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Leo Ashcraft - Dark Matter News - A Long Side Knight

Started by Waco Kid, August 22, 2015, 10:17:25 AM

Quote from: albrecht on September 18, 2015, 02:16:23 PM
I just have always assumed "Leo" was a computer-generated voice algorithm.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/darkmatternews (investigative journalist  ;D ;D ;D ;D)
http://www.radioworld.com/article/lpfm-gear-supplier-nexus-broadcast-closed/271639

Sorry, but I'm at a loss as to how you could think it's a 'puter. I thought you were kidding when you mentioned it earlier. As awful as he is, he's clearly a real boy.





zeebo

Quote from: SredniVashtar on September 18, 2015, 07:13:03 AM
... The lack of natural pauses is very disturbing, as all the words seem to fall over each other and turn into a word soup that nobody can understand. ...

This is a fair point imho.  It may be why I find myself spacing out.  He could be trying to cram in too much detail.  Maybe shorter blurbs, with nice pauses between would work better.

cweb

It sounds like Leo produces the pieces in the way that you produce radio ads a lot of times- pull out the breath spaces to cram in detail and make time.

I can see where it might bother people, but oddly enough it doesn't bother me.

SredniVashtar

Quote from: cweb on September 20, 2015, 06:47:54 AM
It sounds like Leo produces the pieces in the way that you produce radio ads a lot of times- pull out the breath spaces to cram in detail and make time.

I can see where it might bother people, but oddly enough it doesn't bother me.

It probably sounds worse if you generally listen with headphones as I do. I think the point about doing the news as you would do a radio ad is that it makes sense with an ad, when you have a very short space of time in which to get your point across. When Leo does it it sounds congested and leads to all sort of unusual stresses that are extremely off-putting. English is all about using stresses in the correct way, and if you skimp that it means that the listener starts to space out. Well, I certainly do, and I am sure lots of people do so too. It starts to sound like one of those men in black that John Keel used to talk about, who would visit people's houses but have no idea how to speak properly or behave like a human being.

That's right, I said it, Leo Ashcraft is an alien. Perhaps that's the only reason Art still has him on.

Quote from: SredniVashtar on September 20, 2015, 08:10:16 AM


That's right, I said it, Leo Ashcraft is an alien. Perhaps that's the only reason Art still has him on.

I'm still waiting for the day that Leo mispronounces his own name as Leo Asscrack.

whoozit

Quote from: Inglorious Bitch on September 20, 2015, 08:23:46 AM
I'm still waiting for the day that Leo mispronounces his own name as Leo Asscrack.
My money is on him calling himself Leo Asshat.  That's what I hear in my mind now anyway.

An emoo.



(just listened to last night's show)

From last night: "The Nimoy"

What the...

Dyna-X

I actually like Leo and think he has a great radio news voice.  If he didn't make the pronounciation mistakes he would be on a major network's radio news. Last night the "Carbon Dee-Oxide" made me shudder.  If DMRN would let me listen to these before they went out over the air, I could be of help with some fact checking and editing, but it seems they were looking for more writers and not editors.

The problems come from three areas:
1) Grammatical errors in the news copy Leo reads
2) Fact checking errors in the news copy. I realize there is some leeway in the paranormal, but some things are readily verifiable. For example the supermoon is 20 percent brighter, not 20 times brighter.
3) Leo's diction mistakes. I think some of these are regionalisms.






bellNwhistle

The dee-oxide .. ugh.. and mispronouncing other stuff that seems silly.   Good voice for radio, though.

Quote from: Dyna-X on September 25, 2015, 02:33:23 PM

3) Leo's diction mistakes. I think some of these are regionalisms.

I'm sorry, but I beg to differ. I understand that there are different regional accents throughout the contiguous 48 states, but no one is pronouncing words the way he does. No one. He is the second coming of Noory.

Dyna-X

Quote from: Inglorious Bitch on September 25, 2015, 04:50:23 PM
I'm sorry, but I beg to differ. I understand that there are different regional accents throughout the contiguous 48 states, but no one is pronouncing words the way he does. No one. He is the second coming of Noory.

As an example, "acrost" for "across," a midwesten and plains regionalism, but you are right some of them have no precedent in any region. I still think he is from rural Nebraska.  I still chuckle about some of the pronounciations of my grandfather. Northwest became "Nortwest" and "the" became "da." Dats Chicago for ya, straight from the frunchroom and the garach.  I hope we don't hear "Lie-Berry" for "Library." I would scream at that point.

Dyna-X

Here is a newsreel from someone that would be a good role model for what sound I think Dark Matter News is aiming for.  Ed Herlihy is the reader. The later readers for the major networks copied him.  I actually hear some shades of what Richard C. Hoagland in his CBS Radio news days would have sounded like.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4IZVrEpI7E


Quote from: Dyna-X on September 25, 2015, 05:45:13 PM
Here is a newsreel from someone that would be a good role model for what sound I think Dark Matter News is aiming for.  Ed Herlihy is the reader. The later readers for the major networks copied him.  I actually hear some shades of what Richard C. Hoagland in his CBS Radio news days would have sounded like.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4IZVrEpI7E

That is some beautiful narration. Remember when mediocrity didn't rule the day like it does now?

albrecht

Quote from: Inglorious Bitch on September 25, 2015, 06:52:25 PM
That is some beautiful narration. Remember when mediocrity didn't rule the day like it does now?
He did some of the stuff in Woody Allen movies. Great voice and classic manner of reporting. Even if I'm suspect, though good, of some of Kraft's products.  What the hell is "cheese food" anyway? It isn't cheese, but is it food? And is simply "ease of melting" a criteria for consumption of some item...? ;)

lonevoice

Quote from: Dyna-X on September 25, 2015, 05:45:13 PM
Here is a newsreel from someone that would be a good role model for what sound I think Dark Matter News is aiming for.  Ed Herlihy is the reader. The later readers for the major networks copied him.  I actually hear some shades of what Richard C. Hoagland in his CBS Radio news days would have sounded like.
So cool.  I'm sure I've heard that voice (Ed Herlihy) on hundreds of news clips, though I've never known his name.  Such great memories.

As for Leo Ashcraft, not that anyone has to care about this, but some might.  Leo is an old school broadcast professional, like Art, though Leo's background is more from the hardware/technical side of the radio business.

He's the CEO of his own start-up venture, Mutual Radio, that currently provides news feeds to 75 affiliates.  Art and he connected when Art was putting together his own plans to start up MITD.  One of Art's ideas was a paranomal news feed, rather than conventional political/current events news at the top of the hour.  Thus Dark Matter News was born.  I think, but don't know, that Art and Leo have some sort of barter arrangement between them that has allowed Art to add some things to his program he might not otherwise have afforded. 

Leo is also the CEO of an even newer start-up venture, Nexus Broadcast Networks, which is providing the XDL satellite feed for Art's October push to terrestrial radio affiliates.  Again, I think, but don't know, that the two men have an arrangement that's allowing Art to take this gamble with XDL.  I gather it ain't cheap to do. 

Whatever I may think of Leo's abilities as a news announcer (and personally I'm enjoying Dark Matter News a lot for its quirkiness), he's "all in" with this gamble of Art's to take MITD to the next level.   I give the guy big kudos for joining Art on this ride.

Did he just say mis-CHIEV-ous?

:o

Waco Kid

Green Witch Mean Time has returned. Ugh.  ::)

How can this guy be this far out of touch? I'm starting to wonder if he's doing it on-purpose.

>>As an example, "acrost" for "across," a midwesten and plains regionalism<<

Yeah, well. Just cuz it's regional doesn't mean it's acceptable. Or correct. C'mon, man. He's supposed to be a national-level news anchor. Even if it is paranormal news.

I do miss the striving for quality in (many aspects of) the media that's gone by the wayside in recent decades.

Quote from: albrecht on September 25, 2015, 07:14:48 PM
What the hell is "cheese food" anyway?

I recently bought a bottle of wine at the supermarket (Yeah, I know. But in my defense at least it was not in a box). I noticed that it was not making me as dizzy as a regular cup of Zinfandel normally makes me, so I looked at the label a little closer. It turns out that I was drinking a "wine product", which was a mixture of juice and wine. Go figure.

phrodo

Quote from: Waco Kid on September 28, 2015, 04:42:19 PM
Green Witch Mean Time has returned. Ugh.  ::)

How can this guy be this far out of touch? I'm starting to wonder if he's doing it on-purpose.

>>As an example, "acrost" for "across," a midwesten and plains regionalism<<

Yeah, well. Just cuz it's regional doesn't mean it's acceptable. Or correct. C'mon, man. He's supposed to be a national-level news anchor. Even if it is paranormal news.

I do miss the striving for quality in (many aspects of) the media that's gone by the wayside in recent decades.

"Just cuz"? "C'mon, man"? Really? Seriously? You criticize Leo but can't even type a decent sentence or use words properly?
And Midwestern is to be capitalized .. anyone should know that. Unless maybe you are being casual ... like not REAL serious. Like maybe Leo is as well? Cut the guy some slack and enjoy the show. Or don't and keep on being whiny, overly-critical bitches.  ::) 

Waco Kid

Quote from: phrodo on September 29, 2015, 12:46:43 AM
"Just cuz"? "C'mon, man"? Really? Seriously? You criticize Leo but can't even type a decent sentence or use words properly?

You are mistaken, sir. I criticize Leo and can type a decent sentence and use words properly. I choose to "speak" informally here. As do you, as demonstrated by your use of an adjective when an adverb is called for ("...like not REAL serious"). Unlike you, however, I hold broadcasters to a different standard than Internet forum users.

QuoteUnless maybe you are being casual ... Like maybe Leo is as well?

Yeah, that makes sense. He's being casual, so he's saying "Green Witch Mean Time." And "umbrella" for "umbra." Totally.

QuoteCut the guy some slack and enjoy the show. Or don't and keep on being whiny, overly-critical bitches.  ::)

Name-calling. Nice. What grade are you in?

SredniVashtar

Quote from: Waco Kid on September 29, 2015, 08:55:40 AM
Yeah, that makes sense. He's being casual, so he's saying "Green Witch Mean Time." And "umbrella" for "umbra." Totally.

That Green Witch thing almost made me wonder if he is getting emails from Art telling him to do this deliberately to piss us off, because surely someone can't be that ignorant? I thought for a moment, "OK, perhaps he just doesn't know because he is not all that familiar with the UK", but then I thought, "hang on, they say 'Greenwich Village' the same way too". It really is shoddy that someone can fuck things up quite that often.

Quote from: SredniVashtar on September 29, 2015, 09:01:23 AM
That Green Witch thing almost made me wonder if he is getting emails from Art telling him to do this deliberately to piss us off, because surely someone can't be that ignorant? I thought for a moment, "OK, perhaps he just doesn't know because he is not all that familiar with the UK", but then I thought, "hang on, they say 'Greenwich Village' the same way too". It really is shoddy that someone can fuck things up quite that often.

There is also a Greenwich, Connecticut which is well known.

SredniVashtar

Quote from: Inglorious Bitch on September 29, 2015, 09:08:49 AM
There is also a Greenwich, Connecticut which is well known.

Something tells me he will probably have trouble with Connecticut too.

phrodo

Quote from: Waco Kid on September 29, 2015, 08:55:40 AM


Name-calling. Nice. What grade are you in?

Eww ... questioning my education. You really put me in my place there. Wow you are so smart. Bitch on Bitch. Oh look -- I used the same word as a verb and a noun in the same short sentence. I should show that to my teacher.

Regardless of his errors, I enjoy the news with Leo and so do many others. YMMV and obviously does. Bitch.

Kamehameha was the one that made me laugh.


SredniVashtar

Quote from: phrodo on September 29, 2015, 10:44:33 AM
Regardless of his errors, I enjoy the news with Leo and so do many others.

Fair enough, but I don't know how many others there actually are of your opinion. These things are really irritating to most people, they are not just isolated gaffes but something that occurs on a regular basis. The bloody things are not even going out live, so why he can't go back and change them is a mystery in itself. This sort of 'rip and read' stuff is even more irksome when someone clearly can't be bothered to spend any time getting basic matters straight.

Waco Kid

Quote from: phrodo on September 29, 2015, 10:44:33 AM
Eww ... questioning my education.

No, your maturity.

QuoteRegardless of his errors, I enjoy the news with Leo and so do many others. YMMV and obviously does. Bitch.

Like I said, your maturity.

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