Mister Brisbane: Talkin' 'bout a Revolution
How society may change completely post-Covid-19. Also, the fame game, how networking works, what's on TV and what's happening outside
Ben there, done that: I’ve been playing a game on social media where you name 10 famous people and claim to have met them all, except one. Because I’ve been an entertainment journalist for much of my adult life, I’ve met more than my fair share of famous people. However, unlike some of my colleagues, I didn’t get photographic evidence. Here’s a couple of photos I did get. The first is writer-standup-director etc Ben Elton (who taught me a secret for minimising the appearance of your double chin in photos — no, not by cropping, but by sticking your head forward like an emu), and rugby league player-cum-waterboy Alan “Alfie” Langer.
HOME NETWORK
A lot of people are working from home these days. “Welcome to the club,” I say. And, “make sure your’re not Zooming in you underwear.” On a more serious note, as I mentioned on social media last week, this experience has the potential to change the way we live. If we can do this successfully without breaking the internet, then there may longer be a need for big city offices. If that’s the case, then there will be no CBDs and white-collar workers will be free to live wherever they like. Sure, we may have to be close enough to meet up in person once in a while, but otherwise, there’s no limit to where “office work” can be done. This is the telecommuting dream people have spoken about for decades but never eventuated. There are obvious lifestyle benefits for the workers, but also huge savings on real-estate and office fittings for the bosses. The thing that’s been holding it back in the past, in my opinion, is a lack of trust on behalf of clock-watching micro-managers who want to see people work. If this forced experiment works out, we’re potentially at the beginning of the biggest change to the way we live since the Industrial Revolution.
ISOLATION STATION
Talking about working from home, I received a press release last week about Prime Minister Scott Morrison praising Hit 105’s Stav, Abby and Matt for doing their breakfast show from their individual homes. What the PM might not know — and, I hasten to say that this doesn’t normally apply to the current Hit 105 show — is that radio folk often don’t share a studio. In fact, over the years, the big-name stars of several “local” shows have worked from studios, or their own homes, in cities far, far away. Talk about social distancing! The technology that enables it isn’t especially new. More than 20 years ago, the late Sammy Power and Dean Miller would do the Triple M breakfast show from studios in Brisbane, followed by a mid-morning show for a station in Newcastle, NSW.
LIVE, NOT LOCAL
On the subject of “local” media, I’m old enough to remember when, say, Channel 7’S Brisbane schedule was not a carbon copy of the Sydney and Melbourne schedules. (I’m also old enough to remember carbon copies.) Apart from the news, weekly local lifestyle shows such as Weekender and Creek to Coast, and certain sport broadcasts, all the Brisbane channels are networked and people here see what people all around the country see. While Australian viewers’ tastes are basically similar, the ratings do occasionally reveal differences. For example, Brisbane audiences are currently keener on Hot Seat than The Chase, which is the national favourite in the 5pm and 5.30pm slots (don’t ask why, but the second half-hour is regarded as a separate show for ratings purposes). This may have something to do with Seven mixing up old and new episodes of The Chase (which, incidentally, I far prefer to Hot Seat). And The Project (main cast pictured above) is more popular in Melbourne and Brisbane than in Sydney*. It is arguably the case that Brisbane stations could rate higher, and make slightly more money, if they were able to program directly for local audiences, and include more home-made shows. Of course, the extra costs involved would rule it out, especially as the networks tighten their belts more and more. One good thing, though, is that daylight saving has ended down South, so at least most networked shows will be screened live into Queensland again. Oh, and as for local programming, there’s always YouTube and podcasts.
(*These figures are based on a sample of last week’s ratings. The situation is subject to change.)
WHAT’S OUT THERE
Just in case you were wondering what the outdoors looks like, here is something I prepared earlier. A flower growing in a garden bed not far from where I live, after a spot of rain.