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Your Community [insert function here]
If you read the August issue of the CCA schedule carefully, I mean so carefully that you even read the ad copy (does that make me sick?), then you will have noticed that the UBS blurb features not one but two instances of the generic nightmare [this city] while attempting to prove its allegiance to the Santa Fe community. So much for civic pride.
More generally, what does it mean when we have commercial radio stations calling themselves "your community radio station," and who wins if more than one claims the title?
Maybe we could have a community slam, and let all these guys slug it out in a mud-wrestling pit on the plaza. Mayor Coss could do the Andy Kaufman part, maybe challenge certain femme councilors to have it out at last.
Then the community radio stations could also broadcast play-by-play live, and the community mortgage brokers and wealth managers could sponsor the event, while offering their CEOs as "champions" in the classic mode, to prove their mgiht and... civic pride..
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Comments
D-Brq,
I've got to thank you for posting, as I'm in a particularly painful point in my tiny, unmanly battle with carpal tunnel, and the several articles I'm working on are not getting much attention, because of the typing pain.
Can you clarify a bit, however? For some reason, I don't have a copy of the CCA schedule in front of me. I'm happy to debate to what extent arts organizations should or need to solicit corporate support and also what the role of mulit-national finance companies may or may not be inside of local economies, but I'm unclear on your assertion here.
As far as I know, UBS is the largest private corporate sponsor of arts and culture events in the world. Still a corporate behemoth, but it's better than spending all your money putting stickers on NASCAR door panels in my book. Plus, the fact that a company which specializes in managing so much wealth, would unapologetically direct its clientele toward art--contemporary art even--makes UBS an intrigueing entity.
It's involvement with both SITE Santa Fe and CCA has been considerable and its support has had tangible benefits within the community. I don't know if that "proves" allegience, but it's a far sight better than what many other corporations, homegrown or multi-national have managed as far as contibuting to this town's civic pride.
I have a natural suspicion of big corporations myself. And, although much has been publicized lately about corporations manipulating the Wikipedia entries which describe them, several controversial issues are detailed in the UBS entry, but I'm willing to extend some goodwill toward the proactive engagement with Santa Fe that I've seen from UBS.
I do wanna see all the people from the radio stations fight in the mud though. But not the city councilors please, or give me a blindfold while it happens.
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agitate*contemplate
Last Active: August 23, 2007, 9:52 pm
Zane, if you're that articulate with carpal tunnel typing, everyone else should just give up. But we try...
The point of my post is that it raises exactly the issues at hand. UBS has clearly done well by this community. At the same time, the ad copy in the CCA schedule made it transparently clear that it had been written by central corporate communications for use *everywhere,* with customized inserts for the locality name, so as to give the impression of... locality.
Unfortunately, someone forgot to customize it. So what we got was along the lines of: "...we are dedicated to improving the cultural health of [this city].... UBS is proud to be a part of [this city]... etc. I paraphrase, as I tossed the schedule, but you get the idea. And if you don't, it's like this: you would have read *exactly* the same copy in Lawrence, Kansas, or Cody, Wyoming. Except they might have remembered to fill in the blanks there, because they don't have to work as hard as folks do here.
So there you have it: a national behemoth with centralized communications that attempt to appear local, except when the local guys forget to fill in the blanks; except it also puts a lot of money into good works in the community, except the generic language contradicts the community-specific intention.
What does it mean? I'm not sure. But I think it's a cautionary tale for Santa Fe, a call to attention for the importance of truth, and a reminder of the ineluctable (if sometimes accidental) power of [words]...
Sincerely,
Your Community Observer,
da-brq
Last Active: December 25, 2007, 9:22 pm
I have always thought that most "community radio stations" were pretty crappy myself, and in a lot of the cities I've lived in these radio stations were nothing more than a front for the local community colleges.
I am an advocate of pirate radio as an effective way of judging any real community. Pirate radio is much more involved in community in general and usually has a high percentage of socially conscious advocates who keep their ears on the pulse of the community instead of a bunch of self-absorbed DJs playing what essentially is corporate music.
I've listened to radio stations here in New Mexico and decided to opt for sattelite radio and the music I have on my iPod instead. Much more diversity and I can dance to it, plus no guitar solos!
Last Active: September 4, 2007, 8:23 am
Usually how it works is that the big corporate behemoth gives money and chocolate to the small local arts organization, and then the small local arts organization is required to give the big corporation a marketing opportunity in return, preferably using the branding and the language that they provide.
I had the job of dealing with the actual people at UBS who are involved with the mechanics corporate giving, and each one of them was nice, professional and honored our requests in a timely manner. But we didn't use their logo (or anyone else's) in printed materials. We thanked them profusely, but someone had to make a stand for design principles.
Joined: 2007-07-15
Last Active: August 23, 2007, 9:52 pm