“The View From the Phlipside” is a media commentary program airing on WRFA-LP, Jamestown NY. It can be heard Monday through Friday just after 8 AM and 5 PM. The following are scripts which may not exactly match the aired version of the program. Mostly because the host may suddenly choose to add or subtract words at a moments notice. WRFA-LP is not responsible for any such silliness or the opinions expressed. You can listen to a live stream of WRFA or find a podcast of this program at wrfalp.com. Copyright 2013-14 by Jay Phillippi. All Rights Reserved. You like what you see? Drop me a line and we can talk.
Program scripts from week of April 21, 2014
(These scripts didn’t get posted on schedule and we’re catching up now. Pardon our tardiness)
My name is Jay Phillippi and I’ve spent my life in and around the media. TV, radio, the movies and more. I love them, and I hate them and I always have an opinion. Call this the View from the Phlipside.
Aiming at Apple
When it comes to the world of smartphones and related items like tablet computers the conventional wisdom says there are Apple products and then there’s everyone else. The folks at Samsung have decided to challenge that conventional wisdom. It will be an interesting battle to watch and even better it’s one guaranteed to bring lots of wonderful new toys for we, the consumer, to consider.
With the recent launch of its new flagship smartphone the Galaxy S5 Samsung continues it’s relentless pursuit of the market leader. Samsung has taken a smart and so far reasonably successful strategy. Lots of people have looked at Apple and tried to compete on the same playing field. It hasn’t worked for anyone because Apple keeps taking the next step forward. Apple’s approach is simple. They are exclusive in that they offer very few options. They simply have created the very best options available and let the world beat a path to their door. Samsung’s approach has been much broader, offering lots of very good products in many different categories. Apple wants at least the aura of exclusiveness, Samsung is simply looking to be everywhere in everything.
The reality is, in the rest of the world, Samsung is the 900 pound gorilla. Their sales worldwide are more than twice Apple’s. The one big market where Samsung doesn’t dominate is the United States. The one thing that Apple has going for it is the loyalty of their customer base. Being an “Apple person” is more than a technology choice, it’s about lifestyle. So Samsung is trying to become part of your lifestyle in as many ways as possible.
To do this they are attacking the central concept of the Apple aura, it’s exclusivity. Samsung is focusing on where Apple isn’t. That includes things like larger phones, larger tablet displays, smart watches and aggressive pricing. The result is that they are making inroads on Apple in both the smartphone and tablet markets.
It’s a fascinating move for Samsung given that just a couple years ago they would not have even made the discussion on who would be taking on Apple.
The battle will continue, in the showrooms and in the court rooms. It’s probably the best thing for consumers in a decade.
R.I.P. Hurrican Carter
If you don’t know the story Rubin Carter was a middleweight boxer of some repute in the early to mid 1960s. He earned his nickname of the “Hurricane” because of his relentless style. In 1966 he arrested in connection with a triple homicide. The investigation was profoundly flawed but Carter was convicted. A decade later he was tried and convicted again after an appeal. In 1985 another appeal came down in Carter’s favor and the state of New Jersey finally decided to give up.
In 1974 New York Times investigative reporter Selwyn Raab wrote about the Carter trial and its wretched investigation. That article was important but the reality is that a black man being victimized by the American Justice system hardly qualifies as news. It remains, now as then, one of the greatest black marks on our society.
What took the case of Rubin “Hurricane” Carter to the next level was the involvement of one of America’s greatest songwriters. Bob Dylan saw the story and was moved to write, with Jacques Levy, the song “Hurricane”. The protest song, delivered in Dylan’s iconic nasal tones, became a Top 40 hit in 1974. Given that the song ran in excess of 8 minutes that’s fairly astounding in and of itself.
Suddenly the case of a relatively unknown boxer from New Jersey was on the radar of people like me, a middle class suburban white kid from the Pittsburgh area. Suddenly the reality of what life was like for people unlike me and my friends was something that I had to think about.
It would be great if this story had all the aspects of the Hollywood movie. In reality Carter was a long way from being an angel, the song is not really a great song (and Dylan gets a variety of facts wrong in the lyrics) and the Justice system would lurch along for the better part of 20 years before it let Carter live without fear of further incarceration. In the end the real story is just as compelling and far more thought provoking.
Rubin “Hurricane” Carter was 76 years old.
I’ve been doing an occasional series of posts on The View From the Phlipside blog that I’m calling “The Best of the Web”. They are websites, applications or any use of the web that I think really makes the best and most interesting use of that medium. It’s been fun highlighting some really interesting web sites. I invite you to check them out.
When I came across a couple items recently it occurred to me that, by my standards at least, they represent the other end of that same scale. This is the worst of of the web.
There are companies that are involved in both of these trends and my goal isn’t to trash them. They exist because people are willing to pay for the service. I just think it’s an unfortunate decision all round.
First we have the companies that promise to make sure your business image is always sparkling. This consists mostly of making sure that anyone who says something bad about you is removed from the web just as fast as possible. My problem here is that sometimes that negative response is warranted. I would much rather see, as I have with quite a few businesses, them respond and try to fix whatever the problem was. At the very least an apology looks they care. A review page that is only raves makes suspicious and this kind of service just increases that cynicism. Reminder that these service ratings pages are intended for your customers use, not yours.
Also inhabiting the lower circles of the Internet are the companies that help authors buy their way onto bestseller lists. That’s right, some well known authors (most appallingly, some very well known Christian authors) have BOUGHT their way onto the bestseller lists. The idea is simple, you just buy up a bunch of your own books. The going rate appears to be around a quarter million dollars. Then you can slap “NY Times Bestseller” or whatever on the cover and pick up some speaking tour dates as well. This has been a well known if never discussed nasty habit of the publishing industry for years. It’s interesting that now that it’s come to light the company that has been the leader in the practice recently has pulled down almost all their online presence. Reports say they are still in business but have decided to “go dark” for a while.
Given the inherent dishonesty of both of these practices I’d be perfectly content if the practitioners went completely and permanently dark.
Call that the View From the Phlipside
Stories Are My Life 
Leave a comment