“The View From the Phlipside” is a media commentary program airing on WRFA-LP, Jamestown NY. It can be heard Monday through Friday around 7:30 AM. 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 moment’s 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 2013-16 by Jay Phillippi. All Rights Reserved. You like what you see? Drop me a line and we can talk.
Program scripts from week of May 16, 2016
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.
Cancellation Season
It’s
the tough time of the year in television circles. The time when the
networks have to decide which shows have a future and which ones only
have a past. Spring time means cancellation season, when the
networks start making room in the fall schedule by eliminating
programs that have run their course or never really got started.
the tough time of the year in television circles. The time when the
networks have to decide which shows have a future and which ones only
have a past. Spring time means cancellation season, when the
networks start making room in the fall schedule by eliminating
programs that have run their course or never really got started.
If
you count all the programs the have been axed during the 2015-16
season for one reason or another, the total is near 100 shows. Some
of them were so bad that neither you nor I have probably ever heard
of them, but there were plenty of familiar names on the list.
you count all the programs the have been axed during the 2015-16
season for one reason or another, the total is near 100 shows. Some
of them were so bad that neither you nor I have probably ever heard
of them, but there were plenty of familiar names on the list.
ABC
put the suffering Castle out of its misery as behind the
scenes turmoil took its toll. They also axed the critically praised
Marvel’s Agent Carter, plus The Muppets and Nashville,
although there are rumors some other network may grab that show.
put the suffering Castle out of its misery as behind the
scenes turmoil took its toll. They also axed the critically praised
Marvel’s Agent Carter, plus The Muppets and Nashville,
although there are rumors some other network may grab that show.
On
Fox, American Idol ended its run, NBC dropped mostly also ran titles,
Telenovela is probably the one that people had the greatest
hope for starting out.
Fox, American Idol ended its run, NBC dropped mostly also ran titles,
Telenovela is probably the one that people had the greatest
hope for starting out.
Meanwhile
over at CBS there is some intersting things going on. CSI Cyber
got axed, ending the sixteen year run of the CSI franchise.
Sadly, the franchise was not represented particularly well by it’s
final entry. It does mean that for the first time in sixteen years
there won’t be a CSI program on the air this fall. Then you
have an interesting trio of Mike and Molly, Rush Hour
and Person of Interest.
Mike and Molly was on the air for six seasons, it got decent
ratings but never managed to break number thirty in the show
rankings. Rush Hour was a much touted adaptation of the
Jackie Chan/Chris Tucker movies. It never seemed like a great idea
to me because how could you possibly re-create the chemistry between
the original stars. Finally, Person of Interest was actually
a top ten show twice in five seasons and top twenty the other two
(not counting the current and final season. The reason for their
demise might not be obvious at first. They do have one thing in
common. None of them are produced by CBS, in fact all three are
products of Warner Brothers. Which means that CBS doesn’t own the
rights to syndicate them. With a very strong overall schedule, if
CBS wants to make room for new programming they have to find places
to cut. So the answer can be to cut the programs that don’t offer a
longer range return. The decision can be seen as brutal but it’s not
business. On the other hand, just because you’re produced by the
network, like CSI Cyber,
won’t save you if you’re just not particularly good.
over at CBS there is some intersting things going on. CSI Cyber
got axed, ending the sixteen year run of the CSI franchise.
Sadly, the franchise was not represented particularly well by it’s
final entry. It does mean that for the first time in sixteen years
there won’t be a CSI program on the air this fall. Then you
have an interesting trio of Mike and Molly, Rush Hour
and Person of Interest.
Mike and Molly was on the air for six seasons, it got decent
ratings but never managed to break number thirty in the show
rankings. Rush Hour was a much touted adaptation of the
Jackie Chan/Chris Tucker movies. It never seemed like a great idea
to me because how could you possibly re-create the chemistry between
the original stars. Finally, Person of Interest was actually
a top ten show twice in five seasons and top twenty the other two
(not counting the current and final season. The reason for their
demise might not be obvious at first. They do have one thing in
common. None of them are produced by CBS, in fact all three are
products of Warner Brothers. Which means that CBS doesn’t own the
rights to syndicate them. With a very strong overall schedule, if
CBS wants to make room for new programming they have to find places
to cut. So the answer can be to cut the programs that don’t offer a
longer range return. The decision can be seen as brutal but it’s not
business. On the other hand, just because you’re produced by the
network, like CSI Cyber,
won’t save you if you’re just not particularly good.
It’s
a tough time of year, when being good may not be good enough.
a tough time of year, when being good may not be good enough.
I
remember when e-mail first became a big thing. It was soooo cool! I
don’t like talking to strangers on the phone, so e-mail allowed me to
introduce myself before we ever had to resort to the phone. Quick
question? Quick e-mail. No busy signals, no dealing with various
levels of gatekeeper. Quick note and you could move on.
remember when e-mail first became a big thing. It was soooo cool! I
don’t like talking to strangers on the phone, so e-mail allowed me to
introduce myself before we ever had to resort to the phone. Quick
question? Quick e-mail. No busy signals, no dealing with various
levels of gatekeeper. Quick note and you could move on.
Oh,
those blessed days of yore.
those blessed days of yore.
Today,
e-mail is increasingly accused of being an impediment to
productivity. A survey from earlier this year said that seventeen
percent of the work day is wasted on e-mail. Wasted because we have
to sift through a never ending avalance of too much information. The
greatest failure there is the indiscriminate use of “Reply to All”.
Every e-mail user in the universe just groaned in pain. Then there
are the long, rambling e-mails that leave you scratching your head
over just what exactly the point of it all is.
e-mail is increasingly accused of being an impediment to
productivity. A survey from earlier this year said that seventeen
percent of the work day is wasted on e-mail. Wasted because we have
to sift through a never ending avalance of too much information. The
greatest failure there is the indiscriminate use of “Reply to All”.
Every e-mail user in the universe just groaned in pain. Then there
are the long, rambling e-mails that leave you scratching your head
over just what exactly the point of it all is.
The
other issue is that e-mail stopped being used for quick communication
and was treated like it was regular mail. Even worse is when it’s
used for long conversations involving several people. Have you ever
lost a response in a long string of posts from multiple people
discussing a topic? Happens to me a couple times a month. Then
people get mad and you end up having to spend more time in your day
cleaning up the mess. And because we needed e-mail to invite itself
into our lives even more, now we can be harrassed by it on our
smartphones, no matter where we are.
other issue is that e-mail stopped being used for quick communication
and was treated like it was regular mail. Even worse is when it’s
used for long conversations involving several people. Have you ever
lost a response in a long string of posts from multiple people
discussing a topic? Happens to me a couple times a month. Then
people get mad and you end up having to spend more time in your day
cleaning up the mess. And because we needed e-mail to invite itself
into our lives even more, now we can be harrassed by it on our
smartphones, no matter where we are.
Other
research says that you will actually lose less productivity if you
just cruised Facebook. The bad news is that e-mail volume is
expected to continue to grow in the next couple years.
research says that you will actually lose less productivity if you
just cruised Facebook. The bad news is that e-mail volume is
expected to continue to grow in the next couple years.
So
it’s interesting to see what is happening in France. The French
Senate, and National Assembly are working on a bill that would
actually control e-mail for employees in medium and larger companies.
The bill, which was one step away from being enacted earlier this
month, would create an e-mail “curfew” for companies of fifty
employees or more. The business would have to define what “work
hours” were and then restrict company e-mails to employees to those
hours. The French are reacting to studies that say the constant
nagging of e-mail has a negative effect on family lives. Reducing
the constant clarion call of electronic communication has been shown
to improve mental health and lower stress levels. Another study
called for people to turn off the notification function on their
smartphone.
it’s interesting to see what is happening in France. The French
Senate, and National Assembly are working on a bill that would
actually control e-mail for employees in medium and larger companies.
The bill, which was one step away from being enacted earlier this
month, would create an e-mail “curfew” for companies of fifty
employees or more. The business would have to define what “work
hours” were and then restrict company e-mails to employees to those
hours. The French are reacting to studies that say the constant
nagging of e-mail has a negative effect on family lives. Reducing
the constant clarion call of electronic communication has been shown
to improve mental health and lower stress levels. Another study
called for people to turn off the notification function on their
smartphone.
Once
upon a time e-mail was a way to become more productive. It’s kind of
sad that it has become such a drag on our day to day life to require
legal remedies.
upon a time e-mail was a way to become more productive. It’s kind of
sad that it has become such a drag on our day to day life to require
legal remedies.
RIP Julius LaRosa
It’s
easy to think that the media was once this calm, innocent place and
that only today do we suffer from enormous egos and scandal.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
easy to think that the media was once this calm, innocent place and
that only today do we suffer from enormous egos and scandal.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Julius
LaRosa is a name that is utterly unfamiliar to most of us. Born in
Brooklyn in 1930, LaRosa had a quiet childhood and entered the U.S.
Navy as a teen. It was there that his singing voice began to get
attention. Attention that eventually led to being heard by one of
the most popular performers on both radio and television of the day,
Arthur Godfrey.
LaRosa is a name that is utterly unfamiliar to most of us. Born in
Brooklyn in 1930, LaRosa had a quiet childhood and entered the U.S.
Navy as a teen. It was there that his singing voice began to get
attention. Attention that eventually led to being heard by one of
the most popular performers on both radio and television of the day,
Arthur Godfrey.
Godfrey
was a longtime radio announcer who got his own break with his
personal, emotional broadcast of President Franklin Delano
Roosevelt’s funeral procession for CBS. It was that folksy, “guy
next door” feeling to his work that would make him a big star on
both radio and the fledgling television media. Within a few years,
he would have multiple programs running each week between the two
media. By 1951, Arthur Godfrey was about as big a star as you could
could be.
was a longtime radio announcer who got his own break with his
personal, emotional broadcast of President Franklin Delano
Roosevelt’s funeral procession for CBS. It was that folksy, “guy
next door” feeling to his work that would make him a big star on
both radio and the fledgling television media. Within a few years,
he would have multiple programs running each week between the two
media. By 1951, Arthur Godfrey was about as big a star as you could
could be.
The
problem was that the warm, friendly Godfrey the audience knew was
very different from the one his cast knew. Godfrey could be
demanding and dictatorial. He hired the young singer just days after
LaRosa left the Navy. With his dark good looks and strong singing
voice, Julius quickly became a singing star in his own right. Within
a year, he would bring in seven thousand fan letters a week, more
than his big star boss.
problem was that the warm, friendly Godfrey the audience knew was
very different from the one his cast knew. Godfrey could be
demanding and dictatorial. He hired the young singer just days after
LaRosa left the Navy. With his dark good looks and strong singing
voice, Julius quickly became a singing star in his own right. Within
a year, he would bring in seven thousand fan letters a week, more
than his big star boss.
The
problems began when Godfrey demanded that every member of the cast of
his shows take dancing lesson. LaRosa resisted. Godfrey insisted
that they only work for him, and not have agents. LaRosa wanted
more, so he signed a record contract, and then hired an agent to
re-negotiate his contract. That was the final straw for his boss.
problems began when Godfrey demanded that every member of the cast of
his shows take dancing lesson. LaRosa resisted. Godfrey insisted
that they only work for him, and not have agents. LaRosa wanted
more, so he signed a record contract, and then hired an agent to
re-negotiate his contract. That was the final straw for his boss.
On
October 19, 1953, just after LaRosa finished singing a song on the
radio morning show, Godfrey fired him. Live and on the air. The
uproar that followed did more damage to Godfrey than his young
singer. Claiming LaRosa lacked “humility” just made the
situation worse. Godfrey would see his popularity slide dramatically
over the next couple years, while LaRosa saw his career take off. Ed
Sullivan promptly hired him for the show Talk of the Town,
LaRosa’s next two songs went to
the top of the charts and he even picked up his own TV show for a
while. He would continue to
work until the turn of the century.
October 19, 1953, just after LaRosa finished singing a song on the
radio morning show, Godfrey fired him. Live and on the air. The
uproar that followed did more damage to Godfrey than his young
singer. Claiming LaRosa lacked “humility” just made the
situation worse. Godfrey would see his popularity slide dramatically
over the next couple years, while LaRosa saw his career take off. Ed
Sullivan promptly hired him for the show Talk of the Town,
LaRosa’s next two songs went to
the top of the charts and he even picked up his own TV show for a
while. He would continue to
work until the turn of the century.
Julius
LaRosa was 86 years old.
LaRosa was 86 years old.
Call that the View From the Phlipside
Copyright Jay Phillippi, 2016
Theme music for “The View From the Phlipside” and “TVFTP – Podcast” is “Hustle”
Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0
Stories Are My Life 
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