Monday, January 11, 2010
Have no fear “Lost” fans, the President of the United States will not be messing with your season premiere. Ever since the White House indicated that President Barack Obama might move back his State of the Union (SOTU) address from late January to February 2, followers of the show “Lost”—along with its producers, host network and parent company—became anxious over the thought that the show’s final-season opener might be preempted by the annual presidential address.
ABC, which shows “Lost,” got its news divisions into the act, with multiple ABC News reporters peppering the White House with questions about the conflict between the show’s first episode and the SOTU. The Walt Disney Co., which owns ABC, may have gotten into the lobbying effort as well, given its powerful reputation in Washington and the millions it has thrown around town since 1999 ($3 million).
Eventually, the White House waved the white flag and promised that the “Lost” season premiere was safe. “I don’t foresee a scenario in which millions of people who hope to finally get some conclusion with ‘Lost’ are preempted by the president,” Obama’s press secretary Robert Gibbs reassured reporters on Friday.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Obama's State of the Union Won't Preempt Season Premiere of 'Lost' After All (by Lisa de Moraes, Washington Post)
White House Yields for 'Lost' — and Major Lobbying Force in Walt Disney Co. (by Dave Levinthal, OpenSecrets.org))
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