Listening Post: I tell you three times
Cornell's first electronic analog computer.
At the dawn of the computer age, computation was done on notoriously unreliable analog devices. To improve the chances of arriving at the correct solution, advanced setups used the principle “I tell you three times,” that is, using three identical devices to run the same problem. If the three answers agreed, it was accepted as accurate.
Plate V: The Hunting of the Snark. "But oh, beamish nephew, beware..."
That might seem like a good model for a media consumer–to use multiple sources for information and trust the points of consensus to be a fair representation of the facts. But there are some problems with that. Fun geek fact: the quotation “I told you thrice, and what I tell you three times is true…” comes from one of Lewis Carroll’s loopier poems, “The Hunting of the Snark”–which does not bode well for those aspiring to fact-based decision-making.
And in fact, the media landscape has become so fragmented and such an echo-chamber that one could easily get the same wrong information from dozens of sources. Another old saying runs “All the world is mad save for me and thee, and I wonder about thee.” Little wonder then that generic media trust ratings run right down in the basement with congress, and with Nigerian princes who say they want to send us money.
Still, we do trust–we identify sources that we regard as reliable and useful. And if few trust congress as a whole, many more trust their own representative. As for the other cellar-dweller–well–“Put not your faith in princes.”
As members of the much-vilified media “elite,” and at the same time reliant on member support, creating a relationship of trust is a core survival issue for NCPR. Which brings to mind three questions for you to compute. What does NCPR do that gives you reason to place credence in what we say? What might we have done that would erode your trust in our service? And what could we do (that we are not doing now) that would make our service more worthy of your good regard.
We trust you’ll post reliable data in a comment below.
Tags: listeningpost
Actually, I think you do a pretty darn good job.
The problem isn’t you. The problem is “the groundlings, who for the most part are capable of nothing but inexplicable dumb-shows and noise.”
Ah, well, there I go being an elitist. But truth be told, it is the responsibility of people to do a little thinking on their own and not fully trust anything they hear, read of see.
I’m not sure I know what to expect from you, from NCPR, or from any “local” or regional entity. On the other hand, I believe my concept of NPR’s role in my life — or, let’s say, the role of any national or international entity; the BBC for instance — developed with some degree of objectivity.
What can NCPR provide me that a national network cannot or will not provide? The obvious answer is: local news and commentary. You can also be a force in the development and nurturing of the local culture — one of the few, or maybe even the *only* one with such a reach.
Perhaps my interest in this locale and in my neighbors is at an unhealthy low. Perhaps I subconsciously view my presence in the North Country as temporary and therefore feel I have little investment here. Am I a transient? I have lived all over the country, changed regions many times, and have been here only two years.
So a “relationship of trust” between me and the “media-elite” NCPR would seem to be predicated on my having a clear view of the role you play in my life and in the lives of all in this vast and sparsely populated region. The fact that you deliver to me programs I’d rather not live without is important to me, but NCPR does not wish to identify itself merely as a mechanism for delivery of content. This I get, but the fact you deliver these programs to me certainly lends credence to what you are. But what about what you say?
What you would have to do to make your service more ‘worthy of my regard’ is only done, albeit sporadically, by a mere handful of pirate radio or college stations around the country. The arts are crucially important to me. But my taste is not shared by the majority of people. So, unfortunately, radio production that would interest me is rare, even in the major metros.
When I feel like listening to some music, I rarely go to my shelf and pull something from the central repertoire (if we’re talking classical), or if jazz, 99 times of 100 I’ll pull something from the freejazz or experimental world. However, and to seemingly contradict myself, I have this anecdote:
Just last night upon hitting the mattress, I felt like something light in the background. I tuned in just as a performance of the Beethoven Violin Concerto (as central-repertoire as it gets!) was getting started. I thought “Oh no, not yet another performance of a warhorse I’ve heard a thousand times.” Well, this wasn’t your normal, garden-variety performance. I got locked in. The violinist had a tone of pure silken beauty and a vibrato that was alive and changing every moment — perfectly modulated for each and every one of Beethoven’s phrases. The first movement cadenza was rendered with incredible taste and tautness. I even had the patience to listen to every overly-familiar note of the adagio, and it was played to perfection — no, it was beyond perfection. The tempos were perfect (as they were in the outer movements as well). Now we get to the oft-called “rousing” finale. I thought to myself “Surely I will not be able to stick with yet another final movement contrived merely to display a soloist’s technical virtuosity.” But again, that violinist, along with an incredibly flexible and responsive interpretation by the conductor, locked me right in. My god what a performance! By the end of the third movement cadenza, that fiddler was pushing and pulling those strings to the point I thought they or the bow would shatter into pieces. Well, at this point I was at the edge of my mattress waiting for the announcement identifying fiddler, orchestra, and conductor, so I could run out and buy the record for full 16bit/44.1K bliss! And, wouldn’t you know it — this was a **concert** performance!! In other words: not available commercially. No wonder the musicians were taking all those chances — it was a live concert!!!
Had I not been tuned in to NCPR at the moment, I would have missed this transcendent experience. What do I want from NCPR? …oh but what else, more Stockhausen :):):)
One of the many practices of “the media” that leads to distrust is blind acceptance and subsequent publication of “press release” content. It is often done without fact-checking, without attribution, and without appropriate independent background.
NCPR is rarely (but not never) guilty. NPR often puts out headline war news that smacks of this foul practice. The report is the same “line” that was fed to the reporter. There is no certification of authenticity; no review of credibility.
When the news is “managed” by biased or lazy individuals, an informed electorate is not the logical outcome.
The “consensus of three” methodology has merit only if the computing algorithms (analog or digital) are independent. Unfortunately independent reporting is diminishing. I choose to seek alternative reporting on the current “big story” in the international media. What is missed in our domestic media is, at times, astounding.
Bob–
Thanks for that great story. As web manager, the live experience of radio too often falls off my radar. While we can’t give you any live Stockhausen at the moment, we are doing a live concert broadcast from a local venue tonight–Chris Smither at the Indian Lake Theater. These live remote broadcasts have become much easier to do as broadband filters out to more and more rural locations. NCPR has done more of them as a result, and plans to do even more in the future, including web video where we can. It’s a great opportunity to serve the region and produce media that is available nowhere else.
Another thing you said struck my ear. That you are new to the region and unsure of your committment to staying for the long-term. I’m a lifer in the North Country, and most of the station staff have more than a decade in the region. But the stats are on the side of your experience. The average American, I read, changes jobs every three years on the average, and towns every five years. That suggests that part of our mission should be to actively welcome newcomers, and to smooth their way into the North Country somehow. Too often, we assume our audience is a settled bunch, and know the particular culture they find themselves in. Bad assumption.
Thanks for taking the time to weigh in.
Dale Hobson, NCPR web manager
With reference to what Bob and Dale have said above, I’m often reminded of the last line in the movie, The Martian Chronicles , maybe the book too, where an Earthling observes, “We are the Martians,” after being unable to find Martians on the planet.
We Americans for the most part are a wandering lot. We move from place to place, job to job and tend to think of ourselves as American first and then whatever where we happen to be at the moment.
Some people don’t like this fact. I do.
I’ve been up here now since 87 and love the place for most of the reasons most people don’t want to live here. I like the fact trees out number people, and it’s colder and snowier than most places in the lower 48.
The job situation? I’m not getting rich but I’ve always found work and am now doing what I like to do.
I too like Bob appreciate NCPR for what I can’t get from other sources. I like variety. I like the spice of life. With the expansion provided by the Internet and satellite TV there is much more variety available then when first moving here.
While NCPR can never be nor should be all things to all people, the station does a pretty good job.
So grow and change as we all must do but don’t worry too much about those who complain about this and that.
Hi Pete–
I don’t see us as callibrating our position in response to criticism so much as learning how to adapt as quickly as the media landscape is changing. Your point that the variety and availability of media has vastly expanded is well-taken–but that is a challenge for NCPR as well as an opportunity. For example, while we have greater variety of general information and entertainment, the providers of media unique to this region–the small town papers and other sources of local journalism–are disappearing or being hollowed out, starved of resources.
While NCPR can’t be all things to all people, we do need to shape our service so that it can provide SOMETHING desirable to all people–that’s why we see ourselves as a public-service operation, not a member-service operation. If we forget the difference, the portion of our budget provided by all the taxpayers is there to remind us.
This is why we sought grant funding to deepen our local new coverage (among other things). We can’t replace all that is going away, but we need to up our game as much as we can in this crucial area.
Which presents dangers of its own. New media, social media, citizen journalism–all of these are opportunities to help the region be better connected and informed, but all present challenges to a reputation for reliability, thoroughness, relevance and even-handedness. We can’t afford to mis-step in this poorly charted territory, because trust is easy to lose, and almost impossible to regain.
Dale Hobson, NCPR
Dale,
I agree with your points and concerns.
One of the things I have learned since living up here, especially since reporting for the Hamilton County Express, is what flies in one town or region doesn’t fly in another.
To a great extent, NCPR is about the only thing that unifies the North Country. What greatly hurts is the divisions such as different DEC regions, different power companies, different phone companies, different political districts, etc.
What I like most about NCPR is the morning and evening news programs. Many of the other programs I also like but seldom listen to because of my work schedule. My number one complaint is losing the signal while driving about to go from one board meeting to another. There is a dead zone between Indian Lake and Speculator and another between Raquette Lake and Inlet.
“While we can’t give you any live Stockhausen at the moment…”
Dale, not to worry: Commercial / studio recordings of Stockhausen will suffice for the time being :–) …mix in some Lachenmann and early Archie Shepp while you’re at it!!
Cheers, and congrats for putting up all those xmtrs and translators among the myriad bumps and valleys of this vast north country.
One way to keep trust in listeners is to identify when something is the newsperson’s opinion rather than simply reporting an event.