Ric Chetter - From Radioland

Episode 283: What's News

We live in this strange 24 hour news cycle. We say that it is strange even though we are all so used to it now. Thanks to social media, we see stuff happening around the world as it happens. The problem is, too many writers and presenters don't like the facts getting in the way of a good story. This is where the dreaded fake news hangs out. Because of this, our own beliefs tend to be rattled, by design. This stuff that happens out there is not necessarily meant to change your point of view so much as it is designed to either accept what you are hearing as fact or worse, to outright piss you off. In this episode, Ric explores this situation and what you can do to make sure what you are learning about, in any situation, is the absolute fact.

NEXT WEEK: Here's an idea...

 

 

Episode 282: What A Cover Act

There it is, you see a post about one of your favorite bands in the whole world is coming to your town for a show. You grew up with their music, you have all of their records, it's been years since you have seen them live. You are going to the show. When you get there you realize that not one member of the band on stage is from the original act. They sound the same. They sort of look the same. But they are playing music that is ostensibly not theirs. It belongs to the band. But, here we are at this show and we paid how much to see this cover act? In this episode, Ric talks about the business that is keeping the name alive of these classic rock acts all for the sake of selling tickets. Every member has been replaced though, but are they still the same? Also, the art of letting go. Plus, music from Tullie Brae.

NEXT WEEK: The 24 hour news cycle is making you dizzy. And it's getting worse.

Episode 281: An Advertising Conundrum

Advertising used to be so simple. You get to tell an audience of a platform about your business or whatever you want (within reason) in exchange for a few bucks. Now it got weird. Terrestrial radio kind of screwed that up, frankly. They stiffed advertisers simply by chasing the dollar and sold out those dedicated to advertising their wares only to be left holding the bag. Now the internet is sucking up that revenue in all sorts of strange ways. One involves the useless short term gain of social media advertising. In this episode, Ric takes a critical look at what is going on out there in one form of this business and how advertisers are still getting screwed. 

NEXT WEEK: If You're Happy And You Know It...

Episode 280: Plasticized

Humanity seems to be choking to death on plastic. We see it in the news all the time. The amount of plastic in the oceans is staggering. So much so it is showing up in the seafood we eat. Kind of scary when you think about that. But there is a fascinating thing going on at the moment. There is a fairly large group of people in this country who seem to have an issue with the notion of cleaning up the place. Why would this be? In this episode, Ric takes a look what drives some of these ridiculous notions. Also in this episode, Ric takes a look at the apparent shift in podcast consumption. Some interesting things are going on mainly due to Apple. 

NEXT WEEK: Advertisers vs Dinosaurs - The Battle of The Century

 

Episode 279: Too Connected

There are some fantastic technological things at our fingertips. We can do a lot of great things. You can attribute a good chunk of these advancements to computers. More specifically, your phone. The things we get to do with that device come with an interesting trade-off. One such thing is dealing with Facebook's Messenger. Oh, it can be quite the pain in the ass. But is there something more nefarious going on? Also in this episode, Ric takes a look at kind of a strange scenario that involved pretty much all of the Target stores in the United States. All of their registers stopped working at the same time. Does this point to a serious weakness in our technology? Some scary scenarios are ahead. Listen now.

NEXT WEEK: Paper or Plastic?

 

Episode 278: Who Wants a Slice of Data Pie?

The thing about the internet is that content used to be king. What really is more valuable is data. Numbers. You. There are those out there who make it their business to keep an eye an where you are going on the internet, what it is you are looking at and what it is you are searching for and buying. This information is pure gold to advertising agencies. The thing is, that information is not really all that valuable. In this episode, Ric takes a look at Ad Tech and how it doesn't work and how more and more companies are shying away from it, after they have taken it for a test drive. There is a very simple formula for working with advertisers in a broadcast and Ric will explain. Listen now.

NEXT WEEK: The Messenger We All Want To Shoot

Episode 277: Riding Those Coat Tails

In this episode, Ric tells the story of the two years he was asked to be a judge for an Elvis Tribute Artist competition. He wasn't asked to do a third year for reasons that will be made clear. The gist of the story though is about how these performers are riding the coat tails of a dead man. Even though there may be a market for this sort of thing, the idea that there are those who are actively making a living off of someone else's creativity and hard work is kind of wrong, in Ric's opinion. This sort of thing happens all over the place, not just with a bunch of guys acting like Elvis. Plus, the joys of being a homeowner.

NEXT WEEK: The podcast flotsam. 

Episode 276: Don't Look Over There

There are a few things you might hear regarding the news media. Aside from the fact a good number of them are some form of jackal. You might hear people say there is one thing happening to "distract" you from something else happening. It begs the question of how stupid do some people think the general public really is? The idea you can only hold one thought at a time when it comes to something of "national importance" is ludicrous. In this episode, Ric is going to prove to you your own ability to maintain tons of thoughts at the same time. Plus, how do you really research something in the news? Ric will show you how he does just that. Also, it is the Memorial Day weekend and Ric has a little history about what it all means.

NEXT WEEK: Riding those coat tails to oblivion. 

Episode 275: The Third Act Blues

It's a problem plaguing Hollywood. We've all seen it a million times and it is very frustrating when it unfolds in front of you. Much like what is happening now as a major TV show wraps up its final episode. In this episode, Ric talks about how writers can have a great run of a show or movie(s) only to completely ruin the thing by trying to end it gracefully. Those of you who are Game of Thrones fans are becoming unwitting victims of this phenomenon right now. So much so that groups of fans have started petitions demanding the final season be re-done. It won't happen, but then again, it's hard to stop a shipwreck. 

Episode 274: Wine Mommy Loves You

There is a funny yet sad part of our society surrounding the culture of the wine mommy. You know her, she sits around all day with a glass of wine in her hand bitching to anyone who will listen about how hard her life is or how useless her husband is. Her name is probably Becky and her only friends are other wine moms. The only other thing worse than this person is the wine mommy who is full of pills because she just can't cope with anything. For the most part they are an ignorable part of our society, that is until they refuse to vaccinate their children. Welcome to 2019 and the return of the plague.

NEXT WEEK: Bacon & Coffee