Most companies don’t care if their employees have second jobs as long as it doesn’t cause a conflict of interest. So, can someone be the top elected official in the land and host a TV show at the same time?
True story: Once upon a time, HRB was a part-time radio host. Among the duties: playing soft rock and reading the news and weather.
One day, the station manager asked to have a meeting. “What do you know about polkas?” he asked.
It turned out the host of the weekly one-hour polka show was running for city council. His opponent said she wanted equal time on the station during campaign season. It didn’t matter that Polka Joe didn’t express any political viewpoints on the show. She wanted her shot at being a radio host, too.
Given FCC regulations and election laws, the station manager was in a fix. “Could you host the polka show until the election is over?” the manager asked. Joe would go off the air until after the election, and HRB would get a shot at polka stardom.
Just out of college, and wanting to be cooperative, HRB agreed to host the polka show if necessary. However, that never happened. The station came to an agreement with Joe’s opponent that didn’t involve a substitute polka show host.
Fast forward more than 20 years: Thailand’s Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej has decided to stop appearing on TV cooking shows in that country until the election commission rules whether that’s OK or not.
Yes, the Prime Minister was moonlighting as a frequent guest on two cooking shows on which he would whip up tasty Thai delights or give tips on choosing quality ingredients at the market.
But two opponents complained to the election commission that the Prime Minster should not be employed by a private company.
The Prime Minister said he was not “employed” by the TV shows, but he’s decided to give his whisk a rest and wait for the commission rules on the complaints.
Among Mr. Samak’s TV delicacies: pigs’ legs cooked in Coca-Cola.
