9News gives away airtime for Peanuts

Snoopy rocks the vote. This morning at around 5:30 a.m., I switched on Channel 9's morning show in the middle of an excerpt from a vintage Peanuts animated TV special that went on for several minutes without any commentary whatsoever. I wondered: Did anchor Gary Shapiro need to use the...

By Michael Roberts

November 4, 2008

Audio By Carbonatix

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Snoopy rocks the vote.

This morning at around 5:30 a.m., I switched on Channel 9's morning show in the middle of an excerpt from a vintage Peanuts animated TV special that went on for several minutes without any commentary whatsoever. I wondered: Did anchor Gary Shapiro need to use the bathroom, prompting the technical crew to screen whatever footage they had on hand to cover his absence? (Back in the day, radio DJs used to use "Stairway to Heaven" in a similar way.) So I called Shapiro, and it turns out that what I saw was actually a canned package assembled by Rock the Vote, the organization that sponsored yesterday's Beastie Boys-Tenacious D press conference and concert at the Fillmore Auditorium; it featured scenes from 1972's You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown, which was released on DVD last month. Problem is, 9News got around to publicizing PeanutsRocksTheVote.com a little late. The site's main gimmick was an election that pitted Peanuts characters against each other -- but the main page reveals that the final vote is in, and Snoopy already won.

So relax, everyone. The most important election is already over, and a worthy candidate won. Still, I bet Lucy is pissed. -- Michael Roberts

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Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword's news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor's degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

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