''The South Side of Chicago'' by David Hart
The South Side of Chicago
Whence those childhood years were spent
Skip-walking upon grimacing cracked sidewalks
Hastening through filth floored garbage canned
flanked alleyways to-
The forlorn house-windows weeping chrystalline shards-
cascading glass tears
'Property Condemned' blared in scarlet on the door.
'Someone lives there' it was said,
'the man who gathers things from the garbage cans'
The pebble strewn church yard, where, in prickly winter,
scarved boys coerce the bell to toll with swift flung
snowballs catapaulted to a shivering bell tower.
The South Side of Chicago,
The year of the big church fire
That day it did burn and claw
At the hot black night sky.
People gathered, assembled in solemnity
Aghast, huddled and shoving to see
That hallowed place whose torrents
Of Sunday's serenities and dressups
Now would no longer be.
The South Side of Chicago
There, the swill darkened tavern
That nightly gulped down shadow faced spectres
A lad cries out, 'the bar, someone stabbed in the
head, come and see'.
'Not I', I said, 'not a sight I'd care to see',
as an acidic sadness enveloped me.
The boys came together wearing their
jackets and coats-symbols affixed, emblems
proudly donned-so they knew who they were.
'Wanna join? ' 'No thanks', I said, 'Glad to be
just solitary me'.
I watched them, fighting their rivals
With chains, steel pipes and knives
Fearing their bloody deeds.
Content to be alone
Alone and free
The South Side of Chicago
In cramped classrooms scented in
soap and sawdust
Mostly attentive I would be
Amidst tatterly clothed children
-waiting for recess, lunch or
time to go home.
At recess, the garbage men came
And roused a battalion of rats
That scattered pell-mell
Amidst little girl shrieks
and screams
Little boys chortling
Chased those rats frightened
away
Far away
On the South Side of Chicago
2001DHartUSA
David Hart
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
College bound: Follow your heart or follow the job?
College bound: Follow your heart or follow the job outlook?
(http://www.southtownstar.com/lifestyles/vickroy/2059299,022110vickroy.article)
February 21, 2010
By Donna Vickroy
When times get tough, college-bound students, and their parents, start asking tougher questions. Is it smart to start at a high-priced university right out of high school? Is it wise to follow your heart when choosing a major, instead of following job outlook reports?
Even in a good economy, it's difficult to gaze into an occupational crystal ball and know what you're going to want to do four years down the line, let alone if the economy will let you do it.
With the job market now asunder and many seeing the effects of a lost job, or career, the pressure to choose wisely at the get-go can be intense.
Katie McKinney, a senior at Andrew High School in Tinley Park, is among those facing such decisions. She likes music. She's also interested in advertising. Will either discipline translate into an income?
Katie recently attended an open house for Illinois State University at the Tinley Park Convention Center. She hopes to go to that school, although her mom would prefer she start at Moraine Valley Community College in Palos Hills.
Her mom is hardly alone in that thinking. Community colleges are booming, as record numbers of students of all ages head off to or back to school to sharpen skills, learn new ones or change direction altogether.
Enrollment at Moraine was up 37 percent in the fall, with a burgeoning number of those students coming straight off high school graduation.
"We're seeing students with ACT scores of 30 or even higher, who could have gone to a university, come here because they see us as being more economical," said Joann Wright, dean of counseling and advising at MVCC.
When used wisely, she said, community college can be a best buy. For that same reason, Governors State University, which serves upperclassmen and advanced degree candidates, is seeing a boost in its enrollment.
Carol Cortilet-Albrecht, assistant vice president of enrollment services at the University Park campus, said the school has seen a sharp increase in the number of students who thought an associate's degree would suffice but now are realizing they need that bachelor's degree to compete in a tight job market.
One of the fastest growing majors on campus is the interdisciplinary studies degree, which enables students to customize studies to their interests. Other popular majors include social work, health care and criminal justice.
While most high schoolers are inclined to follow their hearts, said Greg Meyer, director of student services at Oak Lawn Community High School, many parents can't help but focus on the practical application of that high-priced college education.
Wright said it's important to remember that a college education gives students solid footing in a variety of fields, not just the one they majored in.
Still, one mom of three, who watched her yet-to-be-hired oldest son send out hundreds of resumes after he graduated with a political science degree in May, confessed she is pressuring her youngest to choose a field that likely will have a job waiting at the end of the investment.
You might think that such goal-minded thinking is taking a toll on the liberal arts, often flaunted as that bastion of learning for learning's sake.
If so, you'd be surprised to know that interest in what is considered a somewhat esoteric field has grown steadily over the past five years at St. Xavier University in Chicago.
Philosophy professor Jack Montgomery said that a decade ago there were three or four students majoring in his field on campus. Now there are 25, plus a number of students minoring in the discipline.
Granted, many of them plan to pursue advanced degrees or are seeking religious orders, but between a third and a half are planning to enter the work force after graduation, he said.
Montgomery said it's nothing new for parents to worry about how their child will fare after college graduation.
"But," he said, "there are very few undergraduate degrees that guarantee a job."
A lot of parents think that majoring in business or accounting is a guaranteed ticket to a job. It isn't, he said, unless perhaps your degree is from the University of Chicago or Harvard.
"Philosophy will teach you to articulate yourself clearly, organize your thoughts, sift through information, anticipate and design solutions and present yourself with clarity and conviction. These are highly employable characteristics."
It's hard to know if an undergraduate degree will result in the ultimate job or if it will be a stepping stone to a different field altogether. The experts say that in an unstable job market, the ability to adapt may be the greatest skill of all.
(http://www.southtownstar.com/lifestyles/vickroy/2059299,022110vickroy.article)
February 21, 2010
By Donna Vickroy
When times get tough, college-bound students, and their parents, start asking tougher questions. Is it smart to start at a high-priced university right out of high school? Is it wise to follow your heart when choosing a major, instead of following job outlook reports?
Even in a good economy, it's difficult to gaze into an occupational crystal ball and know what you're going to want to do four years down the line, let alone if the economy will let you do it.
With the job market now asunder and many seeing the effects of a lost job, or career, the pressure to choose wisely at the get-go can be intense.
Katie McKinney, a senior at Andrew High School in Tinley Park, is among those facing such decisions. She likes music. She's also interested in advertising. Will either discipline translate into an income?
Katie recently attended an open house for Illinois State University at the Tinley Park Convention Center. She hopes to go to that school, although her mom would prefer she start at Moraine Valley Community College in Palos Hills.
Her mom is hardly alone in that thinking. Community colleges are booming, as record numbers of students of all ages head off to or back to school to sharpen skills, learn new ones or change direction altogether.
Enrollment at Moraine was up 37 percent in the fall, with a burgeoning number of those students coming straight off high school graduation.
"We're seeing students with ACT scores of 30 or even higher, who could have gone to a university, come here because they see us as being more economical," said Joann Wright, dean of counseling and advising at MVCC.
When used wisely, she said, community college can be a best buy. For that same reason, Governors State University, which serves upperclassmen and advanced degree candidates, is seeing a boost in its enrollment.
Carol Cortilet-Albrecht, assistant vice president of enrollment services at the University Park campus, said the school has seen a sharp increase in the number of students who thought an associate's degree would suffice but now are realizing they need that bachelor's degree to compete in a tight job market.
One of the fastest growing majors on campus is the interdisciplinary studies degree, which enables students to customize studies to their interests. Other popular majors include social work, health care and criminal justice.
While most high schoolers are inclined to follow their hearts, said Greg Meyer, director of student services at Oak Lawn Community High School, many parents can't help but focus on the practical application of that high-priced college education.
Wright said it's important to remember that a college education gives students solid footing in a variety of fields, not just the one they majored in.
Still, one mom of three, who watched her yet-to-be-hired oldest son send out hundreds of resumes after he graduated with a political science degree in May, confessed she is pressuring her youngest to choose a field that likely will have a job waiting at the end of the investment.
You might think that such goal-minded thinking is taking a toll on the liberal arts, often flaunted as that bastion of learning for learning's sake.
If so, you'd be surprised to know that interest in what is considered a somewhat esoteric field has grown steadily over the past five years at St. Xavier University in Chicago.
Philosophy professor Jack Montgomery said that a decade ago there were three or four students majoring in his field on campus. Now there are 25, plus a number of students minoring in the discipline.
Granted, many of them plan to pursue advanced degrees or are seeking religious orders, but between a third and a half are planning to enter the work force after graduation, he said.
Montgomery said it's nothing new for parents to worry about how their child will fare after college graduation.
"But," he said, "there are very few undergraduate degrees that guarantee a job."
A lot of parents think that majoring in business or accounting is a guaranteed ticket to a job. It isn't, he said, unless perhaps your degree is from the University of Chicago or Harvard.
"Philosophy will teach you to articulate yourself clearly, organize your thoughts, sift through information, anticipate and design solutions and present yourself with clarity and conviction. These are highly employable characteristics."
It's hard to know if an undergraduate degree will result in the ultimate job or if it will be a stepping stone to a different field altogether. The experts say that in an unstable job market, the ability to adapt may be the greatest skill of all.
Red Light Tickets Scam
Red light tickets scam funds from already-struggling families
(http://www.southtownstar.com/news/opinion/guests/2052309,021710gathingscol.article)
February 17, 2010
By Cheryl Gathings
I said to the judge, "So, you see, I did stop," and she said, "Yeah, you did, but you went past the white line or you were on the white line." So guess what happened? You got it - I had to pay $100 because I stopped in front of the white line.
This is the thing that really gets me: I know that that judge and everybody in that courtroom, including police officers and other municipal employees, at one time or another had stopped either in front of the white line or beyond it. And guess what else? You got it again - they didn't have to pay a $100 fine for it.
These red light violations are the latest fad that municipalities are using to scoop up our hard-earned dollars to put in their fat pocketbooks along with our property tax dollars, mandated water/sewer dollars, sales taxes and everything else that they can think of to hit us with.
It is a shame that governments can't be more creative with generating revenue that they have to stoop to such a ridiculous way of hitting working people, who already are hurting by being hit with foreclosures, educating children and paying more for utilities, transportation to and from work and everything else. Towns then invest that money in buying cameras to monitor low- to moderate-income families to "catch them" at some ludicrous act of not stopping before the white line.
This type of legal hustling accelerates the moral decline in our communities, adding to the state of the economy with loss of jobs and housing. Furthermore, it adds to the crime already rampant in our cities and villages.
Should not safety and protection be a priority of government? They used to be. But now it's all about greed, it's all about competing for federal dollars - keeping up with the Joneses instead of really implementing President Barack Obama's motto, "hope we can believe in," in our communities. How much hope can you give our American families when all you do is find ways to steal our hard-earned money? This has got to stop!
So, I said to the judge, "Where is it written that we have to stop in front of the white line?" She handed me a piece of paper explaining the "white line" law. She said, "You can appeal this in the Markham courthouse, but you have to pay an appeal fee of $250" to do it.
On my way out of court, the police officer said to me, "I feel for you; we don't like it either, and the mayor knows how you feel."
Really? I don't think it would matter to the mayor that I am a single parent with two children in college and a special-needs child at home whom I care for 24/7.
I say to governments: Stop bleeding hurting families with idiotic means of increasing government funds and start really caring and helping by being sensitive to the hurt we already must endure with struggling to meet our expected family responsibilities.
You don't have to take $100 out of our already depleted monthly budgets. You do have options. You can give warnings the first time to people who actually do stop. But it is obvious that your intentions are to rake in everything you can and continue to drain us dry until someone goes on a real rampage. And then you will ask, "What's wrong with him?"
You are what is wrong, because such policies do push normal people over the edge.
CHERYL GATHINGS, AN EIGHT-YEAR RESIDENT OF HAZEL CREST, IS A COMMUNITY ACTIVIST AND REAL ESTATE BROKER.
(http://www.southtownstar.com/news/opinion/guests/2052309,021710gathingscol.article)
February 17, 2010
By Cheryl Gathings
I said to the judge, "So, you see, I did stop," and she said, "Yeah, you did, but you went past the white line or you were on the white line." So guess what happened? You got it - I had to pay $100 because I stopped in front of the white line.
This is the thing that really gets me: I know that that judge and everybody in that courtroom, including police officers and other municipal employees, at one time or another had stopped either in front of the white line or beyond it. And guess what else? You got it again - they didn't have to pay a $100 fine for it.
These red light violations are the latest fad that municipalities are using to scoop up our hard-earned dollars to put in their fat pocketbooks along with our property tax dollars, mandated water/sewer dollars, sales taxes and everything else that they can think of to hit us with.
It is a shame that governments can't be more creative with generating revenue that they have to stoop to such a ridiculous way of hitting working people, who already are hurting by being hit with foreclosures, educating children and paying more for utilities, transportation to and from work and everything else. Towns then invest that money in buying cameras to monitor low- to moderate-income families to "catch them" at some ludicrous act of not stopping before the white line.
This type of legal hustling accelerates the moral decline in our communities, adding to the state of the economy with loss of jobs and housing. Furthermore, it adds to the crime already rampant in our cities and villages.
Should not safety and protection be a priority of government? They used to be. But now it's all about greed, it's all about competing for federal dollars - keeping up with the Joneses instead of really implementing President Barack Obama's motto, "hope we can believe in," in our communities. How much hope can you give our American families when all you do is find ways to steal our hard-earned money? This has got to stop!
So, I said to the judge, "Where is it written that we have to stop in front of the white line?" She handed me a piece of paper explaining the "white line" law. She said, "You can appeal this in the Markham courthouse, but you have to pay an appeal fee of $250" to do it.
On my way out of court, the police officer said to me, "I feel for you; we don't like it either, and the mayor knows how you feel."
Really? I don't think it would matter to the mayor that I am a single parent with two children in college and a special-needs child at home whom I care for 24/7.
I say to governments: Stop bleeding hurting families with idiotic means of increasing government funds and start really caring and helping by being sensitive to the hurt we already must endure with struggling to meet our expected family responsibilities.
You don't have to take $100 out of our already depleted monthly budgets. You do have options. You can give warnings the first time to people who actually do stop. But it is obvious that your intentions are to rake in everything you can and continue to drain us dry until someone goes on a real rampage. And then you will ask, "What's wrong with him?"
You are what is wrong, because such policies do push normal people over the edge.
CHERYL GATHINGS, AN EIGHT-YEAR RESIDENT OF HAZEL CREST, IS A COMMUNITY ACTIVIST AND REAL ESTATE BROKER.
Southside Chicago Principal May Drug Test All Students
Marist may drug test all students
(http://www.southtownstar.com/news/2059535,022110maristdrugs.article)
February 21, 2010
BY CASEY CORA
Multiple choice. Essays. Pop quizzes.
Students at Marist High School may be subjected to yet another test next school year, but it's one they can prepare for by doing nothing at all.
Principal Larry Tucker insists a proposed new drug testing policy at the school isn't geared toward punishing students at the coed Catholic school in Chicago's Mount Greenwood community.
Instead, he said, drug testing would be an extension of the school's "family" atmosphere.
"Part of our mission is to help kids continue to make good decisions," he said. "It's part of who we are."
Tucker said he was impressed by the drug-free compliance rates at other schools in Marist's East Suburban Catholic Conference, whose principals boast remarkable success rates.
Under the proposal, Marist's entire student body would undergo a drug test at least once each school year - during the first semester - and possibly again during random tests in the second semester.
The tests, which cost about $45 per session, likely would be taken via hair follicle samples and administered by Psychemedics Corp., a Massachusetts-based company that specializes in narcotics testing in schools and private industry.
The tests would look for traces of marijuana, cocaine, PCP, Ecstasy, amphetamines and certain classes of prescription drugs, but not steroids.
Marist's faculty would be exempt.
The idea of implementing the policy was kicked around during a sparsely attended special meeting this week, and its future now rests with a 20-some person school task force and could be cemented with a Marist school board vote.
Roberta Hynes is part of that team.
A parent of a 14-year-old Marist freshman, she's backing the proposal 100 percent because "it's such a great benefit for Marist, the community and children.
"It can give parents relief," she said. " 'Oh, my God, my child is using,' or 'Oh, thank God they aren't.' "
But the idea of a schoolwide test has been met with opposition, including a small Facebook group.
As school let out on Friday, many groups of students said they opposed the testing - not because they take drugs but because the testing seems costly and unnecessary.
Some students said most of their peers don't take hard drugs, if they take them at all. And what substances do get used, such as chewing tobacco and alcohol, probably wouldn't show up on test results anyway, they said.
"Maybe they should just test suspected students," 16-year-old sophomore Kevin Kelly said.
"It's not worth it," 15-year-old freshman Chris Jackson said. "My parents aren't happy about it, either."
But many parents in the Marist community are supporting the proposal.
Therese Gray, whose 18-year-old son will have graduated by the time the tests would start, said she backs the testing, despite any privacy issues.
"Drugs and alcohol are illegal, so is it invading my child's' privacy? When it comes to my child, it probably isn't," she said. "It means my child's safe at school."
(http://www.southtownstar.com/news/2059535,022110maristdrugs.article)
February 21, 2010
BY CASEY CORA
Multiple choice. Essays. Pop quizzes.
Students at Marist High School may be subjected to yet another test next school year, but it's one they can prepare for by doing nothing at all.
Principal Larry Tucker insists a proposed new drug testing policy at the school isn't geared toward punishing students at the coed Catholic school in Chicago's Mount Greenwood community.
Instead, he said, drug testing would be an extension of the school's "family" atmosphere.
"Part of our mission is to help kids continue to make good decisions," he said. "It's part of who we are."
Tucker said he was impressed by the drug-free compliance rates at other schools in Marist's East Suburban Catholic Conference, whose principals boast remarkable success rates.
Under the proposal, Marist's entire student body would undergo a drug test at least once each school year - during the first semester - and possibly again during random tests in the second semester.
The tests, which cost about $45 per session, likely would be taken via hair follicle samples and administered by Psychemedics Corp., a Massachusetts-based company that specializes in narcotics testing in schools and private industry.
The tests would look for traces of marijuana, cocaine, PCP, Ecstasy, amphetamines and certain classes of prescription drugs, but not steroids.
Marist's faculty would be exempt.
The idea of implementing the policy was kicked around during a sparsely attended special meeting this week, and its future now rests with a 20-some person school task force and could be cemented with a Marist school board vote.
Roberta Hynes is part of that team.
A parent of a 14-year-old Marist freshman, she's backing the proposal 100 percent because "it's such a great benefit for Marist, the community and children.
"It can give parents relief," she said. " 'Oh, my God, my child is using,' or 'Oh, thank God they aren't.' "
But the idea of a schoolwide test has been met with opposition, including a small Facebook group.
As school let out on Friday, many groups of students said they opposed the testing - not because they take drugs but because the testing seems costly and unnecessary.
Some students said most of their peers don't take hard drugs, if they take them at all. And what substances do get used, such as chewing tobacco and alcohol, probably wouldn't show up on test results anyway, they said.
"Maybe they should just test suspected students," 16-year-old sophomore Kevin Kelly said.
"It's not worth it," 15-year-old freshman Chris Jackson said. "My parents aren't happy about it, either."
But many parents in the Marist community are supporting the proposal.
Therese Gray, whose 18-year-old son will have graduated by the time the tests would start, said she backs the testing, despite any privacy issues.
"Drugs and alcohol are illegal, so is it invading my child's' privacy? When it comes to my child, it probably isn't," she said. "It means my child's safe at school."
Tape-Delayed Olympic Contests Annoy the Instant-Update World
VANCOUVER OLYMPICSFEBRUARY 11, 2010
Tape-Delayed Olympic Contests Annoy the Instant-Update World
By SAM SCHECHNER and AMY CHOZICK
In the age of Twitter feeds and instant updates, the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver is facing down an old foe: the tape delay.
NBC says it will have fewer delayed events than in previous Olympics because Vancouver is in North America. But some major skiing events, like downhill and slalom, will be recorded earlier in the day and shown on the network in the evening.
The network plans to carry figure skating, speed skating, short-track skating, snowboarding and freestyle skiing events live, during prime time—except for West Coast viewers. West Coast audiences will have to wait and get every major prime-time and daytime event that airs on NBC with a time delay.
Tape delay is a product of a dilemma facing NBC Universal, whose parent General Electric Co. says it expects to lose about $250 million on the Winter Olympics. It must maximize its audience in the evenings on NBC, without alienating it.
Time differences have always presented problems for Olympics broadcasters since many viewers tune out if they already know the results. But the proliferation of social-networking Web sites like Twitter and real-time updates from a constant stream of Web sites means more viewers will know who landed the gold medal before they'll get the chance to watch a sport.
NBC Universal plans to air live events during the day and evening on its cable outlets, including USA, CNBC and MSNBC, as well as at NBCOlympics.com. The site will offer 400 hours of live online streaming to people who show they subscribe to a participating TV distributor.
NBC also plans to post scores immediately on its Olympics Web site to preempt viewers from venturing elsewhere for instant updates. But even that threatens to cannibalize viewership, especially if non-Americans win the medals, industry analysts say.
The Web site is "designed to complement the prime-time broadcast," an NBC spokesman says.
"People want results in real time," says Sam Sussman, director of sports activation at Starcom Worldwide, a media buying unit of Publicis Groupe. "Tape delay will likely have an impact on ratings," he added.
"The way information travels these days, finding out the results in advance is a total buzz kill," said Steven Loi, a 26-year-old entrepreneur in Silicon Valley. "I'll be pretty nonchalant about watching the Games if they're delayed. I get a lot of my updates online."
The network has people working around the clock to make sure footage exclusive to NBC does not pop up on YouTube or competing Olympics-related Web sites. Such policing is an increasingly routine practice for media companies. "We protect our investment," an NBC spokesman said.
Many West Coast fans were livid when NBC delayed its West Coast feeds in 2008 for Beijing's Summer Games. But the network says West Coast cities posted better ratings than average, even with a delay. NBC figures that airing the games on a delay again will attract more viewers than if they aired when no one is home.
Alan Wurtzel, head of research at NBC Universal, says internal research shows that viewers would rather watch the Olympics on a time delay than have them air at an inconvenient hour. He says the "vast majority" of the Olympics will be aired live in prime time. Nielsen Co. says over three quarters of U.S. viewers live in the East Coast and Central time zones.
Plus, the proliferation of digital recording devices that has led to wide-spread "time shifting" hasn't yet reached the Olympics and other large-scale televised events, says Lisa Quan, director of audience analysis at Interpublic Group's media agency Magna. "It's still this shared experience that you know people are going to be talking about the next day."
In Canada, broadcast partners CTV Inc. and Rogers Media Inc. say all Vancouver contests will air live on TV or online, with no tape-delayed telecasts. Some TV viewers in cities near the Canadian border receive Canadian TV channels, and therefore may have an alternative to any delayed airings on NBC.
The last time a winter games was in North America, NBC saw its ratings climb. The 2002 games in Salt Lake City attracted 19.2% of U.S. households to NBC's prime-time telecasts, a 17% increase over the disappointing 1998 games in Nagano, Japan, according to Nielsen Co.
Executive producer David Neal says the network plans to draw viewers to broadcasts by airing pre-produced biographies and other extras that will provide added entertainment even if an audience knows the final results. "If they care about an athlete's story, they'll take time to understand and watch the sport," Mr. Neal says.
Dick Ebersol, NBC Sports and Olympics chairman and an executive producer of the Vancouver Olympics coverage, recently told reporters that he believes that the live programming in the Vancouver games should help it perform better than the 2006 games in Torino, Italy. "Torino showed that the Winter Olympics can be pretty vulnerable to strong reality programming when the Olympics are on tape," Mr. Ebersol said.
Andy Donchin, director of media investments at Aegis Group PLC's Carat said a couple of early wins by U.S. athletes would help. "I want the eyeballs, and I think there's a potential that NBC could do well because a bigger percentage of the big events are going to be live," he added.
—Shira Ovide contributed to this article
Tape-Delayed Olympic Contests Annoy the Instant-Update World
By SAM SCHECHNER and AMY CHOZICK
In the age of Twitter feeds and instant updates, the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver is facing down an old foe: the tape delay.
NBC says it will have fewer delayed events than in previous Olympics because Vancouver is in North America. But some major skiing events, like downhill and slalom, will be recorded earlier in the day and shown on the network in the evening.
The network plans to carry figure skating, speed skating, short-track skating, snowboarding and freestyle skiing events live, during prime time—except for West Coast viewers. West Coast audiences will have to wait and get every major prime-time and daytime event that airs on NBC with a time delay.
Tape delay is a product of a dilemma facing NBC Universal, whose parent General Electric Co. says it expects to lose about $250 million on the Winter Olympics. It must maximize its audience in the evenings on NBC, without alienating it.
Time differences have always presented problems for Olympics broadcasters since many viewers tune out if they already know the results. But the proliferation of social-networking Web sites like Twitter and real-time updates from a constant stream of Web sites means more viewers will know who landed the gold medal before they'll get the chance to watch a sport.
NBC Universal plans to air live events during the day and evening on its cable outlets, including USA, CNBC and MSNBC, as well as at NBCOlympics.com. The site will offer 400 hours of live online streaming to people who show they subscribe to a participating TV distributor.
NBC also plans to post scores immediately on its Olympics Web site to preempt viewers from venturing elsewhere for instant updates. But even that threatens to cannibalize viewership, especially if non-Americans win the medals, industry analysts say.
The Web site is "designed to complement the prime-time broadcast," an NBC spokesman says.
"People want results in real time," says Sam Sussman, director of sports activation at Starcom Worldwide, a media buying unit of Publicis Groupe. "Tape delay will likely have an impact on ratings," he added.
"The way information travels these days, finding out the results in advance is a total buzz kill," said Steven Loi, a 26-year-old entrepreneur in Silicon Valley. "I'll be pretty nonchalant about watching the Games if they're delayed. I get a lot of my updates online."
The network has people working around the clock to make sure footage exclusive to NBC does not pop up on YouTube or competing Olympics-related Web sites. Such policing is an increasingly routine practice for media companies. "We protect our investment," an NBC spokesman said.
Many West Coast fans were livid when NBC delayed its West Coast feeds in 2008 for Beijing's Summer Games. But the network says West Coast cities posted better ratings than average, even with a delay. NBC figures that airing the games on a delay again will attract more viewers than if they aired when no one is home.
Alan Wurtzel, head of research at NBC Universal, says internal research shows that viewers would rather watch the Olympics on a time delay than have them air at an inconvenient hour. He says the "vast majority" of the Olympics will be aired live in prime time. Nielsen Co. says over three quarters of U.S. viewers live in the East Coast and Central time zones.
Plus, the proliferation of digital recording devices that has led to wide-spread "time shifting" hasn't yet reached the Olympics and other large-scale televised events, says Lisa Quan, director of audience analysis at Interpublic Group's media agency Magna. "It's still this shared experience that you know people are going to be talking about the next day."
In Canada, broadcast partners CTV Inc. and Rogers Media Inc. say all Vancouver contests will air live on TV or online, with no tape-delayed telecasts. Some TV viewers in cities near the Canadian border receive Canadian TV channels, and therefore may have an alternative to any delayed airings on NBC.
The last time a winter games was in North America, NBC saw its ratings climb. The 2002 games in Salt Lake City attracted 19.2% of U.S. households to NBC's prime-time telecasts, a 17% increase over the disappointing 1998 games in Nagano, Japan, according to Nielsen Co.
Executive producer David Neal says the network plans to draw viewers to broadcasts by airing pre-produced biographies and other extras that will provide added entertainment even if an audience knows the final results. "If they care about an athlete's story, they'll take time to understand and watch the sport," Mr. Neal says.
Dick Ebersol, NBC Sports and Olympics chairman and an executive producer of the Vancouver Olympics coverage, recently told reporters that he believes that the live programming in the Vancouver games should help it perform better than the 2006 games in Torino, Italy. "Torino showed that the Winter Olympics can be pretty vulnerable to strong reality programming when the Olympics are on tape," Mr. Ebersol said.
Andy Donchin, director of media investments at Aegis Group PLC's Carat said a couple of early wins by U.S. athletes would help. "I want the eyeballs, and I think there's a potential that NBC could do well because a bigger percentage of the big events are going to be live," he added.
—Shira Ovide contributed to this article
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
