Archive for June 28, 2022

Jersey Jack the Pintastic NE 2022 Interview

Posted: June 28, 2022 by datechguy in fun, pinball, special events
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I spoke to Jersey Jack himself on day 3 of Pintastic NE 2022

Pintastic NE Day 3 Early Mornings and Friends

Posted: June 28, 2022 by datechguy in fun, pinball, special events, Uncategorized
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Day three of Pintastic 2020 started early for me with a trip to the extra ball lounge

A night’s sleep means a morning of pinball with little wait but once the vendor room opened the line for some games kicked in like the Weird Al Game

It’s an interesting combo of virtual and physical with of course Weird Al himself providing voice and music.

Day three continued the tournament that is a big part of Pintastic

These are the games to be played

The games that an individual plays are randomly determined.

Of course the vendors were still there with plenty of interesting stuff like this from pinovators

and the return of an old friend

You might recall I had interviewed the Pinbox 3000 crew who hinted at a big reveal and when they said “big” they weren’t kidding:

Alas there is only one of these but I suspect there will be enough demand for the big guy to be produced.

There was also a new face, Todd Tuckey’s daughter who was up to give him a hand:

My friends Hanna and Jake were doing their first Pintastic.

You’ll note them in the Pinovators video (Janna had showed up three years ago in the final hour) They had a grand time. They were not the only ones having a great time at the first Pintastic

Carline, Hanna and Jake all had a chance to play the new Toy Story 4 game despite the long lines.

That image of the three of them playing together and having fun is the essence of Pintastic.

For those who want a closer look at the game here is a bit of gameplay when I had a chance to play it in the Extra Ball lounge.

But the game I spent the most time playing, other than Arabian Knights was Doctor Who in the free play room.. Here is the person who brought it:

The free play room was hopping particularly since as soon as the vendor room was closed folks were packing up but before that happened I had a shot to speak to Anthony from Maine Home Recreation

Why were they in such a hurry to pack up? That story is for the final day of Pintastic.

A reality check for journalists

Posted: June 28, 2022 by chrisharper in media, Uncategorized
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By Christopher Harper

Journalists have no idea how little their readers and viewers trust the media.

That’s readily apparent from a new analysis from the Pew Foundation, which found that “overall, journalists give themselves relatively high marks on performing several of the core functions of journalism. The public, however, does not see it the same way.” See https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2022/06/14/journalists-and-the-public-differ-on-how-journalists-are-doing-how-connected-they-are/

The survey should be required reading for the media!

Sixty-five percent of journalists surveyed think news organizations reported news accurately. That compares with only 35 percent of the public.

A significant majority—83 percent—of journalists think their audience trusts the news organization they work for. Another 13% said their audience has some trust, while just 3% said their audience has “a little” or no trust at all.

Here, journalists are entirely out of touch with reality. Only 29 percent of the public said they trust the media, while 27 percent say they have some trust. A plurality—44 percent—reported that they have “a little” or no trust.

Some of the other findings include the following:

–Fifty-two percent of journalists think they do a good job playing the watchdog over government. Only 29 percent of the public agreed.

–Forty-six percent of journalists think they give voice to the underrepresented. The public provides a rating of 24 percent. 

–Forty-three percent of the media think the industry does a good job of correcting misinformation. The public puts that figure at 25 percent. 

Another disparity between journalists and the public is how much reporters think they are “connected” to their audiences, while readers and viewers disagree.

Among journalists, close to half—46 percent–said they feel extremely or very connected to their audience, while another 37 percent said they feel somewhat connected. Far fewer—16 percent—said they feel little or no connection.

Underlining how out of touch journalists really are, the public sentiment is almost exactly the opposite.

Twenty-six percent of those surveyed said they are extremely or very connected to news organizations, far lower than the 46 percent of journalists who feel extremely or very connected to their audiences. 

Another 37 percent said they feel somewhat connected to their primary news sources, while 36 percent feel little to no connection.

In many cases, the media have become part of the American elite rather than remained part of the body politic. Reporters often look down on their readers and viewers and have increasingly little contact with real people.

Whatever the case, I think the media can’t regain the public’s confidence. After nearly 50 years as a reporter and a journalism professor, these development makes me both angry and sad.