[SBE] activating inactives

[McGlothen, Darryl]

I like Garrison Cavell's characterization of local SBE chapters as a
'rowboat filled with volunteer rowers'. True, in most chapters, you have
your Movers and Shakers who seem to take the lead in keeping everything
running but SBE membership is all about participation...everyone has an
obligation to contribute to the successful activity of the group,
whatever its immediate goal. Whether that goal is education, or
networking, or sharing technology resources, or surviving the regulatory
mandates, participating members can benefit from the regular meetings. 

 
Henry's rather pessimistic view of the decline in Radio and Television
broadcasting only points up the need for existing membership to renew
their efforts to grow and adapt to the changing topology of engineering.
SBE chapter membership and participation is key to our ability to adapt.
The point is, someone has to be willing to step up to the plate (or
anode) and put out some effort to direct the activities of the group.
Otherwise, we might just as well all hang up our pocket protectors,
slide rules and spectrum analyzers. Will the last engineer in NYC please
turn out the lights?
 
Darryl McGlothen, CBNT
SBE #117 Chapter Chair




> -----Original Message-----

> From: sbe-bounces at sbe.org [mailto:sbe-bounces at sbe.org] On

> Behalf Of A9xw at cs.com

> Sent: Thursday, June 19, 2008 9:22 AM

> To: sbe at sbe.org

> Subject: Re: [SBE] activating inactives

>

> I agree on the universality of the issue. With stations

> having people do more for less, we are all stressed out and

> just don't want to extend our day, just get home and deal

> with home issues. Several people have mentioned to me they

> don't see any future in broadcasting, so why make any effort

> since we are retiring or being laid off (since 1987 when Ge

> took over NBC the ranks have been thinned). The MegaCorps no

> longer see a business future for OTA TV and are devoting

> resources to internet, cell phones, cable, satellite and have

> been milking the TV stations as cash cows to fund other media

> for well over a decade.

> ABC, NBC, CBS have fairly much folded their tents on the

> network TV model with NBC no going all news in NYC and

> obliterating channel 4.  Millions spent on NBC production

> facilities sit idle or are being demolished. Multi-casting,

> central-casting is ripping our local TOC's that are hardly

> more than remote switches from NYC. Local purchasing agents

> used to save the stations hundreds of thousands annually,

> were scrapped for central purchasing to exchange the people

> cost to slightly higher product costs but a net gain in cost

> reduction.  Most of radio is nothing more than a sat receiver

> pass through to a remote TX with a local PC playing .WAV

> files for local ads and computerized time/temp. The spots are

> loaded from a central production center.  Local nmews content

> is nil with packaged news from network a couple local blood

> leads stories a local wx and sports guy reading rip and read

> copy and maybe a couple local sportws stories (Yeah big

> markets have more, small markets have none). Add in hardly

> anyone is entering engineering today at the station level.  I

> remember inthe 60's Broadcastin Magazine had pages of

> technical jobs and over 100 page issues. Today its fish wrap

> thin and if it has a half page with 3-4 jobs in sales or

> production its a big week in classified.  A lot of us are

> hanging on becuase we need the medical benefits, or with the

> recent huge increases in cost of living, can't afford to give

> up and collect SS and what ever retirement we put away for ourselves.

>

> When I do presentations at schools, all the kids want to be

> DJ's or shooters.

> Good luck. No one told them there are about 200 DJ jobs inthe

> entire country, and shooters are a dime a dozen with every

> person with a DVcam thinking they are the next hollywood

> mogul with their own reality TV show.

>

> My little station grew 27% last year in revenue and pulls

> consistant Nielsens that beat about a third of the market and

> frequently beats teh other two PBS stations and CBS. OK< CBS

> is an easy knock off, they are so messed up. Its amazing how

> long CBS has hung on to loser Cate Couric, now the lowest

> viewed network news of all time. If it weren't for the CSI

> and NCIS programs and a few others there is virtually nothing

> of quality to watch on network TV. Swingtown, soft porn and

> so dull viewers would do better with HBO. The Tiffany network

> has sunk to Wal-Mart greeter.

>

> Virtually all technology is developed offf shore, made off

> shore and the few American facilities are hardly more than

> boards stuffed into frames by robots.

> GE's slogan used to be "Progress is our most important

> product." This week GE stock is about as low as it can go.

> Disney wonders if anyone will have gas money to get to D

> World D Land. NBC is self destructing in programming and news

> and MSNBC shrinks to a tie with "sign off" and "today's

> prayer."  FOX is riding high on a lean quick response

> management team. When NBC bought Telemundo the spanish

> netowrk was run by a former CBS president who openly stated

> "the party is over in network TV, its time to fold the

> tents." That was in 2000.

> Spanish radio & TV are now #1 in the two top markets.

>

> There seems to be no interest in innovation, quality or

> engineering in broadcasting on the big scale, only cut it to

> the bone for the few remaining years its a cash cow.  In

> Europe non broadcast ads are now bigger than broadcast ads in

> revenue and sales.

>

> Even Hollywood has gone to mostly CGI, annimation for its

> main revenue. The nest Star Wars has none of the original

> episode 3,4,5 talent, just a bunch of computer programmers

> doing wire frames, backgrounds, surface textures.  In a few

> years it'll be back to Rocky and Bullwinke/South Park level

> of annimation.

>

> So trying to get a fire buring to bring out inactives is a

> monumental task. 

> Being a big market we are fortunate to have a lot of good

> programs in radio and TV to keep the candle lit. But in

> markets with 1 engineer or less per TV station and 1 engineer

> for 12 or more radios.... who has time?  There is no secret

> why chapter 73 is the most active, no one has to leave home.

>

> Henry Ruhwiedel   </HTML>

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