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Gothamist likey: New York City has struck up a partnership with The History Channel where the cable channel will, among other things, give NYC about $15 million in national advertising (to promote tourism), commit $3.5 million to preserving buildings and landmarks, and create $1 million in programming. What The History Channel gets in return is being the sponsor of this program and free media space at bus shelters and the like. Now, Gothamist is wary of co-opting our good city's name with corporations, but we love that the History Channel will also create an official history center, develop historical tours, and encourage tourists to visit all five boroughs. This is all part of Mayor Bloomberg's aggressive plan to boost tourism in the city.
You'll start seeing ads in February. Other cable channels we'd like the city to team up with: The Food Network - tastings all around town; Sundance or IFC - more movies; Bravo - Queer Eye makeovers and Blow Outs; The Weather Channel - umbrellas, galoshes, mittens galore. And here's the city's official tourism site: NYCVisit.com.
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Create an "official" history center? What is the Gotham Center? What is the New-York Historical Society? Who are the borough historians?
I remember the bad old (recent!) days when the History Channel offered to pay for copies of my "hot dog" research for "History on a Bun." Yeah, thanks--hundreds of hours of research, and they'd maybe give me A NICKEL for whatever photocopy they'd use. And the History Channel stiffed me on the nickel, too!
There are things that the mayor could be doing to preserve NYC history that would cost almost NOTHING. Honor Audrey Munson (our Civic Fame model-see Wikipedia), for example. But the History Channel won't do that. We'll get 9-11 24-7. We'll get the stuff that everyone already knows. The Hitler-Civil War "greatest hits" history.
It will be bad, cheap, made-for-television "history." There's a chance that the History Channel could change its spots, but I doubt it.
Government must get out of this game. Leave the advertising space on buses and trains to highest bidders--not "official sponsors" of "our history."
When I see that first big apple, I'm gonna be sick...