The late Richie Ashburn & Harry Kalas, circa 1980
Except for paying attention to what our parents and teachers were saying, most people who grew up in Southeastern Pennsylvania in the last 40 years probably spent a good deal of their time listening to one other person. That would have been Harry Kalas, “The Voice” of the Philadelphia Phillies (“watch that baby fly…that ball’s outta here!!!”) for the better part of the last four decades. Harry fell ill this past Monday in the broadcast booth in Washington D.C. before a game between the Phillies and Nationals, never recovered and, sadly, passed away.
I never formally met Harry during my own time in Philly radio (I had worked at the competition), and I’m not going to start a debate over the best sports broadcasters of our era (or previous times). But Harry’s untimely death led me to contemplate why he was such a great communicator – albeit for a sports team with over 10,000 losses in its history. I also quickly realized that maybe some of us – with our itchy texting fingers clutching massively powerful communications devices – could possibly learn a thing or two about the responsible use of communications from the late Harry Kalas. Would he have considered himself a role model? Probably not. But perhaps Harry had “high hopes” for a future where everyone would use the privilege of modern communications with more respect for each other and ourselves.
Lesson #1: Know and respect your audience. Kalas quickly learned that Phillies (and most Philly) fans – for better or worse, were actually quite knowledgeable (just really, really frustrated over the fact that the home team tends to lose most of the time).
When we engage in social media, how many of us stop to think about who is actually listening and reading our tweets and texts? Do your friends in your social network really care if you can’t decide between bologna and salami for lunch? When we blog (like this) do we truly realize that most anyone can and will read our posts? And, are we being mindful and respectful of what we are saying and to whom?
Lesson #2: If you have nothing intelligent to say or add to a conversation, don’t say it. Unlike the loud and outspoken sportscasters of his era, Kalas didn’t feel compelled to jabber away making mindless conversation. In fact, when he was on radio doing baseball play-by-play, Kalas would frequently keep quiet and just let the ball park sounds tell the story between pitches.
Went shopping...bought creme rinse...skipped haircut...time to get flattened by a taxi
Likewise, there’s no rule about how much or how often we have to tweet, text or post. Be timely, but don’t just fill up everyone’s in-boxes and feed readers only because you feel compelled to do so every 15 minutes of every day.
On this point, I submit to you the case of one Dena Christofferson, a 13-year-old Wyoming teen who sent 20,000 text messages in ONE MONTH. Her parents – pick which of their actions are more irresponsible – let her take the phone to school daily, and also chose not to get an unlimited text plan.
Perhaps breaking the cell phone contract would have been a cheaper alternative
The result: a phone bill for $4,756.25, which prompted her father to smash her phone into smithereens with a hammer. “She went from As and Bs one semester to Fs in two months,” said the texting teen’s dad after destroying the phone. Final score: Responsibility 1, Text-Mad Teen 0.
Extra innings: Harry Kalas – gone from behind the mic, but never forgotten by those recipients of his respect that arrived over our public airwaves.
- Rich Teplitsky -
