Digital Celebrities

partridge writes "Carson Daly's simulacrum is the new Max Headroom. I guess this makes Clear Channel Communications the current embodiment of Network 23? Now we just have to wait for the blipverts to start making consumer's heads explode."

Comments

Unions are just looking to save their jobs

[JasonUCF]

This is just a simple case of a radio station using technology to bring high profile talent into a market.

It's been done for tens of years. Ok, so technology now allows them to fine tune it up to every tiny little word -- that's kind of cool, actually -- but anyway, do you really think Casey Casem or Dick Clark knew anything about half the cities they were broadcasting in?

It's America's Top 40 Dance Band Stand! Broadcasting right here in Minnoke!

The union's just looking to save their local DJs some jobs. Carson Daly is not going to appear on every radio dial. The fear is, though, if people tune into this, maybe they would like more high profile talent on their other radio shows.. not local talent. Good luck unions! ugh, would hate to fight that fight..

It would be cool to hear Carson Daly stuttering over his words digitally and repeating a star's name over and over and over again.

A Different Breed

[serutan]

From the article: "...members of a major broadcasting union are investigating to determine whether the techniques violate local labor agreements." Groups like the RIAA apparently are not alone in wanting to make sure new technology doesn't disturb existing revenue streams, and wanting to thwart it if it does. This kind of thing reminds me that geeks seem to live in a completely different continuum from the rest of the world.

What would things be like today if, for example, computer programmers and electronics engineers had reacted in the same way to things like code-generating tools, CAD and microcircuitry, clinging instead to the practices of hand-entering 1's and 0's and wiring everything with a soldering iron, because more streamlined methods might threaten our jobs? I envision something like the computers in the movie Brazil, coexisting with pheumatic message tubes.

Regulatory mandate

[burgburgburg]

Casey Casem was a clearly syndicated show, which is a format that radio stations are allowed to broadcast. But there is a federal mandate that local stations serve a local audience. The mostly artificial construct involved hardly qualifies as serving a local audience, but that is how the stations are counting it.

A good exemplar: calling this show local content is like calling ketchup a vegetable. And that's what they've doing for all this time.

Use their tools against them.

[mikeophile]

What's to stop some enterprising folk from making their own, highly subversive versions of Carson Daly from recordings of his show?

What's to stop those recordings from being either broadcast locally from pirate rigs, or injected into a Clear Channel satellite feed?

Ok, maybe state and federal laws and the wrath of the FCC, if you care about that kind of thing.

Max Headroom Was Genius

[MBCook]

Ever since I started watching Max Headroom when Tech TV started to rerun it, I've noticed something. It's distrubing how accurate it is. ALL the major networks seem to be trying to be major news outlets, but they are just ads. We are getting fed more and more commercials, Blipverts are surely comming soon. And a few major companies seem to controll just about everything. How long before ZikZak's... I mean McD's... starts giving out neurostimulator bracelets? Also, is it just me or is TV getting dumber and dumber, yet more and more popular. Am I the only one who thinks that they are testing out the technology that was used to make "Wack-its" popular on the show.

The more "old" sci-fi type stuff I watch, the more erie it is how similar we've become. How long untill we're not ALLOWED to turn off our TVs? How long before our TVs watch what WE'RE doing so advertisers can see what effect they're having? How long before Max is invading MY TV screen?