Tag Archives: Ideas

Advice for ALL Journalists Pushed into the Autism Beat

The following is quoted DM sent by me to a local reporter in the Boston area in late 2021. As of 2023, the unidentified reporter no longer works in the industry, as that individual has a school aged child diagnosed with said condition. The quoted paragraph may be modified to eliminate shorthand words seen in DMs.

“I think the best way when reporting on the subject is to always come off in a hopeful tone because ‘diagnosis were [used to] bring hope’ and for whatever reason in recent years a diagnosis makes people (or the families) hopeless.

2nd you can’t please every group. A lot of the ‘self advocates’ [or #ActuallyAutistic types] are on the higher end and they can’t be pleased. You’ll always have haters on social media sadly to say. For me I understand both sides, but I cannot think it’s even morally or ethically proper to assume anyone who can’t speak is not intelligent by any means. I have been exposed to many ‘lower functioning’ autistics and I can tell you there is brain processing going in there. I think it’s important to shine that light (the journalistic sense not the Autism Speaks sense) on the individuals and ensure they get a fair voice, especially by the journalists. No matter what functionality, they should have the same right for a comment like the ‘typicals do.”

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Recommended Use of Referencing Time Zones (It’s Now Real “Standard” Time!)

Sun makes you dumber. Or so according to the @MinifigNewsguy.  Why? people don’t think critically, they are more emotional and they can’t think in order. Right now Daylight Saving Time (sic) had ended overnight on 2:00 AM Eastern Standard Time on November 6th, following 2:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time, of which is how you “gain an hour of sleep”. Also as of this writing, the 2022 Midterm elections are a day away, and again it feels like a primary election weather wise.

Continue reading Recommended Use of Referencing Time Zones (It’s Now Real “Standard” Time!)

Is it OK to Tag your Parent Company on Social Media? NO!

Since I was out of the office for most of July for the rebuild of my workspace; I ran across this Tweet from a now former WGME meteorologist that is now at @Hearst-owned WMUR-TV in Manchester (the most disliked station per to the @MinifigNewsguy.)

I thought it was important to let the new guy know what to expect that not all people north of Boston are stupid and unaware of the media industry…

Matt Hoenig was confused, well what do you expect for a kid that I could been his babysitter understand? He’s now at WMUR-TV where no one in the building has a brain!

I felt my tweet was clear, this “Ryan” doesn’t understand the industry. What can I say about Maine? I’ve been there, and it’s a dumb state. I don’t go there often, it’s Connecticut is my most traveled state outside of my home place of the 603…

It is not incoherent nonsense… two days later, Steve Scott, from WCBS radio, pulled the curtain of the very same thing I was calling out on the WMUR-TV weather boy…

As much as I am a media nerd unlike that Mainer “Ryan”, I understand that the parent company has no business being tagged by a journalist’s Twitter. Who in the hell in corporate about a rank and file/unionzed air talent? They Don’t. And why are you alienating your audience with the suckups of a faceless enterprise? We know who you work for, and those who don’t don’t want to know. 

This is my belated “Eat the Press” rant since I haven’t had the chance to sit down on my Mac and write a 300 word rant about the industry of a technical outsider with insight to the industry.

When doing retro Lego News Opens…

There’s someone who likes the ol WPVI and Lego. Not a bad hobby, though one of my Instagram followers would careless about the ABC/Disney O&O.

I remember seeing this open a while ago, like several years ago. The theme music predates the infamous “singing hippies” Move Closer to Your World; and this Action News Theme can be debated if this had more of a timeless sound than say MCTYW.  I find a few flaws to doing retro opens with Lego. Basically on elements, like screens, minifigure faces, etc. Despite that this open was from the early 1970s (1972 to at least 1974); and the Minifigure was invented in 1978; and Lego didn’t have an American operation till 1974, there is ways to hack the history and throw a -rw or rewrite history.

I recommend sticking to bricks in the most literal sense because “elements” really didn’t become popular till the 1980s.

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