Remembering Mr. Babe

Posted on May 17, 2019 by bvanrysdam

A friend of mine on Facebook found a video of the Village Boys who played hillbilly/swing music back in the 1940s. The photo used as the thumbnail for the video features several musicians and a very young Edward V. “Babe” Fritsch standing behind a KTRH microphone.

I went to work for KTRH in 1981 as a studio producer/production assistant. Part of my duties included working with the station’s traffic department (the people who schedule the commercials). That was when I first meet Mr. Babe.

At first, Mr. Babe was simply terrifying. He was well into his 70’s and had no patience with anyone and yelled a lot. He was the kind of person you went out of your way to avoid, but then I got to know him through some of the older employees that worked there.

Back in those days, radio was not as volatile as today. Working your whole life at one radio station was very common and many employees developed life-long friendships. One such employee was Mary Vavasour. Mary was the station mom. Needed advice, Mary could help you. Had a little too much to drink at lunch (a common ailment for many sales executives then), Mary would tuck you in your chair behind your desk for a quick cat-nap.

Another gift of Mary’s was telling stories about the old days and the fun they had. There was announcer named Bill Zak who would always tease Mary about this and that. One day, Mary put on black makeup under her eye. When Bill asked what happened, she told him sobbingly that her husband hit her because he thought she was flirting with Bill. According to Mary, Bill’s face hit the floor and she burst out laughing knowing that she finally got even with him.

Mary also shared stories about Mr. Babe and that’s when I learned who the man I worked with and was terrified of, really was.

Back in the day (the 1940s), Mr. Babe was the host of a radio program called “Hillbilly Bandwagon” (Lily Bunyard who was the longtime receptionist for KTRH/KLOL remembered listening to the program as a young girl). The program was only 15 minutes long (quite common back in those days) and would feature various local and national acts.

In addition to being the host, Mr. Babe was also credited with writing several songs including “Baby I Ain’t Satisfied”, “I’m Doin’ a Peach of Job (with a little Peach down in Georgia” and “Honey, Honey, Honey”.

One day, Mr. Babe told me how the local movie theater had someone who played the organ between shows. He son ended up in some band that started with a z (that being Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top). I was also told that Mr. Babe helped bring a very young Elvis Presley to Houston because of his connections.

Mr. Babe was a character to the very end. One day, he was leaving work carrying a brown paper bag. When I asked what was in the bag he said underwear. He was returning them because the person sold him a pair that was too tight. He said every time he farted, his hat came off!

Mr. Babe also used to like to walk through the newsroom asking the young ladies if they wanted to run away to Mexico with him saying you’ll never leave the room (obviously not very PC, but they never seemed offended). They would usually giggle and say Oh Mr. Babe, you are too much!

I remember a female sales executive coming to me crying once because Mr. Babe yelled at her. I explained that Mr. Babe yells at everyone because he’s going deaf!

One day when Mr. Babe didn’t show up to work, Mary Vavasour went to check on him and found he had passed away. He didn’t have any close family, but before his funeral, one of his nephews came to gather his belongings we collected from his desk which included sheet music of songs Mr. Babe had written. His nephew was amazed to learn about his past. He told me the one thing he remembered about visiting his uncle was that the radio was always on and tuned to KTRH every time. I don’t know if this true, but was told it was in Mr. Jones’s (the person who owned the station) will hat Mr. Babe would be allowed to work at KTRH for as long as he wanted.

Looking back, I wonder what Mr. Babe thought of us. Our sister station (KLOL) was very outrageous and I am sure we all must made his head spin. I wish I would have talked to him more about the old days. Later, Bill Zak, another longtime KTRH employee shared stories with me from when they broadcast from the Rice Hotel which I still savor to this day and cherish those memories of “the good old days”.

Shared experiences

Posted on May 14, 2019 by bvanrysdam

Before I begin, I would like preface this by acknowledging that the world does not stay still and is forever changing. Whether for the good, or bad is up to the beholder to decide, but as the saying goes “the only thing that is consistent is change”.

One big change that has taken place in the past 50 years is the loss of shared experiences. With a limited amount of media outlets, less entertainment options and fewer choices, more people tended to share in the same events.

The Jack Benny Show is just one example. The program made its network television debut back in 1950. At the time, there were only three major television networks (NBC, CBS and ABC), which of course meant there were not a lot of choices.

In the 14 years it aired, The Jack Benny Show averaged a 33 rating (the 2019 Super Bowl achieved a 41 rating). Compare that number to the 7.5 rating NCIS earned the week of April 15, 2019 and you begin to see what huge difference there is in audience share. It’s also important to note The Jack Benny Show was not always the most watched program every week.

What would happen is a very large part of America tuned in to The Jack Benny show every Sunday night and then talked with co-workers, neighbors and friends about the show. It was a shared experience.

Fast forward to today with 100’s of television/cable stations, DVR’s and streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime and you can see that type of shared experience is harder to come by. There are still examples of where the nation gathers to witness something in large numbers (the Super Bowl, awards shows, etc.) but those are getting harder and harder to come by.

And it’s not just television. Radio stations and formats have multiplied over the years. Add in satellite radio, Pandora and Spotify and well, you get the picture (nod of the cap to Charles Osgood and “see you on the radio”).

Researchers at Brigham Young University carried out a series of studies that showed those who shared positive experiences with others felt happier, claiming their life was more meaningful, and reported greater life satisfaction.

In study conducted by Harvard, 68 participants were split into 17 groups of four: one participant in each group was randomly assigned to watch what they were told was an ‘interesting’ video, while the remaining three watched a ‘boring’ video.

Afterwards, those who watched the ‘boring’ video felt better than those who had seen the more entertaining offering, but watched it alone.

In his 1943 paper, A Theory of Human Motivation, humanist psychologist Abraham Maslow stated that humans share certain needs, and that these needs can be arranged in a hierarchy, from the most basic ‘deficiency’ needs (those that make us feel anxious until they’re met) to the higher level ‘growth’ needs (those that make us feel happy and fulfilled).

As our lives continue to be more invested online searching for that next offering to keep our attention, the internet that once promised an end to isolation is now forcing people to re-examine the importance of the shared experience.

That has to hurt

Posted on April 26, 2019 by bvanrysdam

I always enjoy the NFL draft with its drama and intrigue. I have to admit, I was a little surprised (all right, shocked would be a better word) when I saw the front sports page of the Houston Chronicle.Now I realize Ed Oliver is a local guy and its a great story, but one wonders what the Houston Texans (who had the 23rd pick) felt about that. The chronicle did include a photo of Tytus Howard (postage size) and a story by John McClain on the cover. Admittedly, I am a die-hard Buffalo Bills fan, but even I have to say…

Come on man!!!

A job well done

Posted on April 9, 2019 by bvanrysdam

Kudos to the Houston Chronicle for producing original reporting that makes a difference in our community. Their coverage of how the state of Texas funds public education has woken up lawmakers who are taking a serious look the way the school endowment is funded and what can be done to improve it.

When you include their other investigations, You understand the importance of going beyond the headlines and uncovering what is really taking place.

Abuse of Power

Heart Failure

Denied

Was it something she said?

Posted on April 9, 2019 by bvanrysdam

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjyn Nielsen recently resigned. The besieged top person charged with protecting our borders often butted heads with President Trump and his desire to enforce tougher immigration.

“I hope that the next Secretary will have the support of Congress and the courts in fixing the laws which have impeded our ability to fully secure America’s borders and which have contributed to discord in our nation’s discourse,” Nielsen wrote in the two-page letter. “Our country — and the men and women of DHS — deserve to have all the tools and resources they need to execute the mission entrusted to them.”

What I find interesting is the timing of her resignation. It has been reported that Nielsen had no intention of quitting when she went to the meeting Sunday with the president and that she was forced to step down. The announcement of her departure came shortly after the meeting.

So why now? I wonder if Trump watched her interview with CNN’s Chris Como.

During the interview (which was not included by CNN in this clip), Como acknowledged the very difficult job border agents have and how he witnessed many of them showing compassion and working hard to keep everyone safe in the shelters. Como also pointed out how the current immigration laws often impede border agents from doing their job.

Nielson responded by thanking Como for recognizing the work being done and appreciated him making that point. She also agreed that immigration laws have to be improved to help solve this issue.

So was that the preverbal straw that broke the camel’s back? One has to wonder what Trump thought of his secretary appearing on CNN and thanking the host. The president and CNN have butted heads since he announced his candidacy and if history is any indication, it had to go over like a lead zeppelin.

Maybe it was time to for Nielson to go, but it sure seems like her CNN appearance did not do her any favors.

Return with us to those thrilling days of yesteryear

Posted on April 8, 2019 by bvanrysdam

iHEARTMEDIA is at it once again, this time trimming down news departments at radio stations in what appears to be an attempt to reduce expenses as they prepare to launch their initial public offering. The company was forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March 2018 and are planning to use the net proceeds from the offering to pay off its debt.

Now as an old radio guy, I could get on my soapbox and preach how radio isn’t what it used to be (I’d be right, but that’s not the point). Check out this promo from NewsRadio 740 KTRH…

The point is things change. Over the past 50 years, media has changed from people turning to print for their information, followed by radio, television and now the internet.

With each passing new phase, the demises of the former media channels has been predicted with great gusto. The internet alone has been predicted to kill off newspapers, radio and television as we know it!

The Washington Post posted an op/ed piece in 2018 written by Douglas McLennan, founder and editor of ArtsJournal and Jack Miles, a Pulitzer Prize and MacArthur “genius” award-winning author that in part said…

Thomas Jefferson saw newspapers as so fundamental a democratic institution that they were the only alternative to repeated violent revolutions: “This formidable censor of the public functionaries, by arraigning them at the tribunal of public opinion, produces reform peaceably, which must otherwise be done by revolution.”

I wonder what Thomas Jefferson would have thought about radio, television or Twitter. Oh, and this was the same person who started a “partisan” (which is a nice way of saying “fake”) newspaper, the National Gazette, to attack his rival Alexander Hamilton and the policies of the Washington administration.

There is no doubt the newspaper industry is changing and faces serious challenges. In the same op/ed piece the authors claim…

Weekday print circulation has shrunk from a high of nearly 60 million in 1994 to 35 million for combined print and digital circulation today — 24 years of decline. Advertising revenue has cratered, falling from $65 billion in 2000 to less than $19 billion in 2016. Newsroom employment fell nearly 40 percent.

I do think it’s important to remember part of the issue is the growing number of media outlets in general. Long gone are the days when there were five – seven radio stations, three TV stations and one newspaper. The world of media has expanded to where nobody can get the kind of circulation or ratings they once enjoyed. It doesn’t mean they are going away, it just means that a Washington Post or CBS Evening News audience is being more and more split up and thus shrinking.

Which brings us back to IHEARTMEDIA and their plans to cut newsroom staff. The problem is, there is no money to be made in radio news. Many stations that brand themselves as NewsRadio, are mostly talk stations that offer a bare amount of morning news.

So, this should not come as a shock to anyone longing for the thrilling days of yesteryear when radio was king and and you turned on the receiver to find out what was happening in the world.

Open mouth insert foot (repeat)

Posted on January 15, 2019 by bvanrysdam

“I never worked for Russia”

Let those words sink in for a moment. They were not said by Paul Manafort or Michael Flynn, but by President Trump. Even knowing Trump’s disdain for the media (with the exception of Fox News), it was an extraordinary thing to say.

I am reminded back to the days of Nixon and Watergate when he quipped “I am not a crook” which, according to Time magazine, became one of the Top 10 Unfortunate Political One-Liners (others making the list was Clinton’s “”I did not have sexual relations with that woman” and George H.W. Bush’s infamous “Read my lips: no new taxes”). The line instantly caught fire and one could arguably say was the beginning of the end of the Nixon White House.

As I so often like to point out, I am not implying Trump is guilty and this not about whether or not Trump colluded with the Russians. I’ll let the Mueller team figure that out, but it’s about an American president actually having to deny they worked for a foreign and to a large degree, adversary.

Trump supporters will say it’s because the media is obsessed with the investigation (and they would be right). They will also remind you there is no direct evidence linking Trump to conspire to rig the election (and they would be right again), but Team Trump continues to step in it.

Remember these lines…

“Truth isn’t truth” – Rudy Giuliani
Spicer was giving “alternative facts” – Kellyanne Conway
“I’m not Steve Bannon, I’m not trying to suck my own cock” – Anthony Scaramucci

In the end, I guess it doesn’t matter what Trump or his team says. It seems most American’s fall into three categories. You support him, you hate him, or you hold your nose at what he says and hopes he keeps nominating conservative appointees.

Still, one has to wonder how long this ride can last before the train flies off the rails.

Traditional radio turns a deaf ear to streaming music

Posted on December 19, 2018 by bvanrysdam

Bridge Ratings, who provide station-based on-demand music streaming data, released some interesting analysis. They report that traditional radio missed 40 percent of the most-streamed music by their listeners in December 2018.

According to their data, over 80 percent of Americans stream music in an average month. Unlike traditional methods of music research such as phone surveys, auditorium testing, etc., on-demand streaming accurately measures how much a song is being listened to.

Bridge Ratings points out that radio listeners who stream have different tastes than radio non-users or radio “lite-users”, but the research begs the question; could over-the-air radio stations perform better in the ratings if they play more of the music being listened to via the internet.

This chart compares each format’s “hit-delivery” with its 2017 performance…

(How to read: Urban radio missed or underplayed nearly 50% of the songs that were most-streamed by the format’s P1 or heavy listeners. Country radio missed 26%)

As anyone who has ever listened to traditional radio knows, increased commercial loads are reducing time spent listening, a key factor when calculating ratings. This increase in advertisers are causing more and more listeners to go to streaming sources for their music.

Factor in they are not hearing songs they like on the radio and you can start to see a formula for trouble. According to Bridge Ratings…

We know from our own experience over the past four years, that an increasing number of commercial radio programmers are using on-demand streaming research in some form to better-align their music playlists and to properly reflect the tastes of their listeners. Yet, there are far more programmers who do not believe in the data and do not use it either on its own or in combination with other forms of research they may be comfortable with.

It could turn out that streaming and not video will kill the radio star.

Government and social media

Posted on December 6, 2018 by bvanrysdam

As is usually the case, the law is trying to keep up with technology. The question of what constitutes a public forum is being debated and its impact could affect everyone from your locally elected dog catcher to the president of the United States.

A case has been making its way through the courts involving Deanna Robinson and the Hunt County Sheriff’s Office. Robinson learned she had been blocked from commenting or liking posts after criticizing them on their Facebook page. This was not the first run-in Robinson has had with the agency. In 2015, Robinson was confronted by a Hunt County deputy and a Child Protective Services representative looking to remove her then, 18-month old son from the home.

The case was finally dismissed and charges were dropped, but that hasn’t stopped the bad blood between them. Robinson filed a lawsuit in Feb. 2017 where she lost the case in a North Texas trial court. She has appealed and oral arguments will be heard today in the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. (There is a similar case pending in the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals between President Trump and a group of citizens who have banned from his Twitter account)

The sheriff’s office contends that by blocking Robinson, they are enforcing Facebook’s conduct rules. Under the terms of agreement, Facebook states…

Combat harmful conduct and protect and support our community:

People will only build community on Facebook if they feel safe. We employ dedicated teams around the world and develop advanced technical systems to detect misuse of our Products, harmful conduct towards others, and situations where we may be able to help support or protect our community. If we learn of content or conduct like this, we will take appropriate action – for example, offering help, removing content, blocking access to certain features, disabling an account, or contacting law enforcement. We share data with other Facebook Companies when we detect misuse or harmful conduct by someone using one of our Products.

So, can being critical of a governmental agency be considered harmful conduct? Not knowing what the exact post said could play into this decision. Context is important and if the post used obscene language, or was threatening, you could see why a person would be blocked (although you could have simply deleted or hide the comment). But, if the post just offered a negative opinion, you could argue your First Amendment rights are being violated.

In light of more and more governmental agencies turning to Facebook and Twitter to communicate with their constituents, the outcome could have far reaching implications as to the future use of social media.