What annoys you? (2 Viewers)

[bmasters9]

I figure so many newspapers are starting to look alike because of focus groups--one of those sad trends of marketing which ends up homogenizing all prooducts into the same dreary, predictable thing.

So are you saying that people are polled to decide what all the papers of a chain should look like? That's just how I'm reading you.

 

[BobO'Link]

So are you saying that people are polled to decide what all the papers of a chain should look like? That's just how I'm reading you.

I'd guess it's like when we had "Consultants" come and tell use how to "improve" our news broadcasts. They'd have us send a half-dozen or so episodes to whatever city they're from and show them to a "selected group of average viewers" (whatever that means), get their comments about content, visuals (effects, transitions, set design, etc.) and come in for a conference where they'd show one of those casts we'd sent while reading comments and pointing out places/ways to "improve" the product.

I never took any of that seriously as those "focus groups" generally have no training or experience in design and layout. It's all opinion. Plus it's always people from out of the area who have different sensibilities. One time they'd come in and tell us the lower 1/3rd "supers" were too small, we'd submit new versions and get them approved by the consultant. Since they'd payed "big bucks" for these, IMHO worthless, opinions, Management would require the suggested changes be made. A year later they'd be back telling us they were too large (see the trend here?). We'd change them back to what they were before being told they were "too small" (there was little to no room in between) and get their approval again. They always seemed to focus on "looks" while ignoring content. In weekly, local, critique meetings the news producers would always ask for more "special effects" to put graphics and support visuals on the screen saying "If we had more/better/different graphics and special effects people would watch." to which I'd counter "If we had good writing and reporting they'd not tune out to start!" They didn't like me much...

When we were bought by a larger corporation, who already owned other stations, we were strongly encouraged to look just like those stations and lose that local identity. When sets were replaced they'd send the same designer to all the facilities and they'd all look pretty much the same (minor differences). A lot of that "sameness" came from those consultants and focus groups.

Consultants and focus groups annoy me.

 

[Mike Frezon]

So are you saying that people are polled to decide what all the papers of a chain should look like? That's just how I'm reading you.

Pretty much.

As Howie laid out, owners of a media group will hire consultants. The consultants select a pool of people (based on demographics) who are then showed different looks to a newspaper (or broadcast) and rank what they like and don't like. (More color photos, wider columns, more white space, less news more features.) That information is then used to modify the final product into something different that "research is telling us the people want."

Then, since the owners typically own multiple assets, they figure to get the most bang for their buck, they'll transfer that wisdom to the other newspapers (stations) in their group--even though the people in those markets might have different sensibilities.

One of the other ways this gets weird is that other newspapers (stations) within that market will get wind that the changes at the original newspaper (station) made their changes based on expensive internal research and figure, well, if that's what they came up with...we'll do exactly the same thing because it must be good intel. No one's got the guts any more to want to be different.

USA Today really shook things up with all their color and graphs back in the '80s. Immediately all other newspapers decided they wanted to incorporate some of that into their presentation. It took some a long time to be able to get there, But newspapers all used to look alike before that...and now they all tend to look alike (in a completely different way) after that.

And I'm not going to even get into a cynical discussion about consultants and focus groups (which Howie alludes to above) which goes down the path that often consultants are those people who don't really have the chops to do the work in an industry but know enough about the work to be able to market (sell) their own capacity to tell those who do know how how-to-do-it! The old George Bernard Shaw saw about "those who can, do; those who can't, teach."

 

[Tony Bensley]

Here's a few annoyances for this week:

- Got through the entire winter without getting sick, only to succumb to some stupid virus on the first day of Spring! I can't stand having that gaggy feeling in my throat~UGH!

- Had gone through a good week-long stretch, in which there was no garbage on our next door neighbors front lawn, then poof, two HUGE garbage bags! Some people are just so f**king lazy!

- There is another annoyance that has crept in based on a fear that something big could get in the way of our saving up to move from our "paradise" later this year, but as it unfortunately falls under politics, I must refrain from going any deeper than that! Hopefully, this one will amount to nothing.

CHEERS!

 

[bmasters9]

Pretty much.

As Howie laid out, owners of a media group will hire consultants. The consultants select a pool of people (based on demographics) who are then showed different looks to a newspaper (or broadcast) and rank what they like and don't like. (More color photos, wider columns, more white space, less news more features.) That information is then used to modify the final product into something different that "research is telling us the people want."

Then, since the owners typically own multiple assets, they figure to get the most bang for their buck, they'll transfer that wisdom to the other newspapers (stations) in their group--even though the people in those markets might have different sensibilities.

One of the other ways this gets weird is that other newspapers (stations) within that market will get wind that the changes at the original newspaper (station) made their changes based on expensive internal research and figure, well, if that's what they came up with...we'll do exactly the same thing because it must be good intel. No one's got the guts any more to want to be different.

USA Today really shook things up with all their color and graphs back in the '80s. Immediately all other newspapers decided they wanted to incorporate some of that into their presentation. It took some a long time to be able to get there, But newspapers all used to look alike before that...and now they all tend to look alike (in a completely different way) after that.

And I'm not going to even get into a cynical discussion about consultants and focus groups (which Howie alludes to above) which goes down the path that often consultants are those people who don't really have the chops to do the work in an industry but know enough about the work to be able to market (sell) their own capacity to tell those who do know how how-to-do-it! The old George Bernard Shaw saw about "those who can, do; those who can't, teach."

Appreciate that response, and you made some good points in it! This is why EBay has been very much the goldmine for me when it comes to recapturing how newspapers were in my youth (quite the bygone era, sadly).

 

[Stan]

A large pine tree was felled in Los Angeles, landing across a residential street into a picket fence. No one was hurt.

So they're getting some rain. They whine when it's to dry and whine when it's to wet.

One fricking pine tree falls and it makes national news? We had a windstorm years ago. Hundreds of trees fell, smashing houses, cars, blocking streets, breaking power lines. A neighbor's home was completely destroyed. Two other neighbors had their cars crushed.

One tree? What a joke.

 

[Robert Crawford]

A large pine tree was felled in Los Angeles, landing across a residential street into a picket fence. No one was hurt.

So they're getting some rain. They whine when it's to dry and whine when it's to wet.

One fricking pine tree falls and it makes national news? We had a windstorm years ago. Hundreds of trees fell, smashing houses, cars, blocking streets, breaking power lines. A neighbor's home was completely destroyed. Two other neighbors had their cars crushed.

One tree? What a joke.

Because they fear more is to come as areas that had severe fires in which everything was burnt to the ground is now getting 3" of rain or more so mud slides are probably coming.

 

[bmasters9]

When we were bought by a larger corporation, who already owned other stations, we were strongly encouraged to look just like those stations and lose that local identity. When sets were replaced they'd send the same designer to all the facilities and they'd all look pretty much the same (minor differences). A lot of that "sameness" came from those consultants and focus groups.

Consultants and focus groups annoy me.

I've heard of at least two such corporations who own quite a few stations: Sinclair (owners of almost 200; that could be more than 200) and Hearst Television (about 30 stations). IIRC, both of those have had studio designs and graphics and music that have been applied across all of their stations.

 

[Stan]

- Had gone through a good week-long stretch, in which there was no garbage on our next door neighbors front lawn, then poof, two HUGE garbage bags! Some people are just so f**king lazy!

Have a neighbor with loads of crap piled up in his driveway, thankfully not on the front lawn. Old furniture, etc. I've thought of calling the city but not sure if they'd do anything. There is also broken glass and sometimes trash from these people in the alley, which a lot of us use. They're disgusting.

Sadly think we're stuck with them. His grandmother passed away and I'm guessing he inherited the house, no mortgage to pay off so doubt he'll move.

Actually had the nerve to ask me to trim a shrub on my property because it was hard for him to park and avoid scratching his precious SUV. What a jerk. Don't drive on my property.

I never did trim it. I get along with everybody in the neighborhood, but there's always one idiot.

 

[Tony Bensley]

Have a neighbor with loads of crap piled up in his driveway, thankfully not on the front lawn. Old furniture, etc. I've thought of calling the city but not sure if they'd do anything. There is also broken glass and sometimes trash from these people in the alley, which a lot of us use. They're disgusting.

Sadly think we're stuck with them. His grandmother passed away and I'm guessing he inherited the house, no mortgage to pay off so doubt he'll move.

Actually had the nerve to ask me to trim a shrub on my property because it was hard for him to park and avoid scratching his precious SUV. What a jerk. Don't drive on my property.

I never did trim it. I get along with everybody in the neighborhood, but there's always one idiot.

Our next door neighbor piles big bags of garbage in her front and back yards. The 2 bags out front remain, with one of those somewhat tipped towards our shared walkway. Her kid yells and kicks the other side of the bedroom wall, along with making a lot of racket running up and down the stairs, door slamming, etc.

Also, any faint hope of having the neighbor living on the other side in our corner has gone pfft, as she and her adult son, who has low functioning autism, get rides from the next door neighbor, who does have an SUV, though gawd only knows how she can even afford one. Her son also gets very loud, and will always yell towards you, trying to start some sort of conversation that is unfortunately incomprehensible. Obviously not his fault, but it does nevertheless add to the annoyance factor within our surroundings.

We're way past complaining to housing, and at this point, are simply counting down the months before we're hopefully able to make the move south. Still, we expect the next 6 months to be excruciating, but so it goes!

Just have to keep thinking that there are better days ahead!

CHEERS!

P.S. Sorry about you and your fellow neighbors having to deal with your neighbor's broken glass. This is simply inexcusable! He also has a lot of nerve, asking you to trim your shrubbery on your property. Some people just seemingly have no clue!

 

[Stan]

Our next door neighbor piles big bags of garbage in her front and back yards. The 2 bags out front remain, with one of those somewhat tipped towards our shared walkway. Her kid yells and kicks the other side of the bedroom wall, along with making a lot of racket running up and down the stairs, door slamming, etc.

Also, any faint hope of having the neighbor living on the other side in our corner has gone pfft, as she and her adult son, who has low functioning autism, get rides from the next door neighbor, who does have an SUV, though gawd only knows how she can even afford one. Her son also gets very loud, and will always yell towards you, trying to start some sort of conversation that is unfortunately incomprehensible. Obviously not his fault, but it does nevertheless add to the annoyance factor within our surroundings.

We're way past complaining to housing, and at this point, are simply counting down the months before we're hopefully able to make the move south. Still, we expect the next 6 months to be excruciating, but so it goes!

Just have to keep thinking that there are better days ahead!

CHEERS!

P.S. Sorry about you and your fellow neighbors having to deal with your neighbor's broken glass. This is simply inexcusable! He also has a lot of nerve, asking you to trim your shrubbery on your property. Some people just seemingly have no clue!

Other than the one neighbor, all the others are wonderful. The one renter in my area has a few barky dogs, but overall not to bad. Everybody else owns or is buying their house which makes a big difference. They care and don't want to upset anybody else. They keep up their property, are polite. Renters "not you", often don't give a rats a** and just figure they'll move when in the mood.

The shrub thing I'm not worried about. He asked if he could pull it out. I said fine, do what you want. It's like a weird weed that just started growing, I don't care, but that was over a year ago.

It's Oregon Grape, which I have growing next to my back porch, probably way older than me, but it's nice. How it somehow made it 75 feet from the house I have no idea.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Stan:

Call the city! There are rules about keeping properties clean and safe (play up the broken glass thing). Someone will come and talk to them and maybe even leave them a written citation. They'll give them a certain amount of time to fix things up and tell them they'll be back to re-inspect. If it's cleaned up, it's all good. If not, they'll be threatened with a fine, etc.

You don't need to put up with that. There are people you are paying with your tax dollars who are charged with taking care of just such situations.

I say to play up the broken glass for two reasons. One: its dangerous. What if a neighborhood kid (or your dog) ended up getting cut on that glass? And, two: because of the danger of the broken glass, it should prompt them to react quickly.

If you are afraid the city will tell the offenders it was you who call, call your local city councilman/alderman (whatever) and ask if they would call the correct city office to come and take care of things. That way, your name will likely be kept out of things. And, frankly, that's their responsibility that comes from running for local office (and earning a paycheck paid for by your tax dollar).

 

[Stan]

Stan:

Call the city! There are rules about keeping properties clean and safe (play up the broken glass thing). Someone will come and talk to them and maybe even leave them a written citation. They'll give them a certain amount of time to fix things up and tell them they'll be back to re-inspect. If it's cleaned up, it's all good. If not, they'll be threatened with a fine, etc.

You don't need to put up with that. There are people you are paying with your tax dollars who are charged with taking care of just such situations.

I say to play up the broken glass for two reasons. One: its dangerous. What if a neighborhood kid (or your dog) ended up getting cut on that glass? And, two: because of the danger of the broken glass, it should prompt them to react quickly.

If you are afraid the city will tell the offenders it was you who call, call your local city councilman/alderman (whatever) and ask if they would call the correct city office to come and take care of things. That way, your name will likely be kept out of things. And, frankly, that's their responsibility that comes from running for local office (and earning a paycheck paid for by your tax dollar).

Definitely calling the city next week. Thanks for the advice. The guy just added a dead dishwasher to the pile. Thankfully not much more space left.

 

[Tony Bensley]

OK, after thinking I dodged a bullet this winter in getting an annoying cough, the one that started on the evening of the first day of spring is now really getting on my nerves. During the day it isn't too bad, but night time is terrible. Tonight, for instance, NOTHING seems to really be working at all! Cough drops, lemon tea, water, applying Vicks Vapo Rub to my neck and upper chest, you name it, it ain't working!

 

[John Dirk]

... I'm guessing he inherited the house, no mortgage to pay off so doubt he'll move.

People who inherit houses sometimes frown at the thought of actually having to pay property tax so I'm betting he will [eventually] move. One can hope anyway. Right?

 

[John Dirk]

OK, after thinking I dodged a bullet this winter in getting an annoying cough, the one that started on the evening of the first day of spring is now really getting on my nerves. During the day it isn't too bad, but night time is terrible. Tonight, for instance, NOTHING seems to really be working at all! Cough drops, lemon tea, water, applying Vicks Vapo Rub to my neck and upper chest, you name it, it ain't working!

One word for you, Tony.

"Brandy."

 

[Tony Bensley]

One word for you, Tony.

"Brandy."

The coughing finally did stop for awhile, and I did sleep for a few hours, but woke up a little while ago with a semi stuffed up nose.

We don't have any Brandy, but I also have been gargling with Listerine a few times a day this past week. It just occurred to me that the alcohol which helps to kill the germs in my mouth (No, I'm no germaphobe, but I do recognize that the Listerine usually helps if something is starting to brew, so to speak!) might also be contributing to the irritation in my throat that seems to rear its ugly head late at night.

This may unfortunately be a bit of a Catch 22 situation, that I simply have to suffer through. In addition to mild bronchitis, I'm somewhat prone to hayfever type allergies. It's often difficult for me to tell where my allergies end and cold symptoms begin, but over the years, I've concluded that one probably sometimes feeds the other.

Hopefully, whatever this thing is clears up soon. Would like to get through one lousy bout without having to resort to antibiotics, which has admittedly been a crutch, but I'm trying to allow my immune system the chance to do its job, this time around. The doctors office is now closed for Easter weekend, in any event. Thankfully, we expect this Easter to be a quiet one.

CHEERS!

 

[Stan]

The coughing finally did stop for awhile, and I did sleep for a few hours, but woke up a little while ago with a semi stuffed up nose.

We don't have any Brandy, but I also have been gargling with Listerine a few times a day this past week. It just occurred to me that the alcohol which helps to kill the germs in my mouth (No, I'm no germaphobe, but I do recognize that the Listerine usually helps if something is starting to brew, so to speak!) might also be contributing to the irritation in my throat that seems to rear its ugly head late at night.

This may unfortunately be a bit of a Catch 22 situation, that I simply have to suffer through. In addition to mild bronchitis, I'm somewhat prone to hayfever type allergies. It's often difficult for me to tell where my allergies end and cold symptoms begin, but over the years, I've concluded that one probably sometimes feeds the other.

Hopefully, whatever this thing is clears up soon. Would like to get through one lousy bout without having to resort to antibiotics, which has admittedly been a crutch, but I'm trying to allow my immune system the chance to do its job, this time around. The doctors office is now closed for Easter weekend, in any event. Thankfully, we expect this Easter to be a quiet one.

CHEERS!

Sounds terrible, but when we were kids and got congested, coughing, etc. My mom made something that was Brandy, honey, lemon juice and hot water. Probably not something the doctor would recommend, but It actually helped.

 

[Clinton McClure]

It is? I can't think of a single "emergency" where it was useful.

You don’t live in Tornado Alley, do you?

 

[Tony Bensley]

This afternoon, we went to our family doctor, who put me on a 5 day round of antibiotics. What probably started off as a cold had turned into a throat/upper chest infection. It isn't pneumonia, but I'll also be using puffers for a bit. I might try using it before bedtime, as this is when my coughing has been getting almost unbearable. I also discovered tonight that I need to stay away from pepper and other spices for the next few days, as the pepper on my fries triggered a massive coughing jag that went on for at least 10 minutes.

We're supposed to be getting several inches of snow over the next few days, with tomorrow being the worst, with 4-6 inches predicted. I'm so beyond tired of these huge blasts of April winter weather in the near north. While London does sometimes get a bit of snow in April, it is nothing like what we often get just a few hours north. At least March was pretty light with the snowfall this year.

The next door neighbor's toddler kept running up and down the stairs until 1:30 last night, which kept the Mrs awake. Thankfully, she had had Chamomile Tea which took some of the edge off, but it only goes so far when you live amongst inconsiderate people. The coming of Spring/Summer should be a delight, not OMG, it's gonna be a nightmare with all the bloody racket outside our door (Sometimes literally so! Like I said; BLOODY inconsiderate A-Holes!!) and even in front of our kitchen window; not to mention the next door neighbor letting her dad sit in his lawn chair on OUR lawn, FFS! I'm also sick to the back teeth of encountering cigarette butts (Neither I, nor Mrs. Bensley smoke!) on our side of the walkway and our front lawn! How hard is it for these people to keep that crap within THEIR space?

I want to be able to look forward to springs and summers like I used to as a kid and young adult, at least to the extent that my personal health will allow, unimpeded by excessively inconsiderate people within our immediate surroundings. Hopefully next year, that wish will finally come true!

CHEERS!