Friday, March 26, 2010

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. 

Monday, March 1, 2010

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