Media Modnay - Sports Edition

This may not make me friends.

I absolutely hate most sports-media. The radio stations, the TV-shows, the ninety seconds I have to sit through between the news and whatever show I actually want to hear/watch; I hate it.

Even the printed papery bits I get every morning.

Oh, and I especially hate it when something leaks from the sports-section into the “real” news section of the paper or show. It burns me that in our world the end of a hockey career takes precedent over issues of real impact in all our lives. I believe it shows that the core of media-communications is rotten.

I’m not saying there is absolutely no good sports-media out there. The Inside Track is a great example of what a sports show can be. Last night I got to know real athletes pushing their limits, and got a lesson in physics from an archer – sounds dorky but it was really cool actually analyze the sport instead of just hearing puked up stats and bravado.

Generally though, sports-media is a lot like American election coverage. It’s glossy, shiny, and light as hell on content. It’s like an excel spreadsheet just crapped into a mic. Good media is made by, to use a sports metaphor, digging deep. Great media is made with deep-diggin’ and a healthy dose of abstraction.

 It’s why top gear absolutelyfuckingdestroys other car shows – although I do struggle a little with calling motorsports motorsports.

Anyway, this is kind of a big roundabout way of slagging some crap I don’t like and sending a public thank you to The Inside Track.

 

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Good TV goes away

Intelligence, jPod, and MVP cancelled
via insidethecbc.com

Intelligence was/is/might in the future remain a great show.
jPod, well I don't dig Coupland. The best thing about jPod were only's jPod watch posts.
MVP, wait wasn't that the show with Pamela Anderson?

I want to quote a comment from insidethecbc.com's post:

1. LeonT Says:
   March 11th, 2008 at 9:35 am CDT

   Some fine commentary on the blog for this important story, so I’ll keep my comments to the point.

   Under the Stursberg regime, CBC Television has lost a Design department, Costume department, Props department, International Sales department [as of March 31st], and a Communications department. By closing these sections of the production wing, it no longer became a producer and became a buyer. Therefore, there was no personal and artistic commitment behind the creators of CBC programs.

   This created a disposable environment where an unsuccessful program is quickly dropped, due exclusively to ratings, in order to try something else.  In my opinion, until the CBC makes a real commitment to Drama, much like they did with a Drama Department years ago, this is how it’s going to be until they pursue ideas and not ratings.

I'm definitely not an insider so I can't say LeonT is on the money. My only first-hand experience at the CBC comes from interning for 3 weeks with their amazing news crew. What I will say is CBC television swings between "only worth watching for news and current affairs" to "What? A new canadian show that isn't reality TV? Maybe I don't have to gouge my eyes out."

At least CBC radio is top notch. Hey CBC2, Thanks for this:

• Mornings (6-10): Less classical, more light contemporary like Diana Krall and Joni Mitchell. About half of the music will be Canadian. No decision yet on who the host will be.

SWEEEEEEEEEEET!
*gouges ears out, considers whether a fork or a knife is better for the eyes*

Love,
Michael

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Evolution Radio Now at BCIT.ca

BCIT's fantastic web people redesigned the front page and added a handy link to our student-run commercial radio station.

BCIT : : evolution 107.9 :: live streaming radio

Blogged with Flock

Great Radio (Video)

Jonathan Goldstein and his team make great radio.

Wiretap.

Blogged with Flock

The post office opens your mail and I hate advertising

I stumbled across a post by Scott Rosenberg about deep packet inspection. He likened the practice to a the post office reading your mail. It's not the perfect analogy, only because the post office would then also have to put RFID tags under your skin and monitor your every move and use that information to push targeted advertising at you.

Right now Rogers is using a kind of deep packet inspection to let users know when they near their bandwidth limit. Any bets on how long it's going to take for them to begin serving ads in the same way they serve bandwidth notices?

It's a new revenue stream that could make them a lot of money, but it's an invasive technology that scares the shit out of me. What the hell, the internet is loosing its cool.

Dear Advertising,
You ruin good television, good radio, and now you are ruining the internet.

Please don't, I like the internet. It's a lot like I thought radio was like before I learned that the different public broadcasters were the exception rather than the norm. I hated you for a long time when I learned that 99% of the radio out there is little more than a vehicle for advertising. I even hated radio its self a little when I worked there and realized how much more money and effort went into advertising than went into content - music included.

My hate turned to a mere dislike as I began to explore the internet, and you became a neighbour instead of an enemy. You could have commercial TV and radio (god what a sick, sick thing) and I could have my telnet, archie, and gopher. As that all changed to my ie and netscape, mozilla and safari, you began to creep in, and my hatred of you returned.

These days my hatred is back in full friggin force. You're trying to creep in to my conversations on Facebook, you change your colours like a chameleon depending on where I shop on-line, and you pose as real people with real blogs when all you are is goddamn commissioned lies.

Advertising, I hate you and I want you to leave me alone.

Sincerely,

Michael Boronowski

Someday I swear I'm going to snap and move to a little cabin in the arctic, then someone is going to start experimenting with monetizing the channel that is my trap line.

Blogged with Flock