Ted Turner: Capitalism & Charity Good Bed Fellows

We learn from the WSJ that the new platform, Cameo, “Aims to Connect Celebrities With Fans & It’s Now Worth $1 Billion.” As if the mega-privileged celebs need more help in “connecting” with fans? How about a headline that reads “Celebs Using Cameo To Exploit The Gullible?” Think, for instance, the constantly running ads during March Madness insisting Black athletes (how's that for racial profiling?) are now woke to using their celebrity status “to make this a better world.” True, many are unselfishly doing great things to make this a better world, but too many of all colors & creeds I’ve known & watched are cynically mostly upping the value of their brand & endorsement income.

For two decades of media & public relations work, especially building brands for elite Big Business & Swamp lawyers, I simply got sick & tired of those paying lip service to pro bono opportunities &/or using them to bolster their paying customer base.

Yet, I now sometimes wonder if that “semi-altruistic” approach to Joint Lee’s “Doing the Right Thing” is such a wrong thing, especially in our capitalistic society. Media tycoon Ted Turner once told me he’s “the ultimate capitalist AND philanthropist who’s given away millions … it’s a fact, that the more money I give to charities, the more money I make.”

Davd Soul