I have noticed a steady decrease in the amount of content on the Jamil show. Note - not quality of actual beer radio, just amount of it.

From the Eagle Rock show:

you have 7 minutes of chat which includes the N Brewer plug
the first 5 minute round of commercials
interview
the second 5 minute round of commercials
the new 3 minute plug for the online beer judge training
tasting of beer and discussion
the third 5 minute round of commercials
the Adam and Eve plug which at times last 3-5 minutes
the end of the show questions and wrap up

So in a 1 hour download about Eagle Rock Solidarity you have 25 - 30 minutes of commercials, commercials, and more commercials, and about 30 minutes of content.

Compare this to Episode One - Russian Imperial Stout a 52 minute download with no commercials.

I get that revenue needs to come in from the commercials. The problem I have is not so much with the commercials but the steady decrease in content.

A concerned listener who has been around before Episode 1.

mrsoul12

Use the button that looks like this.... ">>"
They gotta pay bills! Live reads equal more $$$


Josh

I think what the OP is saying is to make the show 90 minutes with 30 minutes of commercials, so that we still get ~60 minutes of content. Hell, I jump right to about the 15 minute mark right away when I listen, as before that rarely has any brewing content. I understand the need to make money, but I agree with the OP, it seems like sometimes the shows sound like people are just going through the motions to get a show done. It is understandable that Jamil is a super busy dude. I wouldn't be opposed to someone else filling in for him on occasion if it means deeper content.

I get what you're saying... in the beginning the shows needed to be in depth, they were discussing a style. Now they're talking about one beer a brewery has released.
I feel the show should be what it is now.
Say hello, tell us what beer you're cloning
interview
Evaluate clone
give us the recipe
Say goodbye
Splash the commercials in between all that because you have sponsors that pay for spots

I don't think it needs to be much deeper than that...


Josh

There was a phrase that an acquaintance shared with me a few years ago. He ran one of the first MMORGs. The phrase has applied to communities of all kinds across the internet, and I think it applies here as well:

"You could get them all laid, and they'd still bitch"

Suggestions are great, but there's always the opportunity to do it better yourself

~widget

I certainly hear what you're saying and have noticed a similar trend.

If people have listened to the style shows, then they know the background of the 'styles.' It shouldn't need to be discussed again. The beers that don't fit nicely into styles or general processes, for e.g. (off the top of my head), The Dogfish IPA, The Jolly Pumpkin beers, get more time and discussion. I think if the gaps you speak of were filled with style info then people would complain that they've heard it all before.

There's no need to discuss what a pale ale etc is, it's been done.

I would recommend people go and listen to the content which has been shared, for free, since the shows started. No wonder Jamil gets so exasperated when someone still writes in to ask how to do a D-rest, or what order should I brew what styles of beer - it's all there, go and find it.

People are able to listen to the archives and learn for themselves. The archives are a fantastic tool for all brewers.

In the end the brewer makes the difference, not the amount of content in the shows.

Cheers

Kev

I imagine if more people contributed to the BNArmy at the Meet level, commercials might just go away.

When I was a kid, hour TV shows had 50 minutes of content. Today that's down to 46-48 minutes. I get ads on websites, ads on my iphone and ads on everyone's clothing. Watch a reality show and see how many t-shirts and hats have to be blurred out because of ads.

Ads are everywhere. Even on my website. I still enjoy the show, even if i don't listen to the first few minutes of each segment.

I think they’ve given the show a format with a time limit (Brew Strong too) so they can get as many shows out of him as possible when he’s available. The shows are less satisfying, but I don’t think the content is suffering. Personally, I’d rather have 60 min shows than fewer shows (or no shows) with JZ.