Private Message on MEDIA from an insiders perspective...

Jeffersons Ghost

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Tue Nov-07-06 10:12 PM
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Private Message on MEDIA from an insiders perspective...

This correspondence was between myself and in my humble opinion one of the best writers at DU, who I will not name without permission. It is a short but VERY revealing read.

Thanks for your positive, encouraging message but it's still a bit too early for me to buy champagne. You write extremely well, which I'm sure others mention regularly. Have you ever worked in media?

Much of my experience is in advertising where repetition is the key to producing results. As Shakespeare wrote "ay, there's the rub." A quick two week exposure of a new idea like DIEBOLD, which can easily be construed by the public and, perhaps later even media, as "conspiracy theory," has little long-term impact.

In writing, a pitfall for many with good command of language and grammar, is over-estimating abilities of a reader to understand. Work you present at DU, does not suggest that you have any problems relating to THESE readers but at this site I've noticed a higher intellect and education than we might find in the public of most media markets. In other words, those idiots outside DU have very short memories and even the simplest concepts must be hammered into their heads for months, which is the main reason they ever vote Republican.

I've become quite spoiled writing for this demographic. Even with my musical/graphic renditions, it is nice to realize that a fairly broad cross-section of viewers grasp subtle suggestive nuance in the presentations. Outside DU, offering that type media is like casting pearls before swine.

In media, broadcasters usually read the same copy at least twice in a row before a show, which is what news is often called, with each reading offering the probability of carrying a viewer or listener in different directions. It's as simple as a magician's thumb trick for pros to divert the eyes or cast slight inflection into their voice to totally change audience perception, which is why Clear-Channel has so few live broadcasters, actually on the air. What amazes me is that if a silly electronic box offers information, it is as if Moses just brought down stone tablets of profound truth. People in America better wake up. It is and always was, simply a slight-of-hand trick. The only difference is that back then, we engaged in black magic far less.

While, FOX might strike us as idiots on cocaine, make no mistake -- master propagandists sit just outside the foot-lights, meticulously coaching every broadcast. To think it stops at FOX is a plummet into folly. Anyone with enough millions to lose money for so long on that dog has resources to reach ANY demographic, including mine. Like cocaine, FOX - and all media - can be addictive with an unseen, dangerous impact on consumers. While that is indeed troubling, it is more upsetting that intelligent people can no longer enjoy the History Channel. Those reasonably accurate broadcasts once felt like a pair of comfy old slippers but now their programming fits like six-inch heels, which would look ridiculous on me, like most men.

If you have noticed a sharp increase in advertising per quarter hour, again we look to history. Before Reagan dismantled the FCC, stations ran only a specific amount of commercials per quarter hour. These ads that blast us out, as volume suddenly increases were forbiden. These laws not only served consumers but also media because back then people might actually listen to some advertising. By reducing 10 commissioners to 3 Reagan made the FCC less able to monitor media. Even worse, it creates a situation where a small number of people can easily agree on bad regulations. Worst of all, one radical change in the FCC allows a single person to buy up gigantic blocks of media, conceivably owning every news source in America. In the old days, if you owned a radio station, for example, restrictions kept you from buying the local newspaper. Now, ClearChannel owns nearly every station in the country and, while your local station may sound live, it is likely pre-recorded. I toured a Clear-Channel facility years ago. Twenty radio stations broadcasting from a single facility with NO DISC JOCKEYS made me want to vomit. I left media for good, not long after that job interview.

In proofing my PM, it occurs to me that if we present this material to DU as a whole, it might benefit this highly intelligent group. Some mental armoring in upcoming months will not be a bad thing for this audience.

Private Message on MEDIA from an insiders perspective...

"NUFF SAID!"

THANKS FOR EVERYTHING!