John Rowland, Alan Freed and CBS

Once at Brass Mills Center he was mistaken for me. He gave her the autograph anyway.

john rowland 2014   Google Search

Oh, John Rowland. You never cease to amaze me.

Governor John Rowland was a moderate Republican from Connecticut. He went to prison for his thievery in office.

I met him a few times. He was charming. Worked crowds well. Likable.

Once at Brass Mills Center he was mistaken for me. He gave her the autograph anyway.

I’m not in Connecticut to really hear about this, but from what I’ve read (especially the excellent piece by Ed Mahony and Jon Lender in the Courant) he was selling his opinion and access to his radio show.

There’s nothing wrong with espousing your opinion. There’s nothing wrong with selling access and support. What’s wrong is doing it secretly.

We allow commercials. We allow infomercials. They must be disclosed as such.

Here’s why Alan Freed’s in the title. Back in the 50’s Freed was hugely influential as one of the first rock and roll disk jockeys.

Freed’s career ended when it was shown that he had accepted payola (payments from record companies to play specific records), a practice that was highly controversial at the time. There was also a conflict of interest, that he had taken songwriting co-credits (most notably on Chuck Berry’s “Maybellene”), which entitled him to receive part of a song’s royalties, which he could help increase by heavily promoting the record on his own program. However, Harvey Fuqua of The Moonglows insisted Freed co-wrote “Sincerely”.

Freed lost his own show on the radio station WABC; then he was fired from the station altogether on November 21, 1959. He also was fired from his television show (which for a time continued with a different host). In 1960, payola was made illegal. In 1962, Freed pleaded guilty to two charges of commercial bribery, for which he received a fine and a suspended sentence.- Wikipedia

Freed was the whipping boy in the payola scandal. He was destroyed. New laws and rules were implemented.

From the FCC:

Federal law and FCC rules require that employees of broadcast stations, program producers, program suppliers and others who, in exchange for airing material, have accepted or agreed to receive payments, services or other valuable consideration must disclose this fact. Disclosure of compensation provides broadcasters the information they need to let their audiences know if material was paid for, and by whom.

Rowland is responsible, but so is CBS. Guarding the public airways is part of the licensee’s responsibility. It was they who entrusted WTIC to him every day.

CBS actually signed a consent decree in a payola case in 2007. They should know the rules. They are on the hook.

This will be very complex. I hope it’s well reported. I want to follow along.

I Am The Punchline To An Old Joke

There’s an aphorism which begins, “Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach. And those who can’t teach, teach teachers.”

That third one. That’s me. I’m the punchline. I’m about to teach teachers.

It’s an interesting project with UC Irvine Extension. As some of their instructors begin to teach online they face a challenge. How do they adapt to the differences a video camera brings?

We all think there’s a lot of low hanging fruit where small changes will bring large results.

I’m producing a video for the teachers. It’s a how-to of best practices and FAQ answers–a hand holder to help instill confidence in front of the camera. If it works they’ll become more effective reaching students via screens.

I think I can make a positive contribution.

It’s Faux Spring In Connecticut!

We did one really good thing today. We barbecued! Helaine was the chef. My job was to rehook the propane tank to the grill. I can’t tell you why but they spent the winter unhooked.

There’s been a post on the blog every day for years. Today will be no exception though not much has happened. Pajamas all day for Helaine and me. Most of my day was at the keyboard doing a small web design project I’ve undertaken. The finished product will be used, but it’s more for my training and discovery than anything else.

While the child slogs through the California rainy season, Connecticut finally popped into spring tease season. I’m only saying that because winter will surely reappear–if only briefly.

Holy crap! Every year I’m amazed by the number of branches and limbs that crash to the yard each winter.

We did one really good thing today. We barbecued! Helaine was the chef. My job was to rehook the propane tank to the grill. I can’t tell you why but they spent the winter unhooked.

Over the years we’ve amassed a few propane bottles, so I hoisted the heaviest one and tried to attach it. It wouldn’t. After about five minutes I realized it had interior threads while the grill is looking for exterior threads.

How the heck did that happen? Where did it come from? What do I do with it?

In the end little of my tumult mattered because it’s faux spring.

The sky was blue. The burgers were superb.