A problematic culture

Posted on January 14, 2020 by bvanrysdam

The reverberations following Major League Baseball’s report on the Astros sign-stealing scandal continues to rock the Houston sports world. It did not take long for Astros owner Jim Crane to “dismiss” A.J. Hinch and Jeff Luhnow once MLB suspended both for the 2020 season (which makes me think Crane knew this was coming and already made the decision before MLB announced the suspensions).

I will leave the impact this will have on the field to the sports experts, but there was something in MLB Commissioners report that caught my eye…

“while no one can dispute that Luhnow’s baseball operations department is an industry leader in its analytics, it is very clear to me that the culture of the baseball operations department, manifesting itself in the way its employees are treated, its relations with other clubs, and its relations with the media and external stakeholders, has been very problematic.”

Manfred pulled no punches in describing the culture established under Luhnow’s leadership. You will recall back in October 2019, the Astros fired assistant general manager Brandon Taubman for targeting female reporters with inappropriate comments regarding relief pitcher Roberto Osuna who was accused of domestic violence when playing for the Toronto Blue Jays.

At first, the Astros disputed what took place calling the reporting “misleading and completely irresponsible.” They then released a mea culpa statement apologizing to Stephanie Apstein (one of the reporters targeted) and to all individuals who witnessed the incident. Taubman is now ineligible to work for any MLB club through the day after the 2020 season ends at which point he will be allowed to apply to commissioner Manfred for reinstatement.

Following the aftermath of Crane’s announcement that Hinch and Luhnow were “dismissed”, the Astros issued a media advisory making Crane available to meet with the media.

Pretty standard stuff, but what caught my eye was the line…

“Please note that media outlets are not permitted to carry the news conference live on the air nor online” (it did note the Astros would stream it on Astros.com).

Maybe I’m too old school (#OKBoomer), but inviting the media to a news conference with the caveat you can’t broadcast it live is wrong. Are they trying to drive traffic to their website? If a media outlet did broadcast it live, they would probably lose their credentials and not be allowed access to the team. I wonder what kind of reaction that would have gotten in markets like New York, or Boston. My guess is not too well.

All this does not bode well for an organization accused of, not only cheating, but having a “problematic” culture of the way it treats media. You would think the Astros would be trying to mend relationships and not continue its usual ways of doing business.

Flipping the narrative

Posted on January 10, 2020 by bvanrysdam

There is a negative connotation to the phrase “flipping the narrative”. Some might call it “spin” or “propaganda” and find it dishonest, but that is not always the case. Take Wells Fargo for example.

The California Department of Insurance accused Wells Fargo of issuing nearly 1,500 insurance policies without their customers knowledge or permission from 2008 to 2016. The bank agreed to pay a $10 million penalty in January 2019 as part of a settlement agreement. This caused severe brand perception causing customer trust to free-fall.

So how to rebuild that trust? The bank took the steps to acknowledge what it did and that is was wrong and flip the narrative to move the story forward.

Check out their video that was posted to YouTube.

As you can see, the video walks the viewer through the history of the bank with a dramatic fade to black and no audio after their mistake was shown. The effect of going to black sends a powerful message that shows they knew what happened was wrong. The video then picks up with a sense of optimism about the future and how it is moving forward to regain customer trust.

I realize this is just one video, but I found the courage to produce and post it extraordinary. Nobody likes talking about past mistakes and I can’t imagine the suits in the corner office being comfortable with reminding people what they did, yet America, if nothing else, loves to forgive.

Remember Mike Tyson (arrested and charged with raping beauty queen Desiree Washington in 1991) who ended up starring in The Hangover? Other celebrities like Robert Downey Jr., Mark Wahlberg and Martha Stewart have all been able to resurrect their careers after various offenses.

I get the Wells Fargo is an institution and not a celebrity, but it does feel that Americans can find it in themselves to forgive, especially when someone, or something is willing to own up.

Pedaling in place

Posted on December 5, 2019 by bvanrysdam

Advertising is often a hit and miss proposition. Some ads generate tremendous buzz and resonate with audiences, while others miss the mark altogether. That being said, I have to say I am a little surprised at the backlash Peloton is getting on their latest TV commercial.

The commercial begins with a young women whose spouse/partner surprises her with a Pelton bike on Christmas morning. She then chronicles her yearlong fitness journey on her phone and makes a video diary that she plays the following Christmas.

So what’s the problem? Many people (I assume they are not BOTS or the Russians) on social media are blasting the ad for using a thin, young women who apparently does not look like she need to exercise. Some have gone so far as saying the ad had a dystopia vibe and brought visions of a horror film.

While criticizing an ad is not uncommon, the fact that the company’s stock lost 9% of its value in one day will certainly make people in the corner office take notice. A representative for Peloton released a statement to CNBC, stating that while they “were disappointed in how some have misinterpreted this commercial,” they were also grateful to their existing community.

One of the problems Peloton faces is that their “existing community” is pretty small. The bikes are really expensive. The basic package runs $2,245 with membership costing $39 a month and you need to figure out where it fits in your homes décor.

The ad missed the mark, not on the messaging, but the delivery. The women appears terrified at times and it feels like she is being forced to ride. Perhaps if the spouse/partner joined in and made it a fun, family thing, it would have gone over better.

The whole thing comes across as snobbish and arrogant, but then that’s how I picture the people that own one.

Is he really running?

Posted on December 4, 2019 by bvanrysdam

Michael Bloomberg has filed to be a presidential candidate, but does that mean he wants to be in the Oval Office?

CNBC is reporting that Bloomberg has purchased a whopping $57 million on TV ads, outspending almost every other Democratic candidate on TV and digital ads since he entered the race just over a week ago (billionaire Tom Steyer, has spent a little over $60 million since July).

Advertising Analytics, a data company who tracks spending, reports Bloomberg has paid over $6 million on national TV spots, plus $3 million in local ads focused on the New York and Los Angeles markets, and over $4 million on commercials airing in Texas.

That being said, Bloomberg is not participating in the Iowa caucuses and is not on the ballot in some of the other early states (New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada).

So what gives?

There has been speculation that Bloomberg is not interested in being president, but wants to ensure Trump is a one-term president and is running ads that are critical of his term in office. So why file and be a candidate?

Three words…Lowest Unit Rate.

By law, federal candidates are entitled to the lowest rates in the “class” of time they purchase (this only applies in political protection periods) thanks to Communications Act of 1934. The math can get a little complicated, but the bottom line is that candidates running for federal office are entitled to buy advertising at lower rates. By filing as a candidate, Bloomberg has access to purchase advertising at these rates which extends his buying power.

This also puts pressure on the Republican Party to keep up with the spending taking place. Advertising Analytics tweeted this graph Dec. 2, 2019 showing a wide disparity in spending.

There is still a long way to go, but it will be interesting to see how much of a candidate Bloomberg will be.

Is America becoming a news desert?

Posted on October 25, 2019 by bvanrysdam

Facebook is once again changing the media landscape. The social media giant has announced it is creating Facebook News, a new section of content available that will feature a variety of different news articles.

The stories will come from outside sources, not Facebook employees and will use algorithms to deliver personalized recommendations for further reading. News Corp, The Washington Post, Bloomberg, BuzzFeed News, the Los Angeles Times, CBS and Fox’s owned-and-operated local stations are the first media outlets to provide content.

Not everyone is impressed by this announcement.

“It’s great that Facebook is willing to pay The New York Times and Washington Post, among other national news organizations,” Larry Gilbert, Jr., the audience engagement editor for the Sun Journal newspaper in Lewiston, Maine told CNN.com. “But while the tech giant is doing that, newspapers in smaller markets across the country are closing up shop and every day more of America is becoming a news desert.”

There is no doubt the landscape of news is changing. Local newspapers struggle to survive leaving communities with little or no information on what is taking place.

The Pew Research Center reports 71% of U.S. adults think their local news media are doing well financially. However, the study also revealed 41% of Americans say they prefer getting their local news via TV and the 37% prefer it online which is dramatically different to those who favor a printed newspaper or the radio (13% and 8%, respectively).

All of this does not bode well for local newspapers. According to an Associated Press analysis of data compiled by the University of North Carolina, 1,400 cities and towns across the U.S. have lost a newspaper over the past 15 years.

Much like other media industries, local ownership is fading with companies like Gatehouse Media Inc. (the nation’s largest newspaper company) buying up the mom and pop shops. Many of these large newspaper companies are owned by hedge funds or other investors who have no interest in anything other than the bottom line.

While print maybe out of fashion, one still hopes that local communities can take advantage of and even embrace new media to keep citizens up to date on news that have a direct impact on their lives. Perhaps it might even be Facebook News.

Fixing a wrong in a big way

Posted on October 8, 2019 by bvanrysdam

Corrections are not an uncommon practice in print journalism. Mistakes happen and it’s better to fix it, even if it is after the fact. There is no standard set of rules for letting readers know an error has been made, but the internet makes it is much easier to fix articles that appear on a newspapers website. Those stories can display the date/time it was updated and include an editor’s note at the bottom explaining what was changed and even why.

That being said, the “correction” the Houston Chronicle printed in its Oct. 8 newspaper is remarkable.

Mistakes happen. Being a long time broadcaster, I know only too well that, as hard as one tries, errors like this are going to happen. The pressure to increase (or in some cases simply maintain revenue), shrinking staff and tight deadlines only add the chances of mistakes taking place, not just in news stories, but advertisements as well.

That being said, the Houston Chronicle must have been under enormous pressure to acknowledge what admittedly is a pretty big screw up. Tilman Fertitta who holds the position of Chairman, University of Houston System Board of Regents (as well as Chairman of the Board and CEO Landry’s, Inc. and owner of the Houston Rockets) carries a lot of weight. I don’t know if he made the call to the Houston Chronicle, but given the severity of the correction, one has to wonder.

Normally when something like this happens, make-goods are offered (free ads to make up for the error), but that obviously was not enough to satisfy. I’m also curious as to whether or not the Houston Chronicle sent the ad to the client (ad agency, the university) for approval. That’s pretty standard practice and it would be surprising if that did not take place. The chronicle claims the mistake is 100% theirs, but was it really, or did they simply fall on the sword.

The one thing that is very clear, yesterday was not a good for many at the Houston Chronicle.

The real meaning of impeachment

Posted on September 26, 2019 by bvanrysdam

The word impeachment has been in the news a lot, but it seems many Americans don’t really understand what that means (which is not surprising when you realize only 26% of Americans can name all three branches of the government (see “Could you pass this test”)

Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body levels charges against a government official. Impeachment does not in itself remove the official from office; it is the equivalent to an indictment in criminal law, and thus is only the statement of charges against the official.

In the relatively young history of the U.S. (243 years), only two presidents have been impeached. Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998 (Nixon resigned in part to avoid being impeached). Both Johnson and Clinton were acquitted and finished their term in office.

Impeachment by its very nature can be a very politicized event and that seems even more evident in today’s hyper-partisan world. Democrats want to “Dump Trump” while Republicans counter with “You just don’t like that he won”.

So where does that leave us? There really is no road map on how any of this works. For instance, there is a debate on whether or not congress must vote on a resolution to open inquires. No resolution has been voted on and it’s not clear that one would pass at this time (although it does appear the tide is shifting). Others argue having the House Judiciary Committee already engaged in an impeachment investigation by-passes the need for a resolution to open inquires.

Let’s just say for the moment, the House votes on the articles of impeachment with one of the articles passing, the president is officially impeached (the equivalent of being indicted, but not found guilty). The matter than goes to the Senate, were the procedures are even murkier.

You would think something this important would be spelled out in great detail, but you would be wrong; there are no set rules. The Senate could pass a resolution (there’s that word again) to lay out how the trail would proceed making it up as they go along, but there is no legal mechanism in place if the majority leader were to refuse to convene a trail (ala Senator Mitch McConnell refusing to permit a Supreme Court confirmation hearing and vote on Obama’s nominee, Judge Merrick Garland).

So how does this get resolved? There is one solution; let the American people decide in the 2020 presidential election. Then we can argue about the Election College and stop talking about impeachment.

Texas law goes up in smoke

Posted on July 30, 2019 by bvanrysdam

“Marijuana has not been decriminalized in Texas”

So reads the letter, signed by Gov. Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, House Speaker Dennis Bonnen, and Attorney General Ken Paxton. It may not be decriminalized, but it sure has taken an interesting turn with the passage of House Bill 1325 this past session.

The so-called “Hemp Bill” took the drug off the list of controlled substances in Texas, as long as products such as CBD oil contain no more than 0.3 percent THC, the psychoactive ingredient that gives users their buzz.

So what’s the problem? It seems measuring the difference between legal (0.3 percent) and illegal (0.4 percent) requires very special equipment which is not readily available and expensive. Some estimates projected the equipment and training for 25 new employees to be around $5.5 million annually. Since no funding was provided, many district attorneys are delaying, or even dropping low-level marijuana cases.

The letter signed by Abbott, Patrick, Bonnen and Paxton went to say…

“Since H.B. 1325 did not repeal the marijuana laws of Texas, as Judicial Branch Members, you should continue to enforce those laws by ‘faithfully executing the duties of the office of the [District or County Attorney], of the State of Texas, and … to the best of [your] ability preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States and of this State.”

The problem is lawmakers were told before they voted that H.B. 1325 was going to make prosecuting marijuana a lot tougher. The Texas Department of Public Safety testified to state budget officials the bill would need to be funded to work. Democratic state Rep. Tracy King’s office was told that, without funds for new lab testing, the legislation would “essentially legalize marijuana.”

It’s all part of the “un-funded mandate” game. Austin makes the rules, then wants to local jurisdictions to figure out how to pay for it. Texas lawmakers take great pride passing tax cuts, implementing new laws, then screaming foul when local authorities try to figure out how to make it work, or worse don’t try at all.

With lawmakers approving a $250.7 billion two-year budget, could someone in Austin have listened a little more carefully to the people testifying and come up with $5 million?