Wednesday Blogs

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.

Just For Fun....

KFAB's Tom Becka passes this along:

EGM: Another Opportunity For Bonding

46° - clear at 8:45pm

Up late one night last week perusing the web I came across John Moore's Brand Autopsy blog - and a post on EGM: Employee Generated Media.

John writes here about a recent Wall Street Journal article on employees who are permitted (and encouraged) to make videos about personal experiences working for the companies they do.

These videos are then posted on You Tube and used during compus recruitment efforts. Pretty bold, eh?

What could your station do with EGM on your website? To further bond with listeners - with content that you simply can't do on-air.

Some are already involved in EGM through airstaff blogging. An example here from Buffalo's WGRF. Another here from WCSX/Detroit. And this from WBFX/Grand Rapids.

This all goes beyond the typical silly stale DJ bios you find on so many station websites. These are air personalities writing a little about their personal lives in a way they could never do on the air. The key is fresh material on a regular basis.

There's a large portion of your audience who would love to know your airstaff better. And I don't mean the stalkers.

What about the next level? What if you gave your air personalities video cameras? What if you gave your interns a video camera and turned them loose?

Think video that took listeners behind the scenes of your radio station. Talking to different employees from the receptionist to the program director to the chief engineer. In the studio when the mic is off. Video shot around your market.

Brainstorm the possibilities that you could stream on your website.

Back in February - I mentioned this video from longtime friend Tom Becka - who hosts afternoon drive at talk KFAB/Omaha.

Tom's video is a great example of web content that breaks down that wall between performer and audience. I'm betting there's a few other great radio station examples on the web too.

Production values aren't critical in this You Tube era (content is key); and digital editing software for both Macs and PCs is pretty reasonable these days. Find the college intern with the experience.

I wouldn't micro-manage this project. Beyond a few ground rules, let those producing and shooting make it personal. It needs to be.

Video and blogging is all about sharing ourselves with the audience. Friends share stories and their lives with each other. And friends like to hang with friends. Its all about bonding and building relationships.

Its a listener option unavailable with iPods and Rhapsody playlists. And it might just drive some additional website traffic.

More John Moore: "Is it a scary for you to consider having employees make short videos about the experiences at your company? Are you afraid of what they will say? Are you afraid they will be off-message and off-brand?"

"If so, sounds like you have some work that must be done to improve the employee experience at your company."

See & bookmark John's Brand Autopsy blog here.

Sunday Morning Odds & Sods

Left: Okemos, MI; today 9:50am.

Winter has returned to Mid-Michigan.

Jerry Del Colliano has an interesting take on how a XM/Sirius merger could "pass go" and benefit HD radio at the same time. Read it here.

Meanwhile KFAB/Omaha's Tom Becka offers his two cents on satellite radio's effect on terrestrial radio in the Omaha City Weekly here.

Cara Carriveau - mentioned here last Sunday - is interviewed on Rick Kaempfer's Chicago Radio Spotlight today. Great read.

Condolences to family and friends of engineer/processsing guru Jim Somich who passed away in recent days. Writing on various industry forums, Omnia's Frank Foti broke the news. I recall using a Jim Somich "Somich Engineering" composite clipper with a Texar Prism/Optimod 8000A configuration in the mid 80s on an FM I was programming. If you're a tech head with some time, read Foti's retrospective of audio processing here.

Here's a least likely industry to display a little attitude. Check this out. I love it. You think they know their market?

Last but not least - stumbled across this station in Indiana this past week. Doing what many have tried: AC/DC and Hank Jr. They stream. Lots o' fun with their imaging.

I like it! Crock on!

The Weekend Classic Rock FM

Left: yours truly circa 1973. PM drive/Highland Park, IL. Age 17.

NASCAR's Daytona 500 happens on Sunday. With the news of cheating in recent days, Fox Television should enjoy some great numbers (I detected a bit of gloating on Fox News Channel this morning). And your morning show been talking about this, yes?

Caught this on Mark Ramsey's site this morning: "Jack is also a TV channel". Great stuff. Reminded me of some other ways stations are using You Tube: A couple months back, longtime friend Tom Becka (KFAB/Omaha) sent me this link to his "behind the scenes" video. A great example of breaking down that wall between performer and audience...something David Letterman taught us all on Late Night back in the 80s.

WCSX/Detroit has posted a whole lot of video as a listener resource on their website. And its hard to ignore the video resources Clear Channel has on many of their station websites.

Late Friday Update: Mark Ramsey writes more on this topic and offers this NY Times article.

I appreciate all the kind comments and constructive feedback I've received in the past week. It means a lot. Have a great weekend.