Episode Three: Addendum

This is just an addendum to Episode Three. I didn't actually proof that at all before posting.  It was a Facebook post done in a fit of passion and a great deal of worry that NBC would once again cancel a show that I thought should stay.  I know that it sounds self centered but I have very good taste and usually soon after I decide I like something it becomes popular.  I am waiting for a 1920's / 1950's fashion and home decor surge to prove my point.  It happened with the 1960's / 1970's style so I am hopeful. Anyway what I was saying in my post wasn't that television programs should be predictable, I was saying that the programing needed to be more regular.  That might not be a big difference to most people but the distinction is an important one.  In my humble opinion recent formula for programing is "lets keep all the garbage, reality, talent and game shows and get rid of anything scripted or even halfway entertaining usually without even allowing the program an entire season.  13 episodes is not enough to make a show a success and sometimes the "suits" will yank the show and replace it with dreck within a few weeks of the pilot.  If you gave NBC the chance they would cancel Dr. Who.

Episode Three: A rant I did on Facebook a while ago

Networks and Programing


Sunday, February 28, 2010 at 2:45am | Edit Note | Delete


I have sat by with all this knowledge in my head about network programing and ratings and how the business end of television works and I want to cry because they are using such an arcane method of determining who is watching. Why do we stand by the old Nielsen ratings when we have new media to let the audience tell us what they want to see?




The biggest problem with ratings is that there are to many options with cable for audiences to developed any loyalty to a program. There is no unity or uniformity to programing anymore. On the big 4 networks there used to be a rule of thumb with regard to programs and placement. Mornings were for talk shows, afternoons were for soap operas, 8-10 PM were for family comedy, and 10PM was for drama. There were other time slots like after school programing aimed at kids and game shows in the early evening but you get the idea. This system worked for everyone and did so very well for decades. The audiences knew what shows were on and when without looking because it was a routine. The advertisers were able to target their preferred audiences based on subject content and the producers were able to be creative and make something to share with the world.




It seems that around the time Friends and Seinfeld nearly bankrupted NBC the networks seemed to forget that magic formula that brought audiences in. TGIF was an ingenious way of packaging programing so audiences would know where to go and they had fantastic success with it because they had a hit anchor program. The mistake they made was in not being ready for the fact that programs like Full House will lose their appeal eventually. There was to much of the ideal with the programing and marketing for TGIF built on the cornerstone of just one show. If they had moved the show up by even a half an hour one season before they ended the show they would have had a chance. They could have groomed a new cornerstone program and audiences would have accepted it because they would have had time to adapt.




Audiences don't like change, they don't want to have to search for their favorite programs, they want them to be there when they are supposed to be. We are creatures of habit and certain programs will become part of our routine if they are reliable. However the moment the program is not there, even a fiercely loyal audience will quickly lose interest. The problem is that network programers market shows when they should be marketing time slots and placing their most promising shows in those slots. Audiences are a product to sell to the advertisers but how can a network promise an audience when they are changing their lineup so frequently?




Sites like Hulu are full of comments where loyal fans admit that they are upset and discouraged by the network decisions to cancel or move shows. It is time for a change in the way the networks do their programing. We could also use an updated ratings system that includes non traditional viewers that watch their TV online.




The system is broken and you can almost see the execs wringing their hands trying to figure out what to do. They are mucking it up big time though and the quality of programing is declining and has been for years.




Check out this website it shows what numbers the networks are using when they make their decisions about what to keep and what to lose. I am on here all the time, I even have them email me the overnight numbers every morning but it makes no difference because as I said before THE SYSTEM DOES NOT WORK. But check the website anyway, it's an eye opener and they really have a handle on how things are done at the moment.






http://tvbythenumbers.com/

Episode Two: Why my bosses should give me a transfer

I found an awesome posting on my company internal job registry where they actually described me in the job description.  I got really excited when I say the posting because it is the perfect job for me and the main reason why I took a job that I have now.  I love what I am doing but it is not what I am passionate about.  I wanted to work for this company though because they are an amazing media company and because I knew that they hired from within and so I wanted to be "in".  Also I knew that I needed experience, being as I was, right out of college and this was an idea place to get it.

Reasons I am perfect for this job.

1 I exist outside the box

2 I live eat and breathe media

3 I have accounts on all social media sites including bebo and skype

4 I have begun watching Hulu more then I watch cable

5 Imdb is in my bookmarks bar at home as well as at work

6 I have all these ideas about how media can be improved from advertising to content to ratings data collection and analysis

7 I already work for the company and I do enjoy what I am doing but I feel as though I am not being used to the best of my potential

8 I am young enough to be “in the know” but old enough to handle responsibility

9 I have ADHD, which I don’t usually mention when trying to get a job but there are definite benefits to having ADHD.  The biggest is that my mind is always going and building on ideas.

10 I am never content to leave things alone simply because they are working.  I like to improve things. 

11 I am an editor in all things – if I see a good idea I know that I can make it better, and if it is already perfect I know I can expand it or I have an idea on how to market it.

12 I have my own blog and have ideas for several more.  I am also constantly listening to podcasts and have started recording my own which I will be posting at itunes as soon as I am satisfied with the editing and continuity of the format.

13 I am not mainstream media.  I believe mainstream media needs to be fixed and I have ideas on how they could and should go about doing it.

14 I know that everything I am putting down here sounds trite and like I am repeating everything that the job posting says but I am genuine. 

15 It is difficult to communicate my sincerity in a bunch of bullet points but it is more strait forward and honest then a long and perfectly worded cover letter.

16 I do not know it all.  I have a great education from a great communications school, I am always reading, researching, listening to, watching or otherwise engaging in media in a never-ending quest to expand my knowledge but it is an imperfect mission because I will never know it all - and even if I do at some point know everything there is to know about media I will have forgotten half of it by the time I learn the other half - and even if I didn't forget any of it there will be something new to learn about in the next minuet, hour, day, week, month etc... 

Why do I mention everything I don't know?  Because I like to learn and I am not afraid to say I don't know / understand something.  I will never lie and say I know / understand something to sound impressive because I will not sound impressive and when I am asked to show my "skill" I will not only embarrass myself but prove myself to be a lier.  Not to mention the stress of worrying about being caught in my lie until it happens.  Yes, I have in fact sadly made the mistake of exaggerating my knowledge in the process of bragging or when faced with a know it all.  My point here is that I have learned my lesson in the past and in doing so I also learned something else, people like to talk about what they do.  It makes them happy and proud when they can explain something to someone and often they will take a personal interest in your skill once you have asked for help.  So it is a win win win.  You don't look stupid, you are spared the stress of worrying about being caught, you actually get the skill or knowledge you would have been lying about in the first place, and you might even end up with a mentor of sorts. 

Ok so when did this become some morality lecture about lying? I don't know, but I did warn you that I will do that some times.  Normally I would fix everything in editing but I am going to try to keep this organic.  So all the extra stuff and less than stellar writing will be there for all to see.  But this way you all get a glimpse into my head.  Not that I expect anyone to actually look.  

Episode One

I guess the best way to begin would be to describe myself, my hopes for this blog and my writing style. Most of the pertinent details about myself are addressed in the About Me section on the homepage so I will not bore you overmuch with my life story. It will likely come out organically over time anyway, as my intention here is to share my insights, experiences and opinions when they pop into my head as I go through my day to day life.

In short I am an average 31 year old mom in that I take care of my children, watch cartoons, go to work everyday and clean my house constantly (but it never seems to actually get clean). I worry about all the normal "Mom" things and depend on my husband to remind me to loosen up. I am usually over scheduled, over budget and overwhelmed. I am also a graphic artist and a highly opinionated extravert. I love to debate any topic with anyone because it is almost always interesting.

I have Adult ADHD, two of my boys also have ADHD and my middle son is borderline autistic. This usually makes for an interesting and frequently chaotic home life. This is a constant struggle to deal with but at the same time its often barely noticeable to us until we compare ourselves to other people. I guess thats because when you are born with ADHD so you don't know any other way to be. At least thats the case with me, I am the way I am, my mind is always going a mile a minuet and I don't think I could focus on just one thing no matter how hard I tried. There are advantages and drawbacks to this but I will get into that more when I do a post about living with ADHD.

I hope to create an interesting and intelligent forum where thoughts and ideas can be shared by anyone and everyone who is moved to participate. I believe open communication between widely differing individuals is a great way to grow as a person, so I am hoping for many lively discussions. Topics will probably range from religion and global politics to parenting a teenager to what the best new television show is and why. Another topic that will be prevalent in my posts is living with ADHD and raising a child who is borderline autistic. As of right now I do not have any predetermined format for my posts. They will probably vary day to day based on my mood or whatever flight of fancy has struck me when I sit down to write. I may simply recount some interesting experience in a diary style or I might write a well researched article about some subject of interest to me complete with footnotes, bibliography and links to relevant websites.

My writing style is pretty simple, I just put down whatever pops into my head as I go. This method has always worked for me in the past and I believe it creates a comfortable and conversational style that lets you imagine you are having a conversation instead of just reading droll text. Sometimes that can lead to disjointed thoughts, run on sentences and abrupt topic changes. I will try to monitor this with extensive proofreading and editing before I post anything but it's likely I won't catch everything so please let me know if I don't make sense. I will often say something ironic or sarcastic without communicating the appropriate inflection. I have not learned how to translate spoken sarcasm to written sarcasm yet, but I will try to find a way (maybe italics).

Thats all for today, I hope to post something at least once a week to start. Once I get the hang of things I will probably post every other day or so. I will try to respond to any comments or questions within a day.

Bye for now,

Megan