Re “SOS: Keep TCM Afloat,” by Maureen Dowd (column, June 25):
Thank you, Ms. Dowd, for your beautifully expressed column about the unique place that Turner Classic Movies holds in our lives and culture, and your appeal to keep it intact as it undergoes painful budgetary and staffing changes under the ownership of Warner Bros. Discovery.
I speak as one of 25 TCM viewers chosen in a national contest to be a guest programmer on TCM for its 25th anniversary in 2019. Each of us was asked to introduce a film that meant something highly personal to us and to dedicate it to someone special in our lives.
One woman chose to introduce the 1968 detective film “Bullitt” and dedicated it to her late father, explaining that she switched on TCM immediately upon returning from his funeral and was struck by how much he resembled the film’s star, Steve McQueen. She sensed in that serendipitous moment that her father was still with her, and it sustained her.
I chose the 1958 Oscar-winning musical “Gigi” and dedicated it to my wife. The composer Frederick Loewe gave us our first wedding gift after I spent the day with him for a newspaper story I was writing as he prepared a stage version for Broadway. His gift was tickets to a performance of the show.
Ms. Dowd quotes Warner Bros. Discovery’s C.E.O., David Zaslav, as reassuring her that he understands the uniqueness of TCM and will make it better, “a magical thing.”
Ms. Dowd’s apt reply: “I’ll be watching.”
She won’t be the only one. Scores of us hope he really gets how much more TCM is than just another TV channel.
Greg Joseph Sun City, Ariz. The writer is a retired journalist and a former member of the Television Critics Association.
To the Editor:
David Zaslav, the Warner Bros. Discovery C.E.O., assures Maureen Dowd that TCM “is my favorite channel. … It’s like a trust.”
I would trust Mr. Zaslav’s statement a lot more if he hadn’t just fired the network’s longtime head of programming, Charles Tabesh, along with several other key executives. What on earth is TCM if not its programming?
Ms. Dowd writes that Mr. Zaslav said he’s keeping the on-camera hosts and wants “to spend more money on the channel and market it better.” If that were true, at the risk of stating the obvious, he could have spent more money without gutting the staff who have made TCM so well worth marketing in the first place.
Mr. Zaslav boasts: “I think it could be bigger and more powerful with more reach. This is going to be a magical thing.” Those of us who love TCM know that it has always been magical without his interference.
Preston Neal Jones Hollywood, Calif. The writer is the author of books about filmmaking.
Access to Birth Control
To the Editor:
Re “The Conservative Position on Birth Control Is About Individual Responsibility,” by Hadley Heath Manning (Opinion guest essay, nytimes.com, June 24):
As a mother of three daughters, a pediatrician in practice for 22 years and a person who was raised Catholic, I find this essay upsetting. Why is there such black and white thinking about sexuality? Why should choices about sex be viewed as “good” or “bad”?
Pregnancy is not a disease; however, it is a medical condition that affects a mother’s body and soul for the rest of her life. Access to safe and effective contraception is medical care, and it should not be considered an “individual responsibility.” It is a societal responsibility.
There are highly effective contraceptive options, and medical providers should not opt out of providing this care based on their own personal beliefs. We are not there to judge our patients. And contraception does not promote sexual promiscuity. It gives women freedom to control their own destiny.
Deb Hansen Keene, N.H.
The Homelessness Crisis
To the Editor:
Re “Policy to Fight Homelessness Becomes a Target of the Right” (front page, June 21):
While I certainly deplore the fact that the raging right has seized on the issue of homelessness, I believe there is no single “right” way to address it.
My wife and I moved to Portland, Ore., from Iowa 10 years ago, and since then have witnessed a sad transformation of this city. Both the plight of the homeless and the city government’s response have worsened. We see evidence of homelessness all around us every day. Along thoroughfares and neighborhoods tents and motor homes abound, and all around these are mountains of trash, discarded needles and worse.
It is clear that many of these people are incapable of making a rational choice to comply with an offer of assistance; many flatly state that they prefer to stay on the streets.
While the reasons for this depressing state of affairs may well be complex, refusing to compel those who are mentally ill or drug dependent to receive treatment only perpetuates the problem. Many are a danger to themselves and to others.
Allowing such seriously ill people to refuse treatment is a failure of both compassion and of responsive government.
Greg Cusack Portland, Ore.
Save the Landmark Church
To the Editor:
Re “Congregants Want Historic Church Sold. Famous New Yorkers Want It Saved” (news article, June 26):
There are many more of us New Yorkers who are not famous who don’t want to see this historic landmark church replaced by a multistory residential building.
Aside from being a landmark at the corner of West 86th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, the West Park Presbyterian Church has become a community center and a symbol of a time when neighbors met to discuss their local concerns in person.
Its possible destruction is why a group of us young architects picketed to protest the potential demolition of the old Pennsylvania Station in the 1960s. While we didn’t succeed in saving the grand old station from demolition, the Landmarks Preservation Commission was born, many threatened buildings in our city were preserved and whole new “historic districts” were formed.
Demolishing the West Park Presbyterian Church would be a giant step backward, when there are far better alternatives.
Peter Samton New York
The Benefits of Cultivated Meat
To the Editor:
Re “Lab-Grown Meat Is Approved for Sale in the United States” (Business, June 22):
For the first time in history, Americans will be able to eat the meat they love made from animal cells without the need for live animals. And, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a burgeoning cultivated meat sector in the United States will have a host of benefits, from climate change mitigation and biodiversity preservation to food systems resilience and economic competitiveness.
Because the United States’ food safety oversight is among the best in the world, our expectation is that other governments will be granting regulatory clearance for cultivated meat in very short order. That underlines the need for additional government support for this brand-new industry, so that we can take advantage of the jobs and economic benefits identified by C.S.I.S. and others.
Cameron Icard Washington The writer is board chair for the Good Food Institute, a nonprofit organization that works to promote cultivated meat.
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Home » Analysis & Comment » Opinion | Aficionados of TCM Fear for Its Future
Opinion | Aficionados of TCM Fear for Its Future
More from our inbox:
To the Editor:
Re “SOS: Keep TCM Afloat,” by Maureen Dowd (column, June 25):
Thank you, Ms. Dowd, for your beautifully expressed column about the unique place that Turner Classic Movies holds in our lives and culture, and your appeal to keep it intact as it undergoes painful budgetary and staffing changes under the ownership of Warner Bros. Discovery.
I speak as one of 25 TCM viewers chosen in a national contest to be a guest programmer on TCM for its 25th anniversary in 2019. Each of us was asked to introduce a film that meant something highly personal to us and to dedicate it to someone special in our lives.
One woman chose to introduce the 1968 detective film “Bullitt” and dedicated it to her late father, explaining that she switched on TCM immediately upon returning from his funeral and was struck by how much he resembled the film’s star, Steve McQueen. She sensed in that serendipitous moment that her father was still with her, and it sustained her.
I chose the 1958 Oscar-winning musical “Gigi” and dedicated it to my wife. The composer Frederick Loewe gave us our first wedding gift after I spent the day with him for a newspaper story I was writing as he prepared a stage version for Broadway. His gift was tickets to a performance of the show.
Ms. Dowd quotes Warner Bros. Discovery’s C.E.O., David Zaslav, as reassuring her that he understands the uniqueness of TCM and will make it better, “a magical thing.”
Ms. Dowd’s apt reply: “I’ll be watching.”
She won’t be the only one. Scores of us hope he really gets how much more TCM is than just another TV channel.
Greg Joseph
Sun City, Ariz.
The writer is a retired journalist and a former member of the Television Critics Association.
To the Editor:
David Zaslav, the Warner Bros. Discovery C.E.O., assures Maureen Dowd that TCM “is my favorite channel. … It’s like a trust.”
I would trust Mr. Zaslav’s statement a lot more if he hadn’t just fired the network’s longtime head of programming, Charles Tabesh, along with several other key executives. What on earth is TCM if not its programming?
Ms. Dowd writes that Mr. Zaslav said he’s keeping the on-camera hosts and wants “to spend more money on the channel and market it better.” If that were true, at the risk of stating the obvious, he could have spent more money without gutting the staff who have made TCM so well worth marketing in the first place.
Mr. Zaslav boasts: “I think it could be bigger and more powerful with more reach. This is going to be a magical thing.” Those of us who love TCM know that it has always been magical without his interference.
Preston Neal Jones
Hollywood, Calif.
The writer is the author of books about filmmaking.
Access to Birth Control
To the Editor:
Re “The Conservative Position on Birth Control Is About Individual Responsibility,” by Hadley Heath Manning (Opinion guest essay, nytimes.com, June 24):
As a mother of three daughters, a pediatrician in practice for 22 years and a person who was raised Catholic, I find this essay upsetting. Why is there such black and white thinking about sexuality? Why should choices about sex be viewed as “good” or “bad”?
Pregnancy is not a disease; however, it is a medical condition that affects a mother’s body and soul for the rest of her life. Access to safe and effective contraception is medical care, and it should not be considered an “individual responsibility.” It is a societal responsibility.
There are highly effective contraceptive options, and medical providers should not opt out of providing this care based on their own personal beliefs. We are not there to judge our patients. And contraception does not promote sexual promiscuity. It gives women freedom to control their own destiny.
Deb Hansen
Keene, N.H.
The Homelessness Crisis
To the Editor:
Re “Policy to Fight Homelessness Becomes a Target of the Right” (front page, June 21):
While I certainly deplore the fact that the raging right has seized on the issue of homelessness, I believe there is no single “right” way to address it.
My wife and I moved to Portland, Ore., from Iowa 10 years ago, and since then have witnessed a sad transformation of this city. Both the plight of the homeless and the city government’s response have worsened. We see evidence of homelessness all around us every day. Along thoroughfares and neighborhoods tents and motor homes abound, and all around these are mountains of trash, discarded needles and worse.
It is clear that many of these people are incapable of making a rational choice to comply with an offer of assistance; many flatly state that they prefer to stay on the streets.
While the reasons for this depressing state of affairs may well be complex, refusing to compel those who are mentally ill or drug dependent to receive treatment only perpetuates the problem. Many are a danger to themselves and to others.
Allowing such seriously ill people to refuse treatment is a failure of both compassion and of responsive government.
Greg Cusack
Portland, Ore.
Save the Landmark Church
To the Editor:
Re “Congregants Want Historic Church Sold. Famous New Yorkers Want It Saved” (news article, June 26):
There are many more of us New Yorkers who are not famous who don’t want to see this historic landmark church replaced by a multistory residential building.
Aside from being a landmark at the corner of West 86th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, the West Park Presbyterian Church has become a community center and a symbol of a time when neighbors met to discuss their local concerns in person.
Its possible destruction is why a group of us young architects picketed to protest the potential demolition of the old Pennsylvania Station in the 1960s. While we didn’t succeed in saving the grand old station from demolition, the Landmarks Preservation Commission was born, many threatened buildings in our city were preserved and whole new “historic districts” were formed.
Demolishing the West Park Presbyterian Church would be a giant step backward, when there are far better alternatives.
Peter Samton
New York
The Benefits of Cultivated Meat
To the Editor:
Re “Lab-Grown Meat Is Approved for Sale in the United States” (Business, June 22):
For the first time in history, Americans will be able to eat the meat they love made from animal cells without the need for live animals. And, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a burgeoning cultivated meat sector in the United States will have a host of benefits, from climate change mitigation and biodiversity preservation to food systems resilience and economic competitiveness.
Because the United States’ food safety oversight is among the best in the world, our expectation is that other governments will be granting regulatory clearance for cultivated meat in very short order. That underlines the need for additional government support for this brand-new industry, so that we can take advantage of the jobs and economic benefits identified by C.S.I.S. and others.
Cameron Icard
Washington
The writer is board chair for the Good Food Institute, a nonprofit organization that works to promote cultivated meat.
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