Presumed innocent…unless

Posted on February 21, 2020 by bvanrysdam

Stop and Frisk has been in the news lately.

A stop-and-frisk refers to a brief non-intrusive police stop of a suspect. The Fourth Amendment requires that before stopping the suspect, the police must have a reasonable suspicion that a crime has been, is being, or is about to be committed by the suspect.

The obvious question is what is a reasonable suspicion. Former New York City Mayor, presidential candidate and billionaire Michael Bloomberg has come under fire lately due to the New York City Police Department practice of temporarily detaining, questioning, and at times searching civilians and suspects on the street for weapons and other contraband.

Bloomberg has since denounced the practice, but questions remain as to his motivation other than now he is running for president.

While reading up on this story, it made me wonder about the Show Me Your Papers Bill, formally known as Texas Senate Bill 4 which mandates local jails comply with voluntary U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer requests. The bill which was signed into law in 2017 also allows citizens to initiate investigations of alleged sanctuary cities and counties merely because the locality “endorses” a policy of non-cooperation with ICE.

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled most of the law, except for a portion punishing officials who “endorse” sanctuary city policies, could go into effect while the case was pending in March 2018.

The lines can get blurred very quickly with both, stop and frisk, and show my your papers. The presumption of innocence comes into play when law enforcement does not need to obtain a warrant to search someone who is “suspected” of committing a crime.

I know that probable cause also comes into play (which is also protected by the Fourth Amendment), but again, while one person might feel there reasonable suspicion, another would disagree.

Many would argue that race is a major factor in both these situations and who is to say they are wrong. Much of the stop and frisk activity took place in poor neighborhoods mostly populated by minorities. My guess is the folks living on Park Avenue were not worried about being stopped.

Flipping the narrative

Posted on January 10, 2020 by bvanrysdam

There is a negative connotation to the phrase “flipping the narrative”. Some might call it “spin” or “propaganda” and find it dishonest, but that is not always the case. Take Wells Fargo for example.

The California Department of Insurance accused Wells Fargo of issuing nearly 1,500 insurance policies without their customers knowledge or permission from 2008 to 2016. The bank agreed to pay a $10 million penalty in January 2019 as part of a settlement agreement. This caused severe brand perception causing customer trust to free-fall.

So how to rebuild that trust? The bank took the steps to acknowledge what it did and that is was wrong and flip the narrative to move the story forward.

Check out their video that was posted to YouTube.

As you can see, the video walks the viewer through the history of the bank with a dramatic fade to black and no audio after their mistake was shown. The effect of going to black sends a powerful message that shows they knew what happened was wrong. The video then picks up with a sense of optimism about the future and how it is moving forward to regain customer trust.

I realize this is just one video, but I found the courage to produce and post it extraordinary. Nobody likes talking about past mistakes and I can’t imagine the suits in the corner office being comfortable with reminding people what they did, yet America, if nothing else, loves to forgive.

Remember Mike Tyson (arrested and charged with raping beauty queen Desiree Washington in 1991) who ended up starring in The Hangover? Other celebrities like Robert Downey Jr., Mark Wahlberg and Martha Stewart have all been able to resurrect their careers after various offenses.

I get the Wells Fargo is an institution and not a celebrity, but it does feel that Americans can find it in themselves to forgive, especially when someone, or something is willing to own up.

Pedaling in place

Posted on December 5, 2019 by bvanrysdam

Advertising is often a hit and miss proposition. Some ads generate tremendous buzz and resonate with audiences, while others miss the mark altogether. That being said, I have to say I am a little surprised at the backlash Peloton is getting on their latest TV commercial.

The commercial begins with a young women whose spouse/partner surprises her with a Pelton bike on Christmas morning. She then chronicles her yearlong fitness journey on her phone and makes a video diary that she plays the following Christmas.

So what’s the problem? Many people (I assume they are not BOTS or the Russians) on social media are blasting the ad for using a thin, young women who apparently does not look like she need to exercise. Some have gone so far as saying the ad had a dystopia vibe and brought visions of a horror film.

While criticizing an ad is not uncommon, the fact that the company’s stock lost 9% of its value in one day will certainly make people in the corner office take notice. A representative for Peloton released a statement to CNBC, stating that while they “were disappointed in how some have misinterpreted this commercial,” they were also grateful to their existing community.

One of the problems Peloton faces is that their “existing community” is pretty small. The bikes are really expensive. The basic package runs $2,245 with membership costing $39 a month and you need to figure out where it fits in your homes décor.

The ad missed the mark, not on the messaging, but the delivery. The women appears terrified at times and it feels like she is being forced to ride. Perhaps if the spouse/partner joined in and made it a fun, family thing, it would have gone over better.

The whole thing comes across as snobbish and arrogant, but then that’s how I picture the people that own one.

Is America becoming a news desert?

Posted on October 25, 2019 by bvanrysdam

Facebook is once again changing the media landscape. The social media giant has announced it is creating Facebook News, a new section of content available that will feature a variety of different news articles.

The stories will come from outside sources, not Facebook employees and will use algorithms to deliver personalized recommendations for further reading. News Corp, The Washington Post, Bloomberg, BuzzFeed News, the Los Angeles Times, CBS and Fox’s owned-and-operated local stations are the first media outlets to provide content.

Not everyone is impressed by this announcement.

“It’s great that Facebook is willing to pay The New York Times and Washington Post, among other national news organizations,” Larry Gilbert, Jr., the audience engagement editor for the Sun Journal newspaper in Lewiston, Maine told CNN.com. “But while the tech giant is doing that, newspapers in smaller markets across the country are closing up shop and every day more of America is becoming a news desert.”

There is no doubt the landscape of news is changing. Local newspapers struggle to survive leaving communities with little or no information on what is taking place.

The Pew Research Center reports 71% of U.S. adults think their local news media are doing well financially. However, the study also revealed 41% of Americans say they prefer getting their local news via TV and the 37% prefer it online which is dramatically different to those who favor a printed newspaper or the radio (13% and 8%, respectively).

All of this does not bode well for local newspapers. According to an Associated Press analysis of data compiled by the University of North Carolina, 1,400 cities and towns across the U.S. have lost a newspaper over the past 15 years.

Much like other media industries, local ownership is fading with companies like Gatehouse Media Inc. (the nation’s largest newspaper company) buying up the mom and pop shops. Many of these large newspaper companies are owned by hedge funds or other investors who have no interest in anything other than the bottom line.

While print maybe out of fashion, one still hopes that local communities can take advantage of and even embrace new media to keep citizens up to date on news that have a direct impact on their lives. Perhaps it might even be Facebook News.

Texas law goes up in smoke

Posted on July 30, 2019 by bvanrysdam

“Marijuana has not been decriminalized in Texas”

So reads the letter, signed by Gov. Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, House Speaker Dennis Bonnen, and Attorney General Ken Paxton. It may not be decriminalized, but it sure has taken an interesting turn with the passage of House Bill 1325 this past session.

The so-called “Hemp Bill” took the drug off the list of controlled substances in Texas, as long as products such as CBD oil contain no more than 0.3 percent THC, the psychoactive ingredient that gives users their buzz.

So what’s the problem? It seems measuring the difference between legal (0.3 percent) and illegal (0.4 percent) requires very special equipment which is not readily available and expensive. Some estimates projected the equipment and training for 25 new employees to be around $5.5 million annually. Since no funding was provided, many district attorneys are delaying, or even dropping low-level marijuana cases.

The letter signed by Abbott, Patrick, Bonnen and Paxton went to say…

“Since H.B. 1325 did not repeal the marijuana laws of Texas, as Judicial Branch Members, you should continue to enforce those laws by ‘faithfully executing the duties of the office of the [District or County Attorney], of the State of Texas, and … to the best of [your] ability preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States and of this State.”

The problem is lawmakers were told before they voted that H.B. 1325 was going to make prosecuting marijuana a lot tougher. The Texas Department of Public Safety testified to state budget officials the bill would need to be funded to work. Democratic state Rep. Tracy King’s office was told that, without funds for new lab testing, the legislation would “essentially legalize marijuana.”

It’s all part of the “un-funded mandate” game. Austin makes the rules, then wants to local jurisdictions to figure out how to pay for it. Texas lawmakers take great pride passing tax cuts, implementing new laws, then screaming foul when local authorities try to figure out how to make it work, or worse don’t try at all.

With lawmakers approving a $250.7 billion two-year budget, could someone in Austin have listened a little more carefully to the people testifying and come up with $5 million?

Words matter

Posted on July 17, 2019 by bvanrysdam

Racist

A person who shows or feels discrimination or prejudice against people of other races, or who believes that a particular race is superior to another – Dictionary.com

Do not use racially charged or similar terms as euphemisms for racist or racism when the latter terms are truly applicable – AP Stylebook March 29,2019

The word “racist” has been widely used recently following President Trumps recent tweets about four Congresswomen who came under attack…

In the past, the AP Stylebook (the holy bible for reporters and editors) urged journalists to not use a derogatory term in a story that has racial overtones unless “it is crucial to the story or the understanding of a news event”. It goes on to suggests to “flag the contents in an editor’s note”.

My how times have changed. The news agency now says terms such as “racism” and “racist” can be used in broad references or in quotations to describe “the hatred of a race, or assertion of the superiority of one race over others.” Journalists are now encouraged to report an incident racist if it is such, rather than tread softly around the word.

One example given by the AP was…

Mississippi has a history of racist lynchings, not a history of racially motivated lynchings.

So why does that matter? You need to understand that making a change to the AP Stylebook is like the Catholic church updating the canon law, it does not happen very often. Still, why should the public care?

If you still believe that not all news is fake and reporters are attempting to accurately describe what is taking place, using the right word is critical to eliminating as much confusion as possible (knowing that nothing is ever 100 percent fool proof) when it comes to telling the story.

The words journalists use can have a profound effect on people and, in today’s world of social media, blogs and other so-called news outlets, accuracy is more important than ever.

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.

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.