What In The WIde World of Harve is Going On Here?

Over the last few days I have heard from people, more than I ever would have imagined, asking why I haven't updated the blog recently.  Really?  Really?  Well, thank you!  It means a lot to me. I enjoy sharing knowledge, learning, and interacting with people from across the world. 

While the blog has been on hiatus, I haven't been.  As many of you know, this past January I moved to the Los Angeles area and continued to work with a wonderful group of client stations and I still am.  I am most appreciative of that.  A few months ago the opportunity to join Westwood One/Metro Traffic presented itself here in LA and I decided to accept the position.  So now, I am the Regional Director of Operations for Los Angeles--which includes overseeing San Diego, Portland, and Salt Lake City. I couldn't be more pleased with my decision.  I am working with a great group of people and truly enjoy going to the office every day. 

It's been a very busy time for me and I anticipate it will remain that way for a long time to come...and I wouldn't have it any other way! 

So, that's the update.  If you were wondering how to reach me...not much has changed.  My cell phone number remains 860.997.0314; my email address is still harve@harvealan.com.  Please stay in touch and watch this space for periodic updates. 

Thank you! 

Harve

Engaged For 45 Years

Dick Purtan did his last show on Detroit radio today.

Do you think he's a celebrity in Detroit?  

According the the Detroit News, "On the way to WOMC this morning, Purtan was pulled over by the Ferndale police. He wasn't speeding. "The officer said, 'You didn't think we would let you go in without an escort today, did you?'" Purtan said. So with police lights flashing, he made his entrance into the CBS Radio Detroit station on Woodward Heights". 

A real life celebrity!  He means something important to that community.  Purtan was engaging listeners long before "listener engagement" were industry buzz words.  Sometimes, what's old is new all over again. 

Do you think 45 years from now there will be a local radio celebrity that gets the sendoff Purtan got today?  I have my doubts...but I hope so.

Here's some video from Dick Purtan's show. 

The World In Your Pocket

According to a new report from the Pew Research Center a quarter of American adults now read news on their cell phones. 

Some highlights of the report:

• 26 percent of Americans get news on their phones. 
• 43 percent of those under 50 said they are mobile news consumers
• 15 percent of older respondents.

37 percent of cell phone owners said they use the Internet on their phone

Within that group:

• 72 percent said they check weather reports. 
• 68 percent said they check current events 

 What information do you make available on your mobile app? 

There's quite of bit of information to digest with this study.  See the synopsis from Pew right here

Two Items Worth Reading

First, a story of content and distribution written by Ty Ahmad-Taylor and published on Paid Content.  He is a former executive at Viacom and Comcast and makes the case against limited channel/pay firewall distribution.  It's a good read and the comments that follow are thought provoking as well.  This topic is not new to us in radio, but I found his perspective interesting and worthy of recommending.  

He states: Distributing across multiple channels in real-time—and cannibalizing existing lines of business—isn’t just the right thing to do. History will reflect that this is the only thing to do. Here’s the key fact for media companies to remember: The value of a customer who doesn’t watch a TV show or a movie is $0.

Read the entire article here

Second, is a front page story from the Sunday New York Times profiling Fox News Channel's Roger Ailes.  I think the man is a media genius.  You can love or despise his politics.  You can love or despise his channel.  But there is no debate about how successful he and the FNC brand are.  He's a nobody from the Midwest who has razor sharp instincts and smarts with the guts to bring them to life.  It's an amazing story of building something from the ground up to achieve grand success. 

From the New York Times:At a time when the broadcast networks are struggling with diminishing audiences and profits in news, he has built Fox News into the profit engine of the News Corporation. Fox News is believed to make more money than CNN, MSNBC and the evening newscasts of NBC, ABC and CBS combined. The division is on track to achieve $700 million in operating profit this year, according to analyst estimates that Mr. Ailes does not dispute.

That article is here