“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 2013-15 by Jay Phillippi. All Rights Reserved. You like what you see? Drop me a line and we can talk.
Program scripts from week of November 2, 2015
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.
What’s News?
Just
last week a sports story rose above the usual box score and highlight
reel clips to the level of a deeper philosophical discussion. The
question remains a central point for journalism of all kinds.
last week a sports story rose above the usual box score and highlight
reel clips to the level of a deeper philosophical discussion. The
question remains a central point for journalism of all kinds.
The
question of “What is News?”.
question of “What is News?”.
Last
week, as the World Series got underway, there was a very unpleasant
event in the lives of one of the players for the Kansas City Royals.
Just hours before he was to start game one of the Series, pitcher
Edinson Volquez’s father passed away. There seems to be a little
confusion on what exactly happened next but the story at the time was
that Volquez’s family, led by his wife, asked that the news not be
given to him until AFTER he had finished pitching for the evening.
This meant informing the television broadcast team and asking them
not to mention it on air. Between innings the pitcher has a habit of
going into the dressing room and listening to the broadcast. So the
topic was made off limits. Volquez pitched six innings that night
and was met in the dressing room by his family to break the news to
him.
week, as the World Series got underway, there was a very unpleasant
event in the lives of one of the players for the Kansas City Royals.
Just hours before he was to start game one of the Series, pitcher
Edinson Volquez’s father passed away. There seems to be a little
confusion on what exactly happened next but the story at the time was
that Volquez’s family, led by his wife, asked that the news not be
given to him until AFTER he had finished pitching for the evening.
This meant informing the television broadcast team and asking them
not to mention it on air. Between innings the pitcher has a habit of
going into the dressing room and listening to the broadcast. So the
topic was made off limits. Volquez pitched six innings that night
and was met in the dressing room by his family to break the news to
him.
The
problem was that several news outlets felt it was their job to put
the news out there online and on social media before the family
requested blackout was over. That created an interesting discussion
over the next couple days about what is news and when it needs to be
reported.
problem was that several news outlets felt it was their job to put
the news out there online and on social media before the family
requested blackout was over. That created an interesting discussion
over the next couple days about what is news and when it needs to be
reported.
News
blackouts are nothing unusual. Many pieces of news are issued to the
media with requirements that they be held till a certain time. You
can violate those requests but you can expect to be cut off in the
future from anything other than the routine. So the family’s request
wasn’t out of the normal routine. And Volquez is certainly a public
personage, which sets a different set of rule up on some of this.
blackouts are nothing unusual. Many pieces of news are issued to the
media with requirements that they be held till a certain time. You
can violate those requests but you can expect to be cut off in the
future from anything other than the routine. So the family’s request
wasn’t out of the normal routine. And Volquez is certainly a public
personage, which sets a different set of rule up on some of this.
For
me this comes down to a balance between our right to know (I’ve
discussed before the issues with that phrase) and the issue of simple
human dignity. Was his father’s death news? Yes. Was it important
news? No. Was it something that would harm the public interest by
not being revealed immediately? Absolutely not.
me this comes down to a balance between our right to know (I’ve
discussed before the issues with that phrase) and the issue of simple
human dignity. Was his father’s death news? Yes. Was it important
news? No. Was it something that would harm the public interest by
not being revealed immediately? Absolutely not.
In
the end I believe that the outlets that pushed the story made a
mistake. It’s certainly possible that they were unaware of the
family’s blackout request. I just find it hard to believe that no
one called the Royals for a comment, at which time they would have
been told. This was a decision made in order to score some
journalistic “points” by offering the story first. A story that
didn’t need to be made into that kind of competition.
the end I believe that the outlets that pushed the story made a
mistake. It’s certainly possible that they were unaware of the
family’s blackout request. I just find it hard to believe that no
one called the Royals for a comment, at which time they would have
been told. This was a decision made in order to score some
journalistic “points” by offering the story first. A story that
didn’t need to be made into that kind of competition.
A
journalist’s job is to report the news. We need to remember that the
news usually comes with a human face.
journalist’s job is to report the news. We need to remember that the
news usually comes with a human face.
Shame On You
I
find few things more annoying than unwanted phone calls. All of the
unsolicited calls from political campaigns, home improvement
companies, pollsters, charities and the like. It certainly seems
like the number of them has gone up in recent years. I keep checking
to see that I’ve registered on all the various “Do Not Call”
services but it doesn’t seem to stem the flow somehow. What really
offends me is that my phone service is something that I pay for so
that I can have access to it. The idea that someone else gets to
make use of that for their personal profit makes me crazy. You want
to take up time on this line? You can help pay for it. Otherwise,
get off my phone!
find few things more annoying than unwanted phone calls. All of the
unsolicited calls from political campaigns, home improvement
companies, pollsters, charities and the like. It certainly seems
like the number of them has gone up in recent years. I keep checking
to see that I’ve registered on all the various “Do Not Call”
services but it doesn’t seem to stem the flow somehow. What really
offends me is that my phone service is something that I pay for so
that I can have access to it. The idea that someone else gets to
make use of that for their personal profit makes me crazy. You want
to take up time on this line? You can help pay for it. Otherwise,
get off my phone!
I
was raised to believe that phone screening was rude somehow. It
isn’t nice to make people “prove” who they are before deciding
whether or not you will speak to them. File that under “one more
piece of life that no longer applies”. We screen ALL our calls.
If we don’t recognize the number or your name doesn’t appear on the
screen, you’re going straight to voice mail.
was raised to believe that phone screening was rude somehow. It
isn’t nice to make people “prove” who they are before deciding
whether or not you will speak to them. File that under “one more
piece of life that no longer applies”. We screen ALL our calls.
If we don’t recognize the number or your name doesn’t appear on the
screen, you’re going straight to voice mail.
For
years, the Federal Trade Commission (the FTC) has been leading the
fight, such as it is, against these callers. They have been working
with both landline and mobile companies to find technological ways to
try and slow the tide. There are even good sizes fines that can now
be handed down as well. Now there’s a new player in town who is
bringing a new weapon to the table.
years, the Federal Trade Commission (the FTC) has been leading the
fight, such as it is, against these callers. They have been working
with both landline and mobile companies to find technological ways to
try and slow the tide. There are even good sizes fines that can now
be handed down as well. Now there’s a new player in town who is
bringing a new weapon to the table.
The
Federal Communications Commission (the FCC) is now stepping up its
work against telemarketing and robocalls. After taking a look at the
volume of complaints, over two hundred thousand a year, making it the
Commission’s largest complaint category, they took a look and
determined that there were no legal issues to blocking nuisance phone
calls. Early results are still sketchy as software designers ramp up
including this kind of option on operating systems or in apps.
Federal Communications Commission (the FCC) is now stepping up its
work against telemarketing and robocalls. After taking a look at the
volume of complaints, over two hundred thousand a year, making it the
Commission’s largest complaint category, they took a look and
determined that there were no legal issues to blocking nuisance phone
calls. Early results are still sketchy as software designers ramp up
including this kind of option on operating systems or in apps.
The
Commission is doing something that I rather like. They will be
publishing weekly lists of companies that have had complaints lodged
against them. The first list had over nine thousand names on it!
The resource can help the folks working on the new technology to
better target who needs to be blocked.
Commission is doing something that I rather like. They will be
publishing weekly lists of companies that have had complaints lodged
against them. The first list had over nine thousand names on it!
The resource can help the folks working on the new technology to
better target who needs to be blocked.
They’ve
also issued reminders to companies like Paypal that they can not
include language authorizing robocalls in their terms of service.
You should also be able to simply inform the human caller to remove
you from their list. Under FCC regs they are supposed to comply. We
can only hope.
also issued reminders to companies like Paypal that they can not
include language authorizing robocalls in their terms of service.
You should also be able to simply inform the human caller to remove
you from their list. Under FCC regs they are supposed to comply. We
can only hope.
Does
any of this work? Well, Paypal backed away from the terms of service
language, probably in fear of the sixteen thousand dollar a day
potential fines.
any of this work? Well, Paypal backed away from the terms of service
language, probably in fear of the sixteen thousand dollar a day
potential fines.
Let’s
call that a small victory in reclaiming our phones.
call that a small victory in reclaiming our phones.
Star Trek Returns, Sort of
CBS
has just announced that for the first time in over a decade there
will be a new Star Trek series. As a long time fan and hard core
trekkie my first reaction was to be excited. I wasn’t alone. A lot
of fans went into raptures of delight that our beloved franchise was
returning to us.
has just announced that for the first time in over a decade there
will be a new Star Trek series. As a long time fan and hard core
trekkie my first reaction was to be excited. I wasn’t alone. A lot
of fans went into raptures of delight that our beloved franchise was
returning to us.
A
little more reading reveals that it’s only sort of returning to us.
little more reading reveals that it’s only sort of returning to us.
After
airing the debut episode on broadcast television all the rest of the
series will be confined to the CBS subscription service called “CBS
All Access”. You want the new adventures in the universe created
by the man fans know as “The Great Bird of the Universe”, Gene
Roddenberry? You’d better be ready to shell out about seventy bucks
a year.
airing the debut episode on broadcast television all the rest of the
series will be confined to the CBS subscription service called “CBS
All Access”. You want the new adventures in the universe created
by the man fans know as “The Great Bird of the Universe”, Gene
Roddenberry? You’d better be ready to shell out about seventy bucks
a year.
The
longer I think about this whole thing the less sense it makes. Where
are the fans going to come from? There hasn’t been a television
series since the series “Enterprise” went off the air. I
actually liked “Enterprise”, but I’m in the minority among the
fandom. The series prior to that was “Voyager” which ran for six
years, but it’s not treated as with the reverence of The Original
Series, Next Generation or even Deep Space Nine. So to find a really
popular series you have to go back to 1999!
longer I think about this whole thing the less sense it makes. Where
are the fans going to come from? There hasn’t been a television
series since the series “Enterprise” went off the air. I
actually liked “Enterprise”, but I’m in the minority among the
fandom. The series prior to that was “Voyager” which ran for six
years, but it’s not treated as with the reverence of The Original
Series, Next Generation or even Deep Space Nine. So to find a really
popular series you have to go back to 1999!
The
obvious answer is that they are planning on building on the
popularity of the JJ Abrams movie re-launches. Except that the
network has announced that the series will NOT be an extension of the
movie universe. That strikes me as especially weird since the next
Star Trek movie, “Star Trek Beyond” is set to hit the big screen
in 2016. Which would seem to be the perfect lead in for the January
2017 debut of the new series. So again I ask, where is the audience
going to come from?
obvious answer is that they are planning on building on the
popularity of the JJ Abrams movie re-launches. Except that the
network has announced that the series will NOT be an extension of the
movie universe. That strikes me as especially weird since the next
Star Trek movie, “Star Trek Beyond” is set to hit the big screen
in 2016. Which would seem to be the perfect lead in for the January
2017 debut of the new series. So again I ask, where is the audience
going to come from?
There
are plenty of people in my generation of fans who will be reluctant
to jumping into the Video on Demand universe. There will also be a
certain caution among many because so many fans have felt burned by
the last two series.
are plenty of people in my generation of fans who will be reluctant
to jumping into the Video on Demand universe. There will also be a
certain caution among many because so many fans have felt burned by
the last two series.
It
also seems to fly in the face of the successful model of the moment.
Both the “Star Wars” and Marvel universe franchises are making
use of as many platforms as possible. That’s one of the great things
of the current media environment. You don’t have be just a TV show
or a movie.
also seems to fly in the face of the successful model of the moment.
Both the “Star Wars” and Marvel universe franchises are making
use of as many platforms as possible. That’s one of the great things
of the current media environment. You don’t have be just a TV show
or a movie.
So
while the trekkie deep down in my heart continues to hope, the
cynical media commentator in my head isn’t as optimistic.
while the trekkie deep down in my heart continues to hope, the
cynical media commentator in my head isn’t as optimistic.
Folks
at CBS are talking about “boldly going where no one has gone
before”. Fans know that this wouldn’t be the first time the
“Enterprise” has crashed and burned.
at CBS are talking about “boldly going where no one has gone
before”. Fans know that this wouldn’t be the first time the
“Enterprise” has crashed and burned.
Call that the View From the Phlipside
Stories Are My Life 
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