Milestones

The Hangar takes a moment to note the passing of evangelist, Rex Humbard.

I grew up in northeastern Ohio, so watching Rex Humbard was part of my childhood. Little did I know back then that I would also be involved in using television and radio to spread the gospel of Christ.

Also back then, the press in my beloved Buckeye state, were not so kind to him. Now, looking back, it's easier to see him for the ministry pioneer that he was.

We pray God's strength and blessings on his wife and family. Well done, faithful servant.

Speaking of Bad TV...

Discover how this clutter buster ad

has become the one everyone loves to hate, yet does exactly what it says.

Re: Bad TV

Jon, speaking of bad TV, I thought about you when I saw this essay in the Wall Street Journal.

It's about the proliferation of all these high resolution, wide screen television screens—capable of producing stunning pictures—invariably displaying a cruddy image that is also stretched into a fun house mirror echo of what the director intended. I know this vexes you sorely as well.

A snippet:

"Many owners of wide-screen TVs don't make the distinction. Since they paid a premium for the width, they want their programs to fill the screen; never mind that 4:3 programs are correctly displayed on 16:9 panels only with black bars flanking the image. So people set their TVs to stretch the picture, or allow their TVs to set themselves. Either way, the result is distortion -- compact cars resemble stretch limos, puffy faces look like their cheeks have been pulled out in opposite directions."

This epidemic extends to my own home. My wife and daughters tolerate my diligent use of the remote to switch the aspect ratio of the TV picture depending upon whether we're watching a HD channel or not. But they never bother. Even worse, I'll walk in and they'll be watching a program in standard definition when we have HD version of the same network one click up the dial!

If we actually get to that glorious Hi-Def television future we've been promised for a long time now, it will a miracle. Too many people don't seem to "get it."

Bad TV and Bigger Audiences

How is it that many, many Americans believe that TV programming is going down the toilet and yet viewership is growing?

I love this country!

In an article found on Business Wire, a recent poll by AOL Television (television.aol.com) and The Associated Press indicates that “...Americans will continue to watch television despite a declining quality in the overall programming.” (so summarized AOL Television editor-in-chief, Scott Robson)

Yikes.

I guess, however, it does put to rest (temporarily) the notion that people don't watch TV. Again, good news for programmers.

One interesting finding was that men (52%) tend to watch cable channels and women (55%) prefer broadcast networks.

Let's see, "Mega Disasters" vs. "Grey's Anatomy." Hmmm.

Flying Broadband

Last week, a new Bridge Ratings study validated something we’ve been saying for nearly two years: Over the next 5 to 9 years, access to wireless broadband Internet service will reach automobiles, aircraft and other mass transportation modes in dramatically growing numbers.

This rapid expansion will, most likely, use current technologies such as WiFi and WiMax.

(You can draw your own little car in the picture above. Be sure to include the lighting bolt-like waves to the tower.)

With that growth will come dramatic changes in the way we consume radio (and other audio products) and how we promote them.

In fact, the study says that it will impact radio and satellite radio in some negative (ad revenue) ways. The advertising model will continue to tip toward the Internet.

Of course, this shift will ultimately be wonderful for programmers.

In the months ahead, we will be taking a close look at these changes and will share how they will help you get your message out.

Stay tuned.

Pumpkin Eaters

I haven't been a football fan all my life but since diving into the NFL and my hometown Miami Dolphins about 16 years ago one thing has remained constant: I have an unbridled hatred for the New England Patriots. Even when they were bad and Don Shula and Dan Marino were kicking the "chowdah" out of them twice a year they, just like chili peppers, burned my gut. Then they got good and started winning Super Bowls. Ugh! Not them! Not the Patriots! Nothing good has ever come out of New England except my wife and she escaped as soon as she could. The NFL championship can’t be held by a team from New England! Well, the NFL might have uncovered why the Patriots have been so good lately. NFL commissioner (and my new best friend) Roger Goodell has discovered that the New England Patriots are guilty of cheating! Yes, cheating. Now any Dolphins fan can tell you that cheating and the Patriots isn't a new thing. In 1980 the grounds crew at the Patriot’s home stadium during a blizzard sent a guy in a snow plow onto the field to clear a path for their kicker to put the ball through the uprights and win the game 3-0. The new crime is more subversive but has had longer lasting impact that just one victory. I don’t have a meaningful point to make about professional sports and ethics or steroids or moral turpitude. I just hate the Patriots and I’m hoping after you see this you might join me.

The New England Patriots Cheat

The Top 100 TV Shows of All Time

In their list of the Top 100 TV Shows of All Time, TIME magazine included Mystery Science Theater 3000. Usually lists like this really burn my chips, and I'm not a big fan of TIME, but this time they at least got it partly right.

Now, TIME didn't rank them. It's only an alphabetical list, but it is there. For my money it is the all-time #1 mother-lovin' king of all TV shows. If you aren't familiar with it, check out their entry.
Mystery Science Theater 3000

More Accurate Radio Listenership Data

For millennia. . .okay. . . for decades at least, radio station listenership numbers were determined by handing several hundred people in a given radio market a diary in which they were supposed to dutifully record their listening choices and habits.

It was a pretty dicey system but fortunes in advertising revenues were at stake. A Program Director's fate could hinge on those quarterly numbers.

An article in the online version of the Wall Street Journal reveals that Arbitron's new "People Meters" are showing just how inaccurate the old diary system was. In fact, according the article, a station in Philadelphia just switched formats from Spanish-Latin Pop to Alt Rock based on surprsing new data.

An excerpt:

"The People Meter, a pager-sized device that automatically registers what radio station survey participants are listening to, is already yielding more specific -- and, in some cases, surprising -- data. The results from the first two markets indicate that people flip among stations more frequently than they say, that men listen to significantly more radio than women and that employed people listen a lot more than people who don't work. While the diary system pointed to some of these findings, it typically missed how broad they are."

Here's the whole article if it's not locked up behind WSJ's subscription-only wall:

My Mac Does Windows

At the Hangar, we stay on the forefront of technology (well, we do in our minds since the costs usually keep us from actually owning lots of cool stuff). Recently, however, I opined right here about the new MacBook Pro laptops headed our way.

They came. They worked. They conquered.

With its ridiculously high-resolution monitor, things never looked better (although the font sizes were so small, I had to use the “zoom” feature a lot). Of course, a high-rez screen isn’t only found on a Mac.

But lots of other things are.

I finally got around to loading Windows XP. Since Apple dumped Motorola for Intel processors, it only makes sense that MacWindows would soon be served up. Since I have some Windows-only software that I use regularly (and like), the need to be able to awaken the machine as a full-service PC was a huge selling point.

It was very, very easy to install Windows (thanks to Apple’s Boot Camp software which walks you through the steps to install it). Of course, the usual tsunami of Windows patches, fixes and updates took some time. Still, my Mac will run just like a screaming PC laptop and runs the Windows applications flawlessly (well, it runs them just like a PC).

So here I am… a new and happy Mac dude.

Now to be honest, I did purchase Microsoft Office for Mac (hey, H|S has a fleet of PCs and they all are Office machines). Interestingly, Microsoft’s stuff looks better on a Mac. Also, I do miss the ability to tinker with Windows machines. Mac has the system set up to be a bit mysterious. While mystery (or is it, variety) is the spice of life, it’s still good to give a man the ability to raise the hood and do some serious tinkerin’ on the thing.

Nah… make it all automatic.

I don’t miss the constant threat of virus and malicious code attacks. Of course, as I pointed out in a previous post, that’ll change when the code devils get bored poking Bill Gates and figure out that some equally deserving, rich folks use Macs.

Justice for all and all.

On a related note, I finally got my Blackjack mobile phone (which is basically a mini PC that surfs the web, plays videos, plays music and, yes, makes calls) to work flawlessly. That’s just in time for the coming wave of discounted iPhones thanks to a wave of competitors waiting in the wings.

Have a Happy Labor Day.