I just realized ...

[unixronin]

... This whole SciFi rebranding thing, and the comment about wanting to "distance the SciFi Channel from science fiction".

Well — maybe they were inspired by Fox and news.

Comments

[mrakg.livejournal.com]

I got meaner/nastier in my musings.

[perspicuity.livejournal.com]

i was told the idea was they can't brand/own "SciFi" but they *CAN* p0wn SyFy... l33t d00d. and thus, they can potentially, you know, have something they can then beat people with, and stuff. like Fox. ... Well Fox is a word. Animal. but maybe they have more money? :) no no, I bet FOX is an acronym ;)

#

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

Well, I was thinking "SyFy" doesn't want to do science fiction any more, and Fox News arguably doesn't really report news so much as just editorialize about it...

[perspicuity.livejournal.com]

well, the news is so LIMITING. i mean, maybe they want to explore their horizons, and perform interpretive dance! or show more cute fuzzy sapiens!

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[unixronin.livejournal.com]

Wait, wait - the FURRY CHANNEL!

[lebo-superman.livejournal.com]

I'm going to call you on that one - you're being totally unfair to Fox. Not that I like them, but they aren't any different than the other stations that cover "news" these days. None of them are unbiased. What you don't like is that the bias Fox has is different from yours.

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

I agree, I don't think any of the US news channels reports the news in an unbiased manner. Part of the problem, I think, is that they got into this idea of "news" not as accurate and objective reporting of important events that people need to be informed of, but as an infotainment product competing for viewer share against the other networks. "Our new studio set is shinier, our new theme music is more catchy, our new on-screen graphics are flashier, and by the way, check out our smokin' hawt new co-anchor." I picked Fox not because I approve more or less of their particular editorial bias, but because they've managed to acquire for themselves the satirical sobriquet of "Faux News" (a distinction the other news channel's have yet to achieve), and ... well ... because I had to pick some newsotainment channel or another. :) Fox/Faux was just the most obvious one (yes, I'll admit, it was the "easy target") at the top of the list. The whole comparison was only a sardonic/snarky comment in the first place; I wasn't trying for rigor.


These days, even the BBC's coverage is not always objective. But I remember when it used to be....


(Footnote: the googly-eyes is my "being really silly here" icon. ;)

[fair-witness.livejournal.com]

My favorite quote so far on this topic:

As if science fiction as a genre weren’t already the butt of so much unfair derision, now the Sci Fi Channel has gone and changed its name to “Syfy,” which is precisely the corporate equivalent of that girl in eighth grade who rechristened herself “Braaandiii” with hearts over all the i’s, and just as stupid.

Courtesy of the Flick Filosopher. (http://www.flickfilosopher.com/blog/2009/03/031709question_of_the_day_syfy.html)

[strega42.livejournal.com]

Two things.
1) "Ever since the Franchise Wars, ALL restaurants are Taco Bell."
2) On the Fox news thing... well, here. http://overqueen.livejournal.com/1540.html

[guppiecat]

As I see it:

* More stations mean less viewership per station
* Crappy economy means less ad revenue over all, therefore less ad revenue per station
* Increased bandwidth means more people able to download what they want when they want it
* Crappy economy also means fewer people paying for cable/dish

All in all, it means that TV is dying, and cable is dying faster. Thus, I suspect that the cable channels are in a "try something, try anything" mode.

I think that we'll see some very interesting collapses and some VERY interesting new models over the next few years.

[cipherpunk.livejournal.com]

I actually like Fox News. They're every bit as biased as CNN and MSNBC, but unlike those other two channels they're both aware of their bias and quite honest about it.

This isn't to say I like their bias. But I'd rather have them than CNN or MSNBC.