
Sneaky, sneaky, sneaky is all I have to say about this. I take that back--it's SICKO! Unscrupulous for a company like that pushing their name out there in the hopes of selling a few of these diet pills! And what the heck is PBS doing taking money from a company like GSK?! Are they completely out of their minds? Talk about your conflict of interest!
Of course, PBS is denying any wrongdoing here stating that GSK as an underwriter has no control over any of the programming itself. While that may be true, the indelible connection between the content of this series (obesity) and the drug being peddled to address that subject matter ("Alli") is very conspicuous to say the least. Why else would GSK be a "major sponsor," hmmmm?
If this were ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox or any other television network that looks for paid advertisers to sponsor shows that meet their demographics, then it wouldn't be such a big deal. But we are talking about public television and there is a clear line of distinction that has no business being crossed.
The company producing this series, Twin Cities Public Television, has remained silent about this controversy surrounding GSK's sponsorship, but PBS has not. They issued the following statement regarding their position in this matter:
"PBS and The Corporation for Public Broadcasting provided the initial production funding for 'FAT: What No One is Telling You' through its 'Program Challenge Fund,' which also included a grant for an educational community outreach initiative. Production on 'FAT: What No One is Telling You' began in October 2005 and was nearing the end of production when the corporate sponsor, GlaxoSmithKline, came on board in January 2006 and provided additional funding for the broadcast, community outreach and Spanish language translation. As is always the case with corporate funders of PBS programs, at no time did the corporate sponsor have any editorial input into the show, nor have they seen it, and this strict separation was maintained throughout production. Lastly, the sponsor credit for GlaxoSmithKline is a corporate image spot and does not mention any drug product, including those used to treat obesity. 'FAT: What No One is Telling You' premieres April 11, 2007 on PBS."
Oh enough with the corporate speak here! You don't need a product to be mentioned in order to know why GSK is sponsoring this show?! It's just like what happened with this Super Bowl ad by King Pharmaceuticals that didn't mention a specific drug either, but they certainly benefitted from the exposure they received from their commercial.
Let's just call a spade a spade and be done with it. GSK is trying to sell their drug "Alli" and thought they could get away with this soft sponsorship of an obesity series. But I don't think they should be able to get away with it. We need to let PBS know how we feel about this and tell them they are wrong to accept money from GlaxoSmithKline.
Use this feedback form and let them know how you feel about a major pharmaceutical company with a weight loss drug to peddle sponsoring the program "FAT: What No One is Telling You." Be respectful, but firm in your conviction about this and share how unethical it is for public television to take money for this purpose.
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