[Swprograms] Re: Incredible Arrogance

[John Figliozzi <jfiglio1@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Scott et al:

It's not an either/or proposition.  It's as simple as that.  To pretend 
that it is (as the BBC is doing) is disingenuous and what they do has 
repercussions.  And they know it.

And since when is the BBC is "business"?  It's a state-sponsored 
enterprise. It's like pretending that dollars are votes.  Not 
everything can be downconverted to currency.  Public service is one of 
those things.  I cringe every time I hear someone in my government 
agency (where I work) refer to our constituents/clents as "customers".  
It's a gross distortion and just because everyone is doing it these 
days because it's in vogue doesn't make it correct or accurate.

John

On Mar 26, 2005, at 4:25 PM, Scott Royall wrote:

> Sandy,
>
>
>
> That was essentially my point. If the BBC is/was a business, one of its
> primary drivers is to get the most for the least. We can debate the 
> chicken
> and egg details, but a transition from AM HF is occurring. We all know 
> that
> much. That's why the NRD 535 and Drake R8b have been discontinued. (The
> latter was like the death of a dear friend to me. I had to sell mine 
> several
> years ago for financial reasons (and Bill, the buyer is a #swl regular 
> who
> sorta stayed quiet about its actual resale value, Growl), and had been
> nursing a feeble dream that I could afford another one day.), and those
> manufacturers clearly had economic reasons. Things are changing 
> regardless
> of our personal nostalgia. We can piss and moan to the BBC, which you
> already said is pointless, or we can focus whatever influence we do 
> have on
> the same distribution system that the BBC hopes to use anyway.  I have 
> fond
> memories of listening to faraway stations in my youth. Now I can hear a
> better selection just by clicking. Sad but true.
>
>
>
> Of course I know broadband is nowhere near everywhere. But, 
> intentionally or
> not, the BBC is doing its small part to create the demand needed to 
> drive
> the expansion of broadband. That's just business. It is still true 
> that 5975
> almost melts the front-end of my 706 Mk IIG on most evenings. Yet, even
> after that's gone, stations like the BBC are still accessible 
> throughout my
> house on 802.11g. And folks, I'm sad to say it's much cheaper than that
> cherished R8b I've dreamed of.
>
>
>
> Scott
>
>
>
>
>
>   _____
>
> From: swprograms-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> [mailto:swprograms-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Sandy 
> Finlayson
> Sent: Saturday, March 26, 2005 11:08 AM
> To: Shortwave programming discussion
> Subject: [Swprograms] Re: Incredible Arrogance
>
>
>
> We have had lots of discussion on this.  None of us can say for sure 
> why it
> is happening although I found it very interesting to hear the BBC 
> spokesman
> talk in terms of World Service being a business.  I think that is at 
> the
> heart of all this.  It is no longer a 'service' but a business.
>
>
>
> The bottom line for them is now what counts. This is understandable in 
> one
> way, but for them to tell us how we should want to listen is arrogant 
> and
> our loyalty as listeners clearly does not matter.
>
>
>
> Sandy
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: swprograms-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx on behalf of Scott Royall
> Sent: Sat 3/26/2005 11:50 AM
> To: 'Shortwave programming discussion'
> Cc:
> Subject: [Swprograms] Re: Incredible Arrogance
>
> Has anyone here asked themselves why this is happening?
>
>
>
>
>
>
>   _____
>
>
> From: swprograms-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> [mailto:swprograms-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Sandy 
> Finlayson
> Sent: Saturday, March 26, 2005 7:41 AM
> To: Shortwave programming discussion
> Subject: [Swprograms] Re: Incredible Arrogance
>
>
>
> I too listened to this incredible display of arrogance last night.
>
>
>
> They have decided to phase out short wave, they don't really care what 
> their
> audience thinks and that is the end of the story.  We listeners have 
> been
> naive to think that they really care about us.
>
>
>
> Sandy
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: swprograms-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx on behalf of John Figliozzi
> Sent: Sat 3/26/2005 12:16 AM
> To: Shortwave discussion; dxld@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx; edxp@xxxxxxxxxxx
> Cc:
> Subject: [Swprograms] Incredible Arrogance
>
> Well, I was surprised somewhat to hear a segment of my letter on Write
> On tonight; but I was even more amazed to hear the absolutely
> incredible degree of arrogance displayed by the BBC's spokesman in
> reply to a series of letters telling him and the BBC that they are just
> plain wrong.
>
> At one point, he (I'm sorry I don't recall his name and neglected to
> write it down; but he's apparently the responsible party for
> determining or carrying out their distribution strategy) claimed that
> the BBC's research shows that they have a listenership in North America
> of around 5 million now and---now get this--most of them listen late at
> night!
>
> Duh.  That's the only time they're on in an overwhelming number of
> local markets because local FM rebroadcasters will only turn over the
> overnight hours to them!
>
> To the series of correspondents protesting that their shortwave radios
> remain perfectly useful and convenient instruments for listening to the
> BBC, he simply replied that his research says otherwise.
>
> One letter pointed out that the BBC was attempting to take its
> listeners back to a time when the family had to sit around a large
> instrument in the center of the room to hear "radio".  He was unphased
> essentially saying that the BBC was doing this for the benefit of ALL
> its listeners and if some had to be sacrificed along the way, well that
> was too bad but necessary.
>
> "We're right; you're wrong" was the subtext throughout.  The clear
> logic of the letter writers was deflected with one word: "research".
> To give her her due, Ms. Penny Vine did a good job pressing the
> listeners' case as forcefully as she could.  He was just having none of
> it.
>
> At several points, he referred to the BBC as a "business".  Maybe
> that's all it is to them at this point.  And maybe that's the problem.
>
> John Figliozzi
> Halfmoon, NY
>
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