I think television's become a downright dangerous thing. It has no moral barometer whatsoever. If you want to talk about something that is all about money, just watch the television.
Interpretation
Television can influence society negatively due to its focus on money over morality.
In this quote, Tom Petty expresses his concern about the impact of television on societal values. He suggests that television lacks a guiding moral compass and prioritizes profit, which can lead to dangerous consequences for viewers' perceptions and behaviors.
In practice
In a discussion about media ethics at a conference, this quote could be used to highlight the potential dangers of profit-driven content.
When my record company rejected 'Full Moon Fever', I was hurt so bad. I was pretty far along in my career at that point. I'd never had anything rejected; I'd never really even had a comment. So when that happened, it was really just a board to the forehead. But then, finally, I picked myself up.
I developed a problem with authority. Any time that authority was what I interpreted as being unjust, I stood up to it, and that became my personality.
I don't know, my music has always just come from where the wind blew me. Like where I'm at during a particular moment in time.
Music really isn’t supposed to be perfect. It’s all about people relating to each other and doing something that’s really from the soul. It must come from the soul.
It's hard for me... If I don't have a project going, I don't feel like I'm connected to anything. I don't even think it's that healthy for me. I like to get out of bed and have a purpose.
I think for it to be hip to be idealistic is weird, you know? I mean, even all the best rebels to me, had some sense of hope in them.
The media is too concentrated, too few people own too much. There's really five companies that control 90 percent of what we read, see and hear. It's not healthy.
I suppose popularity is measured by ratings. If a broadcaster is known as the leader because of ratings, then that's where people most want to be seen and heard, so there's no question that there's an advantage.
The reporting of news has to be understood as propaganda for commodities, and events by images.
I am a news presenter, a news broadcaster, an anchorman, a managing editor - not a commentator or analyst.
The newspaper offers something very different from Google's aggregators. It offers a value system, an idea of what matters in the world. Newspapers need to start articulating that value.
I think we're living, in terms of media, in a very democratic age, but I think that we still look at everything through the lens of 'Vogue' and through our own point of view.
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