October 7-13, 2004
naked city
Who's A Slacker?
 Bruce Reinfeld  |
|
Who's A Slacker
Finally, someone has offered an explanation for Bill O'Reilly's compulsive shouting: His audience is too old to hear him otherwise.
When Jon Stewart appeared on the September 17 installment of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, the show's cranky host repeatedly referred to Stewart's Daily Show audience as "stoned slackers" and "dopey kids," claiming that "87 percent are intoxicated when they watch it." But according to the University of Pennsylvania's National Annenberg Election Survey, Daily Show viewers are "more educated, younger and more liberal than the average American." Nielsen data released by Daily Show's network Comedy Central also state that Stewart's audience is more affluent than O'Reilly's. Which may leave the show scrambling to capture the lucrative Old, Poor and Stupid demographic.
After all, baby boomers are steadily Botoxing towards retirement, but the median age of Daily Show viewers is 35, while The O'Reilly Factor's is a stunningly high 63. Which, if my calculations are correct, means that roughly 15 percent of O'Reilly's fans have been dead for at least two weeks. And while the country has been losing jobs like they were Alabama National Guard records, Stewart's audience is 42 percent more likely than the average American to bring home over 75 grand a year.
Stupidity is harder to objectively analyze, but when both presidential candidates feel the need to pander to the Dr. Phil audience, then brother, you're living in a country full o' stupid. Nevertheless, Daily Show devotees are 78 percent more likely than the average adult to have four or more years of college education.
So are the politically savvy naturally attracted to The Daily Show, or is the show driving its fan base to bone up on the political process? "We don't know which way the arrow goes," says Dannagal Goldthwaite Young, an Annenberg senior analyst. But "the show assumes a certain level of knowledge among its viewers, who must be savvy to understand parody or satire, not people who are tuned out."
The Annenberg Survey claims that Stewart's jokes target John Kerry in equal numbers to President Bush, but according to Young, the survey only took into account jokes in the monologue and Headlines portions of the show. Also, the analysis was quantitative, and Young suggested that if content were to be taken into account, Bush would most likely be shown to be the subject of the harsher material, the "jokes with teeth." Which may well be turning off those viewers without them.
— Shaun Brady
To The T
On Oct. 7, Manayunk businesses will Think Pink with storefronts joined in charity for the American Cancer Society. Staying in the pink is important to Manayunk. After a several-season slump, clothiers such as Bias and music-related spaces Bungalow VII, the Grape Street and 105 Social have blossomed brighter than carnations. Bridging music, art and fashion is the neighborhood's newest addition, the High Fidelity Store and Gallery.
Built by musician/graphic designer/ photographer Bruce Reinfeld, the space will give locals a taste of the sportswear line — based on a wryly observational graphic sensibility — that he's brought previously to stores around the planet.
"It started as a DJ-influenced line, but expanded into just stuff for music lovers from hip-hop to rock," says Reinfeld, 32, a singer/ guitarist, whose band, We The People Inc., has gigs planned in October at Fire, Bar Noir and O Bar, as well as a close relationship to the new Grape Street.
"I launched [the] High Fidelity [line] right before 9/11, with orders pouring in from Japan and stores around the U.S.," he says. But tragedy pretty much put an end to that; as the economy dried up, small stores dropped like flies and orders got canceled.
While Reinfeld put clothing on hold to concentrate on music, a funny thing happened. Not being able to find his gear made it ultra-desirable. "We'd go to Detroit's Electronic Music Festival or Coachella and people lined up to buy stuff," he recalls. Suddenly, he found DJs Sasha, Digweed, Jazzy Jeff and King Britt, as well as Dave Grohl, Pharrell, G. Love and guys from Incubus calling for orders.
Reinfeld's High Fidelity store is what he always wanted — a retail space where people can walk in and buy his photos, jackets, hoodies and tees. Soon, he hopes to add a "sub-cultural" gallery basement with graffiti artists and live performances.
— A.D. Amorosi
High Fidelity Gallery and Store, 4386 Main St., Manayunk, will celebrate its grand opening on Sat., Oct. 9. Call 215-508-0511 for info. Reinfeld's We The People Inc. will be performing at the Nicole Miller Fashion Show at Grape Street, 4100 Main St., Manayunk, on Thu., Oct. 7. Call 215-483-7084.
—Respond to this article in our Forums—click to jump there
