The Year ThaT Was: 2007

The Year That Was: 2007
July 18, 2008
Blog, Blog, Blog
I’m becoming one of those people
who likes reading blogs. Not the
“weblogs” of those crazy individuals
who feel compelled to document
every minute of their generally notso-interesting lives online, but blogs
by people who I believe are truly
“thinkers” in our industry. People with
posts that offer insight and opinions
that cause me to question conventional
wisdom in the radio business.
This week I’m sharing some of the industry blogs that I read
regularly and also offering a sample excerpt from recent postings
that I found to be thought provoking and interesting. These
samples are by no means all of the blogs available out there, and
to that end if you know of a Talk media industry-related blog
that you think readers should know about, send it to me at al@
ntsaircheck.com and we’ll help you spread the word.
• The Media Fix: Penned by media strategist and futurist John
Parikhal and media and entertainment veteran Taran Swan,
this blog offers commentary and news on all things media. In
a recent entry Parikhal bemoans the dearth of good websites
out there. “To me, a bad site is one where you don’t know
where to start when you land on the home page and where the
graphics don’t help you make decisions about what to click on.
That’s why I’m still a big fan of Steve Krug and his wonderful
Issue 59
basic book on website design called Don’t Make Me Think. He
suggests that every web site should be subjected to ‘usability
testing’ -- an inexpensive, powerful way to root out the obstacles
in a site while highlighting what’s really useful. It’s gritty, realworld research.”
• Hear 2.0: Written by Mark Ramsey, head honcho at Mercury
Media Research and President of audio entertainment strategy
company Hear 2.0, this blog often features Ramsey’s no-holdsbarred approach to discussing the future impact of seismic
changes in the media industry. “Since when did [the radio]
industry lose sight of basic Business 101 -- Investment leads to
rewards and the smaller the risk, the smaller the likely rewards?
The rules aren’t re-written simply because we wish them to
be so. Make no mistake: The current downturn facing this
industry will not be solved by cost-cutting, no matter how much
you sharpen those pencils. The way out is through innovation
and investment. The way out is to preach your vision to your
investors and back up that vision with investment and action.
Apple could make cheaper iPods if they wanted. They could
package them in brown paper bags if they wanted. But they
don’t want to. And neither should you.
• Sabo Media: Never the traditionalist, Walter Sabo doesn’t
write his thoughts for you to read. Instead you “hear” his blog
when you click on the “New Video” link at the top of his home
page. It’s a one-on-one approach as Sabo speaks directly to
you about a number of topics of interest to broadcasters. Extra
points, by the way, for Sabo’s use of what appears to be a classic
©200 8 News • Ta lk • S p o r t s Airc h ec k ™ — Al l r i g hts re s e r ve d. To s u bs c r i be v i s i t www.ntsaircheck.com (continued on page 3)
July 11, 2008
News • Talk • Sports Weekly
Airchecklets
WPHT/Philadelphia morning host Michael Smerconish inks a
one-year deal as a commentator and fill-in host for cable news outlet
MSNBC … WBT/Charlotte adds a new three-hour weekend show,
Saturday Night Special, hosted by a cast of rotating talk hosts from
9pm-midnight … Former Boise State Football center Jadon Dailey
signs on as a color analyst for Broncos football games on Peak
Broadcasting News/Talker KIDO/Boise this fall. Bob Behler will
handle the play-by-play … Red Zebra Broadcasting has agreed
to purchase Centennial Broadcasting’s Roanoke/Lynchburg, VA
station cluster including WZZU, WZZI, WLNI, and WLEQ. Red
Zebra is already operating the stations via an LMA … WGAM/
Manchester, NH picks up radio rights to Los Angeles Kings minor
league hockey affiliate the Manchester Monarchs for the next two
seasons … Maureen Lesourd is named DOS for Cumulus/Dallas
including Sports KTCK “The Ticket” and News/Talk KLIF …
News veteran Al Meredith retires after a 44-year career, the last
28 as news anchor at WCBS-FM/New York … Former WSB/
Atlanta and KSTP/Minneapolis host Chris Krok has launched a
new website to share with fans and potential employers here …
Network/Syndication Aircheck
Talk Radio Network’s Phil Hendrie Show adds WWRL/New
York, WIST/New Orleans and KJRB/Spokane as new affiliates.
The program runs live, Monday-Friday from 1-4am (ET) … Dr.
Laura Schlessinger’s one-woman stage show, Dr. Laura: In
My Never To Be Humble Opinion, will make a stop at Redwood
City, CA’s Fox Theater on Saturday, Aug. 16. Details at www.
drlaura.com … The syndicated Bobby Likis Car Clinic inks with
CelleCast for on-demand delivery of the auto talk show to any
telephone … NPR has pulled the plug on its Bryant Park Project,
an on-air and online experiment designed to attract younger demos
to the pubcaster … Talk Shows USA picks up affiliation duties
for Dr. Julian Whitaker’s syndicated weekend health talk show
and his weekday short-form feature, Whitaker’s Wellness Tips …
KAND/Corsicana, TX joins the FOX Sports Radio Network as
an affiliate …Happy Birthday to legendary news man and CRN
Digital Talk Radio host George Putnam who turned 94 years
young this week.
Page 2
Satcaster News
XM Satellite Radio’s all-politics channel, POTUS ‘08, will
offer ‘round-the-clock coverage of the Democratic National
Convention in Denver next month, and the Republican’s
Convention in Minneapolis in September. Both events will be
presented commercial-free by the satcaster which offers the
channel at no charge on all XM radios as a public service … U.S.
House telecommunications subcommittee chairman Ed Markey
(D-MA) has written FCC Chairman Kevin Martin to condition
any merger of XM with Sirius Satellite Radio with a requirement
that HD Radio technology be built into all new satellite radio
receivers. Additionally Markey wants a six-year freeze on prices
for a merged company -- that’s double what the satcasters have
proposed -- and more minority set-asides.
Gig Alerts
Clear Channel’s five-station Roanoke-Lynchburg, VA cluster
has an opening for an experienced Sales Manager. Knowledge
of digital and online sales required. Book your trip to the Blue
Ridge Mountain area by contacting davecarwile@clearchannel.
com … Got a gig open? Need a new challenge? Send details and
your contact info here and we’ll post it here free.
Sports rocks!
Actor Billy Bob Thornton and his band The Boxmasters
recently dropped by the FOX Sports Radio studios for a visit.
Shown (l-r) are: Boxmasters Mike Butler and J.D. Andrew,
Thornton, and FSR’s Sean Farnham and Marques Johnson.
©2008 News • Ta lk • S p o r t s Airc h ec k ™ — Al l r i g hts re s e r ve d. S e n d n e ws to [email protected]
News • Talk • Sports Weekly
July 18, 2008
(continued from page 1)
RCA ribbon microphone as a prop in the streaming video. A
recent post offers Sabo’s usual candid take on matters, this one
on the topic of radio’s opposition to satellite radio. “In every city
in America, the daily newspaper grosses more than all the radio
stations combined. The Los Angeles Times classified section
grosses more than all of the radio stations in LA combined. Why
are you wasting your time worrying about satellite radio?”
• Bill McMahon’s Blog: No catchy name here, simply
McMahon’s “musings on creativity, radio and radio
personalities.” A recent post offers this food-for-thought with
regard to attracting gifted artists to a medium that needs them
now more than ever. “Gifted artists would much rather try their
hand at blogging, creating videos for YouTube, or producing
the kind of show they’d like to hear on BlogTalkRadio. Makes
sense to me. Who’d want to face almost certain rejection by a
radio PD fearing the loss of his job if he tries something new and
unproven? How inviting is the typical radio station employment
ad that screams “NO CALLS” implying “we don’t want to get to
know you?”
• “The Blog” From Paragon Research: This blog offers Paragon
staffers’ experienced insights on the industry overall on topics
covering all formats including Talk. In a recent post, noting
the inordinately high number of broken bats in Major League
Baseball this year caused by a demand for cheaper maple wood
bats, CEO Mike Henry connects the dots to the radio business.
“Many radio operators are cutting so many corners in their
‘manufacturing’ process that radio has flying bat parts spraying
all through their stations and their audiences. Fill in the blank
here for radio’s equivalent of the ‘cheaper is better’ maple bat
-- programming research, marketing, live talent, community
engagement, promotions, events, ratings services, streaming,
websites, and on and on. So, which will come first? A maple bat
impaling a fan in the front rows, or the radio industry cutting
so many corners that the value of radio stations and the entire
industry itself plummets?”
• Harve Alan’s Blogspot: The multi-format experienced
programmer and consultant visited his local Apple Store at the
mall last weekend and got a reminder of just how important it is
to effectively brand your product in a crowded and competitive
media environment. “There was a line about 50 people deep at
the Apple store and according to the folks inside it had been like
that since opening. 100 steps from the Apple store was an AT&T
store with a HUGE display of iPhone’s waiting to be bought
and ZERO people in line! Sometimes brand loyalty is blind, but
in effect, that is the power of proper branding. When you do it
correctly, you create a systemic need for people to be with you,
buy from you, support you and defend you.
Contact NTS Aircheck
NTS Aircheck
1102 17th Ave. South Suite 205
Nashville, TN 37212
Al Peterson:
Brooke Trissel:
858-486-7559
512-218-8228
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
©20 08 News • Ta lk • S p o r t s Airc h ec k ™ — Al l r i g hts re s e r ve d. S e n d n e ws to [email protected]
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