[Greater-baltimore] Orioles

Wed Apr 15 12:11:41 UTC 2015

Hi Chris,

I take your point. I have a bit of an irrational (though not entirely so) prejudice against CBS Radio, owing largely to the fact that for a long time their websites were inaccessible and their Radio.com iPhone app still is. Attempts to communicate with them about these matters have been fruitless. As a corporate entity, I do not trust them as far as I could throw their New York headquarters facility, although as a content provider they are fine; I listen to WNEW regularly. But perhaps I should not have injected all that into my message. I still think we will need to remain vigilant on this matter. One of our members has made very clear that a delay was still in effect the day after the home opener; I suspect this only got fixed when I informed Mr. Bader about it on Monday morning. On the other hand, I know that Mike Gerlach did speak with a CBS Radio official early in this process who was highly placed in the Baltimore office and seemed sympathetic, so perhaps that did help too. And it is true that there is no delay now. I am therefore cautiously optimistic that this will remain the case, but I still believe we should not be complacent.

Warmly,

Chris

-----Original Message-----
From: Chris Paulus [mailto:chrispaulus at gmail.com] 
Sent: Tuesday, April 14, 2015 12:34 PM
To: Danielsen, Chris; NFB of Maryland Baltimore Chapter Discussion List
Subject: Re: [Greater-baltimore] Orioles

Chris,

This is fantastic! I have been frustrated at game delays in the past when CBS Radio had the broadcasting rights the first time.

With that said, I wanted to comment on a couple things you said.

"This is clearly requiring cooperation between the Orioles and CBS Radio and while I trust that the Orioles are working in good faith, things could still fall apart on the CBS side in my view.
However I think Mr. Bader
is an ally and has worked hard to do what we asked."

Why assume there will be a future issue, and assume CBS Radio could be a problem? Why not just focus completely on the fact that the delay has been removed, and that we can enjoy the games like everyone else in the park? It's almost like you're saying, "Well, this issue is resolved for now, but I don't trust it." Why not wait until that happens rather than assuming or suspecting it might? Comments like that cause a totally positive outcome to have a layer of negativity.
Celebrate this for what it is; a victory for blind Baltimore Orioles'
fans, without the notion that CBS Radio has to be on watch for something they may or may Not do. Saying something about a company like this would make the people involved (if they read your message) feel slighted. That is not a good vibe to put forth while things are working at this moment.

Yes, I do hope that this situation remains resolved, but disagree with your possible future finger-pointing without cause at this time.

Just a thought, and possible reflection on your part, I hope.

 On 4/14/15, Danielsen, Chris via Greater-baltimore <greater-baltimore at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Dear Fellow Federationists:
>
> Here's an update on the situation with the Orioles broadcasts. As you 
> know, we were informed by Greg bader, communications director for the 
> Orioles, last week that there would no longer be a broadcast delay during games.
> Chapter secretary steven Booth and I were able to attend last night's 
> Orioles game against the New York Yankees. Both of us had radios and 
> we did not experience any delay between play on the field and the 
> broadcast. I have heard that one member had a different experience at 
> Saturday night's game, and I did inform Mr. bader of that member's 
> experience. Perhaps there was a technical problem that was repaired 
> prior to Monday evening. It is also unclear whether the lack of delay 
> is somehow effective only in the park or is in general effect 
> throughout the station's listening area. It is possible that, if the 
> station is somehow broadcasting a separate signal to the park, that 
> signal doesn't reach all parts of it. When I informed Mr. Bader after 
> the game that we had not experienced a delay, he replied this morning that this was also his experience.
>
> I think the conclusion that we can draw is that the Orioles 
> organization is working in good faith to ensure that there is no 
> broadcast delay in the park and possibly elsewhere. However, I would 
> appreciate further reports from any of you who attend Orioles games. 
> From Steve Booth and others I have spoken with who know something 
> about radio, it is still possible that our experience will be 
> inconsistent if a separate signal is being broadcast to the park or 
> even if someone forgets to flip a switch to turn off the delay at game 
> time. The station does normally have a mandatory seven-second delay 
> during its sports talk shows, so this has to be deactivated for the 
> game broadcast. Thus, I think we must keep the Orioles informed of 
> what we experience in order that the organization can make sure that 
> its efforts to satisfy our needs are successful. This is clearly 
> requiring cooperation between the Orioles and CBS Radio and while I 
> trust that the Orioles are working in good faith, things could still 
> fall apart on the CBS side in my view. However I think Mr. Bader is an ally and has worked hard to do what we asked.
>
> If you go to an Orioles game, you need do nothing special with your 
> radio; just tune to 105.7, the frequency of WJZ The Fan, which is the 
> current Orioles broadcaster. You will perhaps notice a half-second lag 
> between the sounds you hear in the park and the broadcast, but this is 
> to be expected and should not effect your enjoyment of the game. If 
> you experience a significantly longer delay, please let me know and I will make sure that Mr.
> Bader is aware of it. If the problem is consistent then we may need to 
> take further action. I suspect it will need to be against CBS Radio 
> rather than the Orioles but we'll see. For the time being, however, I 
> believe from my own experience and that of our colleague Steve Booth 
> that the problem is resolved. Here's hoping it stays that way.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Chris Danielsen, Chapter President
>
>
>
>
> Christopher S. Danielsen, J.D.
> Director of Public Relations
> National Federation of the Blind
> 200 East Wells Street
> Baltimore, MD 21230
> Office: (410) 659-9314, extension 2330
> Mobile: (410) 262-1281
> Email: cdanielsen at nfb.org<mailto:cdanielsen at nfb.org>
> Twitter: @NFB_Voice
>
> The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the 
> characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the 
> expectations of blind people, because low expectations create 
> obstacles between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life 
> you want; blindness is not what holds you back.
>
> Make a gift<https://nfb.org/make-gift> to the National Federation of 
> the Blind and help ensure all blind Americans live the lives they want.
>
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