A Five-Minute Book Ad
Apr 6th, 2006 by Alex
“Robert Manning, professor of finance in the College of Business, is scheduled to appear on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart at 11 p.m. Thursday, April 6.” This was straight from my inbox, minutes ago. But wait, isn’t that tonight?
To the point, Professor Manning is going to be on The Daily Show tonight. Apparently — according to the email I received from RIT Alumni Relations — he “was asked to be the voice of reason during a previously recorded five-minute segment on marketing credit cards to college students on spring break.”
Professor (technically Doctor) Manning is the author of Credit Card Nation, a 416-page wonder. The book is all about consumer credit, credit card debt on college campuses, the exploitation of young people by credit card issuers, and the social impact that revolving credit has had over the past few decades. He’s recently been on C-SPAN, CBS Evening News, etc, etc. Not bad for a college professor.
I’d say that Dr. Manning ripped off Eric Schlosser’s book concept (think of Fast Food Nation), except that Manning’s book was published first. Pity. One author is a sociologist, the other a journalist; guess who gets to be less scientific and make more money? You might be surprised how much a collegiate professor earns.
I’ve never been a big fan of Jon Stewart. He once bailed out of a comedy booking at RIT, which certainly didn’t help. I don’t follow his show, but I know that a lot of people do. Satirical or not, I doubt Dr. Manning will have much to say. His five-minute segment with Stewart will undoubtedly include a plug for Dr. Manning’s tome, a few lines of witty banter, some cheering, and a smooth segue to the next topic.
I’ve been to a few extra-curricular lectures by Dr. Manning, so let me spare you a few hours. Go out and buy his book on credit, even if you never intend to read it. Better yet, watch The Daily Show tonight and get it out of the way in five minutes. You won’t be able to tell the difference. Same pitch, but condensed.
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