What A Week!

No shortage of news...

• Clear Channel managers learn about a new batch of available "programming options" from San Antonio
  
• Ascertainment is back...hey let's find out if we are serving our communities--good idea
  
• Less wasn't more--PSA's are back
  
• Edison Research and Arbitron release a new study that shows young radio listeners are listening less
• Portable digital media devices are STILL growing and fast
  
• 42 million Americans are listening to radio on-line--and lots more competition from non-traditional radio providers like Pandora
  
• A heritage AM station in NE PA goes dark...maybe for good

...and on and on and on

Not a great week the for biz really--repackaged initiatives, discouraging research, and short-sighted operators doing more of what they do every week. Certainly, there are positive nuggets mixed in, but for the most part it's pretty cloudy out there. Innovation is practically a dirty word in the hallways of many companies these days.

I feel compelled to repeat myself a little today:

• Non-stop music machines are not the answer to excite listeners--in the long term even with PPM (long term? yeah, I know)
• Playing 30 and 40 year old classic rock on stations hoping to attract a passionate following of 25-34's is a losing strategy
• Ryan Seacrest can only be on the air for some many hours in any given day
• Why can Top 40 stations play mostly currents and recurrents for women, but most believe that strategy can't work for a "guy" station? (It can, and I am doing it successfully)
• Talk radio is not about political parties, but entertainment...period. (and no, Limbaugh is NOT the leader of the Republican party...good rhetoric though)
• Sometime soon we need to commit to attracting some young new voices to our ranks and encourage them to talk to their peers in ways that 50 year old's can't.
• Commercials are a necessity, how about reinvesting in the process of writing and producing better copy and audio?
  

I'm sure you have a few of you own. Feel free to contribute.

It's a lot easier when we all assume the position of "get along and go along" but that is not what our industry needs right now. We need a revolution of sorts. Evolution ain't gonna cut in anymore. This type of action won't come from cashflow positive stations since no one will risk that type of upheaval--understood. So we wait. We wait for grim reaper of failure to cast its ugliness upon us, and then...

Updated The Look And A ???

Thought it was time to give the blog a fresh coat of paint. Changed out the colors and hopefully made it even easier to read. What do you think?

While I have you...with so much happening (much of it bad) in our industry I thought this would be a good time to throw out a question:

What worries you most about the future of over the air broadcast radio?

As always, if you would like to remain anonymous that is perfectly fine.

The three top things that concern me. [in no particular order]

• What is the future for music radio?
• Where will tomorrow's new talent come from?
• Will radio's financial health improve?
  

I hope to hear from you.

Thanks for checking out the blog!!

Not Your Average Radio Guy

Howard Stern has done what few radio talents have achieved during their careers--gotten super rich. So rich in fact that CNBC's High Net Worth show did a feature on Howard and soon-to-be wife Beth Ostrosky. (See the video below)

No sour grapes here. Just admiration for a guy who started out with a dream of being on the radio, worked really hard, had talent, had a vision, found his UNIQUE space, and had a good agent. A little good luck didn't hurt either.

You may be thinking, given the state of the radio industry today that achieving Stern level success is a fool's game. I think not. Despite the cuts, the all-music formats, and the gloomy outlook I believe the days of superstar radio talent are ahead of us. In the years to come as music becomes even more commoditized radio will be FORCED to look to talent to keep the medium alive and thriving. The specific delivery system won't matter.

Sure, some of this superstar radio talent may come from Hollywood--stars taking to the microphone and trying to make the difficult transition to radio. It's way different talking live for 3 or 4 hours than scripted TV talk shows, sitcoms, or movies. Casting will be key. Look at "failed" Whoopi Goldberg--she tried to make the move to radio and it didn't go so well. From the beginning I thought she was miscast. Whoopi's strengths did not mesh well with breakfast table happy talk; instead she should have been dishing strong opinions and politics mixed with her unique comedic skills. Now, we have a show!

Don't think for a minute that there are enough celebs to fill all of the hours with great entertaining radio. Tomorrow's star will be coming from many different places--including local talents who have a knack for comedy, conversation, information, and engagement. What's special about your personality? Can you write? Can you connect? How are you different from everyone else? Those with the answers might just get the big break.

Here's a hint: even if you are currently in a tightly regulated format take some initiative and start producing entertaining podcasts on your own. Start a personal blog. Share your podcasts on iTunes and other podcast distribution sites. Take your future into your own hands. See the forest through the trees as they say. (***before enbarking on a blog and podcasting endeavor make sure you are not violating your current employers rules***)