How to tell how effective JW.TV will be

by bohm 24 Replies latest jw friends

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  bohm

  Here is a simple and obvious way to tell how effective JW.TV is going to be:

  In the past, how effective has religious TV been for you? Has watching religious TV made by moonies, evangelists, mormons or scientologists made you seriously reflect on spirituality? Has it ever made you do anything? Has it even come close?

  For me, the answer is a resounding no. In my experience religious TV has always been a complete joke, even less effective by far than talks or books promoting a particular religion. I cannot put a finger on why this is the case but it just appears to be so.

  Turning to the particular case of JW TV I don't even think they did a good job insofar as religious TV is concerned. What is their most important story? That they build a TV set in two months. Who exactly are going to be impressed by this information? Suppose scientology claimed to have build a TV set in a single month, would anyone give a crap?

  The content was awfull; within three minutes we had both heard that the TV show was a trial yet god had helped them build the tv-set. This is both contradictory and cultish. I could not bother to watch all of it but it seems comprised of booring talks and was unecesarily bland and condescending: "what come after twelve....thirteeeeen!".

  No doubt the quality will improve, but I still have a hard time imagining anyone who is not a JW would really choose to watch this type of show over other content freely available. I am also curious if even hard-core JWs will want to watch it, it seems like meeting/convention type content but without any of the social interaction or peer preasure.

  It is going to make for great youtube material though.
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  Honesty

  What a joke.

  I suspect that every secular educated JW will watch it one time and will not bother to tune in again.
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  punkofnice

  I think these bozos should have a show where members of the public can call in and question them LIVE!!!
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  Justnowout

  Bohm, i agree with the premise but i think one factor to add into the equation is the cult acceptance/belief. The average dubbie will accept any steaming pile of crap if they think a GB member flushed it to them. They may have recoiled at jim baker but if the rubber faced buffoon lett says the same things its from GOD! In short, 'the other guys are wrong, we are right' cult mentality will easily overrule any discomfort dubbies feel about the video feeds. The built in cult filter tells them that anything the GB say or do must be right, even if its wrong, because the GB are Always right.
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  stuckinarut2

  Great thread and great observations / comments Bohm...

  I agree...it is a poorly presented product that is really only an "in-house" event anyway.

  No one in the real world gives a thought to it.....
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  punkofnice

  If the GB aren't the whack jobs they appear they will keep the TV show very low key in terms of doctrine. If they start belting out their weirdo doctrine then only the JWs will be enthralled and the 'apostates(tm)' will have a good laugh at their delusional rubbish. Belting out weirdo doctrine will really destroy any cred they may have had.......which is naff all really.
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  sloppyjoe2

  I think the tv is already effective. It's not about conversions, it's not about donations. It's about the organization advancing due to jehovahs blessing and convincing the current jws of that. Someone already posted his but the great trib being right around the corner has lost its appeal for now. They have realized that changing things and introducing new things creates the same buzz and excitement as predicting a year for the end. the tv has already worked. They will just keep introducing new things and changes as long as it creates excitement. Right now they have JWs in the Palms of their hands.
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  sloppyjoe2

  Only a slap in the face to apostates who believe the organization is dying. It's thriving and will keep going long past any of us are alive. Realizing that it really means nothing except keeping JWs excited.
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  DATA-DOG

  Sloppyjoe has some good points. Let's see how much they pimp donations from the show. I imagine all kind of flashing information across the bottom of the screen. What's going on in Timbuktu and BFE?? How many chickens did Jeehoober save?? DONATE $$$!!!!!

  This show is for desperate JWs with little to no reasoning skills, who worship the GB/ORG. My wife is one of them. I HATE MY LIFE.

  DD
• 

  bohm

  Justnowout:

  We don't really know what the TV is going to be comprised of yet, but lets assume that it's roughly going to be about a mix of "Sister Ann used to do drugs, now she is a jehovahs witness, see how happy she is", an old guy talking about the bible, caleb/sofia, a play or something else aimed at children and how awfull everything is in russia. In other words, it will be the average convention/meeting experience with better production value.

  The point here is that (in my view) many don't really go to conventions to hear the talks which they can't recall afterwards anyway, but to show others that they go to conventions, to chat, because "that is what everyone else does", for the experience, to find a mate or to meet other people. The TV-show should more or less be compared against a DVD recording of an old convention: If this was really exciting to the average dub, DVD recordings would already circulate quite far and wide and be viewed often. I know recordings do circulate and some obviously watch them, but how often did you get a recording and watched it for the great experience in your living room? If you had access to 12 recordings, would you watch one every month? I could be wrong (never was a dub) but I would bet my girlfriend when she was the most in would not have bothered at all.

  My point is not this will be a disaster, I would guess half of all jehovahs witness would watch this regularly. But getting most JWs to watch this somewhat regularly is *not* a success unless it translate into getting them more exited and involved than just going to meetings, reading magasines, doing service and once in a while a book. I just don't think TV is very effective at that.

  More importantly, this is saying nothing about getting OTHER people involved. So far I cannot imagine this will be effective AT ALL for that job.