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The Day that TV News Died | NationofChange
I am not sure exactly when the death of television news took place. The descent was gradual—a slide into the tawdry, the trivial and the inane, into the charade on cable news channels such as Fox and MSNBC in which hosts hold up corporate political puppets to laud or ridicule, and treat celebrity foibles as legitimate news. But if I had to pick a date when commercial television decided amassing corporate money and providing entertainment were its central mission, when it consciously chose to become a carnival act, it would probably be Feb. 25, 2003, when MSNBC took Phil Donahue off the air because of his opposition to the calls for war in Iraq.
Donahue and Bill Moyers, the last honest men on national television, were the only two major TV news personalities who presented the viewpoints of those of us who challenged the rush to war in Iraq. General Electric and Microsoft—MSNBC’s founders and defense contractors that went on to make tremendous profits from the war—were not about to tolerate a dissenting voice. Donahue was fired, and at PBS Moyers was subjected to tremendous pressure. An internal MSNBC memo leaked to the press stated that Donahue was hurting the image of the network. He would be a “difficult public face for NBC in a time of war,” the memo read. Donahue never returned to the airwaves.
The celebrity trolls who currently reign on commercial television, who bill themselves as liberal or conservative, read from the same corporate script. They spin the same court gossip. They ignore what the corporate state wants ignored. They champion what the corporate state wants championed. They do not challenge or acknowledge the structures of corporate power. Their role is to funnel viewer energy back into our dead political system—to make us believe that Democrats or Republicans are not corporate pawns. The cable shows, whose hyperbolic hosts work to make us afraid of self-identified liberals or self-identified conservatives, are part of a rigged political system, one in which it is impossible to vote against the interests of Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, General Electric or ExxonMobil. These corporations, in return for the fear-based propaganda, pay the lavish salaries of celebrity news people, usually in the millions of dollars. They make their shows profitable. And when there is war these news personalities assume their “patriotic” roles as cheerleaders, as Chris Matthews—who makes an estimated $5 million a year—did, along with the other MSNBC and Fox hosts.
Read more: The Day that TV News Died | NationofChange
Mind-Reading Headphones Play Music Based On Mood
Mind-Reading Headphones Play Music Based On Mood: 
Neurowear, who first came on the scene with those mood controlled animal ears and tails, has now developed a mood-sensing pair of headphones that play songs based on how you're feeling. Feeling depressed? Get even more depressed. Feeling angry? ESCALATE THAT SHIT INTO A FIST-FIGHT.
Neurowear said if the headphones ever make it to market, there's the likelihood they'll seek partnerships with music-distributors so you don't have to listen to the same 100 songs all the time. Still -- if I'm depressed, a lot of time I want to listen to music that alleviates that depression, not prolongs it. I'm all for mood-sensing, I'm just not sure this is a very practical application of that technology. *rereads* Wow, that might be the most intelligent thing I've ever said on Geekologie.
Hit the jump for a video of the guy explaining the things.
Neurowear, who first came on the scene with those mood controlled animal ears and tails, has now developed a mood-sensing pair of headphones that play songs based on how you're feeling. Feeling depressed? Get even more depressed. Feeling angry? ESCALATE THAT SHIT INTO A FIST-FIGHT.
A big white pair of headphones are connected to a sensor that rests on your forehead and a dangling clip for your earlobe (a la the Necomimi).
The cans connect to your smartphone via Bluetooth, using your current mood to select a song from the company's app, which currently contains about 100 tracks. According to the company, the songs have been "neuro-tagged," based on its testing, to ensure that they match up to perceived mood.
Neurowear said if the headphones ever make it to market, there's the likelihood they'll seek partnerships with music-distributors so you don't have to listen to the same 100 songs all the time. Still -- if I'm depressed, a lot of time I want to listen to music that alleviates that depression, not prolongs it. I'm all for mood-sensing, I'm just not sure this is a very practical application of that technology. *rereads* Wow, that might be the most intelligent thing I've ever said on Geekologie.
Hit the jump for a video of the guy explaining the things.
Re-Post: A Cold, Harsh Reality For Radio
All credit goes back to Erid Rhodes of Radio Ink on this one... but I felt obligated to share. I hope this doesn't become some instillation of fearmongering amongst the radio-loyal. We all saw this coming to a certain degree, but it was still harsh to finally hear. As long as the principles of radio... the philosophy... the 'intimacy' and personalilty; as long as these elements remain, I think we'll be ok. The delivery may change, but who knows... this could be for the better. The next step will be discovering what the response of the FCC and Arbitron may be. Plus, what will become of the frequencies? All good fodder for the fast approaching future.
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I stayed in my seat and listened politely, though I wanted to jump up and cross-examine the people onstage. Frankly, I couldn't believe what I'd just heard, and it was so important that it needed to be clarified immediately. Could it really be true? I'd been predicting it for years, but when I heard those words, it was like seeing an old friend I loved being knifed in the gut. I felt victimized.
But I also felt vindicated. The moment I am referring to was during our Radio Ink Convergence conference, held earlier this week. For two days, digital experts talked about the surprising growth of online radio listening in the past 12 months. We heard statistics and facts about significant increases. We heard that the iPad is the new transistor radio and the smartphone is the new radio receiver. We heard that Google's YouTube is about to launch a radio service like Pandora, and that Apple is doing the same. So what I heard should have been no surprise, and in a way it wasn't. But it was a shock.
For a decade or more, I have been banging my fist on the table, telling radio that a moment will come that the industry must prepare for. Some listened, but most ignored it as some "out there" prediction from an overzealous futurist. Yet what I'm about to tell you is not a prediction, and it's not a guess. It's a fact. And it was a giant shock for the people who attended Convergence.
On the stage were three representatives of the automotive industry: one from Gartner Research, a highly respected tech research firm; one from the Silicon Valley offices of General Motors, where they design interactive experiences and new technology for their cars; and one who represents an industry association for the connected car. They were on a panel moderated by Buzz Knight of Greater Media, and they talked about the direction of in-car experiences, the digital dashboard, and what will be coming next to the dash of the car -- apps, Internet radio and audio in the car, and other things we knew were on the way. Then, suddenly, this statement was heard:
"AM and FM are being eliminated from the dash of two car companies within two years and will be eliminated from the dash of all cars within five years."
Gulp. Really? Did someone really just say that?
The panelists went on to say that young people don't use radio anymore, and automakers see no need to continue to put radios in the car. The kids want Pandora, Spotify, and other audio services, and if they want radio, they can get it on TuneIn or iHeart or a similar service.
I couldn't sit quietly anymore, so I went to the stage, apologized for interrupting, and started cross-examining the panel to find out if they really meant what they were saying. I was fuming inside, because it appeared they were working from incorrect assumptions. I wanted to find out if they were backed by solid data, or if they just believe "Nobody listens to the radio."...
Continue reading, and leave feedback on the original article
http://ericrhoads.blogs.com/ink_tank/2013/03/a-cold-harsh-reality-for-radio.html
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