PBS ends uninterrupted programming

One of the distinctives over the years for the Public Broadcasting System has been uninterrupted programming - the idea that you can watch an entire episode of Sesame Street without having to see commercials pop up every 15 minutes. This is coming to an end. Coming soon, PBS shows will contain commercial blocks in line with your average television station. Removing yet another reason to separate public broadcasting from the general herd of television.

The switch is intended to combat the problem of viewers “fleeing” to other stations during the network’s blocks of commercials between programs, which can last up to eight minutes. Under the new model, PBS will adopt a “hot switch,” with no break between programs. John F. Wilson, PBS’s chief programmer, told the Times that viewers will never be more than 100 seconds from actual content.

The change will present obstacles to writers accustom to producing content watched in uninterrupted blocks, the kind of viewing many say is vital for in-depth documentary work like Frontline and dramas like Masterpiece Theatre. PBS’s Wilson said that some programs may be spared from commercial breaks, but that many producers will be forced to adapt.

Your blog may cost you real money

Mod-Blog has resisted the rush to Google Ads that many blogs have followed for one simple reason - we view this site as a hobby, not a business, and don't want to subject our readers to intrusive advertising. It turns out that may have been a better idea than we even though, as now some cities are charging bloggers for business licenses, even if they only make a few dollars per year! One blogger, who had made $11 in 5 years, is now being ordered to pay a $300 "business privilege tax" by the city of Philadelphia.

The city disagrees. Even though small-time bloggers aren't exactly raking in the dough, the city requires privilege licenses for any business engaged in any "activity for profit," says tax attorney Michael Mandale of Center City law firm Mandale Kaufmann. This applies "whether or not they earned a profit during the preceding year," he adds.

So even if your blog collects a handful of hits a day, as long as there's the potential for it to be lucrative — and, as Mandale points out, most hosting sites set aside space for bloggers to sell advertising — the city thinks you should cut it a check. According to Andrea Mannino of the Philadelphia Department of Revenue, in fact, simply choosing the option to make money from ads — regardless of how much or little money is actually generated — qualifies a blog as a business. The same rules apply to freelance writers. As former City Paper news editor Doron Taussig once lamented [Slant, "Taxed Out," April 28, 2005], the city considers freelancers — which both Bess and Barry are, in addition to their blog work — "businesses," and requires them to pay for a license and pay taxes on their profits, on top of their state and federal taxes.

This is what happens when the blanket moratorium on internet taxation is allowed to expire. Expect more shenanigans like this as cash-strapped municipalities look for any way to squeeze cash from its citizens.

Microsoft to abandon Gates/Seinfeld ads

It appears Microsoft has come to its senses and is abandoning the line of ads featuring Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates. Maybe this time around they can remember to actually make ads that tell you something about the product.

Some unforgettable advertisements

I create ads everyday, but nothing like this.  I suspect most of these ads were not in the US, which makes me wonder why that is.  Nonetheless, enjoy the ads.

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Do the "Men as Buffoons" ads really sell anything?

I posted a commentary late last year about how sick I am of seeing only ads that portray men as idiots and bad fathers. Inevitably, over and over, advertisers show men as the buffoon of the family, requiring the mother or child to come to his rescue when he partakes in some idiocy of the masculine kind. Every once in a while would not be a problem - we men certainly have our foibles - but it is by far the dominant paradigm in advertising nowadays.

But now, it appears advertisers are finally taking notice. Ad Age has up this article which calls for more positive portrayals of men in advertising.

While the advertising industry's negative depiction of fathers certainly isn't the cause of fatherlessness, it is part of the problem. In a TV culture like ours, the fact that the only fathers one can see on TV are buffoonish (at best) does influence young people's perceptions of fathers.

For young men, it makes it less likely they'll aspire to be fathers, see their own value as fathers or, as Mr. Pitts explains, want to do the "hard but crucial work of being Dad." For young women, it means they'll be more likely to be misled into thinking that their children's fathers aren't important, that divorce or separation from them is no big deal, or that they should, as is the increasing trend, simply dispense with dad altogether and have children on their own.

Here is hoping that this gains some momentum and we see more ads showing men as engaged, competent fathers. It can only help our society remember that fathers are important, and men should strive to be the best men and fathers they can be.