What's New?

As we march towards the close of 2009 I thought it would be timely to ask the question: What's new? 

What happened in the "radio space" this year that's new?

Did anything "new" succeed?

What failed?

Did we really try something/anything new?

Who were the new breakout talents this year?

What new format was developed this year?

Who made the greatest strides in the digital media department?

What's new with you?

I pose these questions to stimulate talk, thought, and if you would like feel free to post a response here on the blog.  I pose these questions as a wake up call to all those passionate about radio--we must find more creative and innovative ways to delight listeners.  I love that word, delight.  It's old fashioned.  In many ways it almost sounds out of step with today's fast moving society.  Honestly, the thought of using the overused word "engage" doesn't really get the job done in this case.  So I go back to the word delight. 

de·light

n.

1. Great pleasure; joy.

2. Something that gives great pleasure or enjoyment

How much better would our medium be if we ran everything we did through the "delight filter" before doing it?  Hmmmm. 

DIY and Retro "in" for 2009

One of my favorite websites, Trendhunters, just released its Top 20 trends for 2009 by way of Trendhunters TV.

Predictions about what will be hot is always tricky business but watch carefully...it might just trigger a great idea you can use to start a trend of your own.

Thinking About 2009

There's been lots of talk about the credit crisis, the housing crisis, the automakers crisis and the economic crisis in general. And yes, plenty of talk about the radio crisis--amongst us radio folks.

Do you think the listeners know there's a radio crisis? Probably not. All they know is whether there is a radio station or stations that fulfill their needs as listeners.

Fulfillment and needs--two very good words to keep in mind as we steer our ships into 2009.

Maybe this is a little old school, but, if we focus our attention of finding ways to better serve our listeners we might discover new ways of formatting radio stations, new ways of connecting listeners with advertisers, and new ways to use our digital platforms to better connect and entertain listeners.

In 2009 radio companies that find ways to bolster their R&D budgets will have the best chance to be the big winners going forward.

R&D budget? Radio? Yes, R&D and radio! If Proctor and Gamble does it for 100 year old soap products we ought to be doing it for our radio products.

Here's a few ideas you might want to consider.

1--Find $30 a week to pay a new talent to try something new on the air for 2 hours every Sunday morning at 3am. For an investment of $1500 per year you might just discover someone or something new that could mean your future success.

2--Start attending local events again...festivals, community groups, or even high school football games. Talk to your neighbors, they might have something interesting to share.

3--Think about topics other than Hollywood gossip to talk about on the air. There's a phone topic right there: when you are not talking trash what else do you like to talk to your friends about?

Each idea is very low cost and very different from each other but yet all three are about the same thing: the listeners fulfillment and needs. Are these ideas groundbreaking? Hardly. They are basics we used to take for granted.

But then again, we used to take for granted that a newspaper would be printed and delivered to our house every day of the week and not just on certain days of the week.

Your Turn

"Radio Is My Life". Remember that saying? I do. I said it. I lived it. And I still love the industry today. [I think the NAB or RAB might have distributed a button that said that some time in the early 80's.]

It's much harder to imagine people mimicking that phrase today. What kind of life would we be talking about? Not there was ever any guarantees, but compared to today there were abundant opportunities to learn, grow, and perform. Yes, perform. Remember we are in the entertainment business.

Now before you think this post is all about the "good old days"...there was plenty of crap then too! This post is really about what could be now and in the future.

This blog launched last year at about this time and over these months I have tried write posts that were honest, encouraging, educational, and hopefully interesting and entertaining. I will let you be the judge.

I see many opportunities for today's radio industry. Right now, however, I look around at the economic realities that most radio companies are dealing with and with few exceptions I fear that some of these opportunities could slip through our fingers.

The rest of this post I would like to turn it over to you. How do YOU see it? What does 2009 hold? What do you think are our best opportunities? Concerned about posting? Post anonymously if you would like.

I am interested in what you have to say.