The Phoenix

Can Anyone Save Us From Gas Station TV?

By Wendy Kaminer

        Silence, or relative silence, in the form of freedom from increasingly ubiquitous public tv's, is rapidly diminishing, along with our ability to think straight, I suspect. Some people can tune out the clatter and chatter of ads, celebrity gossip, and a little news more readily than others, but none of us are ever really alone with our thoughts with tv's glaring and blaring at us.   Now, having invaded elevators, taxis, and, worst of all, airport lounges, (where it is virtually impossible to find a tv free space to read a newspaper while you’re suffering a flight delay,) tv's are about to invade gas stations.

        “Gasoline stations from Worcester to Arlington, Leominster to Stoughton, will soon be glowing with televisions, according to Gas Station TV, the Michigan company responsible for the flat-screens on the Pike,” the Boston Globe reports. “David Leider, chief executive officer, said the company expects to open 50 locations in the Boston market in the next month. And Fuelcast Media Network, a gas station television provider based in Los Angeles, expects to enter the fray in Massachusetts by late summer …The screens, which were installed last week at Gulf gas stations on the Pike and are the first at Massachusetts gas stations, offer news bytes, sports highlights, and the latest Hollywood gossip.”   But the “driving force,” is advertising.

        You can’t turn the volume down or change channels while you’re stuck at the pump, the Globe report adds. “Here, advertisers hawking soda have potential customers right where they want them: a short walk away from a mini-mart selling their product. For these reasons, local drivers are about to see a lot more TV at the pump in the coming weeks and not just on the Pike.”

        I realize, of course, that gas stations are not meditation spaces; still, we don’t enter them for the purpose of being barraged by ads. Yes, commercial speech is protected by the First Amendment, but like all speech, it may be subject to time, place and manner restrictions, which could arguably be applied to these gaseous tv's that we cannot control or even escape. The audience is literally captive, as the CEO of Gas Station TV bragged to the Globe: "We like to say the consumer is tied to the screen with an 8-foot rubber hose for five minutes."   Exactly. Gas Station TV is an exercise in power, not First Amendment rights.

Published Mar 19 2008, 03:55 PM by Wendy Kaminer

jerry said:

Elevators? I hang out in the low rent district I guess :(

Anyway, there is TV-BGone

//www.tvbgone.com/

Or perhaps if you are an overly zealous believer in the second amendment....

March 19, 2008 5:13 PM
sharon said:

Dunne is my hero. Horay for those who realize that they do not have to give up their constitutional rights for those that are immoral and have mental health problems. I also believe that my freedom as an American allows me to accept whomever I want into my mind, self-respected esteem, and individual decisive spirit. I choose not to have anything to do with gays and lesbians. I do not associate with them and I despise them as humans. This is my choice as a human being and a free American. I don't have to tell anyone how I feel and my personal beliefs. I do not have to like everyone, and I know it is not a wise and secure way to live life thinking you have to accept and like everyone. There are more and more deceivers and evil people coming into this world. We can only avoid them and teach all children that we come into contact with to not associate or be involved with gays and lesbians!!!

June 6, 2008 2:12 PM
albertson said:

hi;

Yes,we can safe from the gas stations.By looking the people smoking at near gas stations while keeping a

warning board,No Smoking.

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albertson

Addiction Recovery Maine

<a rel="nofollow" href="www.addictionrecovery.net/maine">

Addiction Recovery Maine</a>

July 16, 2008 6:29 AM