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Radio And Production
September 2010
September 2010 Highlights
Production 212:
On–The–Job Therapy
by Dave Foxx
believe that I am the luckiest person I know. Even after
23 years at the flamethrower in the number one market, I
very often wake up and pinch myself, wondering how in the
world I ever pulled this off. Every month, as I sit down to
write this column, I’m amazed that I have the chance to rant
about something I love so much to thousands of other
broadcast professionals. Every time a call pops up inviting
me to speak to a group somewhere about radio production, I
always have to check myself to keep from exclaiming, “You
want me? To do what?” Whenever someone wants me to be
involved in the creative process for a product or service, I
get giddy. The absolute magic of doing this has never worn
off. I really hope it’s the same for you.
As much as we love the job, there are some irritants we deal
with too. On the commercial side you have clients and
Account Executives. Need I say more? Well… all right, I’m
planning to later in this article. On the imaging side, you
only have one client, but for many it’s almost as bad with a
PD who simply doesn’t get it, or a GM who’s so tight-fisted
he cries when he gives you money, or throws a temper tantrum
when you make a budget request.
Q It Up:
The RAP Network Speaks - What are some of
the biggest time wasters you deal with?
Q It Up: These days, it
seems we are all being asked to do more in the same amount
of time. The last thing you need is wasted time. What are
some of the biggest or most common time wasters you’ve
experienced in your work environment (answering Q It Up
questions does not count!), and how have you dealt with
them? What are some of the little and not so little ways you
manage your time at work so you can get home in time for
dinner?
If you have a question for the RAP Network, email it to
editor@rapmag.com!
Technology:
Backup Strategies For BIG DRIVES
by Steve Cunningham
Lately I seem to be surrounded by hard drive failures. It
started a couple of months ago when a client, whose production
machines I maintain, called to report that one machine had
locked up. When he tried to reboot it, the hard drive made
grinding noises and refused to boot. Two weeks later another
client called reporting that two external backup drives from the
same manufacturer just refused to spin up. Then there were the
two laptop drives that failed, each of which issued clicking
sounds instead of spinning up.
In all cases, the hard drives involved were simply toast. No
amount of software diagnostics, recovery tools, or voodoo
rituals worked, and I tried ‘em all. This included my favorite
trick which consists of putting the dying drive in a sealed
baggie and then into the freezer for 30 minutes, in an effort to
get the spindle bearings to shrink up for long enough to get the
data off the drive. That didn’t work either.
Radio Hed:
Authority & Association
by Jeffrey Hedquist
Authority: Associating your advertiser, his product or
service with someone the audience knows, respects, aspires to be
like, or trusts can get attention, add cache, and possibly help
him sell more. Using a famous celebrity can be a tricky path. A
certain segment of your audience will respond positively to the
endorsement. Another segment will distrust the brand, perceiving
the endorsement as paid-for hype. With celebrities, the public’s
opinion of their personal lives can change rapidly, dashing a
successful endorsement on the rocks of exposure. Certain sports
figures come to mind.
Technology:
The Year Of The Penguin - Part Four
by Andrew Frame
One popular selling-point used by Linux fans is that it works
well on older hardware. “Older” is at best, a relative term.
Bleeding-edge gamers think anything without multiple-core CPU’s
is obsolete. But, a copywriter could still find a perfectly good
workday on a ‘486 running ProWrite. SOHO servers are often built
on older hardware and Linux running without a GUI. Many a Linux
based firewall is a ‘486 chip machine. But really, in the audio
production business, if you have a machine that old, perhaps
it’s time to reconsider a new, less technologically driven line
of work. For the purposes of this series, we’re staying with a
SOHO desktop machine that runs current versions of web browser,
LAN browser, e-mail, office suite, and audio editor.
...And Make
It Real Creative - The Creative Tap Room: Third Round
by Trent Rentsch
The party shows no sign of slowing down in the virtual
Creative Tap Room, as Creatives from a variety of
disciplines gather to ponder the question, “Where does your
Creativity come from?” If you’ve read this column anytime in
the past few years, it’s no secret to you that one of my
passions is magic. I’ve always felt that, at its best, it’s
one of the most Creative entertainment arts. So it will come
as no surprise that I’ve invited a couple of Wizards to the
party. Although, it KIND of surprised everyone else when
they appeared in a flash of light and a puff of smoke…
The first to step up is Jay Sankey. I’ve talked about Jay in
the past… a “magician’s magician,” who invents magic effects
that have been performed by about every contemporary
magician you can name. He’s a gifted performer in his own
right, both as a magician and a stand-up comedian. You can
find examples of his work at his website, sankeymagic.com.
He has more energy than any 10 people combined, and when he
puts his sharp mind to something… stand back! When asked
where his Creativity comes from, there’s no hesitation in
his answer, even as it begins with questioning the
question...
Personal Computing:
You Can’t Always Hide Online
by Reid Goldsborough
Have you ever been tempted to let loose online on some loud,
arrogant blogger without revealing your identity? What about a
public figure? Or someone in your department you’re having a
beef with? Venting harsh criticism anonymously is a long
Internet tradition, and for better or worse it’s part of the
culture of the online world. Many dislike it, and some
“moderated” forums try to discourage it, but it’s difficult to
completely eliminate it, and it would probably be unwise to do
so. A recent court case sheds interesting light on the issue.
The Monday Morning Memo:
The New Language of Effective
Ads
by Roy H. Williams
Most women can tell at least one funny story about a tragic
first date. In most of these stories, a misguided man spends the
entire evening saying, “Here’s an example of how wonderful I
am...” “Let me tell you what I can do...” “...and that’s what
makes me special.” Although we’re rarely drawn to people who
begin all their sentences with “I,” “Me,” and “My,” this
first-person perspective remains central to mainstream
advertising. And it’s why most Americans detest mainstream
advertising.
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