Patt Morrison for Tuesday, April 19, 2011

PATT MORRISON SCHEDULE

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

1-3 p.m.

 

CALL-IN @ 866-893-5722, 866-893-KPCC; OR JOIN THE CONVERSATION ONLINE ON THE PATT MORRISON BLOG AT KPCC-DOT-ORG

 

 

1:06 – 1:39

OPEN

 

 

1:41:30 – 1:58:30

Grouponomics: are those online coupons worth it?

Groupon, the online-coupon firm, has built an industry that didn’t exist just two years ago and it’s attracted quite the following, both in consumers—currently tallying about 51 million in 565 cities across the globe—and in accolades like BlackboardEats, Gilt City and DailyCandy.  But of course the tell tale sign they had arrived was when they became a household name; “Groupon anxiety,” according to UrbanDictionary.com, is “the preoccupation and feeling of anxiousness and not being able to sleep knowing that a new Groupon will be released after 1am.” But are the deals really worth it—both for consumers and businesses? Some businesses say it launches their business, others say it tanks them; some consumers use them regularly, others still have them sitting in their inbox a year later. What’s been your experience?  

 

Guest:

Felix Salmon, finance blogger at Reuters and author of forthcoming piece “Grouponomics” on grubstreet

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2:06 – 2:19

OPEN

 

 

2:21:30 – 2:30

Manipulators and the media: hoaxes and hazards

The Yes Men have long represented themselves as gadflies and pranksters. Utilizing the internet as a forum for drawing negative attention, or as they might describe it, “identity correction,” this group misrepresents corporations with which they take issue, often in comical ways. Their latest bit of fake news attracted the real media, which reported it as truth. Using a bogus website masquerading as corporate giant General Electric, the Yes Men falsely reported that G.E. would donate its 3.2 billion dollar tax ”refund” in order to aid the faltering U.S. job market. The Associated Press, one of the largest news outlets in America, picked it up and ran it as a story, with other news outlets following. And then the fake news became real news when the Yes Men were called out on their hoax by G.E. How often is the media fooled and what affect does it have on the vital credibility of news agencies?

 

Guest:

Jim Rainey, staff writer and On the Media columnist for the Los Angeles Times

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2:41:30 – 2:58:30

Morgan Spurlock and The Greatest Movie Ever Sold

It’s not a new concept that money makes the world go round; nor is it new that in Hollywood product placement and sponsorship are pieces of filmmaking almost as important as scripts and actors.  So when documentarian Morgan Spurlock set out to do an expose on the product placement industry within the filmmaking industry, the first thing he naturally had to do was….get some sponsors.  In his new film “The Greatest Movie Ever Sold” Spurlock has product placement from no fewer than 20 companies ranging from Mini Cooper (Spurlock drives around in one) to Jet Blue and Hyatt Hotels.  The pomegranate juice company POM Wonderful eventually sponsors the entire film (“POM Wonderful Presents…) and in a final twist, Spurlock sold the title of his film as a kind of naming rights deal to the small town of Altoona, PA, which will officially change its name for 60 days for $25,000.  The moral of the story is that everyone and everything has its price, and the next time you take note of a corporate brand or name in a movie it certainly is not there by accident.

 

Guests:

Morgan Spurlock, documentary filmmaker, screenwriter & journalist; director & writer of the new documentary, “The Greatest Movie Ever Sold” in nationwide release this Friday

IN STUDIO

 

 

Jonathan Serviss
Senior Producer, Patt Morrison
Southern California Public Radio
NPR Affiliate for Los Angeles
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626.583.5171, office
415.497.2131, mobile
jserviss@kpcc.org / jserviss@scpr.org
www.scpr.org