- It was written in the heat of anger. Since I wrote it, my husband and I have resolved the issue and have worked out a reasonable settlement. As far as I am concerned, the issue is dead and buried, and I see no reason to keep the post up.
- I do not publish anonymous comments. I have no way of knowing who you are or why you're posting the comment. I also do not post comments from people I don't really know, and who don't give any indication of who they are.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Regarding my previous post
It's deleted for the following reasons:
Sunday, January 21, 2007
A nifty concept for a TV channel
Tonight, my chatroom got into a discussion about TV programming. (It's that kind of channel.)
In the 1980s, Nickelodeon had a great idea. Since most children are asleep after 8 p.m., they bought the syndication rights for old shows like the Patty Duke Show and Car 54, Where Are You? Since these shows weren't being aired anywhere else, they were cheap and popular with the Baby Boomers who grew up on them. They used old commercials and PSAs as interstitial material and ran documentaries about popular commercials. Eventually, they spun that off as TV Land, although they still use the Nick at Nite concept.
So my idea is this. Since most parents of children are Generation Xers who grew up watching the original Sesame Street, The Electric Company, 3-2-1 Contact, Captain Kangaroo and other shows of the 70s, I think Nick could successfully base a channel around these shows. For example, during the day, they could show the old Children's Television Workshop shows commercial-free. They already have an agreement with Sesame Workshop, so it stands to reason that they could extend that into getting the broadcast rights to the old shows, especially since they used to air classic Sesame Street episodes on their Noggin channel, which is aimed at pre-schoolers. During the after-school hours, they could use programs aimed at older children like the old ABC After School Specials and perhaps some of the 1970s and 80s-era Saturday morning cartoons. For interstitial programming, they could air Schoolhouse Rock cartoons, classic commercials and PSAs.
This idea is appealing for a number of reasons. First, as was mentioned before, the current generation of parents grew up in the 1970s and 80s, so the channel would appeal to parents, so there are two demographic groups being served. Second, the concept worked for Baby Boomers. Third, the programs themselves are gathering dust except for DVD box sets that are marketed as nostalgia. Fourth, a number of these programs touched on many different academic subjects like reading, science and math; recent history may be introduced by showing the old CBS In the News shorts narrated by the recently-departed Christopher Glenn. Finally, advertisers have the Gen X demographic.
The downside comes from companies that obtain the DVD rights to these shows. But this can be overcome by the fact that these shows would be exposed to a whole new generation of children whose parents would then buy the box sets, both as nostalgia for their own childhoods, as well as for their kids, who would know and like the show.
I think it's very do-able and I have to wonder why Nickelodeon hasn't done something like this.
In the 1980s, Nickelodeon had a great idea. Since most children are asleep after 8 p.m., they bought the syndication rights for old shows like the Patty Duke Show and Car 54, Where Are You? Since these shows weren't being aired anywhere else, they were cheap and popular with the Baby Boomers who grew up on them. They used old commercials and PSAs as interstitial material and ran documentaries about popular commercials. Eventually, they spun that off as TV Land, although they still use the Nick at Nite concept.
So my idea is this. Since most parents of children are Generation Xers who grew up watching the original Sesame Street, The Electric Company, 3-2-1 Contact, Captain Kangaroo and other shows of the 70s, I think Nick could successfully base a channel around these shows. For example, during the day, they could show the old Children's Television Workshop shows commercial-free. They already have an agreement with Sesame Workshop, so it stands to reason that they could extend that into getting the broadcast rights to the old shows, especially since they used to air classic Sesame Street episodes on their Noggin channel, which is aimed at pre-schoolers. During the after-school hours, they could use programs aimed at older children like the old ABC After School Specials and perhaps some of the 1970s and 80s-era Saturday morning cartoons. For interstitial programming, they could air Schoolhouse Rock cartoons, classic commercials and PSAs.
This idea is appealing for a number of reasons. First, as was mentioned before, the current generation of parents grew up in the 1970s and 80s, so the channel would appeal to parents, so there are two demographic groups being served. Second, the concept worked for Baby Boomers. Third, the programs themselves are gathering dust except for DVD box sets that are marketed as nostalgia. Fourth, a number of these programs touched on many different academic subjects like reading, science and math; recent history may be introduced by showing the old CBS In the News shorts narrated by the recently-departed Christopher Glenn. Finally, advertisers have the Gen X demographic.
The downside comes from companies that obtain the DVD rights to these shows. But this can be overcome by the fact that these shows would be exposed to a whole new generation of children whose parents would then buy the box sets, both as nostalgia for their own childhoods, as well as for their kids, who would know and like the show.
I think it's very do-able and I have to wonder why Nickelodeon hasn't done something like this.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
This is too good an idea to keep to myself
The geniuses at VW have a promotion going where you get a free electric guitar when you buy a car. Okay, fine, I can accept the whole rockstar thing, but the deal with this is that you can plug the guitar into the car's stereo and use that as an amp.
Lovely idea, but do we really need morons playing the guitar when they drive? Kinda gives Fahrvergnügen a new and entirely bizarre meaning.
Lovely idea, but do we really need morons playing the guitar when they drive? Kinda gives Fahrvergnügen a new and entirely bizarre meaning.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Please, God. Enough already!
So there's apparently a grudge between Rosie O'Donnell and Donald Trump. She said something, he responded, and it escalated from there. Now, apparently Baba Wawa, who is now Rosie's boss, is involved somehow, having been accused of duplicity by The Donald.
Were it not for the fact that these people are on television, no one would care. But they are, and so we're supposed to be involved in it, somehow.
The most dangerous place to be is between any of these people and a camera.
Were it not for the fact that these people are on television, no one would care. But they are, and so we're supposed to be involved in it, somehow.
The most dangerous place to be is between any of these people and a camera.
Monday, November 13, 2006
And now for tonight's rant...
And it's a doozy.
This past weekend, I went to Pittsburgh for my husband's cousin's wedding. Yesterday, I was reading through the Post-Gazette's opinion section, where I found a column about shame.
Shame is a timely topic in the wake of the Rev. Ted Haggard's recent, ah, coming-out. But the focus of the column, which can be found here, was about a local minister, the Rev. Brent Dugan.
Rev. Dugan was not a controversial figure by any means. He was well-liked by his parishioners and regarded highly by the Pittsburgh Presbytery, which oversaw his church.
Yet KDKA-TV decided that there was something wrong anyway, and decided to "investigate" this man's "crimes", heavily promoting the story for sweeps week. Was he accused of molesting children or stealing from the church accounts? No. The Rev. Dugan's sole offense was that he was seen in an adult bookstore. There were also apparently tape recordings and other information, but it is not known if they contained information about illegal acts. If he were married, this would be fodder for a private investigator, but he wasn't. He was single. So nothing criminal probably happened, but KDKA took it upon itself to enforce what it assumed was church rules, because, y'know, the public has a right to know. KDKA eventually chose not to run the story, citing concerns that Rev. Dugan might harm himself.
Which he did. He checked into a motel in Mercer County and ended his life with an overdose of alcohol and aspirin. He left a suicide note alluding to the shame that was about to be made public.
Journalism is, by definition, a scummy business. Reporters sometimes have to go into less-than-glamorous outposts of the world to report on human misery, both in America and abroad. The lucky ones get to put on a suit each day and don't have to worry about sweating or getting shot at.
But KDKA-TV, and especially its reporter, Marty Griffin, deserve to be censured. Griffin, in fact, was sued for libel for a similar stunt he pulled in Texas. Erik Williams, who was playing for the Dallas Cowboys at the time, had been accused of rape and sexual assault by a woman who later recanted her story. Griffin reported the former fact but not the latter, which is what led to the suit. Griffin's employer settled the suit for $2.2 million and fired him. Griffin did not admit to any wrongdoing and claimed that he did not approve the settlement. (Dallas Morning News story)
And, according to the Post-Gazette, Mr. Griffin was cited last year for misdemeanor trespassing in an incident in which he went to a bus garage with a cameraman, claiming that he was merely demonstrating what he described as lax security on the part of the Port Authority; he was ultimately found not guilty on appeal; the appellate judge cited First Amendment grounds. (KDKA article)
Now, you may argue that Griffin is merely being a zealous advocate for the people. He has won at least one regional Emmy for investigative reporting.
But responsible advocates check their facts before going public, particularly where personal reputations are at stake. When they are wrong, they admit to it publicly and don't hide behind a "Who, me?! What did I do?!" attitude. From a First Amendment standpoint, this man has a right to say what he wishes. But from an ethical perspective, the man is scum. He makes me ashamed to be a journalist.
If KDKA listened to me, I'd tell them to fire Mr. Griffin and see to it that he never works in journalism anywhere. He's caused too much damage and Lord knows what else he's capable of. At the very minimum, I'd require that he take a course in journalistic ethics. His audience deserves no less.
This past weekend, I went to Pittsburgh for my husband's cousin's wedding. Yesterday, I was reading through the Post-Gazette's opinion section, where I found a column about shame.
Shame is a timely topic in the wake of the Rev. Ted Haggard's recent, ah, coming-out. But the focus of the column, which can be found here, was about a local minister, the Rev. Brent Dugan.
Rev. Dugan was not a controversial figure by any means. He was well-liked by his parishioners and regarded highly by the Pittsburgh Presbytery, which oversaw his church.
Yet KDKA-TV decided that there was something wrong anyway, and decided to "investigate" this man's "crimes", heavily promoting the story for sweeps week. Was he accused of molesting children or stealing from the church accounts? No. The Rev. Dugan's sole offense was that he was seen in an adult bookstore. There were also apparently tape recordings and other information, but it is not known if they contained information about illegal acts. If he were married, this would be fodder for a private investigator, but he wasn't. He was single. So nothing criminal probably happened, but KDKA took it upon itself to enforce what it assumed was church rules, because, y'know, the public has a right to know. KDKA eventually chose not to run the story, citing concerns that Rev. Dugan might harm himself.
Which he did. He checked into a motel in Mercer County and ended his life with an overdose of alcohol and aspirin. He left a suicide note alluding to the shame that was about to be made public.
Journalism is, by definition, a scummy business. Reporters sometimes have to go into less-than-glamorous outposts of the world to report on human misery, both in America and abroad. The lucky ones get to put on a suit each day and don't have to worry about sweating or getting shot at.
But KDKA-TV, and especially its reporter, Marty Griffin, deserve to be censured. Griffin, in fact, was sued for libel for a similar stunt he pulled in Texas. Erik Williams, who was playing for the Dallas Cowboys at the time, had been accused of rape and sexual assault by a woman who later recanted her story. Griffin reported the former fact but not the latter, which is what led to the suit. Griffin's employer settled the suit for $2.2 million and fired him. Griffin did not admit to any wrongdoing and claimed that he did not approve the settlement. (Dallas Morning News story)
And, according to the Post-Gazette, Mr. Griffin was cited last year for misdemeanor trespassing in an incident in which he went to a bus garage with a cameraman, claiming that he was merely demonstrating what he described as lax security on the part of the Port Authority; he was ultimately found not guilty on appeal; the appellate judge cited First Amendment grounds. (KDKA article)
Now, you may argue that Griffin is merely being a zealous advocate for the people. He has won at least one regional Emmy for investigative reporting.
But responsible advocates check their facts before going public, particularly where personal reputations are at stake. When they are wrong, they admit to it publicly and don't hide behind a "Who, me?! What did I do?!" attitude. From a First Amendment standpoint, this man has a right to say what he wishes. But from an ethical perspective, the man is scum. He makes me ashamed to be a journalist.
If KDKA listened to me, I'd tell them to fire Mr. Griffin and see to it that he never works in journalism anywhere. He's caused too much damage and Lord knows what else he's capable of. At the very minimum, I'd require that he take a course in journalistic ethics. His audience deserves no less.
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Well, it's official...
Conrad Burns conceded to Jon Tester and George Allen conceded to Jim Webb. This gives the Dems a two-seat majority.
I have to give Allen credit for one thing, though. He's classy enough not to demand a recount. He's accepted his loss and doesn't want to see this drag out through December.
I have to give Allen credit for one thing, though. He's classy enough not to demand a recount. He's accepted his loss and doesn't want to see this drag out through December.
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Dass mah boy!
I was trying to explain what happened last night to my four-year-old. I said, "Once upon a time, there was a man named George." He said, "George isn't a man, he's a monkey."
Of course, he also says that George is curious. I need to disabuse him of that notion.
Of course, he also says that George is curious. I need to disabuse him of that notion.
It's all over but the hangovers
So the Democrats took the House and are likely to take the Senate, too. This makes me happy beyond words because it means that George Bush is effectively neutered.
The only question that remains is, do the Democrats have the balls to stand up to Bush now that they have the numbers to do so?
The only question that remains is, do the Democrats have the balls to stand up to Bush now that they have the numbers to do so?
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