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Wednesday, March 5th, 2008
The Feared M-O-S
I happen to love my job. I wake up in the morning....decide what the people of Springfield care about...then go into a morning meeting that has a gladiator like process of thumbs ups or downs.
Once I realized my Comcast bill was going up I realized that people in Springfield might care about that.....heck....i care about it. That thought was confirmed with the now 183 comments on the SJ-R website which asks for an untimely death of a Comcast CEO or at least the offering of their first born into Lake Springfield. As seen here: http://sj-r.com/News/stories/26368.asp
After being given the go ahead....I quickly realized there would be no official in Springfield to talk with ...considering they are all in Chicago (somedays i wish i was a newspaper writer).
So.....i was forced to search for MOS's. MOS is journalism jargon for "man on street"...or as I call it "When I jump out of my car and throw a microphone in your face".
MOS's tend to be a great way to see what random strangers think about an issue effecting them. The best part of it is...it allows the interviewee no time to prep.....so you know what they are saying is how they feel. It also gives power to the people. A small revolution if you will.....which i am a big fan of.
The only problem is.......who the hell wants to be aproached at random and have a camera thrown in their face. I remember as a kid being aproached in NYC for a random survey...and ignoring him thinking "there is no way I could ever do that".
Well now I do....with a huge freaking camera...and as much as you might hate being bothered by a stranger...imagine how I feel being forced to ask. Today was a particular bad day of MOS hunting. I hit up two gas stations asking people if they were comcast costumers while they were tied to their car (no running away). After everyone snuffed their nose at me and one guy asked me "what is comcast?". I moved on to a grocery store....
While in the middle of asking very nicely if a woman could help me out....another yelled from across the parking lot to "Leave her alone!!!!! How RUDE!!!!" This was after me saying "you are a Comcast customer?....would you mind taking about what you think of the rate increase?"
Needless to say the awkwardness killed the woman's desire to talk in front of a camera. Finally, after wondering around downtown..an awesome woman agreed for my 5 seconds of questions.
What was supposed to be a great pkg on how upset everyone is about their higher bills turned into......one woman....and a phone conversation with a woman in Chicago.
Please help a reporter and spill your mind for a second if ever asked. It would mean the world to us.
COMCAST NOTE:
This didn't make the news cast tonight but after reading some comments from the SJ-R I asked some people in Chicago if they changed the infrastructure when they bought out insight. I asked this from all the people complaining of slower Internet service after the switch.
They said they haven't changed anything. In fact Springfied has some of the fastest Internet in the state (10MBps compared with 8 in Chicago). Now I know this comment is coming straight out of Comcast Corporate....but I believe it. Why would they go in and mess with pre-existing....better than what they usually provide....infrastructure?
The Feared M-O-S
I happen to love my job. I wake up in the morning....decide what the people of Springfield care about...then go into a morning meeting that has a gladiator like process of thumbs ups or downs.
Once I realized my Comcast bill was going up I realized that people in Springfield might care about that.....heck....i care about it. That thought was confirmed with the now 183 comments on the SJ-R website which asks for an untimely death of a Comcast CEO or at least the offering of their first born into Lake Springfield. As seen here: http://sj-r.com/News/stories/26368.asp
After being given the go ahead....I quickly realized there would be no official in Springfield to talk with ...considering they are all in Chicago (somedays i wish i was a newspaper writer).
So.....i was forced to search for MOS's. MOS is journalism jargon for "man on street"...or as I call it "When I jump out of my car and throw a microphone in your face".
MOS's tend to be a great way to see what random strangers think about an issue effecting them. The best part of it is...it allows the interviewee no time to prep.....so you know what they are saying is how they feel. It also gives power to the people. A small revolution if you will.....which i am a big fan of.
The only problem is.......who the hell wants to be aproached at random and have a camera thrown in their face. I remember as a kid being aproached in NYC for a random survey...and ignoring him thinking "there is no way I could ever do that".
Well now I do....with a huge freaking camera...and as much as you might hate being bothered by a stranger...imagine how I feel being forced to ask. Today was a particular bad day of MOS hunting. I hit up two gas stations asking people if they were comcast costumers while they were tied to their car (no running away). After everyone snuffed their nose at me and one guy asked me "what is comcast?". I moved on to a grocery store....
While in the middle of asking very nicely if a woman could help me out....another yelled from across the parking lot to "Leave her alone!!!!! How RUDE!!!!" This was after me saying "you are a Comcast customer?....would you mind taking about what you think of the rate increase?"
Needless to say the awkwardness killed the woman's desire to talk in front of a camera. Finally, after wondering around downtown..an awesome woman agreed for my 5 seconds of questions.
What was supposed to be a great pkg on how upset everyone is about their higher bills turned into......one woman....and a phone conversation with a woman in Chicago.
Please help a reporter and spill your mind for a second if ever asked. It would mean the world to us.
COMCAST NOTE:
This didn't make the news cast tonight but after reading some comments from the SJ-R I asked some people in Chicago if they changed the infrastructure when they bought out insight. I asked this from all the people complaining of slower Internet service after the switch.
They said they haven't changed anything. In fact Springfied has some of the fastest Internet in the state (10MBps compared with 8 in Chicago). Now I know this comment is coming straight out of Comcast Corporate....but I believe it. Why would they go in and mess with pre-existing....better than what they usually provide....infrastructure?
Anyway, I applaud you on your courage. Keep up the good work.
Have you guys started shooting in 16:9 yet?
I've seen your work with MOS's.....I may call on you one day. I'll introduce us "Hi...I'm a reporter.....and this dude just wants to throw you on the internet.....can we ask you a couple questions?"
Could be glorious reaction shots.