“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 2013-18 by Jay Phillippi. All Rights Reserved. You like what you see and hear? Drop me a line and we can talk.
Programs from week of February 18, 2018
This Week’s Podcast
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.
YouTube Problems
It’s
been a tough year so far for the folks at YouTube. Seems like every
time they think they’ve solved one problem, another one crops up.
been a tough year so far for the folks at YouTube. Seems like every
time they think they’ve solved one problem, another one crops up.
Just
a couple weeks ago I talked about the furor over Logan Paul’s
dubious video adventures in Japan, and the backlash against both him
and the video channel. They have just announced new disciplinary
actions that can be taken against content creators who step over the
line. It’s largely a matter of hitting them where it hurts, which
means in their revenue stream. In the blog post announcing the new
standards, they said that the are aimed at those who, quoting now,
conduct a heinous prank where people are traumatized, [demonstrate]
cruelty, or [sensationalize] the pain of others in an attempt to gain
views or subscribers”. The new rules will limit the creators
access to advertiser programs, the paid service, YouTube Red, and
might alter the channel’s status in the recommendation algorithm.
a couple weeks ago I talked about the furor over Logan Paul’s
dubious video adventures in Japan, and the backlash against both him
and the video channel. They have just announced new disciplinary
actions that can be taken against content creators who step over the
line. It’s largely a matter of hitting them where it hurts, which
means in their revenue stream. In the blog post announcing the new
standards, they said that the are aimed at those who, quoting now,
conduct a heinous prank where people are traumatized, [demonstrate]
cruelty, or [sensationalize] the pain of others in an attempt to gain
views or subscribers”. The new rules will limit the creators
access to advertiser programs, the paid service, YouTube Red, and
might alter the channel’s status in the recommendation algorithm.
While
still pretty vague on the exact details, it was at least the
beginning of a change. The problem became that just as they worked
to put out that fire another one sprang up. Reporting done by the
Wall Street Journal and The Guardian show that the recommendation
algorithm may be a problem all to itself. The secret mathematical
formula that decides what videos to offer up for your viewing
pleasure, may have some very nasty biases. A former Google engineer
has been studying the results and claims that the algorithm tends to
push videos that are divisive, sensational an conspiratorial to the
top of the lists. Guillaume Chaslot, the engineer who has been
looking at the results over the last year and a half says “On
YouTube, fiction is outperforming reality”. Indications that the
algorithm may have added to the divisive nature of the last
Presidential election are even more disturbing.
still pretty vague on the exact details, it was at least the
beginning of a change. The problem became that just as they worked
to put out that fire another one sprang up. Reporting done by the
Wall Street Journal and The Guardian show that the recommendation
algorithm may be a problem all to itself. The secret mathematical
formula that decides what videos to offer up for your viewing
pleasure, may have some very nasty biases. A former Google engineer
has been studying the results and claims that the algorithm tends to
push videos that are divisive, sensational an conspiratorial to the
top of the lists. Guillaume Chaslot, the engineer who has been
looking at the results over the last year and a half says “On
YouTube, fiction is outperforming reality”. Indications that the
algorithm may have added to the divisive nature of the last
Presidential election are even more disturbing.
Amid
all of this, YouTube is making another change to try and resolve
confusion over the sourcing of news. They announced at the beginning
of the month that videos from government supported news services will
now be labeled as such. The label would be applied to such widely
different sources as the Russian network RT, and the British BBC,
both of which are funded to a great degree by their governments to
PBS, which while it receives a small portion of its funding from
government sources is a privately not-for-profit corporation
supported by private donations.
all of this, YouTube is making another change to try and resolve
confusion over the sourcing of news. They announced at the beginning
of the month that videos from government supported news services will
now be labeled as such. The label would be applied to such widely
different sources as the Russian network RT, and the British BBC,
both of which are funded to a great degree by their governments to
PBS, which while it receives a small portion of its funding from
government sources is a privately not-for-profit corporation
supported by private donations.
With
all the issues facing YouTube, it would be more reassuring if their
responses seemed more carefully targeted ideas and less flailing in
all directions.
all the issues facing YouTube, it would be more reassuring if their
responses seemed more carefully targeted ideas and less flailing in
all directions.
Olympic Update
This is the final week of the 2018 Winter Olympics. It was just a few months ago that I was discussing whether or not the day of the big event sporting competitions might be drawing to a close. Ratings have struggled over the last couple Olympics, and the Winter Olympics are often the lesser of the two for American viewers. So let’s take a look at the situation at the mid-point.
The first week was marred by repeated goofs by network talking heads. Katie Couric and Bode Miller both had to apologize for ill considered remarks. Joshua Cooper Ramo offended the host nation of Korea so deeply with a remark that NBC fired him.
The Winter Olympics in Pyong Chang got off to a very worrying start for the Peacock network. The ratings for the Opening Ceremonies were off, as most of the numbers have been so far. For the first week, it appears that traditional television viewing is down about fourteen percent from the numbers at the previous Winter Games in Sochi. So given the hundreds of millions of dollars that the Games cost the network, this is all pretty catastrophic, right?
Well, maybe not. Between the Super Bowl, which took place just four days before the Olympics and the Games themselves, NBC has moved into the number slot among broadcast networks. They narrowly edged out long time top dog CBS in the most recent ratings. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg here. These Games are the first ones to get the full modern media spread of coverage. NBC is carrying them on the big network, but also on NBCSN, their sports network. And they are doing an extensive spread on digital platforms as well. When you begin to add in all the eyeballs on all the platforms, the numbers are better. Overall viewing is down, but it’s more like just six percent. Far more importantly is the fact that the network is exceeding its viewing guarantees for its advertisers. In comparison to a lot of television broadcasting staples (and I’m looking at you NFL) that’s actually pretty good. When you add in that there is a lot more of the Games available to be viewed, some of the numbers are expected to be even better.
It’s good enough that a lot of the competing networks have largely thrown in the towel at the moment. And isn’t that usually a sign of a competitive win? When you can make the other team just quit?
Sounds like NBC can claim to take home the medals this year.
On Violence
Violence is, sadly, once again a national topic of conversation. Before I go any further, let me say again that this program is not about politics. It’s about the media. In the discussion of our culture and violence, the media has to be addressed. And that’s what this program is and always will be about.
Let’s be honest up front. As a people, we like violence as a spectator sport. That sounds very weird and very disturbing, but it’s reality. Things that we would never condone in real life are acceptable as part of how we entertain ourselves. I won’t offer to psychoanalyze what that means, again, not my area of expertise. But you have to wonder a bit about what it means that we find so much entertainment value in the depiction of violence.
Taking television as our field for the moment, there is a lot of programming based on violence. “Game of Thrones” and “The Walking Dead” are not about nice people, doing nice things. And they are immensely popular. Network programs like “The Blacklist”, “Criminal Minds”, “Seal Team”, plus the police procedurals are all based in violent acts as well.
There is also a long standing affection for vigilantes in American media. The Lone Ranger was a vigilante. So is Batman, Superman and pretty much all of the superhero pantheon. The whole question of individualized justice was the center issue of a recent Avengers movie. Characters that appoint themselves judge, jury and executioner have a strong appeal.
It all sounds pretty grim. Are we really that disturbed as a society, that we find so much entertainment in the pain and death of others? I will admit to finding some comfort when I looked at the overall ratings on TV. The vast majority of both shows overall and the top rated shows are not about violence. At the end of 2017, the top 10 rated network programs were – “Bull”, two different nights of “America’s Got Talent”, “The Walking Dead”, “This Is Us”, “NCIS”, “Young Sheldon”, “The Good Doctor”, “The Big Bang Theory”, and “Sunday Night Football”. Only three programs, including the ritualized violence of football, in the top 10, have violence at their core.
There can be no doubt that there is an issue with violence in our culture. We need to be careful how we approach this complex issue. The question of how much the media numbs us to violence is still open for discussion. The first step in that discussion should be recognizing that violence as entertainment is an issue worth discussing.
Call that the View From the Phlipside
Copyright Jay Phillippi, 2018
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
Stories Are My Life 
Leave a comment