“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 the week of September 2, 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.
The Value of A Word
I came across a headline the other day and thought “What on Earth can they be thinking?” A little more research showed me that the situation wasn’t as simple as it might appear. It’s also simpler than it might appear.
It all has to do with the folks at Proctor and Gamble, the multi-national corporation applying for a trademark from the U.S. government for several common text-speech terms. Things like “LOL”, “WTF”, and “NBD”. All of which are very common terms used in social media on a daily, perhaps even minute to minute or second to second, basis. The technical term for these kinds of phrases are SMS or “short message services language, or as mentioned before, text-speak.
You will not be surprised to discover that a certain portion of the internet lost its marbles upon learning this. They were certain that a corporate giant was going to “steal” the phrases and then demand payment for their use. Barricades and ditches were planned in preparation for the coming struggle.
There’s only one problem. That’s not how a trademark works. It’s not what Proctor and Gamble were planning. P&G is preparing to launch a new line of cleaning product it appears. So in connection with that soap or detergent or cleanser or whatever it might be (they haven’t announced the product yet), the manufacturer wanted to trademark the phrases in the context of the advertising and naming of the products. Think of it this way – “payday” is a common, everyday word that we all have an affection for. The “Payday” candy bar uses that word in a trademarked name. All it means is that no one else can use the name in a competing product. Like I said, really simpler than it looks at first.
This isn’t the first stink of the kind of the year. There was a great tempest in the indie publishing world earlier this year. A romance author tried to enforce a supposed copyright on the word “cocky”. Now copyrights and trademarks are different legal beasts. Copyright aims to protect creative output, like books or movies, while trademark has to do with branding. In the end, it was an attempt to control a word so others couldn’t use it. A couple of years ago there was a similar suit over the term “space marine”. In both of these cases, the courts ruled against the parties trying to create ownership claims over the words.
On the other hand, Proctor and Gamble are likely to get their trademark approved. It should be all nice and clean for them.
The Return of Old Media
A moment to consider the second oldest physical communication medium of them all. Before digital, before electronic, before print. In fact, only the spoken word and drawing pre-date writing as communication media. The invention of a written language by the Sumerians, some five thousand years ago, stands as one of the pivotal moments in human history.
Flash forward five thousand odd years and you discover that this old-school communications form is in the news once again. And is the center of a bit of a controversy. In this case, over cursive writing. Also known as script or longhand, it was considered a dying art in the age of the keyboard. Perhaps no more.
In my usual spirit of transparency, I will note that other than my signature I have not written anything in cursive in decades. Everything I write by hand is printed. Once writing in script was no longer a requirement of my school studies, I dropped it like a hot rock and never looked back. Honestly, I see no reason why we should continue to teach it.
Other people beg to differ. There are benefits to learning cursive writing according to some experts. Students who write in longhand appear to retain the information they are writing better and generate more ideas. There may also be an improvement in reading comprehension since cursive, where the letters are all connected to one another, may help new readers think in terms of words rather than just letters. Educators working with students along the autism spectrum note benefits for their students as well. Similar benefits can be found for people who have suffered brain injuries. Longhand writing activates more parts of the brain than keyboarding and is seen as a positive for young learners as well.
All of this has prompted several states to consider legislation that would require teaching cursive again.
We learn a variety of things in school because they aid in developing the minds of our young scholars. I would not stand in the way of that.
There is one argument that I do find absurd. That we need to teach cursive so people will be able to read things like the Declaration of Independence in its original form. There’s a reason we no longer drive horse-drawn buggies or light our homes with candles. Shall we return to Roman numerals while we’re at it? Time and technology march on. If there is a solid educational value to teaching cursive we should consider it.
If the only reason is so we can read George Washington’s shopping list, there are better things to do with school time.
The Big Lie Is Back
Generation after generation are taught the same concept. Generation after generation have to learn the limits that lie beneath the idea. A new generation is being driven in the same direction and is arriving at the same conclusion that history teaches.
Hard work does not guarantee success. Some of our forefathers would be appalled to hear me say that. I have no doubt that more than a few of you find those words troubling as well. Here’s what’s brings this to mind.
The newest generation of media stars, those on social media like YouTube, are running into an inescapable wall. The algorithms on platforms like YouTube adhere to a simple concept, more work is better. It has a solid foundation in our culture, it’s the Protestant, sometimes called the Puritan, work ethic. Be disciplined, be frugal, work hard and you will be a success. In both this world and the next.
This program doesn’t have a portfolio to discuss the next world, but we can look at the reality of what’s happening in the present one.
More and more social media “stars” are running into a problem that is all too familiar to enterprising, young movers and shakers. It’s called burnout. They feel like they have no choice, that the system expects them to crank out more and more work, week after week. YouTube channels are rewarded by the system for more product, generating more engagement from the viewers and with longer watching times. Like every generation before them, they are discovering that there’s a limit to how much stress and work they can bear on body, mind, and spirit.
What some of the top creators are doing is refusing to let the algorithm run and then destroy, their lives. From new stars like 19-year-old Elle Mills to established mega-star YouTubers like gamer Jacksepticeye, this generation is getting an early lesson in the need to care for themselves physically and mentally. YouTube denies that it is at fault and includes a course on self-care in their Creator Academy tutorials. They also note that some very successful channels post on less demanding schedules.
Today’s media pushes hard for more, more, more; now, now, now. Any athlete can tell you that after a certain point, more workouts slow development and fitness.
Success rarely comes without some level of hard work. I will be the first to grant that. A new generation is discovering that it can be just as important to know when to work hard and when to give it a rest.
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
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