Originally appeared as a paper for Isra Ali's Development of Mass Media, Fall 2007.
When one wants to think of pure, unending corporate evil, there is no better place to look on modern animated television than Charles Montgomery Burns, owner of Springfield’s nuclear power plant on the Simpsons. But what happens when Mr. Burns wants to improve his public image? Writer Don Payne explores this in the fifteen season’s season finale for The Simpsons, the episode Fraudcast News. What we find analyzing this episode is the tendency for Mr. Burns to take the worst characteristics of modern corporate media and taking them to extremes not regularly found in real life. However, art is imitating life for Monty, especially in the areas of consolidation of media ownership and the distribution of his personal views through corporate media.
Meanwhile, the local tourist attraction, Geezer Rock, is celebrated for its time as a historical monument for Springfield, and for crushing Mr. Burns. Lisa Simpson writes a poem to celebrate the rock, which she was initially to read at the dedication. After the opportunity passes, she receives the suggest to print it for herself from her mother, which begins the creation of her very own newspaper, the Red Dress Press, which will come into play much later on within the story.
Meanwhile, Mr. Burns finds people actually celebrating his death and finds them in fear when they realize he is not actually dead. Burns unintentionally foils a plan from Homer, Lenny, and Carl to dance on his grave, leading them to tap-dance away from the graveyard in which he appears.
Depressed over the realization that he is not as loved as he once thought he was, Burns decides to improve his image within the public. For him, “step one, amass a vast media empire.” (Fraudcast News, 8:15) Mr. Burns’ first move as a media mogul is to purchase local Channel 6 from its long-time owner, whose family has owned the channel for multiple generations. While the owner is steadfastly against selling at first, Burns’ increasingly higher offers finally elicit a joyous acceptance of terms, with the former owner proceeding to jump in the offered bag of money with the offered supermodel and the offered ice cream sundae. While this is the first move, it is certainly not the last as Burns proceeds to purchase radio station KBBL, firing the local DJs in the process, and adding the station to the Burns Media empire. He also buys out the Springfield Shopper, and finally, the local skywriters, who spell out the message “Burns is Nice.” (Fraudcast News, 9:42) Burns also publishes the Burns Weekly, and buys the rights to Itchy and Scratchy, allowing him to take control of the Itchy and Scratchy program, which will be returned to later in the essay.
Within the market model demonstrated by Croteau and Hoynes, Burns Media is an example of a homogenized monopoly. Described by Croteau and Hoynes as the “least desirable from a market perspective,” Burns Media does not tolerate competition and buys out (almost) all media in the community of Springfield. The programming and editorial content revolve around lionizing its owner, Mr. Burns. (Croteau and Hoynes, The Business of Media, p. 15)
On top of all of this, Burns turns the local newscast into a forum for praising him. “Booberella” plays the point to Kent Brockman’s point, and if that doesn’t sound quite right, it’s because it’s not. Burns has turned his media outlet into a public image machine, only giving out positive information about him, manipulating editorial content to keep him appearing in a positive light, and using sex to distract people from the larger issue, especially within the context of Booberella’s large bosom.
Burns’ manipulation of the point-counterpoint segments is also symbolic of one of the criticisms pointed out by Croteau and Hoynes. A major point of criticism for the market model, within the public sphere model, is that the market model can be insufficient for citizens and democracy. The need to satisfy a specific demographic may override debate in order to not lose the target demographic. (Croteau and Hoynes, p. 24) In the case of the Kent Brockman/Booberella debate, there was nothing even close to democratic or even close to resembling a debate. The target demographic for the debate was Montgomery Burns, the topic was Montgomery Burns, and the answer to any questions posed within the debate was pro. Mr. Burns.
Returning to the case of content within The Itchy and Scratchy Show, Burns’ treatment of Itchy and Scratchy finds an allegorical brother in the genesis of Captain Planet and the Planeteers. According to the memoirs of Ted’s ex-wife, Jane Fonda, Ted has been an environmentalist since he was a child. His love of nature eventually grew into amateur ornithology, allowing him to recognize many birds solely by their wings. He also put work into obtaining and rebroadcasting environmentally based documentaries, especially ones from National Geographic. (Fonda, My Life So Far, p. 471, 477)
Donna Lee King, in correspondence with an unnamed executive producer for Captain Planet, noted that the producer said, “I had a mandate from Ted to create a superhero, to make a cartoon named Captain Planet.” Captain Planet himself is a pollution fighting superhero, complete with powers to battle evil polluters such as the aptly named Hoggish Greedly. With the help of five ethnically diverse teens and an earth spirit named Gaia, Captain Planet is ready to take on the world’s pollution problems! (King, “Captain Planet and the Planeteers: Kids, Environmental Crisis, and Competing Narratives of the New World Order”, p. 109, 112-114)
Monty Burns, on the other hand, extols the virtues of nuclear power. In a 40 second cartoon short, Itchy and Scratchy play the role of a forklift operator in a business suit and hippie protestor, respectively. Itchy impales Scratchy on a fork lift and drives him through the community, showing him the benefits of nuclear power. From the orphanage full of happy children to the busy hospital, nuclear power keeps Monty’s twisted world running. When Itchy suggests wind power as a safe alternative, the windmill they pass by decapitates the cat. Mr. Burns then appears as a vulture, reminding children that he is a good man, and nuclear power is good as well, while Scratchy implores viewers from his decapitated head to vote Republican. (Fraudcast News, 10:38-11:20)
At this point, Lisa Simpson, who has been publishing the Red Dress Press since the popularity of her original poem made the citizens of Springfield interested in more content from her newspaper, decides to take a stand against Mr. Burns’ media empire. Calling him a “monopolizing, self-aggrandizing… stinky-head,” Lisa speaks out about issues with Burns’ ownership (Fraudcast News, 11:37). Burns is not pleased, and he sends for her, trying to buy her newspaper with a bribe of three ponies. Lisa refuses, and she would be kicked out of Burns office if not for that that her mother wouldn’t be there for another hour. Her paper continues to be published, and Burns becomes angrier.
In Rich Media, Poor Democracy, Robert McChesney, writes that “[t]he simple truth is that for those atop our economy success is based in large part on eliminating [emphasis his] competition.” (McChesney, Rich Media, Poor Democracy, 138) McChesney does not mean it literally within the context of his book, but within Springfield, the interpretation is quite literal. When Lisa refuses to sell, Mr. Burns sends out a gauntlet of obstacles to Lisa’s success as a newspaper. This literal interpretation of eliminating competition includes attacks by car, helicopter, and Segway, culminating in a car crash into a rattlesnake habitat. When this is not enough to deter Lisa, Burns cuts the power to the Simpsons home. When Principal Skinner allows Lisa access to the mimeograph machine, Burns takes a final desperate measure. Burns invites Homer, Lisa’s father, to his office for a talk and subsequently drugs him into revealing secrets about Lisa, including a crush Milhouse has on her. Burns uses this blackmail to publicly humiliate Lisa, culminating in a laser show of Milhouse kissing Lisa projected onto the moon. As can be seen, C. Montgomery Burns will try to win at all costs, eliminating his competition by any means necessary.
For the conclusion of this analysis, I will examine the interaction of the public sphere within Springfield. According to Starr, the public sphere is open when information is accessible and communication lines are open about topics of the public interest. (Starr, Creation of the Media, p. 25) Within the framework of Fraudcast News, the public sphere becomes closed off when Burns buys up or silences all competition. The eventual reopening, however, can be broken down into a basic catalyst event, but with wider implications for the town.
Homer’s love for his daughter and need to help her when she’s ready to bow under pressure from Burns inspires him to create the Homer Times. The Times serves as a paper to bolster Lisa’s efforts against Burns. The creation of Homer’s paper begins to reopen the public sphere, with his paper rising from the ashes of the Red Dress Press in order to oppose Mr. Burns’ smear campaign against Lisa. However, that is only one paper. The true reopening of the public sphere occurs with the appearance of new local newspapers. The Burns Media’s Springfield Shopper now competes side by side with such alliterative masterpieces as the Barney Bugle and the Willie World News, along with Patti and Selma’s Twin Spin and Lenny’s Lennysaver, among other newspapers.
This can be classified as a de facto opening of the public sphere. Springfield’s residents watched one of their one lead the way, and once that cue appeared, they realized they had a voice to express as well, even if it is as simple as Barney’s wire service reprints. Now, in the words of Homer Simpson, “instead of one big shot controlling the media, now there’s a thousand freaks Xeroxing their worthless opinions.” (Fraudcast News, 20:06)
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