Gephyrophillia #204

Originally Posted on 08/17/2009 by Jeff Harris

I've never been so blunt about anything in my life. Even when Jamie Kellner was in charge of Turner Broadcasting and forced Kids' WB values to the network and when Jim Samples and Bob Higgins piloted the good ship Cartoon Network through clearer waters and into its grimy, muck-filled live-action direction, I never exactly said that I wanted them completely out of their job. But these are trying times, and the time for pleasantries has passed.

In order for Cartoon Network to get back to their senses and back on track, Stuart Snyder, president of Turner Animation and Young Adults unit (i.e. Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, and everything they do) and Rob Sorcher, Chief Content Officer of Cartoon Network (i.e. the guy who decides what airs on the channel) must leave.

Why must they be fired? Because they have killed Cartoon Network and hellbent on making the channel a third-rate imitation of Nickelodeon and Disney Channel by alienating and abandoning the core mission of Cartoon Network by adding live-action even though there's evidence that nobody's watching it and it's a critical failure.

Allow me to reiterate.

According to the LA Times, Cartoon Network has had the worst seven months in its history. Ratings dropped 30% from January to August compared to the same period four years ago (that would be 2005, the last year Cartoon Network was a 100% animation and a period that had Cartoon Network air one of its biggest slates of original and acquired cartoons [and no Naruto, which premiered in September of that year]). In July 2009, Cartoon Network had its lowest ratings among their desired demographic, the lowest in that category since May 2000. July 2009 was also the lowest rated month since June 1998. June 1998, Sailor Moon was just getting started, and The Powerpuff Girls wasn't even a SERIES at that time. Plus, they were in 50 million fewer homes in 1998 than they are in 2009, so that's really bad.

Funny situation from the article. Even though there's evidence that the viewers aren't watching, the ratings are dipping to a decade low, and critics from inside and outside the network, those two, Snyder and Sorcher, are still hellbent on pushing and continuing the live-action agenda. Why? Because they think the kids will just give up, stop complaining, and accept the live-action programming on the network? Because they feel that they can completely drive the older viewers away from the network by programming more shows they're not interested in watching? Because they already pissed off the animation creative community by pushing cartoon veterans out of the way and pursuing more live-action creators than animation creators? All of those reasons and one other.

Snyder and Sorcher do what they do because they can.

They've convinced themselves that because they can tarnish a brand like Cartoon Network, threaten to remove a brand that has lasted for almost two decades in order to push an agenda that has not only proven to be a failure, but also one that has driven away viewers rather than bringing them new ones. That is bad business.

There is a lot of potential left in Cartoon Network and there's a lot of love for Cartoon Network. Young and old. The animation community still believes that Cartoon Network can succeed without it becoming a third-rate Nickelodeon/Disney Channel clone but what it was always meant to be. A Cartoon Network. But for some reason, neither Snyder nor Sorcher cares what you think, unless you're under the age of 12.

But that doesn't mean you can't tell them what you think. Leave them a message:

Robert Sorcher,
Chief Content Officer,
Cartoon Network Worldwide
1050 Techwood Drive
Atlanta, Georgia 30318

Stuart Snyder
President, Turner Animation, Young Adults & Kids Media
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.
One CNN Center
Atlanta, Georgia 30303

Now, here's one more address you need to write to. The last and ultimate address you might want to use is this one:

Jeffrey L. Bewkes, Chairman/CEO Time Warner
James L. Barksdale
William P. Barr
Stephen F. Bollenbach
Frank J. Caufield
Robert C. Clark
Mathias Dopfner
Jessica P. Einhorn
Michael A. Miles
Kenneth J. Novack
Deborah C. Wright
c/o Office of the Corporate Secretary
Time Warner Inc.
One Time Warner Center
New York, NY 10019

This is the board of directors of Time Warner. These are the individuals who decide what happens at all of Time Warner, including Cartoon Network. Be civil. Be polite. Be blunt. Tell them how you feel.

Hopefully, we can stop the madness before it's too late.

*end transmission*

Jeff Harris,
Creator/Webmaster, The X Bridge.