Here’s an issue that I never faced in nearly four decades as a broadcaster: having a company official tell me to take down a post on a Facebook account. I didn’t join Facebook until after I was forcibly retired from the biz a couple years ago. But a friend of mine who’s a TV reporter had to deal with the issue earlier this week.
Seems this friend of mine is very well acquainted with one of the candidates for statewide office, having worked with this person in the past. In the course of doing reporting work, my friend read the biography/resume this candidate had put online, and on a Facebook post, my friend commented that the biography/resume was grossly “stretched”, and that this person was hugely exaggerating in a number of areas.
I’m being deliberately vague here to protect the identities of both, but I think you get the idea.
The powers-that-be at my friend’s TV station became aware of the post, and asked my friend to take it down. I can well imagine that conversation – an on-camera reporter making a social media post clearly derogatory to a candidate for state-wide office. Long story short, my friend removed the post, and replaced it with one saying management at the TV station had asked that it be removed.
I sent a message to my friend, saying it didn’t surprise me that the folks in carpet corridor (management) at the TV station asked that the post be removed. My friend’s response was interesting. My friend said unlike nearly everyone else who has an on-camera job at the station, there is absolutely no “promotion” of work things on the Facebook account. It’s a completely personal Facebook page, and my friend has a personal acquaintance with every single “friend” on the account. Only friends with personal connections are allowed access, no “fans from TV land” who don’t really know my friend. Therefore, my friend was annoyed that management intervened, because ALL of us have opinions.
I would have told “management” to jump in the lake, but that’s one reason I’ve been fired so many times. (Me and Juan Williams, I guess…) What would YOU do?
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Highly Addictive; Extremely Dangerous! (Again...)
Our friends at the DNR want deer hunters to make sure they’re careful if they accidentally stumble across a marijuana growing operation when the season opens in a few weeks. You know, these sophisticated factory-like operations are all run by cut-throat Mexican drug cartels, and if you should just chance to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, it’s adios, amigo.
Or not.
This recent uptick in the drug hysteria surrounding the Wisconsin gun deer season is almost laughable. A few poachers stumbled into a big grow operation up in the Nicolet National Forest this summer and everybody from the Federales to the local constables are thumping their chests about the huge find. The DNR came out with a news escape a couple days ago warning hunters not to put themselves in danger by trying to “investigate” a marijuana growing site, should they come across one. The DNR even put out an 800 number for hunters to give confidential tips.
Good thing I’m not an active deer hunter any more. If I were lucky enough to stumble into one of these grow operations, you can be assured I’d “destroy the evidence.” And, hopefully, I’d have enough to keep destroying it for many moons.
Monday, the Federales seized 105 tons of marijuana in Tijuana. That’s got a nice rhyme to it…”marijuana in Tijuana”…Jimmy Buffett or Ted Nugent oughtta write a song. “I smoked marijuana, in Tee-ah-wana (I know, it’s pronounced with two syllables in Spanish, ‘tee-WHANA’), and now I don’t wanna, go home any more.” 105 tons is enough to make a small ripple in the supply chain, and inconvenience some of my southern California friends for a few days.
So, all you Bambi-slayers, be careful when you’re out there this fall. We used to worry about all those Flatlanders from Chicago coming up to “hunt” with their ‘sconnie pals, taking pot-shots at cows; now, we have to worry about our new role as narcs for the narcs.
Or not.
This recent uptick in the drug hysteria surrounding the Wisconsin gun deer season is almost laughable. A few poachers stumbled into a big grow operation up in the Nicolet National Forest this summer and everybody from the Federales to the local constables are thumping their chests about the huge find. The DNR came out with a news escape a couple days ago warning hunters not to put themselves in danger by trying to “investigate” a marijuana growing site, should they come across one. The DNR even put out an 800 number for hunters to give confidential tips.
Good thing I’m not an active deer hunter any more. If I were lucky enough to stumble into one of these grow operations, you can be assured I’d “destroy the evidence.” And, hopefully, I’d have enough to keep destroying it for many moons.
Monday, the Federales seized 105 tons of marijuana in Tijuana. That’s got a nice rhyme to it…”marijuana in Tijuana”…Jimmy Buffett or Ted Nugent oughtta write a song. “I smoked marijuana, in Tee-ah-wana (I know, it’s pronounced with two syllables in Spanish, ‘tee-WHANA’), and now I don’t wanna, go home any more.” 105 tons is enough to make a small ripple in the supply chain, and inconvenience some of my southern California friends for a few days.
So, all you Bambi-slayers, be careful when you’re out there this fall. We used to worry about all those Flatlanders from Chicago coming up to “hunt” with their ‘sconnie pals, taking pot-shots at cows; now, we have to worry about our new role as narcs for the narcs.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Do NOT Rake Your Leaves!
It’s always fun to read Mayor Dave Cieslewicz’s blog on the city website. He is a very talented writer (yes, I have confirmed that he does his own writing) and has a great sense of humor. A few days ago he posted a rant about how the “higher authorities within his household” (that’s gotta be you, Diane) had issued a decree that the leaf-raking be done.
As it is in my home, prime leaf-raking time would fall during periods allocated for other activities, such as watching important football games on TV (as it is in the Mayor’s home) or taking a nap (apparently, also as it is in the Mayor’s home). However, I haven’t raked leaves in nearly a decade. And, I didn’t know it, but now no less an earth-friendly maven than City Recycling Coordinator George Dreckmann has absolved me (and Mayor Cieslewicz) from any angst associated with not raking leaves.
I take my giant lawn tractor out of the shed, set the mowing deck down about a half-inch off the ground, and mow the leaves to death. I wasn’t really aware of it, but this is called “mulching” in environmental circles, and is apparently beneficial to the grass.
I’ve done it since 2001 essentially because I’m lazy, and mowing the leaves to smithereens with my giant lawn tractor gives me a sense of power. Now, I’ve learned that I’m being friendly to the environment by being lazy in this manner, and I’m OK with that.
I don’t live in the city of Madison, but in sort of a no-man’s-land in the Township of Madison, which, I’m told, will some day in the mythical political future be annexed into the city. I wanted us to be annexed into Fitchburg, because now with long-time friend Jay Allen holding the Mayor’s office there, I could constantly browbeat and annoy my old pal Jay with bogus complaints about “wasting my property tax money.”
I’m acquainted personally, though not as well, with Mayor Cieslewicz. I never fired him, which I did to Jay in the far distant past. But, as usual, I digress.
Dreckmann says the City of Madison disposes of around 16 thousand tons of leaves every year, at a cost of 1.1 million dollars. Mayor Cieslewicz suggests that given the benefits of mow-mulching, including saving money and fossil fuel, we should feel no guilt about not raking. My giant lawn tractor is, I’m sure, much more fuel-efficient than a Town of Madison dump truck, so I’ll be doing my part to save the planet again this fall.
Particularly when the Badgers play Iowa Saturday afternoon.
As it is in my home, prime leaf-raking time would fall during periods allocated for other activities, such as watching important football games on TV (as it is in the Mayor’s home) or taking a nap (apparently, also as it is in the Mayor’s home). However, I haven’t raked leaves in nearly a decade. And, I didn’t know it, but now no less an earth-friendly maven than City Recycling Coordinator George Dreckmann has absolved me (and Mayor Cieslewicz) from any angst associated with not raking leaves.
I take my giant lawn tractor out of the shed, set the mowing deck down about a half-inch off the ground, and mow the leaves to death. I wasn’t really aware of it, but this is called “mulching” in environmental circles, and is apparently beneficial to the grass.
I’ve done it since 2001 essentially because I’m lazy, and mowing the leaves to smithereens with my giant lawn tractor gives me a sense of power. Now, I’ve learned that I’m being friendly to the environment by being lazy in this manner, and I’m OK with that.
I don’t live in the city of Madison, but in sort of a no-man’s-land in the Township of Madison, which, I’m told, will some day in the mythical political future be annexed into the city. I wanted us to be annexed into Fitchburg, because now with long-time friend Jay Allen holding the Mayor’s office there, I could constantly browbeat and annoy my old pal Jay with bogus complaints about “wasting my property tax money.”
I’m acquainted personally, though not as well, with Mayor Cieslewicz. I never fired him, which I did to Jay in the far distant past. But, as usual, I digress.
Dreckmann says the City of Madison disposes of around 16 thousand tons of leaves every year, at a cost of 1.1 million dollars. Mayor Cieslewicz suggests that given the benefits of mow-mulching, including saving money and fossil fuel, we should feel no guilt about not raking. My giant lawn tractor is, I’m sure, much more fuel-efficient than a Town of Madison dump truck, so I’ll be doing my part to save the planet again this fall.
Particularly when the Badgers play Iowa Saturday afternoon.
Monday, October 18, 2010
The Whole Truth
So, the woman who wants to be Lieutenant Governor, Rebecca Kleefisch, is out with a TV ad that proclaims we have the best health care in the world, and if it wasn’t for that fact, she wouldn’t be here today to proudly run with Scott Walker.
For those who don’t follow the game closely, Kleefisch is a former Milwaukee TV personality who had a pretty large tumor removed from her innards a few weeks ago, and has apparently made a complete recovery. In the ad, she goes on to condemn what she calls a “government take-over of health care” and infers that Tom Barrett is wrong and bad because he favors this “take-over.”
I don’t even know where to start in picking apart this deceptive ad. Let’s start with Madame Kleefisch’s health insurance. She has coverage through her husband, who is…..wait for it….a state representative from Oconomowoc. So the Kleefisches have state GOVERNMENT insurance coverage. “Oh, but it’s a private insurance company policy”, whines the Mrs., when confronted about the duplicity in her ad.
That’s right, Becky. It’s a private company. But your coverage is paid for, courtesy of a contribution of around twenty grand a year from the taxpayers of the state of Wisconsin. So, you have, no matter how you slice the dice, GOVERNMENT insurance coverage. You have allowed the government to “take over” your health care, Becky. You and Joel are firmly attached to the state teat when it comes to health insurance.
You can make the case that we have the best health-care system in the world; you cannot make the case that we have the best health-care access in the world.
What the Kleefisches of the world don’t seem to understand is that so many people are essentially shut out of that system. Worse yet, they don’t seem to care.
The election is two weeks from today. I can’t wait.
For those who don’t follow the game closely, Kleefisch is a former Milwaukee TV personality who had a pretty large tumor removed from her innards a few weeks ago, and has apparently made a complete recovery. In the ad, she goes on to condemn what she calls a “government take-over of health care” and infers that Tom Barrett is wrong and bad because he favors this “take-over.”
I don’t even know where to start in picking apart this deceptive ad. Let’s start with Madame Kleefisch’s health insurance. She has coverage through her husband, who is…..wait for it….a state representative from Oconomowoc. So the Kleefisches have state GOVERNMENT insurance coverage. “Oh, but it’s a private insurance company policy”, whines the Mrs., when confronted about the duplicity in her ad.
That’s right, Becky. It’s a private company. But your coverage is paid for, courtesy of a contribution of around twenty grand a year from the taxpayers of the state of Wisconsin. So, you have, no matter how you slice the dice, GOVERNMENT insurance coverage. You have allowed the government to “take over” your health care, Becky. You and Joel are firmly attached to the state teat when it comes to health insurance.
You can make the case that we have the best health-care system in the world; you cannot make the case that we have the best health-care access in the world.
What the Kleefisches of the world don’t seem to understand is that so many people are essentially shut out of that system. Worse yet, they don’t seem to care.
The election is two weeks from today. I can’t wait.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
A Paraprosdokian Delight!
I hadn’t heard or read the word “paraprosdokian” since my college days, but late last week, it was the subject line of an e-mail I got from my youngest sister. She’s an elementary school teacher in Oshkosh, and I hope she’s not inflicting paraprosdokians on her fifth-grade class!
A paraprosdokian (the word comes from Greek, meaning “beyond expectation”) is a sentence that ends in an unusual way, where you think you know how the sentence is going to end, but then there’s a twist at the end. Groucho Marx and Henny Youngman were among the best practitioners of the paraprosdokian. One of Groucho’s many fine paraprosdokians: “I’ve had a perfectly wonderful evening, but this wasn’t it.” And there’s Henny Youngman’s most famous line: “Take my wife – please!”
They teach stuff like this in creative writing classes. Sometimes the paraprosdokian is a single sentence, like “Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car” or “To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target.” Sometimes they’re two sentences, like “You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice” or “Always borrow money from a pessimist. He won’t expect it back.”
I vaguely recall being taught, in some class many years ago, about the “garden path sentence”, where the ear is led to believe the sentence is going to conclude one way, and it doesn’t, such as “Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.” Often, it’s two short sentences that create the garden path, as in “Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.”
I’m not sure what this is called, but I pulled it on my kids in their pre-teen years just about every week, and they (politely?) laughed every time. I guess it’s sort of a riddle, and it goes “What does a dog do that a man slips on?” The answer is “pants”, and it’s all in how you deliver the line, but it became a ritual in our house that whenever I started saying “What does a dog do…” the kids would have a contest to see who could be the first to yell “PANTS!!!!!”
I love words, and how we use them. I guess that’s why I was so tough on the broadcasters and news writers I worked with for decades. Back then, one of my favorite lines was “If I agreed with you, we’d both be wrong.”
A paraprosdokian (the word comes from Greek, meaning “beyond expectation”) is a sentence that ends in an unusual way, where you think you know how the sentence is going to end, but then there’s a twist at the end. Groucho Marx and Henny Youngman were among the best practitioners of the paraprosdokian. One of Groucho’s many fine paraprosdokians: “I’ve had a perfectly wonderful evening, but this wasn’t it.” And there’s Henny Youngman’s most famous line: “Take my wife – please!”
They teach stuff like this in creative writing classes. Sometimes the paraprosdokian is a single sentence, like “Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car” or “To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target.” Sometimes they’re two sentences, like “You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice” or “Always borrow money from a pessimist. He won’t expect it back.”
I vaguely recall being taught, in some class many years ago, about the “garden path sentence”, where the ear is led to believe the sentence is going to conclude one way, and it doesn’t, such as “Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.” Often, it’s two short sentences that create the garden path, as in “Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.”
I’m not sure what this is called, but I pulled it on my kids in their pre-teen years just about every week, and they (politely?) laughed every time. I guess it’s sort of a riddle, and it goes “What does a dog do that a man slips on?” The answer is “pants”, and it’s all in how you deliver the line, but it became a ritual in our house that whenever I started saying “What does a dog do…” the kids would have a contest to see who could be the first to yell “PANTS!!!!!”
I love words, and how we use them. I guess that’s why I was so tough on the broadcasters and news writers I worked with for decades. Back then, one of my favorite lines was “If I agreed with you, we’d both be wrong.”
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Friday Media Rant: "Officer-Involved" Shooting
Earlier this week, there was an “officer-involved” shooting on the south side of Madison. I know this because the three local TV news operations all told me about it. Of course, they didn’t bother to hyphenate the term; they just copied it right off the top of the police incident report. One of the stations further reported that the young man who was shot by the deputy was “transported” to a “local hospital.”
Transported? Did they beam him there, like in Star Trek? There are four “local hospitals” – UW, Veterans, Meriter, and St. Mary. Why not just say which one? At least they didn’t say “rushed” to a local hospital. (It would be news if the rescue crew lollygagged, stopped for coffee and a sandwich, and took their sweet time in getting the gunshot victim to the ER.)
Back to the “officer-involved shooting.” First of all, nobody talks like that. Not even cops. But every one of the TV stations reported it that way, for reasons which have long escaped me. Apparently it’s the “copy and paste” style of writing that’s so prevalent today. Just copy the police report and paste it into your newsroom word processor. That is, after all, what highly skilled reporters and journalists do these days, isn’t it?
Every so often, they’ll tell us about somebody who was “extricated” from a vehicle and rushed to a local hospital. God forbid they should alter the language on the police report and say the wreck was so bad the person had to be cut out of the car, the way 99.9% of us would.
Later on in the newscast, the traffic person told us there were “no reports of any accidents.” Who talks like that? Only the local traffic reporters. No reports of ANY accidents. Why do they insist on sticking the word “any” into the sentence? Nobody talks like that, except all our local traffic reporters. I’m always thankful, sitting on my wide butt in my huge easy chair in the media room of El Rancho Morrissey, that the local TV stations are thoughtful enough to give us quick traffic reports. I always trusted that if there was a wreck so bad that it tied up traffic in knots for miles, they’d make a point of telling us on the news, anyway.
Next time, we’ll talk about the “ay-thee” disease to which so many local talking heads have fallen victim.
Transported? Did they beam him there, like in Star Trek? There are four “local hospitals” – UW, Veterans, Meriter, and St. Mary. Why not just say which one? At least they didn’t say “rushed” to a local hospital. (It would be news if the rescue crew lollygagged, stopped for coffee and a sandwich, and took their sweet time in getting the gunshot victim to the ER.)
Back to the “officer-involved shooting.” First of all, nobody talks like that. Not even cops. But every one of the TV stations reported it that way, for reasons which have long escaped me. Apparently it’s the “copy and paste” style of writing that’s so prevalent today. Just copy the police report and paste it into your newsroom word processor. That is, after all, what highly skilled reporters and journalists do these days, isn’t it?
Every so often, they’ll tell us about somebody who was “extricated” from a vehicle and rushed to a local hospital. God forbid they should alter the language on the police report and say the wreck was so bad the person had to be cut out of the car, the way 99.9% of us would.
Later on in the newscast, the traffic person told us there were “no reports of any accidents.” Who talks like that? Only the local traffic reporters. No reports of ANY accidents. Why do they insist on sticking the word “any” into the sentence? Nobody talks like that, except all our local traffic reporters. I’m always thankful, sitting on my wide butt in my huge easy chair in the media room of El Rancho Morrissey, that the local TV stations are thoughtful enough to give us quick traffic reports. I always trusted that if there was a wreck so bad that it tied up traffic in knots for miles, they’d make a point of telling us on the news, anyway.
Next time, we’ll talk about the “ay-thee” disease to which so many local talking heads have fallen victim.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Recycling Isn't Always Good
So, FAILED Brewers skipper Ken Macha has an interview with the FAILED Pittsburgh Pirates, and who knows? Macha may just wind up managing the Pirates next season. Wouldn’t surprise me a bit. It’s the coaching carousel, where no matter how bad you stink up the joint in one city, there’s always another team that says “hey – let’s see if we can get him!”
Apparently, there are only a certain number of guys who can ever be major league managers, and if you thought the United States Senate was an exclusive club, take a look at the ranks of Major League Baseball managers. It’s like a Who’s Who of has-beens who bounce from team to team, stinking up the town in one city, and moving on to stink up the joint in another town.
How is it possible that Dusty Baker is still employed as a Major League Baseball manager? He had one decent year with the Giants, but FAILED to move the team into the Fall Classic; he stunk up the joint so bad in Chicago with the hapless Cubs, failing again to move an expensive and talented lineup (Sosa, Prior, Wood, et.al.) past the first round. So, the Reds hire him, and, no surprise given his record, the Reds got knocked out of the first round of the playoffs by the Phillies a few days ago.
I have worked a couple times in my former life as both a faculty adjunct (hired-gun teacher) and as a full-time university administrator and I can tell you from first-hand experience that institutions of higher education, for all their liberal bravado, are actually some of the most conservative places on earth. It takes FOREVER to change ANYTHING.
Football isn’t really different. Once in a great while, someone - Matt Millen comes to mind - fails so badly that they’re out of the ranks of football management forever. Millen’s record as CEO of the Lions is the WORST performance in NFL history, and….shockingly….he’s no longer connected with pro football. (Ex-jock announcer doesn’t count. And that’s a rant for another day.)
Ned Yost presided over the greatest skid in Brewers history, and was fired before the ’08 season ended, but he took over managerial duties for the Royals in May.
Don’t be surprised if the Pirates or some other team hire the useless Macha. Bobby Cox finally retired, so the Braves will have to find some worn-out has-been to run the club next year. Who knows – it might just be that loser Ken Macha.
Apparently, there are only a certain number of guys who can ever be major league managers, and if you thought the United States Senate was an exclusive club, take a look at the ranks of Major League Baseball managers. It’s like a Who’s Who of has-beens who bounce from team to team, stinking up the town in one city, and moving on to stink up the joint in another town.
How is it possible that Dusty Baker is still employed as a Major League Baseball manager? He had one decent year with the Giants, but FAILED to move the team into the Fall Classic; he stunk up the joint so bad in Chicago with the hapless Cubs, failing again to move an expensive and talented lineup (Sosa, Prior, Wood, et.al.) past the first round. So, the Reds hire him, and, no surprise given his record, the Reds got knocked out of the first round of the playoffs by the Phillies a few days ago.
I have worked a couple times in my former life as both a faculty adjunct (hired-gun teacher) and as a full-time university administrator and I can tell you from first-hand experience that institutions of higher education, for all their liberal bravado, are actually some of the most conservative places on earth. It takes FOREVER to change ANYTHING.
Football isn’t really different. Once in a great while, someone - Matt Millen comes to mind - fails so badly that they’re out of the ranks of football management forever. Millen’s record as CEO of the Lions is the WORST performance in NFL history, and….shockingly….he’s no longer connected with pro football. (Ex-jock announcer doesn’t count. And that’s a rant for another day.)
Ned Yost presided over the greatest skid in Brewers history, and was fired before the ’08 season ended, but he took over managerial duties for the Royals in May.
Don’t be surprised if the Pirates or some other team hire the useless Macha. Bobby Cox finally retired, so the Braves will have to find some worn-out has-been to run the club next year. Who knows – it might just be that loser Ken Macha.
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