well said.... On Sat, Jul 25, 2026, 10:04 AM Mark J. Fine via Swprograms < [email protected]> wrote:
> > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: "Mark J. Fine" <[email protected]> > To: Shortwave programming discussion <[email protected]> > Cc: > Bcc: > Date: Sat, 25 Jul 2026 12:54:30 -0400 > Subject: Re: [Swprograms] BBC Global Minds user survey: programs are > called "Brands" > It bothers me. Not totally for the same reasons, but for something you > touched on. > > To me, a 'brand' is a marketing term that is supposed to imply repeated > product quality and style that customers are loyal to. In the 70s I > automatically bought the latest Led Zeppelin albums, ignoring any reviews, > because I knew it was something I was going to enjoy. In today's parlance > they are (were?) a brand, but we didn't think of it that way. We just saw > it as entertainment. Today, calling them a 'brand' cheapens and implicitly > commercializes it to where it's intended to be for the record label's > benefit, not mine. > > People who post on social media also consider their posts to be their > personal 'brand'. I despise the way commercial terms like this have > infiltrated everyday society. I'm not here to arbitrarily consume content > for the benefit of some soulless financial entity. I'm also not somebody's > customer. I'm just trying to kill time, entertain, and/or educate myself. > But this is where we are, or as another band in the 70's put it: "Welcome > to the machine"... > > Mark > > On 7/25/26, 11:20 AM, "Swprograms on behalf of John Figliozzi" < > [email protected] <mailto: > [email protected]> on behalf of [email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: > > > Maybe it’s just an old age mentality, but I find this effort to establish > new terminology for existing products annoying and just unnecessarily > stylistic. In an age when an organization like the BBC is pressed for > revenue, it seems a waste of time and resources to engineer a whole new way > of looking at what are essentially the same things. Maybe they think it > makes them more attractive to younger eyes and ears (yeah, this is probably > it), but I really doubt that’s true. Most of the surveys I read indicate > that trying to attract younger people to traditional media ends up a loser > and that many of them eventually embrace the stuff that the BBC et al are > trying to sell as they mature and get older with more experience. I can’t > help but perceive the chase for advertising dollars as the culprit here > which only ends up confusing "public service” with the pursuit of a mass > audience. They are two separate things that require separate sources of > revenue if their unique missions are to be preserved, but try explaining > that to the younger executives running these organizations today. Most of > the people the BBC or NPR are hiring come from the commercial side and fail > to recognize the subtle but real difference. ABC (Australia) Radio National > seems to still get it, however. > > > John Figliozzi > > > > On Jul 25, 2026, at 6:32 AM, Rob de Santos <[email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: > > > > I noticed the same thing. Initially, I thought it was confusing. I > suppose, > > using the same logic, book and song titles are now "brands". > > > > --Rob de Santos > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: Swprograms <[email protected] <mailto: > [email protected]>> On Behalf Of Richard > > Cuff > > Sent: Friday, July 24, 2026 4:32 PM > > To: Internet radio discussion <[email protected] <mailto: > [email protected]>>; Shortwave > > programming discussion <[email protected] <mailto: > [email protected]>> > > Subject: [Swprograms] BBC Global Minds user survey: programs are called > > "Brands" > > > > Interesting terminology -- I just went through a survey in the BBC Global > > Minds community regarding my awareness of various BBC programs offered on > > the World Service, Radio 4, and BBC World News. > > > > What I would call "programs" they called "brands". > > > > Welcome to the 21st century, I guess... > > > > Richard Cuff > > _______________________________________________ > > Swprograms mailing list > > [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > > http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/swprograms < > http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/swprograms> > > > > To unsubscribe: Send an E-mail to > > [email protected] <mailto: > [email protected]>?subject=unsubscribe, or visit the URL > > shown above. > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Swprograms mailing list > > [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > > http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/swprograms < > http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/swprograms> > > > > To unsubscribe: Send an E-mail to [email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]>?subject=unsubscribe, or > visit the URL shown above. > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Swprograms mailing list > [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/swprograms < > http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/swprograms> > > > To unsubscribe: Send an E-mail to [email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]>?subject=unsubscribe, or > visit the URL shown above. > > > > > > > > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: "Mark J. Fine via Swprograms" <[email protected]> > To: Shortwave programming discussion <[email protected]> > Cc: "Mark J. Fine" <[email protected]> > Bcc: > Date: Sat, 25 Jul 2026 12:54:30 -0400 > Subject: Re: [Swprograms] BBC Global Minds user survey: programs are > called "Brands" > _______________________________________________ > Swprograms mailing list > [email protected] > http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/swprograms > > To unsubscribe: Send an E-mail to > [email protected]?subject=unsubscribe, or visit the URL > shown above. > >
_______________________________________________ Swprograms mailing list [email protected] http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/swprograms To unsubscribe: Send an E-mail to [email protected]?subject=unsubscribe, or visit the URL shown above.
