Media-Economics professor says journalists create little value

By Robert G. Picard

Oxford, England – Journalists like to think of their work in moral or even sacred terms. With each new layoff or paper closing, they tell themselves that no business model could adequately compensate the holy work of enriching democratic society, speaking truth to power, and comforting the afflicted.
 
Actually, journalists deserve low pay.
 
Wages are compensation for value creation. And journalists simply aren’t creating much value these days. (more…)

Not irreverent, but a worthy “view” no-less

By Laura Tillinghast

The last scheduled night launch of the manned space flight program as we know it is tonight (tomorrow morning) at 4:39 a.m.  If you live in Florida, set your alarms, go outside, and look East for the blaze in the sky.  If you are really adventurous, get in your cars, drive to Titusville and pull off anywhere along US-1, turn on the AM radio and listen to mission control as it launches.

View of Space Shuttle from Cocoa Beach, Fla. in 2007

There are just four more scheduled shuttle launches this year – all day launches – then the shuttle program ends forever.  Tickets to view from NASA galleries go on sale 4-6 weeks prior to launch and are pricey, but again, you can watch from US-1 as well.  The new NASA budget does not fund (more…)

Podcast tabletop conversation between Susan Massey and Chris Ingram

By Chris Ingram

I recently had the privilege to have lunch with Susan Massey who is a lovely lady in Tampa. Susan is a familywoman, a businesswoman, a conservative, and a someone who truly cares about the direction of our country. She got active in politics just a few years ago after getting tired of seeing the direction our country is headed. She now runs a web site called “dontspreadmywealth.com” which focuses on politics with an economic focus. Susan recorded our conversation at lunch last week and you can listen to the podcast here. We discussed Obamacare, the Masschusetts election, the debt, and the direction our country is headed.

Americans need to respond

As we have all seen on the news, Haiti is in shambles following the devastation from an earthquake earlier this week. What many may not know is (more…)

An early Santa?

By Chris Ingram

Rumors are flying around the sunshine state that lackluster Republican Party of Florida Chairman (and Charlie Crist bag-boy) Jim Greer will resign from his post.

Greer has been all but blatantly using state party resources to run Charlie’s floundering campaign. He has also sparked the ire of party loyalists, county party chairman, and donors for his heavy-handed tactics, arrogance, and (more…)

By Chuck Muth

Most Americans have this whole Fort Hood massacre all wrong.  Maj. Nidal M. Hassan was not a terrorist.  And he wasn’t a mass murderer.  And he may not even have been a coward. 

Maj. Hassan was an enemy combatant. 

And until we come to grips with that reality, as well as the fact that we are still a nation at war, the United States will continue to suffer such needless and unnecessary losses.

Since so many Americans have been undereducated by our government-run public schools, let’s refer to a system of education which most of us can readily relate to in order to understand what’s really going on here: Hollywood movies. (more…)

Hillsborough County Commissioners could do something (but they won’t)

By Chris Ingram

Hillsborough County Commissioner Kevin White’s sexual harassment case finally appears like it will be settled by the county. The county has agreed to pay $278,000 to White’s victim and her attorneys. I think this is the right thing to do as it limits the potential for any further costs borne to taxpayers already on the hook for well over $500,000 for the county’s legal bills for defending White.

And while the county should move on and count its blessings that White’s libido didn’t cost taxpayers even more, the commission needs to do something to get rid of Mr. White who refuses to resign. (more…)

Six months later is better than never

By Chris Ingram

Earlier this week Irreverent View readers received a copy of a letter I sent to the head of Verizon Communications complaining about the filth forced on users when they try to select children’s programming using Verizon FIOS’ “on demand” service.

The public sharing of my letter followed six months having gone by since I first complained. I also sent my letter in June, and here it was September and still no reply.

After sharing my column, I received an overwhelming response from readers who shared my concern. Most of them indicated they too would let Verizon know how unhappy they are with the “R” rated movie trailers being forced on viewers using “on demand” services. Movies like slash-em up horror film “Saw” being advertised while searching for children’s programs like “Dora the Explorer.”

Well lo and behold, today I received an e-mail from someone at Verizon.  It was just a form letter but it did give instruction on how to block the garbage I was concerned with. And guess what? It works! No more blood and gore or sex when looking for Bert and Ernie. Thanks Verizon!

But more importantly, thank you readers! I firmly believe had it not been for a large response by I.V. readers to Mr. Seidenberg’s e-mail, my concerns would have still been ignored.

Verizon, take note of this: next time someone writes the president of your company a letter (twice), try responding to it in a timely manner. It would have saved you all the bad publicity.

Chris Ingram

p.s. Here are the instructions on how to block movie trailers from the on-demand service:  go to the Menu, choose Settings; Parental Controls; Promotional Video Lock and then choose “Off”

Are ads for the movie “Saw” appropriate when searching for “Dora?”

A letter to Verizon Communications from Chris Ingram

March 17, 2009

Ivan G. Seidenberg
Chairman and CEO
Verizon Verizon Communications Inc.
1095 Avenue of the Americas
New York, New York 10036

Dear Mr. Seidenberg:

We have enjoyed FIOS TV since subscribing to it in the summer of 2007. 

However, as our three girls ages 5 and twins 2, have gotten older and interested in occasionally watching television, your service has become a problem.

Specifically, when we go to select a kids “on demand” program such as Sesame Street, Dora the Explorer, or the Berenstein Bears, your company runs advertisements for other “on demand” products or pay-per-view items. These are shown in a small box on the menu selection screen and cannot be turned off.  This morning when pulling up Dora on demand, a trailer for the movie “Saw” came on.

Saw is a horror film from a company called “Twisted Pictures” which describes the film as a “grisly horror film.”

My wife and I can forgive your company for offering to us the adult trash you now offer through pay-per-view with titles like “1st Time Man Lickers,” “Wet Amateur Moms,” and “10 Best: Real Teens” (which sounds like it glorifies pedophilia), since we simply choose to just not to view this crap. But using the service to let our children watch children’s programs includes inappropriate content which we cannot control.

I implore Verizon FIOS to change the nature of how these trailers are forced upon its customers, or at minimum to offer no trailers or other ads for things that are above a “G” rating.

As you and your corporate bean counters and marketing department begin to consider this, I ask you to think about your own children (if you have any) and consider whether you would want a 5 or 2 yr. old to see a trailer for a movie like “Saw.” Furthermore, you might ask yourself if your mother would be proud of you for offering all the porn filth your company now makes available. I’m guessing you’d rather not go over the aforementioned titles with her at the dinner table.

The courtesy of a reply is appreciated.

Sincerely,

Chris Ingram

The following passage comes from Verizon’s Employee Code of Conduct with an introduction from Mr. Seidenberg:

“It is imperative that, as we do so, we continue to uphold the Verizon commitment and core values: put customers first, act with integrity, treat people with respect, be accountable, and raise our standards of performance. This means that we also have to do more than simply follow the law: instead, we have to do the right thing – and we have to do it every day. Ethical conduct is the foundation of any lasting business success. For Verizon to succeed.”

Editor’s note: I sent the above letter to Mr. Seidenberg in March. I also re-sent it in July. I still have not received a reply. So much for customer service and doing the right thing…

If you are a Verizon customer who also hates this filth, send an email to Mr. Seidnenberg at:

Ivan.Seidenberg@core.verizon.com 

and, Ivan.Seidenberg@verizon.com.

Chris Ingram is the president and founder of 411 Communications a corporate and political communications firm, and publisher of www.IrreverentView.com. Ingram is a frequent pundit on Fox News and CNN, and has written opinion columns for the Washington Times, UPI, Front Page Florida, and National Review online. E-mail him at: Chris@411Communications.net.

Calling all Charlie supporters!

As the editor and publisher of Irreverent View, I am constantly seeking new contributors from the left, the right, and anything in between. We have peaks and valleys of contributors offering alternative perspectives. Of course the name of the site is “Irreverent View” so all submissions need to be irreverent in nature. That means a little humor or sarcasim, and a perspective that is against the grain of “conventional wisdom.” To simplify, what this means is, what you read in Irreverent View is likely not what you’ll read in your local newspaper.

Okay, so here is the challenge: if you are a Charlie Crist supporter, we want to hear from you. Why do you support him? Why do you like him? What policies of his do you like? Can you name three significant accomplishments of Governor Crist’s? — a nice tan doesn’t count as an accomplishment. 

I’ve had a small handful of Crist supporters e-mail me (compared to hundreds of people who can’t stand his practices as our opportunist governor) with shallow statements about how wonderful he is. I always e-mail these folks back and ask them to name three significant accomplishments of “TooTan Charlie’s” — I haven’t received a reply back yet.

So here’s your chance Charlie supporters. Make your case as to why Charlie is fit to serve in the U.S. Senate and why he isn’t the shallow, do-nothing, political opportunist, Republican version of Bill Clinton I think he is. And please, don’t send me some garbage Jim Greer or one of the cronies at the Republican Party of Florida (aka: the Crist campaign) wrote for you. And keep it irreverent.

Finally, your submission should be well written, and free from libelous or malicious content and it must contain your name and e-mail address for public posting. If you’re interested in submitting a column, send me an e-mail to: Chris@IrreverentView.com.  Non-Crist supporters are welcome to submit too, and if you want to write about something unrelated but has a national interest, feel free. But again, remember to keep it irreverent.

Chris Ingram

Publisher

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