I just returned from the Broadcast Engineering and B&C News Technology Summit, which was held in Atlanta, GA. You can read a report on the conference inside the October issue of Broadcast Engineering. The two-day event was filled with panels and experts covering a range of topics focused on news production and workflow. This year’s conference theme might be described as learning how to do more with less. For me, it was the “less” part that proved troublesome. more…
NBC Universal president and CEO Jeff Zucker has to be credited with coming up with what has to be the most memorable media phrase of decade. In addressing content owners’ attempts to profit from digital delivery, he said we’re “exchanging analog dollars for digital pennies.” He updated his comment last May when he changed it to, “We’re up to digital dimes.” more…
It isn’t hard to find new ways to tax people. Politicians spend their entire lives trying to perfect the process primarily to keep their offices. The first step in arguing for any new tax is for the politician to declare that some service or product is missing from some group of people. That missing service or product could be healthcare, television, or in this example — broadband. In the eyes of elected officials, the only possible “solution” to such a perceived need is that money be taken from one group and redistributed to the other, in their opinion needy, group. Politicians are such caring people, aren’t they? more…
The FCC opened a Pandora’s box by asking for public comment on the definition of broadband. The result has been a long list of proposed definitions served up by competitive and self-interested groups all claiming to have the only correct characterization. The problem is there is little commonality between the proposals.
If the players can’t even agree on a common definition of broadband, how can we hope to employ performance measurements of such services? So far, about the only commonality is that they all disagree on how to define it. more…
Now that you’re comfortable with your DTV and HD build out, it’s time to sit back and relax, right?
Not if you believe the headlines. A brief tour of news related to 3D television may tempt you to head to the bar for an adult beverage. Broadcast engineers are about to have their entire facilities challenged with the need to handle 3D programming. more…
I’ve written previously about social networking and how tomorrow’s audiences will be vastly different from those we serve today. One goal may then be to build and adapt our facilities to move as expeditiously into that arena as possible. Let’s review some research on social networking and those who compose these general groups to better attract them to our stations.
A research project titled “Creating & Connecting/Research and Guidelines on Online Social — and Educational — Networking,” by the National School Boards Association and funded by Microsoft, Verizon and News Corp., revealed some astonishing facts about young viewers. more…
We’ll look back on 2009 as the year when social media became legitimate. There has been explosive growth in the social media landscape. YouTube, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and many other sites now command more eyeballs than television ever did. These spaces are personal and immediate, and they connect on an intimate level. more…
Jim was elated when he told his wife about his promotion to chief engineer. He had worked hard at the station for several years and saw the new assignment as his just reward. His 7-year-old son was listening to the conversation. After a time, he asked, “Does the mean you don’t have to fix things now, Dad?” “Not exactly,” his father replied. “Now my problems will be with people, not equipment.” Little did he know then how true that statement would be.
As the leader of a group of people, Jim will be faced with resolving software (people) problems rather than hardware (equipment) problems. It goes without saying that Jim will no longer be able to apply the engineer’s time-tested repair techniques of hitting, kicking or just replacing the defective device. more…
In part I and part II of this series, different types of problem-causing behavior have been described, along with some tips to manage them. First you need to recognize your own behavior; then you need to recognize the behavior of the other person. Now, let’s look at some of the triggers that launch people into their “difficult behavior” mode. more…
I wonder how many Broadcast Engineering readers have lost their jobs because of the economic slump. Are you now unemployed because your radio or TV station laid you off? If not you, then I’ll bet you know someone who’s lost their job because of cutbacks.
Times couldn’t be much worse for broadcasters (and most other businesses). Yet, there continues to be an unending drumbeat to give more “free” money to certain segments of our economy. more…
I just returned from the Broadcast Engineering and B&C News Technology Summit, which was held in Atlanta, GA. You can read a report on the conference inside the October issue of Broadcast Engineering. The two-day event was filled with panels and experts covering a range of topics focused on news production and workflow. This year’s conference theme might be described as learning how to do more with less. For me, it was the “less” part that proved troublesome. more…
