A Chip Off The Old Block
My son Richard is a chip off the old block. He might be only 6 years old but he is a true satellite guy at heart.
A few months back I sat down with Dish Network CEO Charlie Ergen, and Charlie told me no matter what, even if he’s on vacation he’s still thinking about satellite. He told me when he drives around he’s always looking for and spotting satellite dishes. He told me he even sometimes just stops at random satellite dealers while on his trips. What funny is I find myself doing the same things and what’s even funnier is my son also does the same thing.
When he is watching TV if he spots a satellite dish on the show he is watching he gets all excited and pauses the picture on his TV with his DVR then comes and gets me to show me the satellite dish he saw on TV.
When we are driving he points out Dish’s he sees lining the roofs of houses. And what really gets him excited is when he sees a big dish. The bigger the dish is he spots the more excited he gets.
It was funny a few weeks ago while putting up my new C Band dish my son was out there with me watching, helping and even trying to give me tips to align the dish.
Earlier this month we went on a cruise and my son was upset, he was watching TV and spotted a satellite dish on the screen, he wanted to show me it but unfortunately the ship’s remote did not have a pause button allowing him to stop the picture. He turned around to me and said “Daddy, I can’t wait to get home so I can have my own TV and DVR again, because this ship stinks it won’t even let me pause the TV.”
I think I smiled all night. Yep… he’s a chip off the old block!
Some Possible Good News
Last week I posted a story about some upcoming programming changes at Dish Network and how the changes might upset current customers.
As of August 1st Dish Network is dropping its Platinum HD package and will make the currently $10 a month package to new customer and new HD subscribers. In the post I mentioned the rumor that I was told that current subscribers to the Platinum HD package would need to call Dish after August 1st and request to have the $10 charge removed from their bills, or else they would continue being charged.
Well some possible good news (it’s still just a rumor) and that is as of August 1st customers will not need to do anything and on their September bill they will see a credit on their bill. If this is true this is excellent news and a step in the right direction.
I have tried contacting Dish Network’s PR department about this issue, but they have not returned my calls or emails.
Where’s Parker?
It appears that one of the best PR guys who ever worked for Dish Network could possibly be gone from the company.
Parker McConachie came on board to the Dish Network PR department in 2007. When he came on board he was like a breath of fresh air and was a true godsend to me. Previous PR folks at Dish only knew one phrase whenever I questioned them… “No Comment.” But Parker was not like that.
Parker understood and embraced this new media and that was a major change from previous PR folks. In fact Parker worked to make the new media work for Dish Network and he worked to launch both a Dish Network Facebook site and also helped put Dish Network on Twitter.
Whenever I had a question for Parker he wouldn’t give me the no comment line to get me off the phone, instead he would always say, you know more then me on that one, but let me see what I can find out and get back to you. And 9 times out of 10 he would get me the answer I needed. The other times he couldn’t get the answer he would call back with the “No comment” which to me meant it was something he could not talk about yet.
While Parker was more open then anyone else I have worked with at Dish Network, he would keep secrets and keep to the company line. Getting information out of him that was not public yet was like trying to break into a bank volt… impossible. And I respected him for that.
Parker was a big fan of Dish Network and no matter what was wrong Parker could take a negative and instantly spin it into a positive. He loved spreading the word about Dish Network.
I have no idea what happened to him or where he went. I have emailed him a few times and have received no reply, in addition yesterday I tried calling him at his office and his number was disconnected. My final clue that he was gone was that his name was removed from the Dish Network Twitter page, something he worked so hard for to get online. To me these are signs that Parker is no longer there.
No matter where Parker is now, whoever gets him is going to get a great company man, in fact they might have themselves on of the greatest PR guys that a company could have.
I wish you well Parker, and I hope to hear from you and hearing what you are up to now. You were the best and you will be missed. Thanks for everything you have done!
Barry commented:
MSmith, my position is that Scott doesn't write anything new. He simply regurgitates what is on his juvenile www.satelliteguys.us bulletin board. He sits on there all day long and never sees the light of day.
Then come to find out he ignores his 6 year old kid. If a 6 year old kid is that aware of Directv/Dish/DVRs/satellites, etc. then he clearly watches too much TV. This confirms my suspicion that Scott sits all day on his silly website.
Say it any way you want, but the facts speak for themselves.
msmith198025 commented:
Well, I am msmith198025 of course. :)
Barry, I am not attacking you, I just do not understand your hostility to Scott in each and every blog he posts. Trying to lighten the mood a bit since you seem bitter about something. Perhaps I just do not understand your position...
Barry commented:
a 6 year old kid shouldn't know that much about DVRs, satellites, etc. That shows how much TV is being watched.
To those like DpdgerKing and Msmith; I never attacked you personally, but you attack me. In fact, I don't even know you. My issue was the too much TV Scott lets his son watch. Who are you and why are you defending him? If I don't know all the facts (as you claim), then certainly you don't know the facts.....so who are you?
DodgerKing commented:
I think Barry's parents watched too much TV and ignored Barry during his childhood. That is why Barry is infatuated with Scott's articles and spends way too much time on this site and on his computer worrying about Scott.
msmith198025 commented:
Way to go Barry. Do you want that hug now??
mrxisalive commented:
Barry, I don't think anyone is disputing that too much tv is bad. Its bad for anyone. We all need to make sure that we are enjoying the outside world with our loved ones as much as possible and not just sitting in front of the tv. We are disputing the fact that you are making way too many assumptions on that Scott is not a good parent. You read way too much in his sharing a very small part of his everyday life.
On a side note you assumed incorrectly on me as a parent as well.
Just as a suggestion, quit jumping to conclusions without the facts. Facts of which were not provided for you to come to the conclusions you discerned from what little was given.
Barry commented:
Reaper, that's great. Cuss and swear for the kids. Actually it's pretty sad.
The fact remains that too much TV is detrimental to kids. That's pure fact. Several of you can dispute it all you want, but the fact is the fact. When you cannot win the issue, start swearing. That will show me.
Steve Donohue commented:
Great column, Scott. It made me think of road trips with the family when I was a kid. My sister and I would see how many license plates from different states we could count -- I think it would've been fun to count satellite dishes (if only high-power DBS was around in the 70s and 80s). Hope all's well .. Steve
Reaper commented:
You make judgements about Scott's parenting skills based on this short article Barry? You are such a horse's @$$.
biz commented:
WOW! Who are you Barry to tell someone how to be a parent? Believe me I have been on several cruises....with my son who is just a year older then Scott's and there is very little time spent watching TV with all the things there are to do on a cruise...except for what is mentioned above...maybe in the morning while everyone wakes up or at night when it is time for bed...The fact his son is interested in what his Dad does NOT mean Scott is a bad parent at all. It does mean that he has a very strong and close relationship with his son and the fact Scott wanted to share this with us gives you no right to lambaste him as a parent. Go troll somewhere else BARRY!!!
Barry commented:
mrxisalive, it's clear you are not a parent. Any child that knows as much about TV as Scott's child does means he watches way too much TV. On a cruise and concerned about TV and DVRs and all of that? That is way over the top. Scott needs to turn off the TV, put down the computer, and pay attention to his son. Scott's joy of fatherhood? TV? That's pretty sad.
mrxisalive commented:
I am confident in the fact that when Scott shares a little about his personal life, he isn't doing it with the hopes that someone somewhere who is undoubtedly much wiser and smarter than him will enlighten him on whatever needs improving according to those who walk among us sharing the same sense of entitlement that our fearless President does.
FYI, Scott just wanted to share a little joy of his fatherhood experience with the rest of us. The fact that he has a relationship with his son where his boy will look for him to show him a dish he found is a testament that they communicate and that they do spend quality time together.
Barry, where in his sharing of his personal life did he indicate that his son sat on a cruise and watched TV the whole time? If you read it without adding meaning to it, no where does it indicate that. Why didn't communicate that perhaps he was watching tv as they were getting ready for dinner, or a little bit in the morning after waking up? Why so jaded?
urbad commented:
I agree with Barry.
Barry commented:
Scott, too much TV for kids is not healthy. When your kid sits on a cruise and watches TV the whole time, that's a problem.
Scott, get off the computer and TV and be a responsible parent. Pay attention to your son and be a parent to him.
I am glad I can help put food on your table with my posts. It's a pretty sad system that commenting on how poor of a parent you are makes you cash.
jefflesz commented:
Scott, how about facebook?
www.facebook.com/parkerm
is this your man?
