BOMBED BACK TO THE STONE AGE

The US threatened to bomb Pakistan back to the stone age following 9/11.

KJZZ-TV in Salt Lake City threatens to do the same with our industry.


This was discovered on Craigslist:

Part-time Summer Video Work

---

Reply to: see below Date: 2008-02-15, 2:59PM MST

The Utah Jazz and the Salt Lake Bees are looking for individuals to fill the following positions: Camera Operator Instant Replay Operator Editor Techinical (sic) Director Utility/Grip

We are looking for creative individuals with experience and knowledge in shooting sporting/other events, video editing and interviewing. If interested mail your resume and demo reel to: Human Resources 301 W South Temple Salt Lake City, UT 84101

• Location: Utah Jazz/Salt Lake Bees
• Compensation: $50/event
• This is a part-time job.
• Principals only. Recruiters, please don't contact this job poster.
• Please, no phone calls about this job!
• Please do not contact job poster about other services, products or commercial interests.

PostingID: 575282979

Oh my lord, where to start?

Despite what your common sense is telling you, this ISN'T for a scoreboard feed in a minor league ballpark.

THIS IS THE REAL THING! Or as real as Salt Lake City gets, anyway (we kid, we kid).

We can look beyond someone's Utopian ideal that camera ops, tape ops, editors, TDs, and utes all deserve the same pay, as long as the rate is whatever the highest position normally gets.

Paying a utility TD money is fine and generous, but it wouldn't work in reverse. Can you name a TD that would work games for accepted utility wages?

But KJZZ takes that issue and goes about one hundred steps further. The pay is FIFTY DOLLARS per game for ALL positions! These games will be broadcast over-the-air in SLC with approximately 60 translator stations relaying the signal to viewers in Utah, Wyoming, Nevada and Idaho. And that's not counting cable and satellite viewers in the region.

This ain't no public access channel. A quick look at the KJZZ line-up reveals that they have syndication deals for "Friends", "Scrubs", "Entertainment Tonight" and everybody's favorite self-promoting fraud, "Dr. Phil".

But they're going to pay FIFTY BUCKS to freelancers working on their baseball games?

We can't wait to see how that looks.

But if you can imagine, the future may look even worse.

Kim Jong Mil, leader of rogue regime threatening sports TV workers

KJZZ is owned by the Larry H Miller Group Of Companies which controls a vast array of retail, food and entertainment businesses, financial service institutions and automotive dealerships in seven western states. The Utah Jazz and the EnergySolutions Arena, plus the aforementioned Salt Lake Bees baseball team (AAA - LA Angels) all fall under the Larry H Miller umbrella.

Conveniently, KJZZ also broadcasts 40 Utah Jazz games, which includes 22 home games this season. SLC's freelance pool continues to work these games, but what about next season? What if KJZZ offers their FIFTY DOLLAR A GAME crew the home package for 2008 - 2009? Who's to say that FSN Utah wouldn't eventually follow suit for their games?

There's nothing to stop them. Utah is a right-to-work state, and while KJZZ's actions will no doubt result in a grass roots IATSE movement, there's no legal remedy against anyone not wishing to join.

According to the their web site:

The vision at KJZZ remains, "To enhance the quality of life in Utah."

Except perhaps, for the quality of life of Utah's TV freelancers.


(By the way, companies that can't spell "technical" correctly in their help wanted ads shouldn't expect to find many Mensa applicants knocking on their doors.)

Pitchers & Catchers Report TODAY

You can tell Old Man Winter to stick it.

No matter how cold, or gray, or windy or wet it is where you are, you know it's only temporary.

Days and nights in frigid stadia or dank arenas are officially numbered -

- for pitchers and catchers reported to Spring Training camps this morning.

And to celebrate this day of days, we bring you the sounds of the game. Baseball's best clip ever.

We thought it might be nice to hear a little now, in a way we have heard it before and perhaps will again. Just a little. Enough to stoke the inner fire of anticipation. Enough to keep the spirits warm even where the temperatures aren't.

Hopefully this clip will lift you to a place where lazy days and leisurely evenings are spent at ballparks with friends. Let the sounds wash all over, as you float gently towards that personal space in the truck, in the booth or behind a camera.

Close your eyes and let your mind return to the days when some directors called High Home camera 1.

(If you're not in the business, the audio may be NSFW. There is no relevant video.)

Padres @ Braves, Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, early 1990s

Ahhhhh yes.

Welcome back, baseball.

Football announcer arrested, tasered, injured, jailed, embarrassed

Here's a first: getting news from TMZ.com.

Josh Booty, a 2-sport professional athelete and football TV-radio announcer was arrested for DUI Wednesday morning in Southern California. Police had to use a taser to control Booty, who wasn't very cooperative with police.

According to TMZ:

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ Booty was taken to the Orange County Jail, where he was booked -- and that's when he went ballistic.

O.C. Sheriff's spokesperson Jim Amormino tells TMZ, "Booty was belligerent and uncooperative." Amormino says his deputies used a taser -- "less than lethal force" - to contain him.

After being tazed, Josh fell to the ground, hitting his head on the floor and cracking it open. He was taken to a hospital where he was stitched up.

Josh is the brother of USC quarterback John David Booty. Fight on!

Don't forget the obligatory mugshot!

(TMZ.com)

Josh Booty has had quite the athletic career. He was a 1st round pick by the Florida Marlins in 1994, spent 5 years in the organization and hit .269 in the Majors. He was a member of the 1997 World Champions and has the ring to prove it.

Turning to football, Booty was drafted by Seattle in the 6th round of the 2001 NFL draft. The QB was traded to Cleveland where he served as a back up for 3 seasons. He signed a 2-year contract last March with Oakland, but was released during training camp in July. Booty failed to catch on with another team.

He has worked for Fox Sports and NFL Network plus Sirius and ESPN radio.

Ironically, Josh Booty is a spokesman for TruMRI in Beverly Hills.

When they examine his head, maybe he'll get an employee discount.

BEST. CLIP. EVER.

Final reminder...

It's coming tomorrow.

Exclusively at Sports TV Inside Out.

(reposting by other bloggers is welcome)

AMPEX2000 SAYS GOODBYE

"THAT WAS MY 15 MINUTES. THANKS FOR THE ATTENTION."

ESPN ADDRESSES BERMAN VIDEOS


Just as the Chris Berman video clip story looked to be complete, a surprise twist was added to the plot in the form of an official statement from ESPN.

Several bloggers (including ProFootballTalk and AOL FanHouse) received a message from ESPN VP of Public Relations Josh Krulewitz downplaying the significance of the Berman clips.

We'll get to that in a moment.

Following correspondences with Busted Coverage and Deadspin, Ampex2000 granted an exclusive email exchange to Sports TV Inside Out. The now-legendary whistle blower who posted five of the six Berman clips on YouTube effectively bade farewell to the public during the exchange, excerpts of which are reprinted below.

Sports TV Inside Out: Your screen name - we wondered if the name came from the Ampex 2000 model VTR from 1967 or perhaps you were a tape operator in 2000 when the material was recorded?

Ampex2000: Ampex 2000 was the work horse of the broadcast industry but now it's a relic. Chris Berman was the work horse for ESPN but now is also a relic. Both don't work too well anymore.

Sports TV Inside Out: The location. You list SF. Is that a reference to Berman's love for the Giants & 49ers or do you live there?

Ampex2000: Both. The screen name and the city worked out perfect for these videos.

Sports TV Inside Out: Sexual harassment has been a well documented complaint against ESPN talent over the years. Do you have any insight into why numerous ESPN talent treat female coworkers that way?

Ampex2000: It's a male macho I-work-for-ESPN-world.

Sports TV Inside Out: You must be enjoying the attention the clips have received. Is there any particular comment (on line or otherwise) that stands out?

Ampex2000: Yes. There were many very, very funny comments. Some folks were totally off base. The best one that made me really laugh was (I'm paraphrasing) "Keep the videos coming you are doing the Lord's work.) There are some amazing people out there with a great sense of humor who get it. The ones who take it so serious just don't get it.

Sports TV Inside Out: The Christian Defense Coalition, the same group that protested in Bristol and tried to get Dana Jacobson fired, have used your clips as further evidence that ESPN is in moral decay. They called for another protest for today in Bristol. What is your reaction to having motivated this group to call even more attention to Berman and mobilize themselves against ESPN?

Ampex2000: Well, being that none of this made air the Coalition should back off. This is just an example of rude talent and how this TV business just goes to some people's heads. Most (not all) talent out there are really nice folks. Guys like Chris however are allowed to keep going because nobody stands up to them.

Sports TV Inside Out: By this point you have to figure that Berman has seen the clips and faced some questioning from his wife, kids & coworkers. Any thought as to how he may have reacted when told of the clips & how he may have explained himself to his family?

Ampex2000: Oh, I'm sure the excuse will be that it was taken out of context. You could make the assertion for maybe the edited pieces. However, it really does not change the overall tone of who he is.

Sports TV Inside Out: Were you hoping for any specific reaction (even in private) from Berman or anyone else at ESPN?

Ampex2000: No. It was more for the public. A guy like that will justify it anyway he wants.....and will.

Sports TV Inside Out: Do you know of others who have incriminating tapes
of Berman or any ESPN talent in their personal collections?

Ampex2000: I know of one. But I think this person would not release it as the finger would be pointed too quickly.

By the way, that was my 15 minutes. Thanks for the attention. And actually I hope it gets some of these bloated egos deflated a little.

My bet is audio guys will be told to close their mikes. Stage managers will keep the area clear of people with camcorders. Tapes and hard drives will be confiscated. In some cases, feeds will be hard patched and no one will really address the problem of rude highly paid talent learning to treat people properly.

As our parents use to say.....If you have nothing nice to say........Then say nothing at all.

But just after sending the above responses, Ampex2000 wrote back with the news of ESPN's official statement from VP of Public Relations Josh Krulewitz.

ESPN ADDRESSES BERMAN VIDEOS

"The off air videos are now nearly a decade old and do not reflect his typical workplace demeanor, his relationships with co-workers, nor the contributions he has made to ESPN over many years," Krulewitz said.

"Chris has a tremendous connection with sports fans and his body of work should not be judged by a few minutes of unguarded language uttered years ago. We aren't excusing the language used and will be emphasizing to our workforce the importance of using appropriate language in the workplace."

Ampex2000: This is so typical of PR departments.

"Chris has a tremendous connection with sports fans and his body of work should not be judged by a few minutes of unguarded language uttered years ago."

You mean a few minutes of RECORDED and SAVED unguarded language uttered years ago. Even though it went on many many times! Geeze these folks just don't get it. You mean if all the crap he has spewed over many years was recorded at every venue and saved and released as his BODY of work they would find an excuse as that only represents his "recorded off the record body of work" and should no be judged as his "on the air work."

Sad.....................

And with that, Ampex2000 was history.

The Other Gray's Anatomy

DEADSPIN has a poll about Jim Gray's approval rating.

Results as of this posting:

Disapprove 69.5%
Approve 30.5%

We don't know if he voted, but we know which button NBC producer Sam Flood would click.

Head on over to cast your vote before the poll closes.

Announcer Acrimony At ABC

Ampex2000 has posted his/her 5th and possibly last Chris Berman clip.

In "Chris Berman has always hated Al Michaels", we'll see our hero rehearsing his throws from the ESPNZONE in New York back to the MNF game site.

About the clip, Ampex2000 wrote:

"Chris is envious of Al Michaels. He always complains about him. He complains about all his air time and anything he has to say. This time you can see how he really feels as his dislike for Al finally slips out."

Unless more clips are discovered in Ampex2000's library, this is the end of the barrage.

Maybe Boomer can finally get off the Budweiser Hot Seat.

At Least Bloggers Know Their A-B-C s

Two weekends ago, a misspelled name on the starting lineup element slipped by an entire ESPN on ABC college basketball production team.

(Thanks to Ballsiest.com)

Last weekend, it was an NBA crew's turn to air mistakes made during preproduction.

(Thanks to Ballsiest.com)

We don't want to see what they come up with this weekend.

But Ballsiest.com does, and if they find something we'll pass it on.


UPDATE
Not long after this entry was posted, we received an email claiming that the freelance ESPN graphics operators referred to above recently worked for a sign company as well.



See you in hell.

An ESPN clip without Chris Berman!

In this behind-the-scenes look at an ESPN college basketball broadcast from Murray State, producer Major Howe explains how it's done.



Major says he would pay to see many events that he gets to work on.

Good luck getting that raise.

222 Reasons Why We Miss The Montreal Expos

Olympic Stadium: First the fans, then the team. Now even the turf has left.

Talk to anyone who travels regularly working National League baseball games. Chances are they miss the Montreal Expos more than they had expected.

Washington DC has it's advantages, but it doesn't have Youppi or over-the-counter codeine available in every pharmacy. Americans working Expos games were always doing favors for friends, bringing back as many bottles of "222" as they could squeeze into their bags.


For the uninitiated, a "222" is a pain relief pill made by Johnson & Johnson - Merck. It contains 375 mg aspirin, 15 mg caffeine and 8 mg codeine. While perfectly legal in Canada, any product using codeine in the US requires a prescription.

When the Expos left Montreal for Washington, TV folks and sportswriters alike were faced with a shortage of "222s".

Accordingly, Toronto has become more popular than ever among us TV types.

So why are we bringing all this up?

Ampex2000 has posted "Chris Berman and how to smuggle Canadian 222s", on YouTube. Of his fourth posting, Ampex2000 writes:

"Chris Berman explains how to sneek 222's in the US and the pop he gets from it." (sic)

Although they've gone up in price as the US dollar tumbled, "222s" continue to be a big reason many are quietly saddened by the loss of baseball in Montreal.

BEST. CLIP. EVER.

Just a reminder, it's coming February 14.

Exclusively at Sports TV Inside Out.

(until other bloggers grab & post it too, like we do with their clips)

Courtship Of Eddie's Father Kid Caught On Camera! Former Child Star Has Aged Well

(Thanks to Fan IQ)

A FSN Detroit camera caught this lovable lad in Toronto expressing his distaste for the Red Wings yesterday.

He probably reserves such gestures for Original Six games, so it's not so bad.

The host Maple Leafs beat the Red Wings 3 - 2 in OT. The happy tyke went home and beheaded his hamster.

CHRISTIAN COALITION BACK TO BLAST BRISTOL

Thanks to the Chris Berman clips, the same group of people who protested at ESPN's Bristol, CT HQ over Dana Jacobson's remarks are at it again.

We just don't have the energy to deal with this.

Deadspin has all the details.

BERMAN BASHER BREAKS SILENCE (we think), POSTS NEW CLIP, CLAIMS 2 MORE IN HAND

Ampex2000 has sent another Chris Berman clip to the court of public opinion in an effort to show the world the type of person Berman really is.

The latest entry is titled "Chris Berman Schmoozes a table for friends?" and is described as,

"Chris trying to be sincere?"

Did this one seem that bad to you?

Maybe it's us, then.

It's the end of Chris Berman's reputation as we know it, and Ampex2000 feels fine.

The poster of all but one of the Berman clips on YouTube was interviewed by Busted Coverage. Ampex2000 claims not to be the poster of the original "Chris Berman Goes Crazy" clip that started this whole thing back on December 30.

We have no way of knowing if this is legit, but other than several cases of awful spelling and grammar, there isn't anything obvious to make us scream fraud.

It's worth the read. Decide for yourself. We'll wait right here.

Chris Berman YouTube Video Poster Talks To Busted Coverage

If the two not-yet-posted clips make it onto YouTube soon, it stands to reason that the interview was on the level. But that wouldn't be definitive proof either, would it?

We'll just have to wait and see.

What are your thoughts?

By the way, did you notice the Tom Emanski ("Back to back to back A.A.U. National Champions") baseball video ad on the big screen in the background?

There's truly no escape.