Wednesday Blogs

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.

More On Radio's Talent Crisis

30° - clear at 11:42pm

This morning the Kelley family woke up to a cold home with a dead furnace. After poking around - I went online to learn all I could about the unit.

Found the likely culprit - a "hot surface ignition" - with a hairline crack from old age. Finding the part in town an adventure - with prices for the part ranging from $35 (pretty close to web pricing) to $67 (huh?).

A great lesson on doing your homework with things you don't know much about. The first stop quoted the $67 as "standard pricing". BTW: My diagnosis right on; its nice and toasty as I write this. I know your concern. LOL.

Tonight I read three different posts on radio's "talent crisis".

First - Fred Jacobs has a great post about finding and developing talent - and the lack of "the graveyard shift" for first-time on-air jobs.

A great read about how times have changed - and what that means to our business. Fred writes:

"We are so intent on saving money during this quarter that we are in the process of mortgaging the future of radio's employee base. "

"One of the key reasons why there aren't many great new morning shows, sales reps, research companies, and consultants is that we've virtually eliminated radio's equivalent of baseball's minor leagues."

Fred's complete post here.

I'm with Fred on using HD2 channels as a farm system for talent development.

Richard Roeper - in this morning's Chicago Sun-Times writes:

"...one can't help but notice there doesn't seem to be a Next Generation of talent. With so many stations nationwide going on auto pilot, the concept of the brash and creative newcomer who takes a city by storm seems to be all but dead."

Richard's column here.

And - the always insightful Dave Martin offers:

"It's a risk management mindset combined with a massive failure of imagination. If, in fact, the youth are no longer knocking on our doors (a suggestion I am not fully willing to accept), then we need to reinvent HR, reboot entry level opportunity."

"The jobs that once afforded a modest living to average, grade C, announcers are gone. The market, the need, for personalities, truly gifted talent, has never been greater."

Dave's post here.