September 19, 2007

Daytime TV Providing New Cross-Promotional Opportunities for Today’s Music Stars

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Days of our Klaxons?

Timbaland is trying something new. The 35-year-old rapper-producer, who has collaborated on No. 1 songs for Justin Timberlake and Nelly Furtado, will appear on ABC’s “One Life to Live” on Oct. 9, the network said Wednesday. “This is a new experience for me, I am looking forward to having a great time and sharing my music!” he said in a statement. – AP

“It just seemed like a natural fit,” said Madonna in a statement. “By appearing on ‘Guiding Light,’ I hope to show America what a guiding light the Kabbalah has been for me.” The singer is one of many following Timbaland’s lead by appearing on daytime television, in what some are calling the most inspired cross-promotional concept since the Chicago Bears’ 1985 hit, “Super Bowl Shuffle.” Meg White plans to use her “down time” to join “The Young and the Restless” for an exciting seven-week subplot about anxiety disorders, and look for UK sensations Klaxons to ride their post-Mercury Prize publicity wave to a guest appearance on “Days of Our Lives,” where the band will play a trio of adorable space aliens who come to Earth and discover that Earth women may be more than they bargained for.

“As the World Turns” attracted Ricky Martin, although he maintained the show’s groundbreaking gay love story had “nothing to do with it.” “Any hot three-ways I engage in with the two actors will just be, you know, acting,” said the Latin heartthrob in a statement.

Intriguingly, the members of legendary UK combo The Smiths plan to take over an entire season of Dr. Phil, where the notoriously ornery psychologist will try to get to the root of the band’s “issues” over the course of 70 heart-rending episodes. “Honestly, I think we just need to ‘get real,'” said lead singer Morrissey in a statement, “and if we’re ever going to reunite as a band, we’ll have to ‘shape up.’ Plus I really think Dr. Phil can help me lose these last 5 pounds.”

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

If you can, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones—that exists to make a difference, not a profit—with a donation of any amount today. We need more donations than normal to come in from this specific blurb to help close our funding gap before it gets any bigger.

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