This was a very popular session as we all hoped to catch that piece of golden advice that will eventually get our scripts on Robert Jones’s or Jonathan Darby’s desk. And here’s how you go about it:

Calling card scripts

Write several good calling card scripts in order to demonstrate your skills and to show that you can handle different genres: one 30-minute episode of a series, one 60-minute script for TV, one 90-minute feature script. Have one script with lots of good dialogue.

Do not write a spec adaptation (unless you really want to set yourself up as an adaption writer) but consider taking a novel that’s out of copyright and transferring it to a contemporary setting.

Make sure your calling card scripts are as good as you can possibly make them. Get input from other writers (join a writers’ group) and send the scripts to a professional reader or script editor. Your career should be worth that investment.

Script / commissioning editors

You can follow who is commissioning what on the Broadcast Commissioning Index (however the grapevine has it that this will be turned into a subscriber-only service sometime soon).

Check the credits of TV shows for the script editors; if you find that the same name pops up consistently in episodes that appeal to you, write to that person to tell them you like their work / style and that you would like to work for them.

Broadcasters, producers and agents

You have submitted your spec work to a broadcaster and been rejected. Now you want to send it to an indie producer… can you do without mentioning the rejection? Julian’s answer is a clear “no” – that would be unethical unless you tell the indie it has been rejected by the broadcaster (which is why the Blake Friedmann Agency generally don’t submit client material to broadcasters until they have tried independents). It is possible that a good independent will add value to a script by way of a director and cast, which might make the broadcaster decide to do it.

Agents and producers are usually more interested in you as a writer than in your spec stories – those are basically just to prove you can write. Therefore your submission packet should also contain information about yourself – why you write and what your passion is.

You can find out about agents through various handbooks, but an agent who belongs to the Association of Authors’ Agents or the PMA is to be recommended. Julian suggests that even if you have an agent, don’t rely on them always doing the right thing – you must read the trades yourself and get out and network. And do not sign any agreement that binds you for a year or even longer.

Producers’ biogs are available from PACT (UK indie producers’ trade association). Check them out, build up your own database of production companies. When talking to a producer, try to establish your financial benchmark – join the Writers’ Guild and make that “visible”.

The Submission

Do not address your letter to “Dear Sir/Madam” but address them by first name. Try to get a recommendation. Make sure you research your target and what they’ve done, touch on that in your submission.

One effective way of writing selling treatments that you can use to submit is to break them into the following parts:

* One paragraph similar to the back blurb of a novel (possibly without the ending)
* Character biogs – five lines for main and two lines for secondary characters
* Statement of intent with personal info; tell them why you are the person to write this particular story
* Synopsis of max. three pages – make this visual and write it in the present tense to give a sense of pace
* Contents page at the front

(For more excellent advice on how to write treatments that sell check out Julian’s articles on TwelvePoint.com.)

And finally, as for rejection…

… get used to it! And keep going!

PS This is my last instalment of SWF 2009 session notes. Next year you’ll all have to check it out in person – the festival is definitely worth it!

THE military-installed Fiji government has removed all broadcasting licences and given Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum the absolute power to renew or redistribute them without any compensation to those whose licences are stripped…. From The Australian. Full story

This site may contain information about: cheap air flights. The blog is also related to: flight heathrow.

Broadcast – unattributed

The Daily Telegraph’s letters page has been discussing the annoying habit of Newsreaders waving their hands and moving about.

Today I see one correspondent has posed the question “Do Radio announcers wave their hands about too?”

Now Lynn – come clean – and tell the Nation.

“Yes”

And I personally find it VERY distracting.

My  Dear Christian Folk: We live in a universe of stars that number in the myriad . Galaxies beyond the ability  for man to calculate.

We live in a universe composed of suns and planets; and their distances can be measured ; and the forces that hold them in place can be used to guide man in    future space travel.

We live in a cosmos where planets orbit suns and moons journey around planets ;all  at fixed time tables that alter only by the smallest  fraction of a second.

Here we can observe the handiwork of the Almighty and wonder at the power and forces  employed  at  His command;   to forge together this architectural wonder,  eternity’s celestial tapestry.

But  in its observation ,it may give rise to the thought that the forces  that  govern  the celestial ;the laws of nature, that clearly apply to the universe ,may also apply here on earth.

That possibly  man himself is subject to the laws that God has  ordained  in  creation and that these laws must be obeyed for they are immutable .

 That there are no special laws for mankind .

All man can do is to discover nature’s hidden secrets .He may choose to ignore the laws that God has put into effect but he does, only at his peril.

There’s no room for dark,shadowy phantoms lurking in the vastness of God’s natural world and those who attempt to conquer nature by means of superstition or good intentions will find themselves destroyed by the very forces they had hoped to manipulate or subvert.

 The law that allows for the lion to kill the lamb also  sanctions the death of the lamb.

In God’s eternal court of justice the wreath of victory is always granted to the stronger.

If this were not the case then human progress in this world of struggle would have come to a halt millions of years ago.

We live in a world where the strong must out of necessity exploit the weak . By so doing they gain the strength to survive albeit at the expense of others.

But what if the opposite were true;that the weak and sickly lived and thrived at the expense of the strong and healthy?

The downward spiral so effected would deny to mankind his rightful place in the world.

The race of man ,instead of gaining and improving his position would eventually recede back into the primordial   past, and again,slowly  falling victim to the more powerful and swifter of the great beasts of prey.

And so it is ,that man’s ultimate destiny lies in his ability to organize for the advancement of the best ,the brightest and the healthiest of his kind.

For only here can we ever  hope to gain favor with the Almighty ,creator of the universe  ,by furthering His handiwork.

All politics must therefore be in total compliance with  natural law.

Nature herself knows no political boundaries.In her sight nations with fixed borders do not exist.

All nature can do is  to place living creatures on the globe and watch the interplay of the weaker being dominated by the stronger . She    grants dominance only to the healthiest and crowns him the victor.

Politics can only be in  the domain of human culture.Therefore the highest aim of human existence is not the preservation of national boundaries or governments but the preservation of the human species.

In this ,the most self-evident course of action   must   be  , as a  matter of survival; to weed out from among us all the parasites that have entered within the community of man . Parasites that slowly sap the strength of the stronger and attempt to destroy the very handiwork of the creator.

Vigilance is key, and often goes lacking due to the ease with which those who put self before the good of mankind exploit the decent ,thrifty ,hardworking among us ; all those who by  necessity are too busy providing for their families and their communities.

These unsuspecting are usually the first to fall victim to the nefarious elements that have deceived entire nations in the past and now through deceit and subterfuge      attack the very moral and religious foundations of our Christian society.

This is just the preparatory phase for what will follow will be the total subjugation of the white Christian race in America!

America’s finances ,legal system ,public schools  ,mass media,and our entire legal framework based on constitutional principles     are now subverted and put under the control of an alien race perpetually masquerading as a religious community.

This cabal of demons   known internationally as a plague on humanity, has been the major cause of the world’s horrors and calamities.

The greatest call to action is to root out these human parasites from out of the Christian Faith community and  with them all of their hired help ,operating from behind the pulpits of churches and behind the microphones of  the Christian radio broadcast media.

In most of the world, this community of poisoned mushrooms that survive and thrive on the decay of failed nations are looked at as the dreaded JEWISH WORLD PLAGUE that has taken the lives of    so many of  mankind’s  best and brightest.

Those who make pretense of the Christian faith are  only too willing to facilitate the spread of this jewish contagion and in fact make no bones about it.

They deceive many. Just give a listen to all the scam artists who appear on radio programs such as CROSSTALK produced by VCY BROADCASTING.

Listen to the planned lullaby rhetoric of REJOICE RADIO . Whose sole purpose is to disarm the decent Christian Folk and to prepare them for their destruction at the hands of the international maggots .

 The first thing any decent person should do is to stop all financial support of these judases working and receiving the judas wage.

All those who attempt to deceive you regarding scientific truths or misdirect you as to who the real enemies of the GOSPEL are.

Avoid them for they have become as  dirty and filthy as the jewish causes they represent.

Remember that unless  humanity rids the world of the JEWISH WORLD PLAGUE: The JEWISH WORLD PLAGUE will rid the world of humanity!

Joining the parade of predictions that online radio revenue will grow in 2010, SNL Kagan predicts that by 2013 online radio revenue will account for nearly 5% of radio’s overall number. Kagan’s announcement, published as part of SNL Kagan’s Broadcaster Investor Service, expects 12% growth this year, with radio’s online revenues tallying $441 million (up from $394 million last year).

Beyond that, SNL Kagan projects an annual online revenue growth rate of 20% in 2010 to $530 million. As the market matures, growth is expected to level off through 2013, rising to $827 million, or 4.7%, of total radio revenues by the end of the five-year period. That compares to 2.0% in 2008 and a projected 2.7% of total radio revenues in 2009.

The decline in broadcast radio revenues has helped to spur the growth of online radio dollars, according to the report. Out of necessity, stations looked to develop online initiatives with websites, streaming and mobile applications to replace traditional ad dollars and increase sales.

The report is focused strictly on broadcasters and appears to refer only to online revenue growth for broadcast stations. Pure online stations such as Pandora, AccuRadio whose revenues would be completely online do not appear to be part of this report.

My Dear Christian Folk:   Every nation on  earth has its share of traitors .Every religion has its Judas Iscariot ,willing to betray their own community for  fame  and  fortune.

What   initially causes someone to  betray their faith is a subject for discussion, best suited for those accredited in the  psychology profession.

In the Christian faith community betrayal and treason over the course of many centuries has taken various forms.One of the more usual has  transpired over the road of self promotion and a desire to take advantage of those unable to think independently .REMEMBER JIMMY SWAGGERT AND JIM BAKER’S PTL CLUB? and ORAL ROBERT’S TELEVISED SWINDLE?

The ultimate reason  :to simply enrich their personal fortune.You usually find  those so inclined behind the pulpits of every denomination, but lately behind the microphones of the various Christian Radio Broadcast stations . 

Here they can cast their nets of deception over a very wide audience  ;usually guaranteeing  a modicum of success ;if only over a small minority of the easily tricked .  Operating   behind the cloak of  Christian religiosity they can  comfortably force feed their drivel down the throats of those lacking the education or the analytical mind needed to    penetrate the fog and distortions of history ,these low life scoundrels    calmly peddle for the profit earned on the retail price of a poorly written history book. 

  The purchase of books from these tax  exempt radio ministries is high priority in their drive to not only dumb down the gullible listening audience but as a  means of maintaining their luxury lifestyles.

 Falsifying history can earn someone a good deal of money.

College  professors are constantly badgered by various ethnic and political groups  from off campus to include in their curriculum something favorable and biased   to  their world view or  favoring  their political aspirations.

  This is no less true among the ever resourceful Pseudo-Christian Radio Broadcasters  in America ,ever open to new opportunities to gain riches and celebrity status.

Treason is treason from whatever source it manifests itself.

  Hypothetically , would Christians be interested in attending a lecture given by JUDAS ISCARIOT ,explaining his side of the story?

What would we think of those who would eagerly attend such a gathering?  What would we think of anyone who would give credence to the FALSE DISCIPLE ?

Why should we give any credence to the judases among the ISLAMIC RELIGION  ?Are they really any more credible ?

Should we be suspicious of any person who abandons his religion for notoriety or betrays the suffering of his people  in exchange for  getting his book published .??

While it may be injurious to the  Church of Christ to have deceit and betrayal originating from  within the faith community ,it is quite something different when it originates from without and for reasons that can only be described as diabolical.

Here we have to look hard at those who simply masquerade as a  religious  community in order to disarm  and deceive the    unsuspecting public; allowing them to go undetected while they plunder the country they reside in ;taking over the financial institutions, corroding the public’s sense of morality and decency and eventually leaving behind in its trail, an empty shell,a carcass poisoned  by the biggest lie ever invented by a people  ;The lie that ;the  Jews are a religious community ,harmless ,quaint ,obedient to the mosaic laws and totally trustworthy.

 In order to  shove this lie down the throats of the gullible gentile community they employ all the various means at their disposal.

And if one can measure the rate of decay in American society it would be hard to underestimate their effectiveness.

America’s  ethical and Christian moral standing has diminished in direct relationship to the rate of jewification that  has spread across the U.S.A. at the speed of a highly lethal pathogen , ingested into the nation’s churches and religious institutions.

  One of the many tactics they use is to appeal to the various christian radio broadcasters such as REJOICE RADIO and their evil twins at the infamous VCY AMERICA BROADCAST INC.

 Now under the cover of Christian    communication they penetrate the minds and psyche of the credulous  ;plying their misinformation by means of their willing accomplices of this planned deceit.

The daily drum beat is that Muslims are generally violent creatures who would love nothing better than to behead the infidel.

Never understanding that the JEW has an unequaled aptitude for diverting public attention away from himself and directing it elsewhere ;the listening audience of this talk show is never the wiser.

 The Jew even succeeds in causing the Christian Community to attack one another while the cultural and moral foundations of this country become corroded and filled with  spiritual  dry rot.

Poisoned by the JEWISH WORLD PLAGUE!

 What never occurs to the naive listening audience is that more Muslims and even Christians living in occupied  Arab lands are dying as a result of Jewish assaults on their homes,neighborhoods,places of worship.

It never enters into the befuddled mentality of the credulous listeners that Christian countries are standing idly by while the slaughter of small Arab children goes on and  are also  being starved to death on a daily basis.

The Jewish poison creates an unparalleled paralysis of the logic and thought processes of the average stupid Christian who will believe every word that comes out of the mouths of the paid stooges such as the hosts of the CROSSTALK RADIO PROGRAM.

The arch-swindler of this hotbed of paid judases  is so incredibly corrupt that for fame and a chance to  over charge his listening audience for the cover price of a cheap book plus postage and handling costs ;in excess of the actual amount ,will stoop to nothing to cater favor with the murderers of JESUS CHRIST!

This infamy extends just as well to many others including the TRICKSTERS OVER AT REJOICE RADIO.

Ever wonder how the glib story-teller and proverbs reader ever financed his career in RADIO?

Corruption breeds corruption;charlatans attract other charlatans.

Do you really believe REJOICE RADIO AND VCY AMERICA do not work together for financial gain.?

ARE YOU REALLY IMPRESSED WITH THE CONSTANT ADVISEMENT THAT REJOICE RADIO DOES NOT CHARGE THE SWINDLERS OVER AT VCY AMERICA FOR AIR TIME?

 Demand that the financial records be opened in order to ascertain the financial connection between the two!

Keep in mind that unless  the world eliminates the jewish plague from humanity;the jewish plague will eliminate humanity from the world!  

I’m not one of those local fans who thinks these two guys to the left are out to get us.  I often hear how much they hate Philly.  How excited they get when the other team gets a hit or scores a run.  How they always seem to be “rooting for the other team”.  Although I once nearly fell for this bit of nonsense, after further review, I now find myself refusing to buy into it.

Nope, the only issue I have with Joe Buck and Tim McCarver has absolutely nothing to do with their skills as broadcasters – they’re both pretty solid if you ask me.   My gripe is that they seem to have missed the memo on the 3-foot threshold for personal space.  Take a look at the photo if you don’t believe me.  There is no acceptable reason for two grown straight men to be conversing, standing, drinking, smoking – what have you – this close to one another.  If you were to further examine the photo, their heads appear to be no more than 5 inches apart.  As a stickler for space and not wanting someone all up in my grill, I find it dumbfounding!  They might as well be sitting on each other’s lap.  I understand that they have to be within the camera frame.  I get that, but this is bordering on ridiculous.  Believe me, I did my research.  This photo is one of many examples.  Look it up.

Otherwise, a job well done so far in this 2009 World Series!

 My Dear Christian Folk:  Charity,generosity,kindness are the very underpinning of Christian behavior .In fact lacking these virtues , one would be hard pressed to convince others of any true religion.

But as in any organization , Christian or secular ,a small few cannot claim everything for themselves and leave nothing for others.

While it may benefit the soul to help others, it is not unreasonable to ask those receiving assistance to adhere to the claims they make about their  stated goals.

I firmly believe that those who donate to various causes on the basis that the Almighty will honor their intentions whether or not the charity receiving your money is honorable or just a bunch of lying scoundrels, is a false and sinful understanding of what    Christian charity means.

Your money  going to support  an organization that is fraudulent and deceptive in its practices is not worthy of receiving donations of any sort.

 Simply donating for its own sake  deprives the many truly  needy Christian Organizations of the help  you would have  otherwise been able to send them.

The DONATION DOLLAR CAN BE STRETCHED JUST SO FAR.

 Simply  to financially support  a gang of religion swindlers not only harms the needy but sets the donor up for a major downfall and a deep feeling of disgust over the whole  sordid business one encounters in the PSEUDO-CHRISTIAN RELIGION BUSINESS!

This  usually occurs after the fraud is discovered and made public ;Leaving all the stranded charity givers high and dry and forever cynical as to  ever giving again and even so far as to doubt  the genuineness of all  those claiming the name of CHRIST!

One indication that fraud and deceit may be occurring is when an organization  claiming to be  Christian refuses to show you how the money they   receive is to be  used for.

When they change the expressed purpose of the fund-raising drive or they attempt to hide their own salaries from public scrutiny ;then you can pretty well figure you’re dealing with a bunch of scam artists simply trying to get rich off of your naivety and trusting nature.

DON’T LET THEM GET AWAY WITH IT!

 This is especially important now that the Christmas charity drives will begin in full force and coming on the heels of a major pledge drive recently conducted by the gang that runs the REJOICE RADIO BROADCAST [RBN].

Those that pledged to donate monthly a set amount to RBN,must rethink the whole sordid experience in order not to be hoodwinked by this professional ,highly organized gang of story-tellers.

Before you agree to fulfill your pledge ask them to send you a statement of financial condition ,audited by a credible accounting firm that clearly shows all their expenditures for the year;how much money they have already received, and how was it spent.

 This statement  must include all salaries paid and all their operating expenses to date .

 All utility bills and the percentage paid for the cost of their programming and its transmission .

 Of  course  anyone who has ever listened to RBN knows that they will never agree to do this.

The whole operation is clouded in secrecy and depends on all the gullible ,less astute of the Christian listening audience to come through for them.They totally dismiss all those who can think independently and are analytical and sceptical of all things  one hears   on the radio  airwaves.

They simply rely on the vastness of their audience and the abject stupidity of  the majority who believe every word these scoundrels spew out .

DON’T BE ONE OF THEM!

 Doesn’t it seem strange how these tricksters calmly switched from

  their dire need  of  funds for OPERATING EXPENSES to the need to pay their UTILITY BILLS?;

To the threat they will no longer be able to broadcast thereby depriving the lost of their chance for salvation?

And then to the chance for the moronic audience  to earn   ETERNAL  REWARDS IN HEAVEN .

Yes, many fell for their phony pitch. But bear in mind you are under no legal obligation to fulfill your pledge ,there is no sin in holding back your gift to those who clearly abuse the remnant of CHRIST’S CHURCH!

Soon they will be mailing you a BILL,showing the amount you OWE with a lot of phony sentimentality attached to it in order to make you feel guilty if you don’t follow through with the amount you pledged during their FALL PLEDGE DRIVE.

Soon they will begin their CHRISTMAS FUND RAISER based on the same lame reasons they always give.

DON”T FALL FOR IT!

 If you need more to convince you ,ask yourselves this simple question. Would any legitimate Christian church ,organization, or CHRISTIAN RADIO BROADCASTER engage with others in order to dumb you down through the course of their supposed Christian Broadcast?

Would they affiliate themselves with the likes of the CROSSTALK PROGRAMMING produced by another gang of religion swindlers?

Would they engage in deceptive practices and mind numbing  connivance for political or other crass motives?

Would they support these other scoundrels with so-called FREE AIRTIME in order to  further abuse you?

DO YOU REALLY KNOW EXACTLY THE RELATIONSHIP THAT EXISTS WITH THESE CHARLATANS?

NO YOU DON’T!

SO WHY TRUST THEM?

Would you trust someone who deliberately lies to you regarding the settled science of man’s ORIGENS.

This is in effect what they do when they expose you to the likes of KEN HAM and IAN TAYLOR!

So why pay them for the privilege of deceiving you?

Why pay them for the subtle abuse they dish out to you and to others like who are too gullible to see through their clever tricks and their on the air broadcast scam!

The Christian faith from its beginning has produced one swindler after another. The motive is the same ;all that changes is the technology  and  the window dressing. The goal in each  case is the same: To enrich themselves financially at your expense and to simply leave you as dumbed down as ever .

The better for future swindlers to have their turn at you!

DON’T LET THEM GET AWAY WITH IT!

CUT THEM OFF AT THE PURSE STRINGS!

The true faith requires all Christians to unite under one banner and to fight the common enemy ;the enemy whose power is the mortal foe of any true CHRISTIANITY.

This enemy is in partnership   with  these PSEUDO CHRISTIAN SCOUNDRELS ,they work together producing the corrosion that has eaten away at our churches,our national culture our ethics ,our families. MAY GOD HELP US TO DEFEAT  THESE DEMONS!

My Dear Christian Folk: Before you know it the Christmas season will be here, and for certain, during these difficult economic times it will be  hard for many to adjust to the reality of the tight budget.

But if CHRISTMAS IS ALMOST HERE  can the Easter observances be that far behind?

I strongly suggest you  purchase your tickets now for the 2010

presentation of the PASSION PLAY  in the historic city of OBERAMMERGAU..

.These performances go all the way back to the year 1634 ,when the citizens of this city vowed to perform the events leading up to the death of  Christ in gratitude for surviving the plague.  The popularity of this play  draws audiences from around the world.

In fact tickets to see this Bible  centered presentation of the last days of  the life of Christ    that ended  with his crucifixion ,may already be sold out.

 The performance is really worth seeing.It really is that good!

But wonderfully ,   OBERAMMERGAU    is not the only place where you can see a passion play.  In many parts of   Eastern Europe ,in  the  local” OLD BELIEVERS “churches  they put on these plays using local talent as well as  church members.

The various roles assigned to the actors are sometimes begrudgingly accepted.

It seems no one wants to play the part of JUDAS ISCARIOT.

 Few wish to be cast in the role of CAIAPHAS  ,THE HIGH PRIEST and even playing PONTIUS PILATE is viewed as being so totally unsavory  ;they fear the possible stigmatization that may follow them into the future.

  Bear in mind,these are small town folk  with small town attitudes and long memories.

 Would you want to be seen playing the part of CAIAPHAS in a passion play ,or that of JUDAS and being remembered by the hometown folks  as the one who sent Christ to his death or betrayed him to the JEWS?  I don’t think so!

Many may not be aware but right here in the U.S.A. there are many passion plays being performed every HOLY WEEK.

In fact one may be coming to a theatre near you.

Imagine if the citizens of WASHINGTON D.C. were to  organize a theatre production accurately depicting  the events leading up to

the betrayal, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.Given the Zeitgeist of the times ,who  do you think would play the role of  Jesus? Anyone care to venture a guess?

  My Dear Christian Folk:

  It would be good if the churches would agree to present  those in the Christian faith community ,

 with  some sort of OSCAR AWARD.  To those deserving of special recognition for all they do ;And 

 these would be awards of very SPECIAL RECOGNITION; to those who have  done the most throughout the year in betraying the GOSPEL OF CHRIST ,deceiving the    Christian Faith Community, 

perpetually lying to them,deceiving them, manipulating their emotions using hot button topics designed to draw attention to themselves and their useless  ministries,tricking them into making purchases at unfair prices ,and generally treating the people of God the way the ancient pharisees treated the believers who wanted to follow Christ.

While this may never happen in so far as the mainstream churches are concerned ,I truly believe there is an interest among those who follow the deceptive practices heard daily on the RADIO DIAL  ;  those who  earn their living broadcasting on Christian Radio.

The listeners of various stations such as THE REJOICE RADIO BROADCAST NETWORK, THE  DOVE, FAMILY RADIO, AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST THE VCY AMERICA BROADCAST NETWORK should have the right to  cast their ballots for their favorite nominees.

And there are many  Christian Radio personalities to choose from.

If I had a ballot to begin  the nomination process  ;I would start by nominating for the PONTIUS PILATE AWARD  :the glib popinjay of Christian Radio ,the one-man show over at  RBN   ,a true renaissance man ; the ever popular smooth talking guy with the eclectic background ,oh well you know him as CRAIG MATTSON!

Why THE PONTIUS PILATE AWARD. ? 

The Italian poet Dante Alighieri places in a  special section of the inferno all those who turn their backs when confronted with deceit and injustice.

Afterall isn’t this what Pilate did when he caved into the demands of the howling mob of depraved jews ?

Isn’t this what Craig does when he refuses to  denounce the fraud ,deception and injustice committed against the listening audience of RBN and  that of their affiliate:THE CROSSTALK PROGRAM?produced by VCY AMERICA?

 I nominate   BRANNON  HOWSE for the CAIAPHAS AWARD  ; for his self delusional political pursuasion. And didn’t CAIAPHAS convince Pilate to execute Jesus?  Wasn’t  CAIAPHAS a political genius,self-perceived!  And  how  does  the conceited BRANNON THINK OF HIMSELF?

But THE JUDAS ISCARIOT AWARD BELONGS TO NONE OTHER THAN TO MR.  VIC ELIASON;for betraying  the community of believers with his false assertions,  the false statements he perpetually makes on and off the air.for abusing the listeners hungry to hear the truth, for betraying the Christ  of the Gospel for the retail price of a poorly written book.

And didn’t JUDAS BETRAY CHRIST FOR 30 pieces of silver.

Vic has made more than that,in fact Vic has made enough money betraying the Lord ,he can retire in the lap of luxury from here on out.

Yes ,no doubt about The prestigious Judas ISCARIOT AWARD should go to the deserving ring-leader of VCY AMERICA ; The honorable Vic Eliason.

You don’t ever want to buy a used car from this guy or a book for that matter! HE’S THE VERY EPITOME OF JUDAS ISCARIOT! A  TRUE FOLLOWER OF THE FALSE DISCIPLE. HE WAS BORN TO BE A JUDAS. AND SOMEDAY HE WILL SEE HIM AS HE IS .

The debate over football television rights raged on today as almost 57% of England football fans registered their disgust at having to miss England’s World Cup Qualifying game in the Ukraine at the weekend, owing to the fact that it was only available to watch via an exclusive internet stream and they were too stupid to work out how to operate a computer.

Meanwhile, a further 38% of those surveyed said that they “weren’t in the least bit bothered” and that the match gave them the perfect excuse to spend a couple of hours in a darkened room hunched over a laptop away from the missus, with the remaining 5% too drunk to know what was happening, as the game was played on a Saturday night.

An England supporters waits patiently for his stream to buffer

England supporters’ club spokesman representative Ian Chandler issued a brusque statement on behalf of football fans everywhere, declaring: “Enough is enough.  We, the downtrodden fan have been mistreated by the television companies for too long with poor quality transmissions and empty promises.  I personally picked up my laptop and bashed it against the table for fifteen minutes, and there was still no sign of the England match coming on.  What are these people playing at?”

However, these sentiments were not echoed universally, as 47 year-old postman Chris Rogerson from Gateshead affirmed: “To be honest, I was just glad of the opportunity to have some spare time to myself.  I told the missus that the England game was on the internet, and she didn’t think twice about it, as she’d seen it on the news.

“So I took the laptop into the front room, drew the curtains, and checked out some of the…well…’specialist’ websites that my mate Mike told me about a couple of months ago.”  When pressed upon the nature of these ‘specialist’ sites, and whether or not any of them showed England’s 1-0 defeat to the Ukraine, Rogerson turned extremely coy.  “Er, that’s not important,“ he said, “what is important is that I had a thoroughly good time.”

Suzannah Tinker, landlady of the King’s Arms pub in Swindon, meanwhile, was keen to point that most of her punters had been sitting in a drunken haze for much of the day and were completely unaware that any England match was taking place.  “England match?” she said, indignantly.  “What England match?  Saturday’s drinking day.  There’ll be no football in here.”

UPDATE: THERE WILL NOW BE HIGHLIGHTS OF UKRAINE V ENGLAND ON BBC1 TONIGHT (SATURDAY 10TH OCTOBER) – TUNE IN TO MATCH OF THE DAY AT 10.15PM.

An Occasional Series of Short(ish) Rants and Ramblings about the Beautiful Game

Part One:

Honestly. Who’d be an England fan? I ask (yet again) in all seriousness, as the latest installment in the long-running soap opera of supporting the national team rolls into town again late tomorrow afternoon. Or rather it doesn’t. Because, unless you are one of the (approximately) one million England fans who a) is prepared to actually fork out up to fifteen quid to watch the game on a tiny monitor, and b) has a fast enough internet connection, or c) is mad enough to pay the ticket prices demanded by the ’selected’ Odeon cinemas who are showing the game, you won’t be watching the Ukraine v England World Cup qualifying match tomorrow; not even in the pub, which fact alone is enough to make me weep into my pint – if I wasn’t actually drinking a cup of tea instead.

For a change, this isn’t Sky depriving your average England fan of her fix of qualifying matches and friendlies, despite the oft-bemoaned fact that their sports packages (plus the equipment, plus installation…) are financially out reach for many. Tempting as it may be (and tempting as it always is), this is not an anti-Murdoch rant – for a change, ol’Rupey-baby isn’t responsible for this particular balls-up.

Nope, if this ridiculous situation is anyone’s fault, the responsibility lies with the now slightly defunct British arm of the Irish sports broadcaster, Setanta. When they went into administration in June of this year, they took the rights to broadcast the Ukraine v England match down with them. Or, to be more precise, the rights reverted to the Swiss-based organisation Kentaro - and none of the British broadcasters were prepared to part with the huge wads of cash Kentaro were demanding for said rights. Some bright spark had obviously noted the increasing popularity of both official and unofficial live online streaming of club and international matches, and decided that this was the way to go. Having also gained the Ukrainian rights to the game, they set about irritating the vast majority of England fans who have slow computers and/or not a great deal of money by deciding to sell subscriptions for the match via various newspapers – and limiting those subscriptions to approximately one million for technical reasons (what odds on the site crashing ten minutes into the match anyway???). And, as per bloody usual, the rest of us don’t even get a look in.

And yes, that includes highlights; we don’t even get the teensiest glance at those either (the game is, however, on the radio – see the broadcast info link above). So, in deciding – during a recession, ffs! – that they could make a fat wodge of money out of streaming this game online, and in limiting the numbers who can subscribe or get to a particpating cinema, Kentaro have become the latest lot to put perhaps the final nail in the coffin that was once football as a working class game – a game that was open to pretty much anyone, regardless of wealth. These days, wealth is a prerequisite; unless you can afford an over-priced match ticket, an expensively fast internet connection, or (in this case) the extortionate amount charged by cinemas these days, you’re stuck with highlights shows on TV and the glories (ahem) of Jonathan Pearce and Alan Green on Radio Five Live. Or, should you be really desperate, there’s always TalkSport, which is – in my considered opinion – even worse….

Admittedly, it’s not as if this particular match is a knife-edge, vital qualifier of the type that would usually entail much hiding behind cushions and swearing copiously at the referee on the telly. Somehow or other (that nice Mr Capello might have something to do with it), England have already managed to qualify for next year’s World Cup in South Africa – and qualify convincingly too. However, having won all our games so far, the average England fan – although delighted by this strange and unusual event – would quite like England to win all our qualifying matches and, what’s more, would quite like to SEE England hopefully winning all our qualifying matches. You’d think that all the qualification matches for major competitions would be free to air and available on terrestrial TV for everyone to enjoy/get annoyed at (delete as applicable). Is that too much to ask? It appears that it is.

I was quite looking forward to being able to veg out on the sofa or head down to the pub to watch, and actually enjoy, a couple of England games – matches which are more than pointless try-out friendlies (you know, the sort which Sven used to use as an excuse to substitute the whole first team at half time for a bunch of pre-pubescent academy types), but not those full on oh-my-god-we-have-to-win-this-one-or-I’ll-just-DIE-on-the-spot qualifiers which tend to make me as full of unnecessary tension as what I can only describe as a very tense thing. Fortunately, having already qualified, a victory tomorrow would be a nice, relaxing bonus – but it’s not entirely essential and I have no intention of stressing over it.

OK, yes, it’s true that tomorrow’s match is slightly important must-win for the Ukrainians – a victory could put them in second place in Group 6, above the disappointing Croatia and in with a pretty definite shout of a play-off place. Unless England chuck in the towel early doors (sorry. I really need to give the red card and an early bath to any more footballing cliches around here…), this should be a mildly irrelevent but potentially very interesting game. And I was quite looking forward to enjoying an example of that rare and precious thing – an England qualifying match that isn’t going to give me at least one near-heart attack or make me want to go and jump off Richmond Bridge. Or something equally fatal.

We do, admittedly, get the dubious honour of the final qualifying match against Belarus on ITV1 next week, but when the (lack of) quality shown by that channel’s football output is considered, alongside the fact that – technically speaking, anyway – the result should be a foregone conclusion, I begin to wonder if I’ll bother watching that one at all. But then again, Belarus are exactly the kind of team we have had a nasty habit of falling flat on our faces over in the past, and I harbour a sneaky secret desire to see Fabio Capello really lose his rag with that bunch of over-paid divas in the England set-up (football fans, you know exactly who I mean). The possibilities are endless. I guess there is always the mute button and Radio Five Live’s commentary…

Honestly. Who’d be an England fan?

Coming Soon – in Part 2 of Football Shorts, I’ll be revisiting some predictions I made at the very start of the English Premier League season back in early August. Now that a couple of months and eight games have gone by, did I actually get any of them right? Don’t be silly….

It was hate at first sight. The first time I laid eyes on Charlie Steiner he was one of those ESPN Sportscenter Hosts, and like the rest of them seemed full of himself, too hip for the room, a glib remark or pithy pun more important than the substance of what was being covered.

Charlie Steiner talks baseball with the Dodger faithful

I was one of the few who wasn’t happy with Ross Porter being let go as the Dodgers’ radio announcer after the 2004 season. Yes, Porter was primarily a stats geek, often filling the space between pitches with more numbers than an Indian Casino bingo caller. Listening to Porter my eyes would sometimes glaze over like I was back in Algebra 1 (a class I failed five times), but he had a folksy, down to earth style and seemed to have a true appreciation of the game. He also was one of the rare Dodger radio personalities at the time who was honest enough to admit on the air that the team sucked when it sucked. When a team stinks – as it did often during Porter’s tenure – that can be a breath of fresh air.

So when Porter got let go I thought he got a raw deal, and hearing that Charlie Steiner would be taking his place didn’t make it any easier to swallow. I spend far too many of the dwindling hours I have left on this planet watching or listening to Dodger baseball. And now I was going to spend a good portion of them with Charlie Steiner?

I couldn’t have been more wrong. Four years later, I say without hesitation that Charlie Steiner is a great baseball play by play guy. In fact I enjoy listening to him as much as Vin Scully.

That last sentence will probably be taken as sacrilege by the vast majority of Dodger fans, to whom Scully is a god. Scully is Dodgers baseball, and rightfully so. If you gave a word association test to Dodgers fans, I’ll bet most of them would answer “Dodgers” with “Vin Scully”. He is the last remaining bridge back to the team’s history in Brooklyn, having started with the team in 1950 and then moving west with them to Los Angeles in 1958. He has as much knowledge about baseball as anyone who has every played or managed, and there is seemingly no Dodgers tidbit or anecdote of which he does not know or have instant recall.

With his distinct voice, melodic delivery, and master pacing, as he expertly intertwines the on field action with the nuances and ironies of the game and infinitely entertaining stories, there are few pleasures in life more enjoyable than a couple hours of baseball with Vin Scully. It’s like turning back the clock – you’re a youngster again in a magical place with your kindly old father or uncle as your guide (only one who doesn’t take up half your seat, fart his way through a bag of peanuts and make every other inning trips to the restroom because of an enlarged prostrate).

Vin Scully remains the Dodger deity

Recently the Dodger faithful were sent into a panic when Scully hinted next year may be his last behind the mike. How could he possibly be replaced? As far as baseball announcers go, there is Vin Scully and then there is everyone else, and everyone else couldn’t carry his jock as they say in the lingo of sports.

Well don’t stroke out Dodgers fans, but I think Charlie Steiner can.

Steiner, it seems to me, is the next best thing to Vin. Growing up in New York, the Brooklyn Dodgers were his favorite team. The Dodgers aren’t just a job, they’re part of the fabric of his life. Like Scully, he is very literate, seemingly never without a reference when needed, able to cull from an endless supply of baseball or life stories to illustrate a point. Like Scully he has great perspective. There is always more going on then just the game being described. Always an awareness that this game is part of something larger. Part of a series, part of a season, part of a career, part of the history of the sport, part of something that has been a significant part of your life.

As does Scully, he calls a game with the neutrality of an umpire. He’s not a homer, rooting for his guys. He appreciates the game, and that includes both teams. A good play is a good play no matter what the colors of the player making it, a bad play is a bad play, and he says so. If anything, Steiner may be slightly less diplomatic than Scully in protecting his employer. When Mannywood was recently revealed to be drug infested, Scully had little to say about it, and what he did say seemed to be couched in the vaguest of terms. Steiner seemed to be more direct in acknowledging it is what it is.

Like Scully, he has a pleasant voice, which – unlike many of the current breed of baseball announcers – he is able to use in more than just a stoic monotone. He understands what voice inflection is for, and uses it masterfully to sell the point of what he has to say. He can pause for effect with the best of them.

He has the quick wit of an improvisational comedian. Recently, just before the deadline for play-off eligibility, the Dodgers made several trades. They acquired Ronnie Belliard from the Nationals, then announced during the 7th inning of the next night’s game that they had just acquired Jim Thome from the White Sox and John Garland from the Diamondbacks. Steiner quickly quipped on the air when the trade for Thome and Garland was announced:

“So yesterday the Dodgers acquired Ronnie Belliard, he’s been with the team less than 24 hours, and with the addition tonight of Thome and Garland, he’s already a grizzled veteran of the team.”

Quick thinking. Concise. Funny. Ironic. Entertaining. Typical Charlie Steiner.

I hope Vin never goes, but if he does the Dodgers already have the next best thing.

All photographs copyright Steve Neimand

No Usage Based Billing

One reader asked why I didn’t spell out the corporate relationships I meant when I referred to “incestuous relationships between our major media carriers and broadcasters” in my last blog post “Usage Based Billing” .

Having read varying claims of corporate “overlap”, but lacking factual authority I was reluctant to go on record to say who owned who.

The Corporate Dance

The problem is a common one for ordinary people in the 21st Century as corporations merge or buy and sell one another. Who owns who can change quickly so unless you’re paying attention– and we all have lives, right?– it’s easy to be confused. My “local” newspaper has been bought and sold so many times in the last few years that I have no idea which giant media corporation currently owns it.

This corporate dance makes it difficult for us lowly consumers to know who we are dealing with. How can we know if there is even a possibility of collusion among related corporations. I don’t think it is deliberate corporate strategy, although it is certainly a happy byproduct for many corporations who would prefer to keep some of their actions in the shadows.

Saying little about Usage Based Billing

Neigh: from the horse’s mouth

But now I have it from the horse’s mouth (or at least the GLOBE AND MAIL’s):

Report on Business: Bell takes TV fight to court to escape regulators’ squeeze – Monday, Mar. 30, 2009

Bell owns 15 per cent of CTVglobemedia, which is the parent company of CTV and also owns The Globe and Mail.

Saying little about Usage Based Billing

And confirmation of the CTVglobemedia roster is happily provided on the CTVglobemedia Website Home Page

CTVglobemedia
CTVglobemedia Inc. is Canada’s premier multimedia company with ownership of CTV, Canada’s #1 television network, and The Globe and Mail, Canada’s #1 national newspaper. CTV Inc. owns and operates 27 conventional stations across the country, with interests in 32 specialty channels, including Canada’s #1 specialty channel, TSN. CTVglobemedia also owns the CHUM Radio Division, which operates 34 radio stations throughout Canada, including CHUM FM, Canada’s # 1 FM station.

15%

So there is a definite connection between Bell Canada and CTVglobemedia. Bell Canada owns 15% of CTVglobemedia.

Now really, 15% doesn’t sound like very much at all. Until you look at how incredibly massive CTVglobemedia actually is. I would venture a guess that Bell Canada is probably the single largest shareholder. If that’s true, it would mean that Bell Canada would in fact have a very large say indeed in the policy of this gigantic media content provider.

So CTV News, “the most-watched national newscast in Canada” is going to be reluctant to say anything negative about Bell Canada.

So The Globe and Mail, “Canada’s most-read daily national newspaper” is going to be reluctant to say anything negative about Bell Canada.

So CHUM FM, “Canada’s # 1 FM station”, which also operates “34 other radio stations throughout Canada”, is going to be reluctant to say anything negative about Bell Canada.

They are supposed to be in the business of covering the news. But because this issue may be unflattering to Bell Canada, these news outlets have a huge conflict of interest. Due to economic considerations, given the choice, they would prefer to not cover this issue at all.

So they haven’t….   and this screen capture I was sent tells the story:

According to Google

This is why the small number of Canadians who are even aware of Usage Based Billing have only found out “too late.”

And most Canadians still don’t even know about Usage Based Billing.

And that is why we have to keep speaking up.  If there is enough outcry, what passes for news media in Canada will HAVE to cover this story or lose all credibility.

And really, Usage Based Billing is just the tip of the iceberg. The reason that there are so many serious problems with the Canadian Telecommunications Industry today is because the CRTC has NOT been doing its job. Canadians need to get informed, so at the very least they can sign the petition!

http://dissolvethecrtc.ca/
5843 signatures and counting

 The Tri-Media Organization for Peace and Alliance in Mindanao, Inc. (TROPA) spearheads today, August 27, 2009, the 22nd commemoration of the infamous DXRA massacre and the bloody attack on another radio station, DXMF-Bombo Radyo in Davao City.

            The commemoration carries the theme, “Responsible Journalism Towards a Free and Peaceful Society.”

            A mass at 6 a.m. at the St. Peter Parish Church would open the commemoration, to be followed with a wreath-laying at the massacre site in the former broadcast studios of radio station DXRA at the Rizal Memorial Colleges Building along Magallanes st. in downtown Davao.

            A three-hour Multi-Sectoral Forum on Press Freedom would cap the commemoration at the Training Center of the University of South Eastern Philippines (USEP) at Brgy. Obrero.

            ANAD Partylist Congressman Pastor M. Alcover, Jr. and BAYAN Partylist Congressman Jovito S. Palparan, Jr. would be the forum’s main resource persons.

            Invited to compose the Panel of Reactors are Bishop George Rimando for the religious sector, Kagawad Nilo Abellera for the LGU sector, LTC Rolando Bautista for the military sector, PSupt Querubin Manalang for the law enforcement sector, lawyer Rene Villarente for the academe sector, Regional Director Efren Elbanbuena for the government media sector, Engr. Josue de Villa Go of the national government sector, Mr. Billy Parilla of the business and civic sectors, Kagawad Halila Sudagar of the youth and women sector, Brgy. Capt. Rolando Cagay of the barangay sector, Datu Joel Unad of the indigenous people sector, and Mr. Iglesia Ibo, Jr. of the labor sector.

            Four local broadcast media personalities and five innocent civilians were killed by heavily armed men believed to be communist rebels that raided the broadcast studios of radio station DXRA early evening on August 27, 1987.

            News commentator Leo Palo and his volunteer assistant Cesar Maglalang, reporter Rodjie Sagado, technician-on-board Narcing Balani and five civilian guests died on the spot due to multiple gunshot wounds inflicted by the suspected CPP-NPA-NDF raiders.

            Announcer Ferdie “Batman” Lintuan survived the attack but only to be assassinated on Christmas eve of 2007 after his morning radio program in Davao City.

            After causing the carnage at DXRA, the armed attackers onboard a Ford Fiera-type vehicle immediately proceed to attack the former Broadcast Center of DXMF-Bombo Radyo Davao in Bajada but failed to inflict harm on anyone.

            Alerted by the DXRA attack, DXMF personnel that included the brothers Joey and Chito Herbolingo, with the help of civilian volunteers, were able to repulse the attack. Some reports then indicated that at least one of the attackers was killed by the defenders but his comrades took his dead body with them when they withdrew towards Brgy. Mandug.

            The twin bloody attacks – the only one of its kind in the country – have been seen as an affront to the freedom of the press.

            The announcers of both radio stations were then critical against communist terrorist atrocities in the city and other parts of the region.

In fact, the late Leo Palo along with the late Jun Pala, who was also slain recently, were both instrumental, thru their original tandem radio talkshow, “Palo-Pala Connection”, over radio station DXOW, on the awakening of the Dabaweños that planted the seed for the eventual emergence of the famous Alsa Masa civilian volunteer organization.

Fearless announcers led the anti-communism movements in Davao and Cebu Cities and elsewhere in the country in the mid-80s.

The CPP-NPA-NDF used Davao City then as its laboratory for urban insurrectionism and the notorious Armed City Partisan Unit (ACPU), better known as Sparrow Unit. (TROPANews)

Zee TV may be ranked as 3rd in TAM ratings but is certainly far ahead in business sense to earn revenues in tough times. The DTH business of Zee TV has proved to be its bad weather friend specially when it added 2 million subscribers last fiscal.

In a time when companies are taking cost cutting measures which is affecting advertising revenue for broadcasters, the January-March 2009 quarter was quite a relief for Zee TV when its subscription revenue overtook its advertising revenue.

It might be the reason that Zee TV is now revamping Dish TV’s entire creatives. DTH market is leading towards n undifferentiated arena with 5 operators and 6th(Videocon) coming to market. In this scenario adding new and different features and moreover talking about them is very important. Against Tata Sky’s Amir Khan and BIG’s Junior Bacchan, Dish TV is all set with SRK and its new position: “Sabse zyada wish karo! Dish Karo” from “Wish karo! Dish karo!”.

And the repositioning is not subtle at all. SRK very clearly transcends from wish karo to sabse zyada wish karo to be noticed by common viewers.

Besides in recent TVCs things like jobs, travel and marriage are also introduced which are so far not used in this industry. Currently with 5 million subscribers Dish TV is topping the charts in Private DTH space and taking every possible step to maintain the same.