Ric Chetter - From Radioland

Episode 341: The Cost of Free Entertainment

It's the age old question, should entertainment be free? How much advertisement justifies a free show? How much should one pay for advertisement free content? All these questions are basically answered with what the market can bear and what the patience is of the audience. There is quite a bit to unpack with this topic especially these days. People spending more time dealing with streaming content are trying to figure out the balance between needing to be entertained and with what discretionary income to pay for such things. Also in this episode, Ric visits a Covid-19 overflow ward. 

NEXT WEEK: Meme Me

 

Episode 340: Video Killed The Internet Star

It is arguable whether The Buggles were anywhere near correct. To be fair, Viacom killed MTV, so there is that. Anyway, all the talk of Tik-Tok and other such video outlets has now led all of us down an interesting time line. First, there was Periscope, then along came Vine, Facebook video was coming along and now there is Instagram Reels. There is something they all have in common. First, they are all platforms for disposable video and the second is that they are not YouTube. Big differences here. In this episode, Ric takes you down this timeline and looks at the one psychological thing that is driving all of these platforms.

NEXT WEEK: Subscription Serviced Entertainment

 

Episode 339: Facebook Jesus

There are churches out there who are deeply concerned with their current business model. Thanks to the pandemic, attendance is down by a large amount as people continue with social distancing. Yes, there are some religious institutions out there who are embracing digital platforms, but by and large, many are not. In this episode, Ric gets a little snarky with this idea of trying to run a church in a cashless society. He have exposed more than meets the eye on this enlightened episode.

NEXT WEEK: Disposable Video Platforms

Episode 338: Shaving With Occam's Razor

In a time where we are flooded with news, opinion and terrible perspectives, we increasingly find ourselves dealing with the dearth of conspiracy theories. It seems, the more ridiculous the theory, the more notoriety it seems to get. Why is this? Why can't people simply accept the facts of any story as being the cause, root and solution to any issue being thrust upon society at large? In this episode, Ric takes a look at why these things seem to be getting worse and worse and what can be done to not necessarily stop the flow of false news, but at least what anyone can do to understand all this foolishness. 

NEXT WEEK: Our Lady of The Holy Browser

 

Episode 337: Paint A Rosy Picture

In this day of altered states of media, corporate reigns supreme. When it comes to getting information of either an entertainment nature or educational bent, there are a million sources. One of which Ric is involved in revolves around the print media. As odd as it may sound to have a radio guy write a column, he does (so far, as of this publication) for a nationally owned magazine with a syndication in Memphis. Apparently, as Ric explains in this episode, umbrage has been taken on the corporate level because of something Ric wrote. 

 

NEXT WEEK:  The Rise of Lies & Conspiracies

 

Episode 336: We Have Watched Everything

One of the basic needs of people during a quarantine seems to have been Netflix. The issue is that Netflix hasn't been able to keep up with demand. Not in a connected sort of way. In a content way. It would appear the quality of some of the productions they bought into fairly recently were not all that great. It presents an interesting problem. Just how long, in this cord cutter society, are people going to suffer through bad shows before they decide they have had enough? It's a viable question for sure. Especially when factor in the simple fact that more people than anyone cares to admit watched all of Tiger King. And let's face it, that was pretty bad for television, even by Netflix standards.

NEXT WEEK: The Copy Writer Blues

 

Episode 335: Facebook's Legitimacy Issue

It's hard to say exactly who thinks Facebook is a legitimate source for anything. Seriously, who takes Facebook seriously at all? That question has since become more valid as time has progressed. That same question is also being asked by major companies who used to give the social media platform money for advertisements. There is certainly something to this and it seems to have started when Twitter began labeling certain tweets from the President of The United States as being devoid of any truth. So, why didn't Facebook do the same? They tried and failed. Miserably. Ric knows because he got caught in a weird algorithm that kept posting something legitimate. In this episode, Ric takes a look at how that works and why major advertisers seem to be exiting the company that created social media. Also, Ric tells you about an upcoming special guest and the latest from the graveyard.

NEXT WEEK: Netflix, WTF?

 

Episode 334: Ain't Nothing on The Evening News

We have all had that conversation with people who invariably say they don't watch the evening news. Then there are those who will admit they do but tell you they hate watching. Which begs the question for both of these people, why? The answer is really quite simple. There is nothing to see here. In this episode, Ric tells you about his time in the world of television news and what it was once like. Now with the internet hanging around, it seems sort of redundant to have such an institution around. What purpose does it serve? Here's a hint, it doesn't serve the public any more. Plus an update from the graveyard.

NEXT WEEK: Facebook's money trouble.

Episode 333: Social Media Toxicity

When one looks at all the different social media platforms out there, you would see they are all fairly different in approach to one another. Ranging from sort of useful to downright bogus, there is a little something out there for everybody. However, if you were to look at all these platforms with one particular filter, you find only one as being the single most toxic of them all. Here's the thing, it's probably not the one you are thinking of. In this episode, Ric takes a look at how one platform practically fosters the notion of being able to say anything you want by hiding behind your keyboard. Not one of these people would say what they say on the platform to anyone's face without the fear of having to endure an old fashioned Memphis ass beating. Plus, Ric's new YouTube show, Drinking With Dead People debuts at midnight.

NEXT WEEK: Just what is the role of television news these days?

 

Episode 332: It's A Big Problem

It is one thing to get into a pandemic, but it is a completely different thing to get out of one. There are so many things to consider and the prudent among us would like to think you should get back to some sort of normalcy in a practical and safe manner. Apparently, a lot of people in power didn't get that memo. In this episode, Ric takes a look at what is happening around the country as things begin to open back up. There is a big problem. It appears The United States is not ready. The numbers of infections are rising at a rapid pace as well as the numbers of deaths. At the very same time, there are those in power who say otherwise and this puts some people in a bad spot. They need the money and they need the work without getting sick. We are talking about musicians here. 

NEXT WEEK: The granddaddy of all toxic social media.