interview 1

Neil Slotkin, Senior Producer, Comcast Sportsnet.

I found this contact in the simplest way possible, I had class with the man last semester.

I used my contact with Neil as the basis of my station profile.

He is a Senior Producer for Comcast Sportsnet. That means he does editing and he sits in the control both during broadcasts and can pull up b-roll on a moments notice.

He initially started as a production assistant at ESPN but moved back to this area after 2 years because Comcast was starting CSN and there was a better chance of advancement.

He seemed to really like the fact that there was a lot of freedom in terms of side projects he could work on, but at the same time he hated the amount of money he made because, "it's really hard to raise a family on 30 to 60 thousand dollars a year."

When I asked him how I could get started he said to apply for internships online. As for his take on experience he seemed to think that "more is better."

When asked what qualities you need in order to be successful, he responded by telling me that you need to be relentless and willing to work more than is required.

Making A Stretch on Smartphone Usage...

The annual "South By Southwest" convention was held last week in Austin Texas, and one particular piece caught my attention.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/ptech/03/17/sxsw.foursquare.gowalla/index.html

The article talks about two rival companies using smartphone applications to "digitally check in at specific locations." Using these applications will enable customers to build up rewards points for say, a free martini or burger. In other words, these apps will enable companies to monitor where their prospective clients go and what they spend their money on.

Now, I'm going to make an educated guess and state that this specific kind of application can be used to go beyond the simple social networking that it was intended for and truly revolutionize the fields of radio and television...

"Well Duh, How's it gonna do that smarty pants?" (don't lie, I know that's exactly what you were thinking for that moment)

If we make a step in a different direction and say offer individuals rewards to "check in" with what radio or tv station they're using, along with what kind of places they go to and what they might be eating. Think about how much easier it will be to use this to actually market a product effectively. This kind of technology screams, "targeted demographic." (pg 346-349)

Think about it, advertisers can now truly design a marketing campaign specifically for YOU based on exactly what you like and don't like, and the specific stations you watch or listen to can better charge the advertisers accordingly. In other words, apps like this will generate bookoo loads of cash for everyone, even the consumer.

"Wait, wait, wait, how's the consumer gonna make money?" you ask. Simple, there must be some sort of incentive to make people want to subject themselves to having "Big Brother" know everything, what better way than to offer them cold hard cash, or the equivalent (does anyone want to win free gas for a year? Try this app.)?

Although this technology is not quite ready for the maximum exposure of this proposed usage, I feel it's A LOT closer than you might think...