Classic Rock FM

J. Douglas Blackburn

2010-09-04T15:42:00.017-04:00

March 12, 1945 - September 3, 2010
Rest in Peace, my friend

Added....from RadioDailyNews.com: "Jay Blackburn, who'd served in Vietnam in combat, died in San Antonio where he and his wife Chancey lived. His major radio achievement was the creation of The Loop in Chicago with his partner Bruce Miller Earle. He and Earle consulted and/or programmed many radio stations in the United States and aboard, working for Art Holt, a radio station broker and station owner whose career goes back to years with Gordon McLendon.

Jay authored "The Radio Gypsies" and was a mentor for Claude Hall's eNovel "I Love Radio." "Jay and Bruce Miller Earle were close friends dating back to the 1960s," said Claude Hall, once Radio-TV Editor of Billboard Magazine and later a college profession. "I considered them lovable radio rascals and will miss Jay Blackburn immensely."

Read J's obituary from Legacy.com here.

Read Claude Hall's thoughts on J here (scroll down to "Blackburn Matters")

Bruce Miller Earle corrects the record on WLUP here (scroll down to "Loop Matters")

Read Chicagoland Radio & Media's post here.

Chicago Sun-Times article on J (9/8/10) here.

Listen to WLUP's March, 1977 sign-on here (via Tom O'Toole; MP3 download)

More on J. Blackburn from this blog here.

Classic Rock Friday

2009-06-12T06:33:00.007-04:00

Good Morning from Mid-Michigan. Sunny this morning and 52° at 6:42am.

Some great video popped up on the web in the last day. First is from the glory years of KMET/Los Angeles via Jeff Gonzer (currently a consultant and part-time on-air at KSWD/LA):

Second one via Fred Jacobs...who proudly exclaims that this is a "great celebration of classic rock":

Have a great Friday!

Dan O'Day On Radio

2009-06-08T07:00:00.003-04:00

54° - cloudy with light rain at 6:59am

Good Morning from Okemos...

This past weekend, the brilliant Dan O'Day posted this on his own blog (I found it via his post on Facebook). Dan prefaced the post with a note that this may offend radio executives.

I believe there's some truths here that need to be heard and at the very least can give owners, executives, GMs and PDs something to think about:

Dan's blog btw, an excellent read here. Make it part of your daily diet.

Clear Channel

2009-05-11T08:26:00.008-04:00

63° - clear/sunny at 8:25am

Welcome to another work week.

When I started writing this blog post this morning, I had six other topics I was going to include. My first topic however, was Clear Channel and I've run out of room. This is a piece I didn't want to write.

Still doing a lot of reading as details trickle out about Clear Channel's latest changes, including its "Premium Choice" programming, which essentially syndicates some of the company's better talent to stations around the country. I've found it difficult for me to critical of Clear Channel. My years with them were pretty good ones that I would be hard to trade for anything else.

If what I hear is true, its disappointing to hear that "Premium Choice" won't be localized, unlike the out-of-market voice-tracking the company had been doing - where the local PD would actually schedule the music and ship a log, liners and market information to the remote talent, resulting in a local sounding airshift with some good talent.

How weird to be nostalgic for that period!

This must explain the company's rush to "localism", which is essentially an increased PSA load. Advance damage control but hard to do much otherwise with a skeleton staff.

One PD who works crosstown to a Clear Channel cluster recently described Premium Choice to me as sounding like "bad 70s satellite." I hope not! On the other side of the coin, a large market PD with the company told me via Twitter "Wait till you hear how it sounds. I think you'll be stunned."

OK, fair enough. I haven't heard the product yet.

But apparently gone from any station "opting in" (your definition of "opting in" may vary) to Premium Choice is local scheduling of music. The national playlist rears its ugly head. Interesting that this comes from a company that spent a lot of time over the years denying that there was a corporate playlist (and when the did there really wasn't).

While its true that the hits are the hits are the hits, I don't need to mention that there's always been differences from market to market (that's what local music research was all about) and this research is what gave stations a competitive advantage. Added: in the very simple sense, it was finding out what your local audience wanted and giving it to them.

Given the present economy, Consultant Harve Allen noted in this piece he posted over the weekend that "It's the perfect storm--negative cash flow and bland & sterile local radio stations."

And Harve adds: "Are you mad yet? I hope a little bit."

Harve hints at something that I've said many times one way or another: it's unique hard-to-duplicate content that makes for a winning radio station. And I'm simply repeating something that (love him or hate him) Randy Michaels said to group of programmers at a Dan O'Day conference years ago.

Pulling back the local personalities and becoming music intensive (and with a national playlist at that) offers nothing unique and difficult-to-duplicate. Nothing. Anyone can do that!

There was a day when a smart crosstown competitor would take advantage of a situation like that. I really hope those days aren't over yet, but my guess is that the MBAs making the programming decisions at Clear Channel are betting that there's nobody in most of their markets who will come in and kick their ass.

Or maybe they simply don't care.

Radio Stories: 20 Years Ago in Tampa

2009-05-06T10:28:00.006-04:00

63° - hazy at 10:28am

Consultant Tim Moore of Grand Rapids (and Naples, Florida) based Audience Development Group writes and distributes a weekly email titled "The Midweek Motivator", which is available free via subscription on the ADG website.

This morning Tim wrote about a legendary radio battle that took place in Tampa 20 years ago and what can still be learned from it. With his permission, I've republished his piece below:

Not since Pearl Harbor had the world witnessed a classic attack like the one that sank Edens Broadcasting's battleship Q-105 twenty years ago. Though no lives were lost, a legendary CHR was torpedoed, rolled over, and sank. It was a story of hubris, élan, overconfidence, and unbridled aggression. In 74 days, one group's largest cash cow was trumped by a pig, and the Tampa Bay market was never to be the same.

Beyond the fact that it's a 20 year anniversary, why showcase the story now? Perhaps because there exist multiple learnings from this epic showdown which should be revisited by any serious student of how battles are won and lost; leaders playing defense, attackers using guerrilla tactics, and the history that lingers (since history is always written by the winning side).

In 1989, Edens Broadcasting was nationally developing with Q-105 its flagship for ratings, revenue and cash flow. WRBQ was recognized as one of the elite large market CHR's regularly scoring in the mid teens 12-plus. The rules of marketing warfare proffered stations of iconic proportion like Q-105 if not unassailable, were certainly unbeatable and not worth the pain for a would-be attacker. Gabe Hobbs and Marc Chase were alpha-thinking in the Jacor situation room across town. Somehow the concept of a Pig as the personification of a CHR surfaced. Hobbs and Chase had always wanted to do a CHR in Tampa, but Jacor owned the Eastman Radio rep firm, and thus had assured Q-105 that Jacor would stay out of the CHR brand. Inconceivably, Edens and Q-105 dropped Eastman's representation, and a large farm animal was born.

Believing Q-105 was "Fortress Singapore" immune to attack-and-conquer strategy, Michael Osterhout (Edens COO) upon hearing of Jacor's guerrilla assault quipped, "I sure hope you're renting and not buying." Game on. Hobbs and Chase knew Q-105 would throw large sums into the battle, so thus started their campaign with brilliant and unconventional tactics: they made a demand for money. They went on their News-Talk giant WFLA and reported they were "holding Q-105 up for a million dollars in ransom or they'd switch formats." A week later the sum bumped to five million. At five PM that same Friday, WFLZ became "Jamz 93" for an hour, then, abruptly switched back to Gold without further comment. The following Monday morning, Gary Edens was ensconced at the St. Francis Hotel, San Francisco. WFLZ's morning team woke Edens up at 4 AM Pacific Time and offered Edens one more chance to "pay-up" or be attacked. His response was something to the effect of, "Bring it on, boys." With that, Power Pig threw the switch, and Paula Abdul's Cold Hearted Snake fired the first torpedo.

Surprisingly says Hobbs, "We kept waiting for them to react, and they did nothing." It took Q-105 sixty days to trim spot loads, calibrate music, and re-image against the Pig. It was too late. In 74 days, Q-105 decompressed from a 14.4 to an 8.6 and Bay Area economics were forever changed.

Midst the trail of flotsam, Q-105's thousand-dollar-a-spot morning rate slipped to $250.00. Cash flow plummeted, and WRBQ's parent company would never recover. What started out as a game, became arguably radio's most vitriolic war.

Lessons carried forward remind us no format is unassailable, yet too few companies have the ingenuity and commitment to carry out a Power Pig assault. The right people with a big idea and a lot of passion can remake an entire market (in 74 days). We asked Gabe, "If Edens had paid the million, would you have gone away?" He grinned, and replied "absolutely." War is hell.

Tim Moore can be reached at tim@audiencedevelopmentgroup.com

Sunday Morning Odds & Sods

2009-05-03T11:01:00.006-04:00

60° - sunny at 10:49am

Good Morning from Okemos.

Listening this morning to Bob Stroud on Chicago's WDRV...who - at the moment is doing a time-warp this this week in 1970.

Just played "Spirit In The Sky", "Instant Karma" and now "Come & Get It". Nice start to morning. Later: Bob's switched gears to 1975...and is now playing Kraftwerk's "Autobahn"....and its off vinyl....complete with ticks and scratches...too cool!

San Diego: Mark Ramsey points out a (copy-protected) campaign from AAA KPRI that tells the market "Don't Listen". A campaign designed to encourage trial. Perfect in the PPM world. Mark observes:

"...our goal should not be recall - it should be trial. The best way to get folks to remember they listen is for them to actually listen. Don't put the case before the horse.

So KPRI's campaign is obviously designed to seduce trial. Not to sell product attributes and benefits or, God forbid, awareness and recall. You can't know whether you like something or not until you try it, so why not?

And even smarter in the world of PPM, by the way."

Mark's complete post - including reader comments - is here. Anyone else here old enough to remember "Try It, You'll Like It" (I thought so..)

Last weekend: had the opportunity to check out night #2 of WCSX/Detroit's Birthday Bash featuring the J. Geils Band. Awesome time and kudos to OM/PD Doug Podell for pulling it off. The band only getting together for shows in their hometown of Boston and their adopted hometown of Detroit. 2 nights that sold out in minutes. Great time!

Speaking of: Noted that WCSX - after months with PPM data - has now shorted its morning drive show by an hour and gets back to music at 9am instead of 10. The station now kicking off its return to music with "9 at 9".

Haven't heard the feature yet, but I'm assuming "9 at 9" is similar to the "10 at 10" feature heard on other stations around the country.

Think summer. The sunshine today has me thinking warm weather (and mowing the lawn). Consultant Dave Lange has put together some ideas for radio in the summertime, noting:

"Radio has a real chance to shine as TV largely shuts down and our mobile medium has the advantage of being able to move with the audience. As they spend more time outside radio goes with them to the patio, the car, out in the community and even to the beach/pool. This is a time to hustle if you want to build your audience for the Fall."

Dave's suggestions for radio - including appearances, music, imaging and more here.

Great read: Rick Kaempfer's interview with Chicago radio legend John Gehron. Its been up for a week - but it was new to me this morning. Here. Also on Rick's Chicago Radio Spotlight is an interview with Chicago radio's Buzz Kilman. Worth the time here.

New Media Webinar: A "power lunch" this Tuesday at noon eastern from McVay New Media. SIgn-up and check it out here.

It's been another tough week for radio with cutbacks and furloughs at a few radio companies. I'm at a loss to offer anything positive. Bless the companies still investing in the product and people, both on air and off. And investing in real localism, radio's single biggest advantage over competitive media in this broadband/multi-media era. Think content that's difficult to duplicate.

There's people and programming assets that too many companies are foolishly throwing away. All in all a loss for listeners who can typically get what content is left through other sources. Example: how many sources are there on the internet for Ryan Seacrest? Don't need the local station for that. I'm just sayin'....

That said - the opportunity is may soon be ripe for a strong local competitor to take advantage of these MBA-programmed stations.

Related: this post from consultant Alan Mason.

Seth Sums It Up

2009-03-24T12:13:00.003-04:00

Apologies to Seth Godin for the cut 'n paste...but his short summary sums it up:

The pillars of social media site success:

Why people choose to visit online social sites:
Who likes me?
Is everything okay?
How can I become more popular?
What's new?
I'm bored, let's make some noise

None of these are new, but in the digital world, they're still magnetic.
If you want to understand why Twitter is so hot, look at those five attributes. They deliver all five, instantly.

Seth Godin's blog - a daily must read - is here.

Brainstorm Session....

2009-03-20T12:09:00.004-04:00

Stumbled across this. What could you do with something like this in your market? Perhaps raise some money for charity, bond with your market and strengthen some local pride?

Just thinkin'...

Engaging Listeners On The Web & On The Air

2009-03-16T20:45:00.002-04:00

46° - clear at 8:44pm

Its been some time since this blog checked in with Buffalo's WGRF (97 Rock)...and what PD John Hager has been up to. John is a master at engaging listeners by combining the station's website and the station's on-air programming.

This time around listeners are voting for the best live album of all time - with results to be featured on a live album weekend:

Not only is 97 Rock giving listeners a chance to vote on what the station will feature for a live album weekend, but the station is inviting some lively debate on the voting:

Very cool....and just one example of how 97 Rock has been using its website to invite listeners to help program the station. Simply, it gives the listeners ownership in the product. And that translates into loyalty and TSL.

Its tactics like this that that really make me miss programming a radio station.

Want more examples? Click here.

Sunday Morning Odds & Sods

2009-03-15T13:20:00.004-04:00

55° - clear at 1:15pm Left: Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum - cell phone photo taken this past Thursday in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Good Morning/Afternoon. I do start writing this in the morning, but by the time I finish, a new daypart begins.

Catching up from a long week in Grand Rapids at the Great Lakes Broadcast Conference. Highlight of the show was watching and chatting with fellow blogger/new media evangelist Dave Martin.

During Dave's session on social media - it became obvious to me that more than a few in the room didn't quite get it, though they were trying to understand. Its hard to get over the fact that radio and television has always been a one-way "us to them" proposition; even with websites and email clubs. And there's fear of losing control.

Perhaps there needs to be a "deprogramming" retreat for the old media types who still don't see it - showing them the new ways and how other old media is using the new tools available (in most cases "free" and "almost free"). A great example here....all done by an air talent in less time than it takes to answer the request line.

That said - there's many OMs, PDs, MDs, and air talent who do "get it". Sadly however, many are working for management and ownership who don't and won't get behind it. Without support from the top down, these efforts are not as effective as they could be, benefiting sales and programming together.

And....thanks for the career tip Dave!

Listening this morning: a bit of Bob Stroud on Chicago's WDRV; followed by Steve Palec on Milwaukee's WKLH. Mr. Palec in the middle of an excellent segment on the late Warren Zevon; with many more good things to follow.

Dave Lange. Dave posted a great read this past week on the demise of New York's WXRK. Dave shares his thoughts on why WXRK didn't work....and why some great stations are what they are. See here.

And for those of you running syndicated programming (Bob & Tom, Alice Cooper, etc.), Dave has a great piece on "Making a Syndicated Show Local" - here.

Programming Basics: Edison Media's Sean Ross writes about "Keeping your station moving". Here.

Another another read for PDs: "Are Your Personalities Heathers Or Karens?" In this week's FMQB - here.

Radio stories: Rick Kaempfer interviews WGN Radio's Mary Van De Viede on his Chicago Radio Spotlight. Here.

Spring is here...sort of...hope it is where you are. Have a great Sunday.

Fred Jacobs: A Great Idea on Fighting The Fight

2009-03-09T05:13:00.004-04:00

32° - overcast at 5:13am

Much has been written about the record industry's efforts to impose a performance fee on radio stations for playing their music. Its a fee that would go to the record companies - and in theory - to artists. Both have benefited from the promotional value of radio airplay for decades.

This legislation is currently being debated and fought in Washington. Of course while this is going on, the record companies still continue to employ promotion staff to encourage radio airplay, still send promotional copies of music to radio stations and still run trade ads in industry publications. And over the years record companies have awarded "gold record" plaques to radio stations thanking them for the station's promotional efforts. Got a few of these?

This morning on his blog, Fred Jacobs passed along a great idea. When you get to work today, get the digital camera out and do this. Mission critical. You don't need your station budget cut any more than it has been in order to pay this "tax".

Read below - republished from the Jacoblog:

Going For The Gold

There's something happening here.

Last week, we posted a blog, "All I Wanna Do... Is Stop Playing Your Records!," about the absurdity of musicFIRST and various recording artists in their efforts to extract money from radio in the form of performance fees/taxes.

The blog struck a responsive chord. We heard from a variety of radio people, angry about the obvious contradiction of this ill-conceived campaign. Radio's contributions to the music industry in general, and the careers of hundreds, if not thousands of recording artists, are obvious to anyone who knows anything about the entertainment business.

But the most interesting response was from NRG's Chuck DuCoty. Led by CEO Mary Quass, NRG initiated an all-company campaign (thought of by our friend, Emmis/St. Louis' John Beck). The idea is to have each of their music stations take digital photos of every gold and platinum "thank you" awards and plaques that the record industry has bestowed over the past several decades. The message is simple: How can music executives and recording artists even suggest that radio has ripped them off when they have consistently thanked stations in such a tangible form?

NRG's plan was to deliver these photos to the NAB, but after reading our blog, Chuck asked whether Jacobs Media could spearhead something larger - an all-industry initiative, designed to get hundreds and hundreds of stations involved.

So, this week, that's what we're going to do. And we need your help.

We are asking every music station in the U.S. to set aside 30 minutes and take digital photos of all those gold and platinum records hanging on walls, in offices, and in studios - and send them to us. Email them to:

gold@jacobsmedia.com

We will post them at a dedicated page - www.jacobsmedia.com/goingforthegold

David Rehr and the NAB are on board. Once we collect these photos, they will be zipped and sent to Washington, D.C. for delivery to Congress and musicFIRST.

At this difficult time in radio, many people feel powerless to change the course of the economy, their station, or their personal lives and careers. This is a simple, yet effective way to send a message and make a difference.

Please forward this post to your friends and co-workers, and let's create a positive, impactful, and compelling story for radio.

Sunday Morning Odds & Sods

2009-03-08T12:46:00.002-04:00

44° - rain at 12:23pm

Good Morning/afternoon from Okemos. Listening this morning to my usual Sunday Morning routine: WDRV/Chicago and WKLH/Milwaukee via the 'net.

I note some fresh imaging (voiced by Nick Michaels) on The Drive; very nice! I also sense that the station is working on their streaming presentation, especially with ad-insertion.

This past week I spent a few hours in Detroit listening to WCSX. OM/PD Doug Podell has really put some life into that station in recent months; at least since my last listen. The tempo is up....the entire presentation, not just the music. The station sounds so alive.

Reading. Mark Ramsey's Hear 2.0. Mark posted some great content this past week. Working backwards, Mark features an interview with author Richard Goldman, conducted by radio consultant Doug Erickson. Goldman is co-founder of Men's Warehouse. From that interview:

Radio right now seems unable to manage risk. It's trying to cut its way to profit by slashing "expense," by cutting research, marketing, promotion, management and staff. How did you handle risk, in the face of recession, in your successful retail career?

The easy fix is always to cut expenses. But at some point you run out of expenses to cut. At Men’s Wearhouse, we certainly tried to cut expenses, but more of the effort was spent in trying to increase sales.

You're a marketing expert. Any ideas on how you would market a radio station?

I would get out of the current mindset—if a listener could be transported to any city in the country and turn on any radio station (especially FM), they’d think that they were in their own home town.

Alice, schmalice—I’m sick of the format and disgusted with the way that radio has become so homogenous.

Read the entire piece here. (btw: CBS head honcho Les Moonves said this past week that "more staff cuts to reduce expenses are probably not a good idea. "There comes a point where you’re cutting into the bone." Nice to read. More here. -dan)

Another great Ramsey post featured Seth Godin speaking at the Country Radio Seminar. Read here.

Speaking of CRS: Consultant Alan Mason blogged about a topic he'd be speaking on this past week in Nashville. In a list he's made for a PD in today's environment he notes:

"Think in terms of the future , and new titles. Are you a PD or are you Brand Manager and Director of Listener Experience? Do you have a promotion director, or a director of listener engagement? You can see that one title operates in the past, while the other looks to the future. Of course you actually have to be and act like the new title - this is much more than a change of clothes."

Alan writes here.

Learn from Paul. A Great read from Dave Martin: "Six Lessons from Paul Harvey". Read here.

Chicago's Rick Kaempfer brings us up-to-date on Chicago radio people he's interviewed in the past. Read here. Check out Rick's piece on the late Paul Harvey too.

Have a great Sunday.

Brian James: R.I.P.

2009-03-06T12:22:00.005-05:00

Brian was the voice of three stations I programmed in my career and also many more that I listened to. From All Access:

"ALL ACCESS is saddened to report that voiceover legend BRIAN JAMES has suddenly passed away from a heart attack at 4a this morning (3/6), at his home in SCOTTSDALE, AZ. He was 48. BRIAN is survived by his wife KIMBERLY, his son MAX, and a stepdaughter BROOKE. More details, as soon as they are available."

There was nothing like getting raw audio back from Brian and hearing him just nail the read of copy you've written. Another big loss for radio.

Added: There is now a Brian James discussion group here on Facebook. And KZHT/Salt Lake City pays tribute to Brian on their website here. Thanks again to All Access.

Cara Gets It....

2009-03-06T06:34:00.007-05:00

56° - overcast at 6:33am

We've all read about the power of social networking - and as a radio programmer you've probably wondered what how sites like Twitter and Facebook can help your cause and build and strengthen relationships with your listeners.

A great example comes from WTMX/Chicago personality Cara Carriveau. Cara is on my Facebook friends list - and now is someone I also follow via Twitter.

Here's an example from earlier this week of what she's posting on Facebook:

And on Twitter:

Its all about building relationships with listeners; and using free tools like Twitter and Facebook to do it.

This past Wednesday, 1162 folks were friends with Cara on Facebook - all seeing her posts on their Friends Feed page. On Twitter, there's another 217 followers at this point. These are listeners who elected to "opt in". Very cool.

On my own Facebook and Twitter feeds, I have a few dozen radio air personalities. But I can count on just over one hand those who are using these social networks as effectively as Cara Carriveau.

Full disclosure: I'm late to the party on this. I've been on Facebook only since the beginning of the year and just joined Twitter.

More to come on all this...

Kudos to WGN America

2009-03-01T22:05:00.002-05:00

11° - clear at 10:05pm

Watching the cable channel tonight ("The Honeymooners"), I note that the Tribune Company outlet reacted quickly saying goodbye to broadcasting legend Paul Harvey with a produced piece with photos and audio in a thirty-second piece.

With Paul's passing barely more than a day ago, this was quick action on the part of WGN America's production and traffic folks, especially on the weekend. I can only imagine it began with a telephone call from Randy Michaels. He gets it.

How fast could your radio station react on the weekend....be it the loss of a legend or a severe weather emergency? Are your people ready to make it happen now - or will is it just auto-pilot until Monday?

Added: WGN Radio/Chicago also pays tribute to Paul Harvey on its website. Here.

Sunday Morning Odds & Sods

2009-03-01T12:54:00.003-05:00

21° - overcast, light snow at 12:38pm

Good Morning/Afternoon from Okemos! Snow coming down...winter ain't over yet.

Signing off: Paul Harvey. I recieved the news last night from KFAB's Tom Becka via Facebook. The end of an era indeed. Good day.

Listening earlier: This morning to WDRV and Bob Stroud's Rock 'N Roll Roots program. Aside from some Who music celebrating Roger Daltry's birthday, Bob also featuring lots of music from the Brian Jones era of the Stones. I think Bob mentioned that Brian would have been 67 today.

Listening later: Steve Palec on WKLH. Steve playing some Jeff Beck as I write along with some sound clips of Les Paul talking about Beck. Very cool; and as usual, Steve's production, planning and use of sound is noted! WKLH: end the madness with your internet fill spots. Enough with the repetitive debt reduction and ad council PSAs!

Congrats: To Milwaukee's Lee Arnold - celebrating the second anniversary of his internet station WORJ-dot.com. Lee the inspiration for my OkemosBrewing-dot-com. I missed the Heartsfield concert he was airing yesterday...damn!

More on "staffing the station." The other day I quoted Jerry Del Colliano - who noted that there's lots of social networking tools (Twitter, Facebook, email, etc.) for talking with listeners, but that all require that "someone be home".

This morning I ran across a post by consultant Jaye Albright about stations on "auto-pilot"...and I'm going to take the liberty of printing Jaye's entire post:

"The flight from Seattle was within miles of Houston when the flight attendant came on the intercom to say “welcome on board Continental Airlines. ” Then, she paused in mid-sentence as the first few rows of frequent fliers came to the realization that what she had meant to say was the traditional “welcome to Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport” announcement, which she no doubt delivers at least three or four times a week.

Instead, unthinkingly, she started to do the typical take-off announcement, which she routinely gives three or four times each day. “If she’s not going to think about what she’s saying, I sure won’t,” I thought.

The same is true on radio. Computers now make it so easy to walk away from the control room and have the station run itself for quarter hours at a time. Meanwhile, request lines ring unanswered, listeners text, email, social network, hoping to interact with you, the brand they hear on the radio.

Radio, of course, was the first interactive medium from the very first days of top 40 radio a half century ago, when Gordon McClendon famously put that juke box in front of KLIF, Dallas, and listeners drove by the station wanting to choose the music and become more engaged. So, previous generations of air personalities have created some expectations out there in radioland.

If you’re on the air, it’s your choice. Take the easy way, do jingle, liner and sweeper auto pilot radio. Sound like you’re a machine. Or, get busy. Commit to answering every phone line as quickly as possible. Record every phone interaction, edit the best stories and integrate them into your content.

Text listeners. Interact with the audience on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, your chat room, your blog and use the best of that on the air too. Yes, it’s a lot to do. But, this I guarantee: you’ll never get bored doing it that way. And, listeners can tell.

Southwest Airlines revolutionized air travel by encouraging their flight attendants to get creative with the take off and landing announcements, even the federally-mandated safety announcements. Their reward? Profitability and some of the most loyal users in the industry. Perhaps those zany announcements had a role in that.

One thing for sure, encouraging their flight attendants to have more fun and ad lib resulted in flight crews who don’t just mouth the same words repeatedly so that they sound like they’re doing them in their sleep. Like a lot of radio stations do today. You?"

Jaye's blog is a must-read, no matter your format.

Related. Heard a story from a friend in Chicago attending a club appearance by a heritage band last night. She noted that the sponsoring station, despite sponsoring the concert, had no on-air staff at the show (there were two former staff members there...). Yipes!

Catching up on Rick. If you haven't stopped by Rick Kaempfer's Chicago Radio Spotlight, check in and read some great radio stories.

Have a great Sunday.

...what Dave said

2009-02-27T08:31:00.008-05:00

34° - overcast at 8:54am. Right: view out my office window this morning.

I've received more than a few quick emails welcoming me back to the blog. While I've responded privately, let me thank you here too. It makes it all worthwhile.

On Wednesday, I promised something great from David Martin. Clearly almost every blog written by an industry pundit wanna-be focuses far too much energy on the negative (and sometimes the obvious, since much of what they write is old news if you read the headlines in the industry trades). I've done my best to avoid treading in those waters.

Dave observed last week:

"My sense is too many blogs appear to be the work of old white guys not happy with the way things are going, folks clearly upset about change in the industry. Moreover, too many of these bloggers seem to be either obsessed with bringing back some new version of the past or possessed by a compulsion to deliver little more than critical rants about the present. It's not healthy. To be brutally honest, it's a waste of bandwidth. But there's good news. Doing the math it's easy to project that these old guys have more days behind them than ahead. Let them live out their days shouting at the tide or barking at the moon. None of what they say really matters."

Indeed.

Next month, Mr. Martin makes an appearance here in Michigan at Great Lakes Broadcast Conference and Expo in Grand Rapids, an annual event by the Michigan Association of Broadcasters. (Yes, that's a plug).

I'm looking forward to his two sessions. Let's get on with things. Dwelling on the past and the negative is counter to moving forward.

End Of My Writer's Block

2009-02-25T07:24:00.011-05:00

38° - overcast at 10:27am

My first post of the year. And it's almost March. Haven't had much inspiration to write. Much has happened in our industry over the last several months, most of it leaves an uneasy feeling. That said, my vision now much clearer; as I hope yours is.

One ritual I have early almost every morning is first reading Tom Taylor's daily column. And R&R's Kevin Carter with his Street Talk Daily. Plus Jerry Del Colliano (pictured above left).

I've had this love/hate thing with Jerry since the days of Inside Radio...going way to the pre-net days when it was a black-on-yellow newsletter that would come in the mail. I feel Jerry focuses far too much on the negative.

But Jerry often makes some great observations - and this morning he wrote:

"We've got lots of ways to direct our listeners to someone other than the person playing the music. And don't get me started on texting. Radio stations by and large don't understand how to use texting in a way consistent with how their audience uses it. It is not a blatant promotional tool even if you think it is. To them, it is social connection.

Someone needs to be home."

More soon - including something brilliant I recently read from David Martin.

Whats Up?

2008-12-30T11:09:00.005-05:00

Good Morning from Okemos. If you're a regular reader to this blog, you've likely noticed the lack of new posts in recent weeks. I finally went full force with my spare time to finally launch, (albeit in beta form), my hobby internet radio station:

The station just thinks its a brewpub. LOL.

No liners or imaging yet; just working on music rotations and streaming issues. Put together a temporary web page in the last day or two...eventually there will be either an embedded player or a player launched from the site itself.

And I rediscovered the joy of scheduling music! The station is somewhere between classic rock, classic hits and AAA, not certain what the ultimate destination will be.

Still have lots of holes in the library - ripping and loading tunes as I can. Reception reports welcome. Listen here.

Back to the blog soon. Have a great 2009!

Quote Of The Week

2008-12-08T11:17:00.003-05:00

All Regulars:

I've been very busy for the past week and more (details forthcoming) and hope to get back to regular posting asap. Meanwhile - let me offer you words from Tim Cuprisin, writer for the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel - in this story about the departure of Chicago's Steve Dahl:

"Ironically, as local radio competes with the Internet, iPods and satellite, it should be going more local. After all, that's the product it uses to sell listeners to advertisers."

"But in an effort to cut costs - a move sped up by the worsening economy - radio's dropping the personalities who connect it to the audience. The short-term benefit can't help the longtime health of the radio biz."

Amen!

Bill Drake

2008-12-02T07:21:00.003-05:00

25° - light snow at 7:20am

No one can overlook Bill Drake's influence. The man who brought the industry the idea of a focused playlist, talent and execution. A formula that has been a part of every modern-day radio format. Without Bill Drake....what?

Aside from airchecks, my only direct listening to a "Bill Drake" format (growing up in Chicago) was when one of Bill's syndicated RKO formats found its way to WFYR/Chicago when it debuted in 1973. WFYR used the famous KHJ top of hour ramp-up/ID. Wonderful.

That said - in reality, I heard Bill Drake everywhere. There's been lots of tributes and memories to Bill written in the last day. Scroll down and find them here.

And this morning, Fred Jacobs offered his thoughts on the late Mr. Drake:

"Drake was the guy who brought discipline and tight music lists to radio. In many ways, radio programming has devolved in recent years to a point where Drake couldn't have liked what he heard. I never met the guy, but I did some work for Paul Drake and Rick Sklar in the '70s - both of whom were Drake disciples and/or heavily influenced by his doctrines. They were both tough programmers, strict disciplinarians, and insistent that a station's sound and packaging be executed to the letter."

"Drake's style of radio was big, bold, and exciting - very different from how much of radio is perceived and programmed today. Drake stations didn't apologize - they were leaders, they set the tone, and they made hits. They were also disciplined - during the day, at night, and on the weekends. When so many stations today are mailing it in, and hoping no one notices, those Drake Top 40 stations sounded tight and bright whenever you tuned them in. It was all about the presentation."

All about the presentation. Thank you Bill Drake.

Added: John Gorman offers a great piece on the late Mr. Drake here.

A Wonderful Opportunity

2008-11-25T09:10:00.005-05:00

Tom Taylor's Radio-Info.Com column reported this morning:

“Centralizing” looks to be one of the big words of 2009.

If “consolidation” was a buzz word starting with the 1996 Telecommunications Act, then “centralization” may succeed it in 2009 – because owners now have to pay for all the “consolidation.”

It does appear increasingly likely that several companies.....are looking extra-hard at locally -produced airshifts outside of drivetimes. (Ironic, given how strong middays look in the PPM.)

Think real hard about "local" and the opportunities these moves present to a well-focused competitor.

Busy day. More later.

Monday Monday

2008-11-24T07:37:00.006-05:00

32° - mostly cloudy at 7:35am

Last week turned into a busy one between the day job, the night job and everything else. And it didn't stop over the weekend. Thanks for stopping by.

From around my blogosphere:

Jerry Del Colliano has a great piece posted this morning: "Better Radio At No Additional Cost". In it, Jerry remembers Dick Carr of WIP/Philadelphia:

"When Dick prevailed at WIP he had one operating principle that always served him well. It cost no extra money -- it was a way to look for the additional benefits that make listeners appreciate you over and over again. He called it Another Reason to Listen."

"Everything that is done on the air should be designed to give the audience another reason to tune in and stay with the station. As Dick Carr puts it, "Work to create a listener expectation wherein once they heard "a shoe drop", they would instinctively turn to your station"."

Worth your time this morning. Read here.

Related piece from Dave Lange: Dave posts a great read on his blog "Opportunties Ahead #1" In the piece, Dave notes:

"Be Local: No doubt the biggest opportunity for radio is that it's LOCAL. While most of the new media, cable networks, broadcast networks and nearly all the web is national or even world wide most of the audience's world lies in their local area. We all know this, but in the end we do little to capitalize on it."

More here - including some thoughts on what you might do on a day-to-day basis.

Pass along to your GM/GSM: Alan Mason writes about those email "out of office" auto-responders - and something very clever your salespeople could be doing. In fact, I think even programmers or anyone on staff could be doing:

"Whoops. You've caught me at one of the rare times I'm not here waiting to help you. I'm gone for a short period but want you to receive royal treatment. This message has been automatically forwarded to our Sales Assistant, Carla ___. She'll be in touch with you forthwith. By the way, click on this link and you'll see a video of what happens when we do a remote at Van Chevrolet."

Alan does note that "If you're in business today, every e-mail should be forwarded to your PDA or cell phone." Read more here.

Welcome back David Martin. After a brief absence, Mr. Martin is back on his blog. Always worth your time. Read here.

And Dave: I did enjoy our conversation and intend to follow-up as promised. Last week turned impossible.

Belated congrats: To Fred Jacobs and Jacobs Media Web Guru Tim Davis, who created a custom station-branded iPhone application to listen to station streams. Read here. View below:

Podell Announces His Pick!

2008-11-17T19:26:00.005-05:00

To most reading this, the talent involved doesn't matter. It's a Detroit thing. But what's important is the playbook; and Doug Podell's well-thought process of releasing a long-time morning show and replacing it with another. See my first post here.

Greater Media/Detroit Director of Rock Programming Doug Podell announced to WCSX listeners on the air, on the web, via email and via text - a new morning team - one well known to Detroit listeners.

Podell using a lesson learned from one candidate for President - using new media to create a buzz with the P1s. And just like the President-elect - his new morning team won't even go into office (on the air) until January (due to a non-compete).

More details on the WCSX website here. And no, I don't think this would have worked replacing the longtime talent with an unknown from outside the market.

Brilliant!

2008-11-17T11:08:00.004-05:00

The story here. Thanks to Harve Alan for the tip.

Sunday Morning Odds & Sods

2008-11-16T12:03:00.013-05:00

33° - light snow at 12:02pm

Snow! Woke up this morning to snow just starting to come down here in Mid-Michigan. Enough had fallen in just a few hours to motivate #2 son to go out in the backyard and take advantage of the changing season.

He's outside and away from the computer and the TV...cool!

Listening this morning to Bob Stroud on Chicago's WDRV. This morning Bob featuring the music career of Joe Walsh. Later: WKLH/Milwaukee and Steve Palec - who's featuring Aerosmith this morning. Nobody does puts together sound bites (especially on the local level every week) like Steve Palec.

FMQB: The magazine has a great piece online this week: a cover story interview with KSWD/Los Angeles (100.3/The Sound) PD Dave Beasing. Read here. One highlight of the interview is Dave's enthusiasm for his employer - Bonneville:

"This company sees an economic slowdown the way Warren Buffett does, as a good time to invest. Our marketing director, Sammy Simpson, is brilliant, and he’s going to be just as aggressive throughout 2009 as he was during our first few months."

And on The Sound and the AAA format:

"In many ways, AAA is today’s Album Rock radio. It’s simple, really. We’re playing good music from all eras and artists. There are several good Rock stations here already but they only play a tight list of hits, and that’s a smart strategy for them. But there’s room for one station that dares to be different."

Radio stories. This week Rick Kaempfer's Chicago Radio Spotlight shines on Jeff Schwartz. Jeff not an on-air talent, but someone who's been behind the scenes at some of the Windy City's top radio stations.

Among some great stories - Jeff shares how the infamous 1979 "Disco Demolition" came together. A great read here.

And if you want video - here's a 25th anniversary Keith Olbermann broadcast remembering the event:

More video on YouTube here.

And...back on Tuesday, I heard an interview with Howard Stern sidekick Artie Lange this past week on NPR's Fresh Air program. Artie holds nothing back with Fresh Air host Terry Gross. Listen here.

Added: Caught this on The Consumerist website: "Sirius XM Merger Reveals True Face: Fewer Channels And 'Sanitized' Programming". Read here.

Have a great Sunday.

Come Saturday Morning

2008-11-15T11:35:00.009-05:00

37° - light rain at 11:34am

Very cool: Clear Channel's WAXQ/New York (Q104.3) has a great gallery of the "Top Ten Songs From Classic Rock." The feature includes album covers and 7-inch picture sleeves of songs between 1965 and 1987. Check out here.

Again, something any classic rock station can do; much of this stuff is on the internet already; more content to strengthen your heritage rock position, even if your station has only been in the format a few years. You might be able to enhance this with You Tube videos of the same songs!

Speaking of Q104.3: The station has the winners of its "Hottest Mom 2008" Contest. Lots of photos including "Behind The Scenes" video. Very sticky web content for a classic rock station. See here.

Likewise - one of my favorite CGM-savvy classic rock stations is WGRF/Buffalo - and PD John Hager has just posted a photo gallery of the winner and contestants on his station's website here.

John also takes the right path - explaining here a budget-related talent departure to station listeners.

Saying Goodbye to The Lake. Fellow blogger Jim Bartlett writes about the loss of the Madison classic rock station (WHLK) he was working at; wondering why it didn't work.

As only a casual listener of the station via the web, I could only offer some random thoughts in a prior email exchange that Jim shares on his piece here.

More tomorrow. My day includes a trip to Home Depot to price a replacement gas hot water heater before the little leak becomes a flood. The joys of home ownership....

Podell Goes Obama

2008-11-14T13:45:00.008-05:00

50° - overcast at 1:44pm

No, beyond my wife and myself, I have no idea who anyone (including this guy) voted for on November 4th.

Clearing that up - below is a great example below of a lesson learned from the Presidential campaign from WCSX/Detroit PD Doug Podell. This past Tuesday the station announced (see blog post here) the departure of its longtime J.J. and Lynne, leaving many WCSX listeners to wonder "what's next"?

As our President-Elect did announcing a running mate (among other things...), Podell is inviting WCSX listeners to register now to know the next big announcement first via email and via text messaging:

And if you're keeping score - this is only the third post on 'CSX this week...LOL.

Using Social Networking To Generate Ideas

2008-11-13T07:40:00.009-05:00

Lots of screen shots over the past few days.

As you can see on the right-hand column of this blog - I've got my profile posted at the online professional networking site Linked-in. Within the network are various industry-specific discussion groups.

Posted on "Those In Media" list was this question:

Very cool. And it generated some fresh ideas from a broad group - that if anything, likely stimulated the thought process with the original poster. You can do this! Use social networking to poll your peers - and as Leo LaPorte suggested in the Jacobs Media Summit video below - with your audience.

All you have to do is start the conversation.

Have a great Thursday.

Leo LaPorte: Digital Opportunties For Radio

2008-11-13T06:53:00.006-05:00

47° - overcast at 6:50am

Had some time early this morning to watch some video from the Jacobs Media Summit 13, held during the NAB/R&R Convention in Austin back in September. One video that really caught my eye was digital world rock star Leo LaPorte. I've been a fan of Leo's since his ZDTV/Tech TV days.

In this session, Leo offered some great tips and advice for radio - including all the (free or almost-free) resources for stations on the web, building audience relationships, revenue opportunties and the power of live reads.

Very well worth your time - scroll down and see here (then check out the rest of the videos - including "The Presidents of Radio").

Thanks to Fred and Paul Jacobs for sharing.

Wednesday Night Update

2008-11-12T21:04:00.007-05:00

44° - overcast at 9:03pm

If you've been a longtime reader to this blog - you'd think that after two straight posts about Detroit's WCSX, I'd move on to...well, perhaps Chicago's WDRV. But no.

Detroit PPM numbers have been released and WCSX and clustermate WRIF both saw some great numbers, once again showing that PPM is good for rock! All-Access reported today (and thank you Lee for passing along) these rankings for the two Greater Media Detroit rockers:

WRIF: #1 12+; #2 25-54; #1 18-49; #2 18-34
WCSX: #2 12+; #4 25-54; #4 18-49; #9 18-34

Very nice! And congrats to Cluster Director of Rock Programming Doug Podell and his crew on both stations. The market curious as to what becomes of WCSX mornings; details could come as soon as Monday.

Bob Coburn/Rockline. One of the best programs on the air; and Bob signs a new deal with Dial-Global for distribution. Program website here. The program sells its archives on the site (not for broadcast use); the collection is priceless.

Speaking of archiving: Back on Sunday, this blog made reference to John Gorman's Buzzard (Book) Blog and the fact that aside from lots of great stories, John offers some audio and visual glimpses into the history of one of the world's heritage album rockers.

I wrapped up the post, suggesting that stations need to archive their audio assets and preserve them for future use; and that brought a note from the legendary Mr. Gorman himself:

Dan,

The original WMMS archives, which were well maintained from the early seventies on, were destroyed in the early nineties when the station moved to a new, smaller location and was under management that had little interest in preserving its past.

The archives contained nearly every interview, every concert broadcast, and hundreds of hours of random airchecks and classic spots.

At the time we didn't know why we were saving everything. We felt there would be historical value to it someday. The Internet wasn't even a dream at that time - but had they been saved, an Internet site could have been set up to house the material, much like the Wolfgang site did for Bill Graham's concert broadcasts.

Different management and different times. The new managers viewed a room full of tapes as reusable goods and the few tapes saved were shipped off to the unheated, no-air conditioned transmitter site, where most were destroyed by natural elements - flooding, critters, etc.

We learned of the archives' fate when I paid a visit to the transmitter site in 1994 and chewed up and unrolled tapes submerged in six inches of water. A few were apparently lifted - and some showed up years later at garage sales and flea markets. In fact, I was just contacted by someone last week who bought a couple of concert tapes at a rural flea markets hundreds of miles away.

Nearly all of what I have been able to recover so far has come from former listeners' taped-from-the-radio private collections. The Townshend interview came from a listener who later became an intern at the station and, today, manages a group of stations.

I stress to every radio station to find a way to save as much as you can. You never know....

A very sad story indeed. If you have an archive, official or not, preserve it. Share your heritage with your listeners if not on the air, on the web. Just save it.

More tomorrow.

Handling Change With Class: WCSX

2008-11-12T08:01:00.010-05:00

This really isn't the WCSX blog...but...

Yesterday, WCSX/Detroit let go its longtime well-respected morning show. Changes like this do happen, but more often than not its done without any notice or respect for the listener. Not at WCSX. Shortly after the meeting with affected staffers, this went out to the station's listener database:

Added: This is something to stick in your playbook and is far more listener-friendly than just taking the talent off the website.

More here late today.

When It All Comes Together

2008-11-11T06:48:00.005-05:00

33° - overcast at 7:17am

Kudos to Greater Media/Detroit's Marketing people again for more brilliance. Back in June, I mentioned here on this blog that the company's WCSX was hitting a home run with "Putting The Workforce Back To Work", with job listings and email updates for registered listeners looking for work.

The company is taking it a step farther with a "networking party" this Thursday night to bring participating employers and potential employees together. Also attending is a career counseling firm. See here.

Very cool. I have to believe that there's some NTR dollars involved here. Add the timely nature of the unemployment situation (especially here in Michigan - far above the national average), plus a web component and you've got a win/win for the station, employers and those listeners sitting on the beach right now. This scores points with everyone.

If you're a PD in a market with high unemployment - take this example into your next meeting with your GM, sales and promotion manager. Ideas like this are worth sharing.

Sunday Morning Odds & Sods

2008-11-09T11:15:00.015-05:00

37° - overcast at 11:14am

Good Morning from Okemos.

After a week of continued great autumn weather with daytime highs in the 70s, colder weather finally traveled across Lake Michigan and yesterday colder temperatures and rain hit with predictions for snow. ~~No white stuff here yet.~~ Spoke too soon. White flakes are coming down as of 10:30am eastern time.

Recharging my batteries. Yesterday the day job hosted its 4th annual "Broadcast Career Builder Conference" (BCBC); a day filled with industry leaders talking to college and trade school students who want to enter broadcasting/electronic media. It was awesome to see/feel the enthusiasm for this business from those who want to enter, even after some of the sessions were quite blunt about downsizing, consolidation and the changing skill set needed in today's environment.

One of the highlights of the day was a session titled "Marketing Yourself for a Successful Career in Broadcasting", moderated by local WLNS-TV News Director Phil Hendrix that included a great presentation by Jay Kruz of Bonneville's WSWD/Cincinnati; plus participation by Midwest Communications (Kalamazoo) OM Brian Hayes and former XM air talent Sari Zalesin.

Jay Kruz - who at age 24 and a PD in market 29 was an inspiration for many attendees and wonderful to chat with aftewards. One word of advice from Mr. Kruz to his college audience was to Google yourself and clean up those Facebook pages, among others - if neccessary.

Related: Consultant Harve Alan talks about your online brand (you, not your station) here.

I also had a chance to chat with Rich Padgen from Detroit's Radio Disney station (WFDF). Want to dive head-deep into promotions? Work for a Radio Disney station. They're on the street all the time.

Props to MAB's Julie Sochay for organizing the event for a fourth year as well as to MAB President/CEO Karole White; and to Citadel/Saginaw Market Manager Chris Monk, this year's Committee Chairman of the Conference.

Listening this morning: My usual Sunday routine...WDRV/Chicago's Rock 'N Roll Roots followed by WKLH/Milwaukee's Rock 'N Roll Roots program.

Reading this morning: Rick Kaempfer's Chicago Radio Spotlight shines on Mancow, who - aside form his long running syndicated morning show - just landed a prime gig on some legendary call letters. Read here.

Programming: Still getting caught up on posting reading recommendations from my blog hiatus. A series of great posts are from Country consultant Jaye Albright who writes about "Ingredients Of A Great Country Music Radio Station."

Let Jaye's comments serve as thought/discussion starters for your station no matter the format. Part one here. Part two here. Part three here.

Contribute To Revenue. One session yesterday at the above-mentioned BCBC was "Creating Job Security By Creating Broadcast Revenue". Couldn't spend much time in the room with other responsibilities - but as a related sidenote, Fred Jacobs writes in this week's FMQB about PDs contributing to sales in this day and age, offering some specific suggestions. A great read here.

Follow-up: On Tuesday, I pointed to a Seth Godin piece on "Marketing Lessons from the US Election" - and how those lessons relate to radio. Seth's piece also caught the attention of Mark Ramsey. Read here.

Fun Read: John Gorman continues to offer a glimpse into the glory days of WMMS/Cleveland through his Buzzard Blog - and offers a great piece on fighting the battle with the competition. Read here.

Speaking of: Gorman offers a ton of audio, video and related material on WMMS on his blog. As an example, John offers audio from a 1979 Pete Towshend interview here. An example of memorable and timeless material that should be archived and available on the station's website! Audio/Video/Photos...whatever.

Is there someone in your station responsible for archiving your treasured programming assets and making them available on your website? If not, there should be. In radio, too much of what goes over the air is never heard again. This material makes great long-term web content.

Aside from the web, there's got to be much material that can be recycled for use in imaging and special artist weekends. Watch VH-1 or MTV. They save everything and reuse just about all of it sooner or later.

Have a great Sunday.

What I Said (or) What He Said...

2008-11-05T07:28:00.009-05:00

40° - clear at 7:27am

Good Morning from Michigan.

This past Monday, I wrote on this blog my worries about the present state of this industry, noting that the present staffing cutbacks, while they might provide corporate shareholders with short-term gains, they may in fact do long-term damage to the industry.

Over the last 12 hours - I've come across some similar pieces with the same concerns. First from Fred Jacobs writing this morning on his blog:

"...amidst all the cutting, radio certainly isn't going to sound better. When you see major league PDs like Bob Buchman and Larry Sharp on the street - despite sporting great ratings in the nation's biggest markets - you have to wonder whether all the budget cutting isn't going to eventually start eroding great brands that took years to build. As research, marketing, staffing, management, and yes, consulting is being sliced out of budgets, stations are going to need more than inertia to stay compelling, much less listenable."

"So, ask yourself whether radio companies are tightening belts or actually tightening the noose. It's a tough, but a fair question as the last quarter of the year plays out."

And...in a new-to-me post from last week - consultant Alan Mason looks at the present economy, noting:

"CBS has responded by cutting all of the staff of WSJT in Tampa except one person to do remotes and endorsements. Here's a station that's top ten 12+, and the product is being degraded. I'm not so sure that new technology is a growing threat as our own lack of interest in the product is pushing people toward it."

"This isn't the time for corporate thinking, it's the time for entrepreneurial thinking. Those who can see beyond the next quarter have been blessed with a huge opportunity to grow and build equity while the corporate dinosaurs cut, cut, cut. Your actions, what you do right now, will be the deciding factor."

Alan's post here.

I get the need to tighten belts in bad economic times. Most of my career has been spent with tight budgets and getting the most out of available dollars. But with recent events, are some companies and/or brands "saving" their way to irrelevance?

I'm really not a doom and gloom guy, but all this is hard to ignore.

Added: In this morning's Taylor-On-Radio newsletter (11/5) - Saga CEO Ed Christian offers some rational thinking, saying radio should be "careful that we don't eat our seed corn" with extreme cuts. "You mustn't chop off the things that make the business grow, long term."

Read more here (registration required).

A Good Read From Seth

2008-11-04T21:34:00.002-05:00

47° - clear at 9:33pm

While watching the election returns tonight with my trusty laptop by my side, I just read a great piece by Seth Godin: "Marketing lessons from the US election".

Most if not all of what Seth writes about in this piece can be applied to radio - from what you do on air, how you respond to a competitor and how you market your radio station.

Worthwhile reading here.

2008-11-04T08:14:00.007-05:00

49° - overcast at 8:12am

Good Morning From Okemos, Michigan.

Congrats: To WDRV/Chicago's Bob Stroud on releasing Volume 10 of his Rock & Roll Roots CD series, with proceeds going to charity. The CD series an extension of his long-running Sunday Morning "Rock 'N Roll Roots" program. I covered the release of Volume 9 last year here. Read more about this year's CD on The Drive website here.

Election Day: Headed down the street to my polling place on the way to work this morning. Starbucks offering a free cup of java if you go in and tell them you voted. Harve Alan asks: "What "free for a day" styled promotion could radio be doing to rekindle interest in our aging brands?"

Meanwhile - Dave Lange makes some observations with "Lessons for Radio From Campaign 08" - a great read here.

Yesterday I wrote about the cutback virus that is spreading throughout the industry. Not to ignore those who find themselves out of work, but I feel that those who still have a job in radio need some TLC and attention during these tough times.

Dave Martin - in the second part of a series for media CEOs titled "Execution, Not Excuses", notes that 2009 is "mission critical" for HR:

"As a practical matter, making HR important beyond compliance issues will be a new concept for many media firms. We have to start treating our employees like our best customers. Every person on the payroll is talent. Employees help the company achieve its goals by becoming the best at what they do."

"Leadership must create the context in which people can do their best work. An important part of the D in R&D is HR-D. The key to growing profits is growing people. Employees deserve and need an advocate, that's a critical mission for HR."

As I've written here before - PDs have the responsibility of being an advocate for their staff as well as station listeners. Fear is counter-productive - and in talking to others still employed in the industry, there's too much of it getting in the way of the job.

As a sidenote, PDs also now - more than ever, need to be an advocate for their station's sales departments when neccessary...and find ways to make revenue opportunities integrate well with programming and listenership goals.

More later today. Get out and vote!

Back but....

2008-11-03T13:54:00.013-05:00

...(more than ever) feeling uneasy about our industry.

While I've been away from the blog for several weeks now - I haven't been away from the trades. October was a pretty disturbing month with the unprecidented layoffs happening in our industry. Lots of talent, both on-air and off being shown the door. This includes voices from all shifts as well as behind-the-scenes programming folk.

This past Friday (10/31), All Access reported that it "has obtained an internal memo from a major broadcaster that seems to foretell the demise of live and local night shows. It reads "Nights on all stations to be tracked by full or part-time staff -- or syndicated." More than the usual Halloween scare.

Reading about some of the dayparts affected throughout the country, it appears middays may not be too far behind nights in the land of "endangered shifts". Prime workforce listening hours. And that's sad.

Its no question that the tough economic environment is simply adding to the turmoil we've all seen in our industry in the past 18 to 24 months. More than a few times in the past several weeks, I've made reference in conversation to those in the biz (casually, I'm not bitter, really!) about my involuntary "hiatus" from radio only to be reminded that its simply not a good time to be in radio; and I'm fortunate to be employed on the sidelines. Indeed.

Two people who I have great respect for (names you would know; I don't have permission to quote from our private conversations) have said that 2010 will be radio's recovery year. I can't wait.

Meanwhile, I fear that cuts in "people assets" - all in the name of short-term shareholder value is really doing long-term harm to the industry.

Greater Media Chairman of the Board Peter Smyth writes in his November column today that radio will survive and once again prosper. Read here.

I share Peter's optimism. There's no better industry. And I've been at it since the 1970s.

Glad to be back; more to come - and thanks for reading.

Thanks for reading.

Dan

2008-10-27T06:45:00.003-04:00

The Weekend Classic Rock FM

2008-10-10T08:16:00.002-04:00

41° - clear at 8:09am

Happy Friday!

Earlier this week I was made privy to Chicago's September PPM release. WDRV a solid #1 P25-54, in a 2-way tie for #3 P12+ (with WLS-FM) and #3 P18-49. All numbers M-Sun 6a-12mid. Congrats again to PD Patty Martin.

Around the dial:

Hot Moms 2008! Who doesn't like Hot Moms? New York's Q104.3 (which scored well in PPM too!) repeating their successful Hot Mom contest. Great web promo. Winner gets 5 grand. There's two age groups (under/over 35).

See the finalists so far plus a video message from the 2007 winner here. A great promotion that's right on target with the demo.

Meanwhile...WGRF/Buffalo is searching for Buffalo's sexiest Bills fan. A great promotion as 97 Rock is the flagship station of the team. See the contestants here.

The People's Hall of Fame. WNCX/Cleveland is putting together their own listener-voted rock Hall of Fame. A great website promotion that can engage listeners. See it here.

Very nice! WKLH/Milwaukee midday goddess Marilyn Mee wrapping up Storyteller Week. The stories behind the songs from the artists themselves. And you've been wondering what to do with all those old "In The Studio" disks in your file cabinet! Check out the audio here.

Last Band Standing. Clear Channel's KUFX/San Jose underway with their 5th annual Last Band Standing contest. Competition is between local classic rock cover bands. This can work in almost market large or small and costs almost nothing to pull off. Details here.

Have a great Friday.

Greater Media/Detroit Scores Again!

2008-10-09T07:57:00.005-04:00

As we countdown to November 4th - the Greater Media cluster in Detroit has launched (going back a few months now) a great resource site for Michigan voters - Shut Up and Vote Michigan:

The site features voter registration links, a list of sites on where to vote, guest bloggers, videos from WRIF, WCSX and WMGC personalities encouraging listeners to vote, games, clips from SNL and lots more.

A great listener resource put together by the cluster's marketing unit. Kudos to Greater Media/Detroit Director of Interactive Marketing Jennifer Williams and everyone involved!

Wednesday Blogs

2008-10-08T10:02:00.010-04:00

60° - light rain/mist at 10am. Left: view from the day job window - a mixed office/residential area on the northside of downtown Lansing.

Good Morning from Michigan. Clouds/fog/rain - but quite warm this morning. A nice rainy fall day.

Around my blogosphere:

Listener Engagement. We've written about this many times over the last 20 months. This morning Fred Jacobs contributes more to the conversation this morning. With apologies to my friend for overquoting:

"A radio station social networking initiative is about engagement. It is about providing listeners with the chance to discuss, dig deeper, and get even more emotional about your people and your programming. Until now, the audience has been forced to remain passive, with the exception of showing up at station events. With social networking, they can get in the game, participate, and become more loyal and knowledgeable about a station and its brand."

"It's just a matter of providing them with the means to connect with one another. We see this at focus groups and Listener Advisory Board groups. Ten strangers come together to talk about your station, and end up in the parking lot, arguing and sharing their views about music, bands, and yes, your station. Many other consumer brands would kill to have the type of emotional connection that many stations have with their customers."

Would kill indeed! Very cool stuff! Fred's post here.

Telling It Like It Is. Mark Ramsey sums up the current PPM controversy/litigation in a few words:

"This is a case of the interests of the radio industry and its advertisers being hijacked by a small number of selfish parties who don't like PPM because PPM doesn't like them as much as diaries do. Pure and simple."

Mark's complete post here.

Webcasting: Monday's Edison Media-sponsored Streaming/Music Royalties was fantastic (although the audio quality a little less than ideal). If you missed, its archived here.

During the webcast - Attorney David Oxenford had some great contributions to the webcast and offered some great real world ideas for radio, especially the smaller markets to expand their reach and consumer convenience.

David mentioned making your newscasts available for listening anytime on the web...and stations that do local sports offering 3 or 4 area games through web streaming; since you can only do one on the air (of course, HD could change that!). High School sports typically means $ for small market radio.

It was time well-spent and kudos to Edison Media's Tom Webster for putting it all together.

Scratch. Pop. Click. Vinyl on the air. Randy Raley's doing it once a week...tracking an album on his classic rock station in Normal, Illinois. Very cool. Read about the adventure here.

Have a great Wednesday!

Online Event Today at 12 noon Eastern

2008-10-06T09:47:00.001-04:00

61 - light rain at 9:47am

Sorry for the late notice - intended to include in an earlier post - but my Outlook calendar just popped up with a web meeting today hosted by Edison Media Research. The topic: "Music Royalties and the Future of Online Webcasting".

This will certainly be of interest to anyone involved with streaming - either commercial or non-commercial. From Edison Media's site:

Join us on Monday, October 6th at NOON Eastern (9AM PST) for an interactive panel discussion where you'll hear perspectives on the issue from:

* Tim Westergren, Chief Strategy Officer and Founder of Pandora
* Kurt Hanson, CEO of AccuRadio
* Alan Levy, CEO, BlogTalkRadio
* David Oxenford, Partner, Davis Wright Tremaine, LLP

The discussion will be moderated by Tom Webster, Vice President of Strategy and Marketing for Edison Media Research. Listeners can call in LIVE during the event at (347) 205-9090, or submit questions before the event to Tom Webster.

For more information - or to access the event, click here.

Sunday Morning Odds & Sods

2008-10-05T07:55:00.010-04:00

57° - sunny at 10:50am

Good Morning from Okemos.

Time just seems limited lately with much going on with the day job, including increased duties and responsibilities; sometimes the best intentions to post get sidetracked.

Today its car repair 101 (replacing a ignition switch in the family mini-van) as well as my youngest boy's first flag football game on the season.

Listening: This morning to WDRV's Bob Stroud (surprised?); later if time permits its Steve Palec on Milwaukee's WKLH.

HD Radio. By now you've probably read that there's a proposal to require HD Radio capabilities to satellite radio receivers. ARS Technica reports that the bill would require this of satellite radios that also recieve AM & FM broadcasts. Thinking deeper, this could simply mean that satellite radios could be built without AM/FM capabilities - and thus, no HD.

Of course, would Detroit do installs of (pay) satellite-only radios? I think/hope not. Certainly the requirement could be a shot in the arm for HD. Of course why not simply requiring HD in all radios? Yeah, I understand the Ibiquity royalty deal. Perhaps Ibiquity would have to rethink their license deals. FM didn't take off until it was required in most radios starting in 1974. Before that date, I'm sure their were lots of naysayers questioning whether FM was either neccessary or something the public wanted.

In the meantime - HD-2 and HD-3 channels will succeed with programming thats not neccessarily mainstream - just as FM itself was back through the mid-70s. That includes today's version of "underground radio" (think Detroit's Riff-2), classical music and foreign-language programming.

I pointed out on an engineering discussion list a few days ago that in the early 70s, Chicago had three class B FMs that devoted much, if not all their broadcast day to brokered ethnic programming. Much of this has since gone to weaker suburban AM signals or subcarriers requiring special receivers.

Welcome Jay Philpott. Received an email this past week from Jay who turns me on to his blog and a great piece with audio on Bruce Springsteen - who apparently will be playing at the forthcoming Super Bowl. Check out a piece of rare, wonderful audio from The Boss here.

Congrats: This past week to Detroit's Mark Pennington - who was promoted to PD of the legendary WRIF by OM Doug Podell. A well deserved promotion. Thats to Lee Arnold for the tip.

More Radio Career Stories. Rick Kaempfer's Chicago Radio Spotlight this week shines on KXNT/KSFN Las Vegas Program Director Jack Landreth. Read here.

Have a great Sunday.

Wednesday Blogs

2008-09-24T07:45:00.002-04:00

54° - clear at 7:39am

Good Morning from Okemos

Robert Feder. His retirement is radio's loss. Feder - well known columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times who's written with passion for the medium and his market has announced that he'll be accepting a buy-out package and leaving in the coming weeks. If you followed Chicago radio, you read Feder.

Sean Ross of Edison Media writes more about Feder here.

Weekly Update. Longtime friend and consultant Dave Lange now posting a weekly review of radio news with "The Radio Week That Was". Check it out on Dave's blog here.

More Voices. Audience Development Group's Kevin Robinson and Tim Moore are both offering their take on the business - each with a weekly email. Just started receiving this week. Subscriptions are free here.

Around The Dial: WZLX/Boston offering listeners a chance at cash with "Dilating For Dollars". Staffer Heather from the station's morning show is expecting.

The listener who comes closest to the date and time of birth wins. See more here.

Congrats to WLAV. The Grand Rapids classic rock station wins two Marconi awards at last week's NAB. Very awesome!

Will have more tonight. Have a great day.

Sunday Morning Odds & Sods

2008-09-21T12:58:00.007-04:00

63° - overcast at 12:54pm

Happy Sunday from Michigan.

I be back. Lots of catching up to do over the past week; work and other projects just taking priority, but I do appreciate the visits to this blog.

Listening. This morning to Bob Stroud on Chicago's WDRV. Featured artist is Jim Croce who passed away 35 years ago. Later: Steve Palec on Milwaukee's WKLH. As I tuned in, Steve was featuring U2 with some great sound bites. BTW...kudos to WKLH on their new website. Very nice!

NAB. Looks like one of the best radio shows (and that includes the R&R Convention as well as the Jacobs Media Summit) in years - wish I had been there.

I'm still making my way through all the press reports - but there's a couple of things that caught my eye.

In a session devoted to content - talent coach Steve Reynolds repeated a thought I've passed along many times on this blog before: "...Consumers are drawn to two things: truth and humanity. You can't BS consumers."

Indeed. (Dave Lange just convered this topic on his blog over the past month - and this past week offered part 4 of his series on authenticity here.)

Discussions on content appeared to have revolved around asking listeners what they want. Nothing new there; but sometimes just a reminder.

Along with traditional research, programmers in PPM markets now have a great tool to provide them with audience behavior; and knowledge gained through PPM will trickle down to the diary markets.

On the topic of: "PPM Prep School" attendees were given a PPM Tip Sheet that included:

Teach and encourage airstaff the "Art of the Tease," the benefits of forward momentum, and appointment setting to garner another occasion of listening and its value.
Keep an event log of you and your competitors' inordinate programming events (pro sports games/broadcasts, special weekends, dates of your marketing).
PPM is a new world that measures actual exposure vs. recall so content is king.
More listeners listen to more stations than we ever thought before (from 2-3 with the diary to 5-6 with the meter).
Minimizing the reasons to tune out will be the new mantra.

R&R offers great coverage of what went down in Austin here. Be sure to read thoughts on talent coaching and development...good stuff. Let's rock.

Recruiting Air Talent. Consultant Jaye Albright tips us to one station's efforts to recruit with online video:

I'm unclear as to where the station posted this to attract prospective applicants, but its a great piece that tells a lot about the station, the co-host you might be working with - and the market. Nice!

Catching up with Rick: Every Sunday, Chicago's Rick Kaempfer posts some great interviews on his Chicago Rado Spotlight blog. This week he catches up with former WKQX AM Drive talent Alan Cox. Read here.

Last week Rick spent time with consultant Kevin Robinson. I've been fortunate to speak with Kevin in the back and I just admire his resume. A must-read here.

Have a great Sunday.

Fall Book Promos: President or VP?

2008-09-12T09:10:00.006-04:00

70° - overcast at 9:09am

Good Morning and Happy Friday from Michigan.

Fall book begins in less than a week. Starting to see some promotional activity around the country....I'm certain more stations will roll out there first phase plans early next week. Here's what I've seen so far:

Buffalo's WGRF is giving its listeners an opportunity to become the "President of 97 Rock". The station used imagination and resources to put together a great prize package that looks like a modest cash outlay. See here.

WAXQ/New York is offering listeners a chance to become the "VP of Rock"...in a twist of the Workforce Payroll promo. Also adds a CGM element to the mix as listeners get to make their favorite classic rock song part of the contest. See the web execution here.

Very cool in Detroit: WCSX is giving its younger listeners a chance to go to the "School of Rock" with a song-of-the-day promotion. Plus win an autographed guitar. Another high-impact/low-cost promo! More here.

KGB/San Diego and its Dave, Shelly and Chainsaw morning show (one of the best, IMHO) is offering listeners $1000 a day in September. Here.

With AC/DC hitting the road to support their new release, there's opportunities for lots of station promos and tie-ins this fall. Have seen a few already around the country. WBLM/Portland is one of 'em - offering listeners a chance to attend a "secret dress rehearsal show". Here.
AC/DC tour dates

More promos as I see 'em!

Wednesday Blogs

2008-09-10T07:26:00.007-04:00

40° - clear at 7:18am

Good Morning from Mid-Michigan. Autumn appears to have arrived early; its a bit chilly.

Just a few things from my blogosphere......

The Death of Radio? I don't think so. Our industry receives so much bad press in spite of its domination.

Consultant Fred Jacobs offers up a great post this morning on his blog....the realities both good and not-so.

A highlight:

"...terrestrial radio is already a great distribution outlet that reaches well more than 90% of Americans each week. As an advertising vehicle and a way to drive web traffic, its long-term viability has been proven."

However:

"Radio still has some monster brands, but you'd never know it by the way they are often hidden from listeners and from advertisers. Only in radio do the highest rated stations so often get overlooked when it's time to dole out those precious marketing dollars. In radio, you don't get medical care until you get sick."

Ouch. And how true in too many cases. Catch Fred's piece here.

Dave Lange on Authenticity - Part 3. Dave continues his great series on being authentic. And in this installment takes a look at what's going on in Chicago - with a station often highlighted on this blog:

"While there are many stations that stand out with high Authentic scores one great example to listen to is The Drive in Chicago. The main claim for the station is basic and simple - The Sound Track of Our Lives. Notice that they use 'our' not 'your' - which would assume that somehow they knew Your life."

"The presentation is also low key. There isn't a big voice booming announcer making sweeping big balls statements. The avoid the laser shot gimmicks in the production and often rely on classic song hooks to showcase the 'soundtrack.'"

"And when you look at the results the Drive has pushed past the legendary Loop complete with Brandmeier. They have also run past WXRT which likely had the 'authentic' Q-score before the Drive signed on."

Dave's piece is a must-read (here); and also serves as another acknowledgment of the great strategy and execution by Greg Solk and Patty Martin at Bonneville/Chicago. Who owns the "authentic" score in your market?

Make it a great day.

Monday Monday

2008-09-08T07:18:00.002-04:00

54° - partly cloudy at 7:15am

Hello from Okemos.

The weekend spent on the forthcoming internet station. I'm confident that online beta testing will begin by the end of month, perhaps sooner. Still have some key library categories to fill. Stay tuned!

Bob & Tom. Radio on TV. In Friday's FMQB, the dynamic duo out of Indianapolis discuss their new deal with WGN America. Read here.

Fall book begins in ten days. Along with the next PPM cycle. Its never too late to prep. Jaye Albright offers some tips for program directors here.

Meanwhile, author/agent of change Seth Godin writes about "Fixing The One Big Thing". Very relevant to radio on the air and off. Read here.

Radio Stories. Rick Kaempfer chatted with WBBM-FM/Chicago's Eddie Volkman. Read here. I grew up watching Eddie's dad on Chicago television.

Live Tracks. Doing a "live cuts" weekend? These have been out for several years - but found them on Ebay and got them cheap for the internet project: SNL25/Saturday Night Live: The Musical Performances Volumes 1 & 2.

Some great stuff, though much of it out of the traditional classic rock format.

Volume 1 features Elvis Costello's 1977 performance of "Radio Radio", including the false start of what he was scheduled to sing that night.

The day job awaits. More later.

Local Hero

2008-09-05T07:10:00.004-04:00

67° - drizzle at 7:09am

Good Morning from Michigan.

This is simply a great promotion - from WPYX in Albany. Has localism, heart, community and listener participation. And can be done with any similar jobs in your community.

With the anniversary of 9/11 coming up, this is very timely. But it really can be done anytime of the year.

Check out WPYX's web execution here.

A great job WPYX!

Catching Up...

2008-09-03T23:46:00.011-04:00

66° - light rain at 11:45pm

Back after a busy couple of days - between kids beginning the school year and busy schedules with the jobs. The research work has really picked up as of late in the past several weeks.

Congrats: Again to Chicago's WDRV...for pulling off the next-to-impossible now with two pre-currency PPMs in a row. I wish I could share - If what I've seen is any indication of the future, the Drive is going to rock the Windy City.

Special kudos to WDRV PD Patty Martin who simply pilots a great radio station; if you've read this blog for any length of time, you know its been one of my favorites for years now.

So Long: To Don LaFontaine. A man who motivated millions - most never knew his name. The movies will never be the same.

Wow. Google's new web browser. Lightning fast. Tried it last night. Still in beta; test with caution - there's still a few issues to be worked out.

Changing radio station behavior. On Tuesday, Dave Martin wrote a great piece that began:

"One of my goals in 2008 is to meet the person that first decided it was a good idea to ask users to do something and then, when they do it more than
expected, you tell them that they've broken "the rules"
and that they're wrong. Bad user!"

"One call per month. One winner per household every thirty days. One "major prize" winner per household per year."

"What is happening here is the reverse of any effective heavy user program. The heavy user is being punished rather than rewarded for expressing your brand as a preference. We catch them behaving exactly as instructed and then we tell them that they're wrong. "How dare you show up again at another of our on location broadcasts!"

Dave's entire piece here. How do you reward heavy listeners? Share.

Around the dial:

Today is Zeptember 3rd. Celebrating Zeptember...WZLX/Boston, WCSX/Detroit and WLAV/Grand Rapids....very cool! WCSX devoting their HD-2 channel fulltime to Zeppelin through September 7th. A full rundown of special WCSX "Zeptember" programming here.

WDRV/Chicago kicked off A to Z yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon at 3. A feature that still brings high TSL everywhere I've done it!

Thanks for stopping by.

Labor Day Weekend On The Radio

2008-08-31T11:39:00.008-04:00

83° - sunny at 11:38am

Good Morning from Okemos.

Listening to Bob Stroud's Sunday Morning WDRV program. This morning Bob featuring the music of Labor Day Weekend 1968. As I type this - he's playing a bubblegum classic "1,2,3 Red Light" by the 1910 Fruitgum Company.

Its been 40 years and I'm sad to say that I still know the words - there's brain cells that apparently can't be overwritten. (It was a great pop song - I heard that Talking Heads used to perform it!)

Driving around town a few times this weekend, its apparent that I'm one of the few left in town with most of the normal folk sneaking in one last getaway before summer unofficially ends.

That said - normal weekend listening habits also change - and as usual many classic rock stations around the country are using the 3-day holiday to do something special on the air and working extra hard to build some quarter hours.

In New York, WAXQ (Q104.3) is using the extended weekend to air the Top 104 albums of all time. See the list here.

WZLX/Boston is celebrating the weekend airing blocks of music from the "50 Greatest Guitarists of All Time". See the list of the 50 here. Very cool 'ZLX!

In Kansas City, KCFX (The Fox) is counting down the 500 Greatest Classic Rock Songs Of All Time.

KSAN/San Francisco's Labor Day programming is one created by the listeners with a "Listener Playlist Weekend". See the web setup/playlist recruitment here.

In Tucson, KLPX is putting listeners on the air with the "Cheap Labor Day Weekend". They've got a script posted on their website along with a phone number for listeners to call in and read back for air. I like this. The setup here.

WHLK/Madison (The Lake) is airing the ""Top 93 Album Sides of All Time." Every hour starts with a classic rock album side: "Music the way it was meant to be heard...on vinyl, one side at a time." Very nice!

In Philadelphia, WMGK is doing a "Labor Day Double Play" weekend with 2-fers all weekend long.

And on Monday, WGRF/Buffalo (97 Rock) is devoting the day to something we mentioned here a few weeks back - a countdown of the Top 20 Concerts at (local venue) Rich Stadium. Very cool. Combining listener input to create content that's truly local to Buffalo. More here.

Did I miss something you're doing? Let me know!

Enjoy the rest of the weekend.

Recommended Viewing: You Tube 101

2008-08-28T08:08:00.001-04:00

Actually the title of this is "An anthropological introduction to YouTube" - a presentation by Kansas State University Professor Michael Wesch at the Library of Congress this past June.

But it goes far beyond that. Lots of insight into the consumer generated media world.

Share with everyone at your station:

Kudos to Bob Lefsetz for the tip.

Added: This morning's post from Fred Jacobs. Subject: YouTube.

Brainstorm Session

2008-08-27T11:01:00.010-04:00

65° - mostly clear at 11:00am

Driving into downtown Lansing this morning, I was tuned to NPR's Morning Edition. On the air was Reporter David Greene with one installment of a series titled "Take Me To Your Leader"; interviewing andspeaking with leaders (who are not neccessarily politicians).

In this morning's installment, he spoke to a small town fire chief and the challenges of his job. Listen here.

It was great storytelling and terrific radio. What came to mind as I was listening was how a classic rock station could do something similar. And not with just "leaders", but with everyday listeners.

I feel there's lots of interesting stories you can share listener-to-listener...be it about their job, hobbies and activities - including sports and volunteer work...even great concerts they've attended.

Of course the common denominator is that they listen to your radio station!

Thought for use: 60 to 90sec stopset fill for your internet feeds. Beats the crap out of Smokey Bear or another McGruff PSA. Make them available as podcasts/downloads on your website. Plug them on the air using the names of the listeners. Make your listener "stars". Everybody has their 15-minutes...why not with your station?

All a great way to bond and make them love you for life. The kind of word-of-mouth that no ad budget can buy. Some stations have been doing this visually on their websites (example above right and here) for some time now - and thats wonderful too. Perhaps these audio pieces could tie in with a like campaign.

Thought for production: Edit the bits well so they don't get too slow. Background music is likely appropriate; but watch licensing issues if you'll be podcasting.

Thought for recruitment: Don't make this a "sign up" feature on your website. Its not a contest.

Interviews could be part of a Listener Advisory Board meeting; or you could do what has been suggested on this blog before and have your airstaff call listeners in your database to thank them for listening; perhaps do a little informal perceptual research on their feelings about the station; and then probe them a little for what they do for work, their off-time hobbies and interests and the so forth.

With this "screening" process, you then can suggest that you'd like to talk further with either an invitation to the station or go out in the field with a recorder. Sometimes natural sound in the background can add lots. Bring some swag to show thanks.

You and your staff you could take this, refine, improve and take to the next level.

Radio needs more storytellers. Why not have some of those stories come from your listeners and make them part of the product? Think "ownership".

I'm reminded of something Dave Martin contributed to this blog a month of so ago. In a comment on this blog, Dave shared a "trade secret" he gives his TV clients:

"One of our best practices is called "Names make news." We are in the hunt for local folks doing things right,locals celebrating (new job, promotion on the job, anniversary, wedding, birth, achievements by their children), locals coming together for good (church bake sale to benefit a family, charity auctions)."

"When people get together they talk about PEOPLE. Our clients are never challenged on this because the competition thinks it's goofy. It is goofy only to those in the business."

This idea certainly similar in nature.

Just a little brainstorming this morning....have a great Wednesday.

Classic Rock Rules - from Fred Jacobs

2008-08-25T16:25:00.008-04:00

"Music that has stood the test of time"

Read Here

(I love stuff like this - share it with your programming and sales staff !!!)

Monday Morning Quotes

2008-08-25T07:08:00.016-04:00

53° - clear at 8:15am

Good Morning from Okemos.

My oldest (Tyler, pictured left) turned 13 yesterday. Everybody says it - but its true: time passes way too fast with kids.

Labor Day Weekend coming up. I promise to run down special programming in the next day or two. What have you got planned? Please share!

Some quotes seen over the past couple days - first from Fred Jacobs:

"And yes, if it was a radio programmer running the Obama campaign, that text would have gone out at 7:20 Thursday Morning."

Fred - writing about Obama...and "whats the digital application?". Makes for a great read and food for thought for your radio station. Here.

A quote from Greater Media VP/Program Development Buzz Knight:

"As programmers, we have to understand that cultivating new air talent is critical to the future of our business. We have to be sensitive to how we are grooming new talent, a challenge for every company."

"Great talent adds great value to your brand. It is incumbent upon us to create talents that are great brands. We have to evolve with the times in our thinking of how to develop strong personalities. We as managers have to play significant roles in that process."

That's part of a great interview with Buzz in the current issue of FMQB. Read here.

Next from Dave Martin:

"...The six-word job description of the PD remains "Deliver numbers to the sales department." The PD is advocate for the group(s) formerly known as the audience. The four-word job description of the SM remains "Convert deliverables into cash." The SM is advocate for the paying customers."

"In the most effective organizations PDs and SMs are involved in an ongoing creative collaboration. The work is akin to the real-time improvisation one finds integral to jazz. A mix of equal parts art and science. Each player has a deep understanding and respect for producing results. Accordingly, there is art in commerce. Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose."

Dave reviews the classic product vs. sales debate here.

And from the brilliant mind of KEZK-KYKY/St. Louis PD Mark Edwards:

"I think sometimes management doesn't let talent do what they were hired to do. Whether its a big money morning man, a rookie weekender, or a PD, you have to let your people do their jobs. I have a tremendous amount of respect for great Air Personalities, partly because I was never that good on the air, but mostly because I've always tried to build a team with people who are specialists in what they do."

"When you clamp down on any kind of talent, you don't let them do what you hired them to do, so I'd rather let them do their "act", critique when its necessary, and make sure they know their limits, whether it be what they can talk about or how long a bit should be. Great local talent will always be broadcast radio's best weapon, and you have to let them be themselves as well as good station ambassadors on and off the air."

Mark is interviewed on Rick Kaempfer's Chicago Radio Spotlight here.

More later. The day job awaits...

Political Fun in Denver

2008-08-22T15:47:00.006-04:00

With the Democratic National Convention in town next week, Denver should be abuzz with politicians, tv, show biz, music and other celebrity-types.

Classic Rock KRFX morning drivers Lewis & Floorwax are taking advantage of the party by offering listeners cash prizes for getting the famous on the air with "Political Cellout 2008".

"If you can get them on your cell phone, and on our show, you'll have a chance of scoring cash, and our eternal respect and admiration."

An idea that can be adapted for other big events that might be happening in your town!

See more at The Fox website here.

The Weekend Classic Rock FM

2008-08-22T11:31:00.008-04:00

80° - light rain at 11:27am

Good Morning from downtown Lansing.

My 9-year old. For the past couple of weeks, he's been roaming around the house singing/humming "Carry On My Wayward Son"...courtesy of Guitar Hero.

Last weekend, I got him a CD of the Kansas album "Leftoverture"...perhaps he'll discover the rest of the album. My classic rock kid!

Even more PPM explained. Last week I passed along a link to Paragon Media Strategies - explaining the first ten of "20 More Things You Need to Know About PPM", as presented at the Morning Show Bootcamp.

Paragon's now posted narrative for another five of the twenty. Here.

Being an old album rock guy from the 70s - one caught my eye: "The art of the musical segue will be re-born in PPM. Keep ‘em listening, and don’t give ‘em reasons to tune out."

President of Radio. I've been following Fred Jacobs and his very clever and much needed session/discussion at upcoming Jacobs Media Summit. Fred has announced two more names for the panel; plus has published the entries for the 10th panelist (or "President"). Great stuff.

See the ideas here. Details on the session here.

Good Read: "Radio Law Is Meant To Be Broken (Strategically)". Edison Media's Sean Ross writes here.

Your station website. Earlier this week Broadcast Attorney David Oxenford posted a great piece on his Broadcast Law Blog regarding websites and localism. Copy and take to your next website strategy meeting. Here.

Bob & Tom TV. Randy Michaels and company brings some of radio's best to the tube via WGN America beginning in November. More here.

New AC/DC. Bob Leftsetz writes a great review here. Having read Bob's blog for several years now, I know his enthusiasm is genuine.

Have a great one.

Around The Dial...Around The Web

2008-08-14T07:58:00.009-04:00

60° - fog at 7:57am

Good Morning from Mid-Michigan. Big time ground fog outside my window this morning. Beautiful!

Congrats in order: To Bonneville's Greg Solk, WDRV/Chicago PD Patty Martin and the entire Drive staff for pulling off the impossible. I can't share details - but let's just say WDRV/The Drive is a very special radio station. Wait for PPM to become currency!

Fun Stuff: WKLH/Milwaukee holding its own "Summer Games". Get these themes: "8 Minute Marathon" (songs longer than 8 minutes, including "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida"); "Torch Light Ceremony" (songs about fire); "Boxing Competition" (songs about fighting); "Thrill Of Winning" (songs about winning); "Agony of Defeat" (songs about losing)...and more. Themes and set lists here.

Classic Rock. Classic Photos. Noted KGON/Portland and a page devoted to classic photos from the station's archives. What a great idea! Certainly there's a file folder of old photos stashed away somewhere in your station. Put 'em on the web! It can make your site just a little more sticky and help enhance your heritage image!

See KGON's "Time Trippin' With Gloria Johnson" gallery here.

Speaking of making your website "sticky": Buffalo's WGRF did it a few months back with their "Hottest Mom" contest. Now its the "97 Rock Bikini Photo Contest". Nice stuff! Local listener-generated content too! Look here.

WCSX and The Who help Detroit: Last Friday The Who announced that all their earnings from an upcoming October concert in the city will benefit two area charity organizations.

The band teamed up with Greater Media's WCSX in selecting the two organizations and the station inviting listeners to "Join Together With The Band to help these great local organizations while experienceing a night of amazing Rock ‘n Roll."

Kudos to OM/PD Doug Podell in pulling this off. An excellent way for a classic rock station to "give back" to the city. More here.

Have a great Thursday!

Late Shift Post

2008-08-13T22:44:00.003-04:00

63° - scattered clouds at 10:43am

Late night additions before bed...

Earlier today consultant Dave Lange offered another chapter in his series of posts on "Authenticity - The Key To Reviving Radio". Part 2 is on "over-hyping". Catch up here.

Fred Jacobs today announced the first two names for the "President of Radio" project. Congrats to Jerry Lee, owner of WBEB/Philadelphia - and to Harpo Radio GM John Gerhon. 8 more names to announce and one could be anyone. Details here.

Speaking of: Fred and brother Paul Jacobs wrote a great piece last week in FMQB titled "What is Programming To Win in 2008?". A must read on the present day realities of our industry - and the role of the program director. Here.

More tomorrow.

Wednesday Blogs

2008-08-13T09:22:00.002-04:00

64° - overcast at 9:21am

Good Morning from Okemos.

More catching up....

National Vinyl Record Day. It was yesterday - a somewhat informal celebration organized by Madison's Jim Bartlett (who also does weekends on classic rock WHLK). Catch the action on his blog here.

Rick Kaempfer. Rick has posted a number of great radio pieces on his "Chicago Radio Spotlight" as of late. This includes an interview with the legendary Clark Weber; WXRT's Lin Brehmer; WIMS/Michigan City owner Ric Federighi; and actor/personality KC Lupp. Good stuff. Start scrolling back here.

Bob Buchmann. Yesterday All Access quoted a New York Daily News article on the now-former WAXQ/New York PD. He applied for the Q104.3 job ten years ago after the then-manager of WNEW-FM declared that "rock radio could no longer work in New York". And on philosophy:

"We always took the long view," said BUCHMANN, "You can get a quick bounce by a TV ad campaign, but that's not the way we wanted to do it. If you build one listener at a time, they'll stay with you."

Good words. Brands are not built overnight. The Daily News piece is here. Another great read.

New York's Rock & Roll Tour. Had an email back on Monday from Jonathan Paisner with a company called City Listen. The company is offering an audio "guided Rock & Roll Tour of Manhattan":

"Walk in the footsteps of Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Bruce Springsteen and many more. New York City DJ Ken Dashow (WAXQ) takes you on a fascinating tour throughout the East and West Villages in Manhattan to some of the most legendary locales captured on vinyl."

Very cool. Website here. Reading that starts the brain thinking about what a station in a city with great rock heritage could do on air and on the web. Brainstorm with your staff if your city fits the mold.

Congrats. To Clear Channel programmer Tony Coles on his promotion to oversee the company's Chicago cluster. A great guy who will make great things happen.

Home today with a bug of some sort. More later.

Monday Monday (Late Edition)

2008-08-11T22:40:00.001-04:00

61° - cloudy at 10:29pm

Took the weekend off from the blog (not intentional) - hope it was good for you.

Around my blogosphere:

Dave Lange. Dave blogs about "Authenticity - The Key To Reviving Radio" here. Authenticity the backbone of progressive rock in the 60s and 70s - and AOR in the 70s and 80s. Part one of a great piece here.

Coincidently - after reading Dave's post today, I overheard the syndicated Ryan Seacrest weekday program on an office radio..and I swear I heard a sweeper soliciting listener "phone calls". This on a recorded/recycled bits show from Ryan's Los Angeles AMD program. How does that work? I certainly didn't hear any "listener calls" on the air. I immediately thought of Dave's piece where he writes about "gimmicks, hype and illusion". Whatever.

More authenticity: Coincidently, consultant Alan Mason writes about voice-tracking on his blog today. With apologies to Alan for over-quoting:

"...now I’m seeing talent and on-air PD’s who voice track their shows because they’re too busy to be on the air. I’ve even heard of talent who didn’t like their shift, so they voice track instead of being live. I can’t help but wonder, when did being on the air stop being a priority for on-air talent?"

"Yes, I know all the arguments about how busy you are, but let me ask you a question: How do you explain that to the listeners? "Well, I’d like to be engaging and interactive instead of just announcing, but I’m just too busy?”

"Think they don’t notice the difference? In case you haven’t noticed yourself, listeners are becoming more interactive, and want more relevance. It’s a big challenge to do that in voice tracking. But there’s an even bigger question: With all the competition from other media, and life becoming so busy for the listener that they often feel overwhelmed, isn’t it important for us to be as good as possible? And do you really think you can do that through regular voice tracking?"

Alan's complete post here. Full disclosure: As a PD, I've been put in the position of voice-tracking my shift simply because I was too busy. Handling multiple stations, I should have not been on the air at all. Not my call. And I'm certain there's many other PDs in the same situation.

More PPM: 20 MORE Things explained - numbers 6 through 10. From Paragon Media Strategies here. Numbers 1 through 5 here. The complete list without narrative here.

Mad Men. Must-see TV in my house, though not with me (yet). My wife and oldest son both addicted. Mark Ramsey blogs about AMC's smash hit and what it means to radio here.

Help. Asked over the weekend via email to help spread the word. From Dave Martin's blog this morning:

"Deborah Chesher is a published photographer [Amazon info]. Her rock star gets include George Harrison, Jerry Garcia and Frank Zappa. Now, her daughter is having brain surgery and Deborah is selling prints to help pay the bills. Get the story, see the prints here. If you're not able to buy a print, please share the link."

I read Deborah's story last night; please do what you can (and her work is wonderful).

More tomorrow including stuff I didn't have time for tonight. Thanks for stopping by.

PPM Lessons for Smaller Markets + More Spring Books

2008-08-07T08:18:00.008-04:00

61° - clear/sunny at 8:17am

Why PPM matters. Even in non-PPM markets. I've been commenting on this blog for some time now that lessons learned from PPM can make a difference in non-PPM markets.

Tom Taylor - in his Radio-Info.Com Newsletter this morning relays a call he received from consultant Bob Taylor:

He says “in small markets, they’re thinking ‘this doesn’t apply to us’, but it doesn’t make a difference: tuneout is tuneout.” He started applying the early PPM lessons from Houston and Philly when he was programming in Binghamton and says “I saw that when we took that stuff off the air, like the jock saying ‘be right back’, we saw the Time Spent Listening go up in the diary world.” He kept picking away at “the stuff in between the songs, like how long the breaks were, and we re the breaks focused on the listener, not what you did last weekend.” The music’s got to be right, of course. But Bob says “This makes a difference in any market, like what you say going into breaks. The competition didn’t get what we were doing in Binghamton, but it’s like going into Starbucks – it’s not just the coffee, it’s the experience, on a minute-by-minute basis.” Bob says that’s what the People Meter rules – like those 20 that T-R-I ran on Monday from the Boot Camp session that included Rick Cummings – can do for every market. He says it’s dangerous to keep using “1996 rules…and then we scratch our heads and ask why the TSL is dropping” on a diary-measured station.

Tom's daily newsletter - a must-read - is offered as a free subscription here.

Spring Arbitrons - more classic rock winners: A big time win for WLAV/Grand Rapids. The station up almost 2-1/2 points and #2 12+. In Oklahoma City, KRXO up over a point and a half - good for #3 12+. KKFM/Colorado Springs also up a point and a half, good for a tie at #2 12+.

In Portland, KGON up a half point. WSFL/Greenville-New Bern up almost a full point - good for #3 12+. WIMZ/Knoxville up just over a point. And in Nashville, WNRQ is up a half point. All stations to spend some time with on the web with pen and notepad.

Added Advisory: This could be sitting in your Outlook in-box. Watch for emails with the subject line "CNN.com Daily Top 10". Clicking on a link in the email will invite a victim to install a video codec which simply installs some nasty malware on the victim's PC.

Yesterday I spent a good few hours removing such from a co-worker's desktop. Nasty stuff. Your IT people and co-workers should be aware. Read more here.

Headed north to Michigan's beautiful Traverse City today. More tomorrow.

Wanna Be Elected?

2008-08-06T16:28:00.006-04:00

Imagine the thoughts coming from the collective brainpower in this competition:

If YOU were elected "President of Radio," what would you do during the first 100 days of your administration?

(SOUTHFIELD, MI - 8/06/08) That's the question we will be posing to nine industry luminaries (and former radio execs) at a session that will take place at the Jacobs Summit in Austin, TX on September 18th. Co-sponsored with Radio & Records and moderated by Fred Jacobs, the session will allow each panelist to present their initiatives for transforming radio as the industry endures challenging times. Jacobs Media President Fred Jacobs comments, "We're looking for big thinkers with constructive solutions, and feel that providing a forum for ideas is what the Summit is all about. These presenters each have a unique perspective on the industry, and bringing them together will generate not only great thoughts and discussion, but also potential solutions."

The tenth slot on the panel will be open to anyone in radio, whether they're a CEO, a traffic director, or a DJ. Aspiring "Presidents" are asked to submit their initiative (500-900 words) to Jacobs Media and Radio & Records via email to presidentofradio@jacobsmedia.com. Details and FAQs are available on a special microsite - www.presidentofradio.com. Jacobs Media will choose the winner, who will be invited to present their thoughts at the Summit.

Erica Farber notes, "We know there are lots of dedicated, passionate radio professionals out there with ideas and solutions. We want to hear from them, and make sure we have a great representation for 'Presidents.'" Radio & Records has also decided to turn the "President" concept into a regular feature in their weekly publication.

This year's Summit agenda promises to be as hard-hitting and relevant as ever. "Our goal is to provide attendees with actionable ideas they can take back to their stations and implement," says Jacobs. Already on the Summit agenda are Leo Laporte, founder of "This Week In Tech," who will share his vision on digital solutions for radio. There will be a compelling panel with the RAB's Jeff Haley and Emmis Interactive's Deb Esayian who will talk about managing the digital transition from an inside radio perspective. And Motley Crue's Nikki Sixx, who will bring his unique perspective on the audience and how to keep a 1980s brand relevant in 2008.

The Summit is open to the radio industry and is free of charge. To RSVP, contact Lisa Riker at Lisa@jacobsmedia.com.

To find out more information about the Summit agenda or inquire about the "Presidents" panel, contact Paul Jacobs at Pauljacobs@jacobsmedia.com.

Jacobs Media Summit 13
http://www.jacobssummit.com/ or http://www.presidentofradio.com/

(248) 353-9030

Explained: "20 MORE Things You Need To Know About PPM and Then Some"

2008-08-06T14:43:00.010-04:00

Received an email this afternoon from Paragon Media Strategies - who co-presented "20 MORE Things" at the Morning Show Bootcamp in Denver last Friday.

I posted a link to the Paragon blog and PPM PowerPoint - see here.

Paragon now offers some narrative behind the slides on their blog: here.

Learn and enjoy!

Wednesday Blogs

2008-08-06T08:24:00.004-04:00

67° - mostly sunny at 8:23am

Good Morning from Okemos.

Always Roll Tape...err...TiVo: Last night I was watching a CNBC special on the Detroit Auto Show; the program highlighted a GM private party where Kid Rock performed.

CNBC interviewed Kid Rock and the result was a great soundbite for Detroit and the auto industry; timely audio that a great imaging guy (in Detroit) could use....just thinking here. Keep that TiVo going when you're watching the tube, you'll never know when you'll hear a good catch.

Steve Palec/WKLH: I've been a loyal fan of Steve's Sunday Morning "Rock 'N Roll Roots" show for a few years now. Milwaukee's Business Journal recently published an article about Steve and what he does when he's not spinning Led Zeppelin. Read here.

HD: Monday in "Net News", All Access published an HD Radio Update. Ibiquity's Bob Struble announced more automaker deals and the availability of sub-$100 consumer radios. On the programming side, ESPN is now offering HD-specific programming for stations.

Still - consumer awareness (not lack of interest) appears to be the biggest problem for the technology. Fred Jacobs ponders this lack of awareness for HD (as compared to the interest in the mandated Digital Television Transition) and asks "What would happen if all analog radio was to disappear on 1/1/2010? Would it be the end of radio as we know it? Or would it be the beginning?"

Read Fred's piece here.

Boston Blues: I note that the HD-2 channel of WZLX/Boston is airing blues 24/7 as "Radio Mojo". Very cool.

Somebody ought to try that in the Windy City!

Tom Becka. Congrats to my friend of 25+ years on the national release of his book "There's No Business Without The Show". Tom - who is hosts afternoons on talk KFAB/Omaha - has been a jock, radio salesperson, radio sales manager, stand-up comedian and talk show host.

All the best to my friend on the success of his book. Tom and I began our friendship at a little radio station off a rut-filled dirt road in Santa Fe. Memo to Tom: I'm waiting for my autographed copy!

Have a great Wednesday.

Celebrating Your Town's Concert History

2008-08-05T06:48:00.008-04:00

70° - overcast at 6:45am

If you've read this blog for anytime now - WGRF/Buffalo is one of those stations I love to watch from afar.

PD John Hager has created a station that is all about its market and its listeners.

The station is getting ready for Labor Day Weekend with another great example of listener-generated content (both on-the-air and on-the-web) - plus taking the music it plays and making it "local":

The Top 20 Concerts at Rich Stadium: Vote now

The Buffalo Bills opened their inaugural season at Rich Stadium in 1973. The following summer, Buffalo concert promoter Festival East booked the first ever concert at Rich Stadium on July 6 starring Eric Clapton and The Band.

Over the next twentyfive years, especially in the 1970's and 80's, Rich Stadium hosted Classic Rock's biggest names for some of Western New York's most memorable concerts. The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, The Who, Bob Seger, Yes, Lynryd Skynrd, The Grateful Dead, Van Halen, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Fleetwood Mac, Guns 'N Roses, Elton John, The Eagles and many more played the concert stage at what was then known as Rich Stadium.

97 Rock was the radio station Buffalo concert fans counted on for live coverage and free tickets for these legendary shows. And now we want to know what you thought were the greatest Rich Stadium concerts.

On Labor Day, we are going to count down the top 20 Rich Stadium concerts according to your votes.

See the complete piece here.

Years ago I recall Randy Michaels talking about airing and/or creating "exclusive" - or "difficult to duplicate" content on radio stations. I'm not so certain that this feature falls into the "difficult to duplicate" category - but one thing I've learned in programming is that there are those programmers with the passion to make things like this happen. And its that passion that puts those programmers in a "difficult to duplicate" category among PDs.

Chances are your competition across town doesn't have the passion or drive to do this sort of thing. This creates a tremendous opportunity - take advantage of it!

Sunday Morning Odds & Sods

2008-08-03T09:40:00.008-04:00

69° - clear/sunny at 9:40am

Good Morning from Okemos.

Listening. My usual Sunday Morning routine with Bob Stroud on Chicago's WDRV. Bob featuring music from the summer of 1968....and as I write has just played Eric Burdon & The Animal's 7-minute + epic "Sky Pilot" - followed by Clarence Carter's "Slip Away". Wonderful stuff.

Later logging into WKLH to catch Steve Palec's Rock 'N Roll Roots.

Rockin' The Workforce: Back on Thursday, Fred Jacobs wrote a great piece on marketing to those at the workplace - and radio's increasing importance.

Noting that American's are now spending 60% of their waking hours on the job - an all time high - radio is the ideal medium to reach those workers.

Read Fred's piece here. Share with your sales manager.

More PPM: This week's FMQB features Pollack Media Group's Pat Welch reviews what we know so far. Pat opens with:

"...programming tactics that are more PPM friendly should be done regardless of how soon your market is scheduled to make the conversion. Think of this as the world’s largest research project, and take advantage of the lessons learned from markets that have already made the conversion."

Pat's thoughts here. PPM market or not, learn from the research PPM is providing into listener habits.

"Monday is the new Thursday in PPM." #3 in a list presented last week at the Morning Show Bootcamp. See the list here. Jaye Albright points us to a simple promotion to hype Mondays from country KYGO/Denver. Here.

Launching A New Station. Consultant Harve Alan launched a radio station this week and shares the excitement in a piece here.

There's nothing like a start-up!

Seth Godin. Seth writes about the "experience": "A concert isn’t about the music, is it? And a restaurant isn’t about the food." Read here.

Think about "the experience" with your radio station; I do everytime I go to the ballpark.

In case you missed (I did). Last Sunday, Rick Kaempfer's Chicago Radio Spotlight was on WLS/Chicago PM drive talent Bill Leff. Read here.

Have a great Sunday.

"20 MORE Things You Need To Know About PPM and Then Some"

2008-08-01T18:36:00.006-04:00

Direct from a session today at Morning Show Boot Camp in Denver. Props to Paragon Media Strategies for sharing.

Download the PDF here.

Read comments from Paragon's John Stevens here.

After you review the PDF of the presentation Powerpoint, you might wish you were there; there's some things that need further narrative. We'll be watching the press for further explanation!