Remembering Diana Coverage
Also, Looking at Quiet Quitting and Another "Star Wars" TV Show is Coming Out
Welcome back from Labor Day Weekend! (I spent it editing podcasts.) This edition is a little shorter, owing to the holiday weekend. I start with a brief remembrance of Princess Diana’s death.
THE LEDE
I worked in the WBZ-TV Boston newsroom when Princess Diana died, 25 years ago, on August 31, 1997. It was an overnight story, and when I arrived at 10 pm in the CBS affiliate newsroom, there was confusion.
IMAGE: Princess Diana, 1985. White House Photographer, Public Domain
The first report we received was that she had a broken arm. So I wasn’t in a big rush. But the reports got worse. It was clear she was in far more dire condition than a mere busted wing.
In the pre-web days, we only had the AP news wire and other TV stations to rely upon for news. It was both chaotic and silent. There were plenty of rumors, but few tangible facts. I spent the night preparing the morning newscast, even as we kind of knew the network would “BIP” us (Break Into Programming), which it did with its own coverage.
The hospital announced Diana’s death at 6 am local time in France. It was midnight in Boston, and we put up the CBS feed. We never did put on a local newscast that morning, making it one of the few days we deferred to the network.
Timeline of Diana’s death (Via USA Today)
NEWS AND NOTES
CNN CONTINUES BIG NAME LAYOFFS: CNN has parted ways with John Harwood, its veteran White House correspondent. That’s the third big name in as many weeks to leave CNN, with Harwood joining “Reliable Sources” media host Brian Stelter and legal affairs correspondent Jeffrey Toobin on the unemployment line.
IMAGE: John Harwood from broadcast
The layoffs come as new CNN CEO Chris Licht continues to purge journalists who report with opinion, apparently seeking a more middle-of-the-road approach. Licht has said to expect more changes.
WHAT’S UP WITH “QUIET QUITTING?”: The latest think pieces have to do with “quiet quitting,” which really means doing your job to the letter and nothing more. Writes Healthline:
To put it simply, quiet quitting is about doing the bare minimum at work. It’s about doing only what’s required of you without actually telling your boss you’re leaving. That might mean finishing work on time every day, always taking your lunch break, or turning down projects that are outside of your job spec.
There is data to support this. Gallup reports 66% of American workers are quiet quitting in some form or another. And TeamBuilding notes the cost is pricey: it reports US companies lose up to half a trillion dollars in productivity per year to quiet quitting.
What do you think? Is this a correction to overwork? Or passive-aggressive employee behavior? Email us.
FTC BEGINS REVIEW OF AMAZON PURCHASE OF iROBOT: The FTC has begin a review of the $1.6 billion deal Amazon has to acquire iRobot, of Roomba fame. The FTC is looking into whether the deal would violate antitrust law. From Politico:
Among the concerns the FTC is investigating is whether the data generated about a consumer’s home by iRobot’s Roomba vacuum will give it an unfair advantage over a wide variety of other retailers.
Expect the review to take a while. This could be a lengthy investigation.
LINKS AND LIKES
OMG OMG OMG OMG: I know I’ve been overly psyched for the previous two “Star Wars” TV shows (“Obi Wan Kenobi” and “Boba Fett”), but I’m going to fall all over again. “Andor” comes out on Disney+ Sept. 21, and it has potential. It takes place before “Rogue One,” the best “Star Wars” spinoff so far, and stars that film’s hero, “Cassian Andor.”
We’re at the very beginning of The Rebellion here, so there are a lot of directions this could go. I’m just hoping it’s more “The Mandalorian” and less “Boba Fett.”
LISTENING: I’m not above plugging for my friends and family. My youngest, Simon, has a single coming out and if you “pre-order” it online (at no charge), that will help the single get recommended to more people at launch. The band is Chunk Child, and the song is “FU2.”
IMAGE: Art for FU2 by Chunk Child
I know that sounds an angry title, but it’s really a cool, jazzy, spacey lament to a lost friendship. Pre-order it here on the platform of your choice, and you’ll see it pop up when it is released on Sept. 17th at 10 pm.
AI LOVE THIS APP: I’ve been messing around with the artificial intelligence app Wonder, and it’s a ton of fun. You put in a word prompt, and the AI generates a picture. For example, RN friend David Yas suggested “fat magician jumping into a pool of chocolate.” The results were amazing:
RN Pal Lisa Sabin prompted “Broccoli on toast with chocolate sauce:
AI is getting really good. It doesn’t do as well with realistic renderings of people, but it’s pretty strong otherwise.
BEYOND THE REMOTE
PODCASTING IS EASY, STORYTELLING IS HARD: I get asked advice on podcasting from time to time. Usually it’s about the equipment people should buy. (See my review of the RØDE products at the end of this newsletter.) The harder part is the content. Here are my top five suggestions:
Find a niche. We don’t need another Q&A podcast where two people are talking about their favorite TV shows. We need verticals that haven’t been addressed. Marketing 101: Differentiate the product.
Tell a story. Your podcast, even if it’s an interview, should tell a story. In fact, interviews are a great way to tell a story - the story of your subject’s life. You just have to structure your interview well, and …
LISTEN. It’s good to go into an interview with questions. It’s better to ask a question and then start listening. You’re having a discussion, like you would with a friend. By the end of that discussion, you should have a story.
Know your guest: Sometimes, the people you will be interviewing will be podcast “virgins.” They’ll need some more questions to get going, but if you’re a good host, they should relax after 2-3 minutes and get into the conversation. Podcast guest veterans, on the other hand, may want to drive the interview. It’s your job to keep a steady hand on the wheel without being rude.
Use sound: Mix in sound to open up your podcast. Try to give a sense of place. It can be as simple as a few seconds of practice sound during a baseball podcast. There are lots of music and sound effects websites where you can buy copyrighted material inexpensively. High quality music and sound make your podcast that much more professional.
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REMOTE NOTES
Newsletter #20
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