We`ve become comfortable with the idea that KFI

AL
PETERSON
Issue 11
News • Talk • Sports Weekly
Extend Your Brand Beyond The Dial
While looking up a bit of needed information on a station website
the other day, I was struck by just how different the site was from
what I recalled it being only a few years ago. As I cruised a few
more station sites randomly, I began wondering what some of the
format's most successful programmers have learned about using
the Internet to enhance and expand their stations, and how their
use of the Web has evolved and changed over the past few years.
"The Internet has revolutionized how we look at things and
given us huge opportunities for listener connectivity," says Citadel VP News/Talk and WABC/New
York PD Phil Boyce. "We've found it to be a great
way to extend the WABC listeners' experience
beyond the station and the shows. Not only is it
Phil Boyce
a great place to provide information about your
station that you never have time to get to on the air,
it also allows us to make a personal bond with people."
Boyce says what he likes most about the Internet today is how it
has allowed the radio station to extend itself and become part of
an online community. He cites ABC Radio Networks personality
and WABC afternoon host Sean Hannity's website as an example.
"Right now Hannity.com is getting over 15 million hits a month,"
says Boyce. "Over 75% of users go to the message board, where
listeners debate among themselves the topics they hear on Sean's
show. Some days thousands of posts are made, with 500 or more
on the boards at the same time. I have five volunteer moderators
who do nothing but monitor posts all day and night to keep out
troublemakers, but we do encourage debate on both sides."
July 27, 2007
Interactivity Breeds Loyalty
KFI/Los Angeles PD Robin Bertolucci says the Clear Channel
News/Talker is supplying more off-air resources to listeners
than ever before with show archives, on-demand podcasts and
extended news coverage, including photos. "We are clearly a
brand that extends beyond the confines of our dial position," she
says. "Online we are not limited by being an auditory medium
or by time constraints. We've become comfortable with the idea
that KFI is a brand that can be used and accessed in a variety
of ways. We don't care how you get KFI, so long as you get it."
She too, believes that one of the greatest values to radio that's
"We've become comfortable with
the idea that KFI is a brand that can
be used and accessed in a variety of
ways." — Robin Bertolucci, KFI/Los Angeles
evolved from the Internet over the last few years is increased
access to online communities. "Our audience is passionate and
they are interested in participating as long as we give them
good reasons to use our website. We are always looking for
meaningful content to keep them coming back, and we are
continually discovering news ways to interact with them, satisfy
their interests and meet their needs."
WLS/Chicago PD Kipper McGee believes that,
along with providing greater interactivity, the biggest change he's seen has been a rapid increase in
the on-demand aspect of our digital world. "While
streaming is still important, podcasting is becoming
Kipper McGee
more dominant every day," he says. "So our focus
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©200 7 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
News • Talk • Sports Weekly
July 27, 2007
Airchecklets
The American Women in Radio and Television's list of "25
Women Who Rule In Sales And Marketing" includes the RAB's
Mary Bennett, SoCal Broadcasters Assn's Mary Beth Garber,
CBS Radio's Sarah Frazier, ABC Radio Sales' Nancy Kahn,
Emmis' Val Maki-Candido, CBS Radio Sales' Karen Miller, and
Clear Channel Radio Sales' Mary Pultorak ... KILT/Houston
Executive Producer Chance McLain is leaving to consult
new Sports station KFCD/Dallas ... Michelle Goodman joins
Salem-owned Vista Radio Representatives as an account rep
in VRR's Washington, DC office ... Former WTMJ/Milwaukee
morning host/anchor Ken Herrera lands at crosstown WISN as
News Director beginning Monday (7/30). Concurrently, midday
host Jay Weber slides into morning drive, as wake-up crew Dan
Deibert and Nicole Devin exit ... Former KRCN/Denver host
Scott Cortelyou gets 18 months’ probation and must register as a
sex offender after pleading guilty to attempting to use the Internet
to lure for sex what he thought was a 12-year-old girl.
Network/Syndication Aircheck
ABC Radio Networks has ceased syndication of The Larry
Elder Show. Elder will continue hosting his afternoon program
on KABC/Los Angeles ... Talk Shows USA-distributed home
improvement program The Money Pit adds WSBA/York, PA;
KFXD/Boise and WMMI/Mount Pleasant, MI ... Envision
Radio Networks' Washington Monthly On The Radio inks
KOPT/Eugene, OR, while its weekly Family Matters Radio
signs WJTN/Jamestown, NY ... GreenStone Media lets go its
contract with Rolanda Watts, who had been hosting noon-3pm
on the entertainment talk network ... Stephan Productionssyndicated Doug Stephan's Good Day, Good Day Weekend and
Talk Radio Countdown add WSBA/York, WBEC/Pittsfield,
MA, and WMMI/Mt. Pleasant, MI ... ESPN Radio will broadcast live from Cooperstown, NY this weekend, as Tony Gwynn
and Cal Ripken, Jr. are inducted into baseball's Hall of Fame.
Satcaster News
The big news in satellite radio this week was the announcement
that Hugh Panero will exit as CEO of XM Satellite Radio next
month. Current XM President/COO Nate Davis will serve as
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interim CEO. If the Sirius Satellite Radio and XM merger goes
through, Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin will head the combined
companies. However, NPR has filed a Petition To Deny with
the FCC over the proposed merger. Senator Sam Brownback
(R-KS) also wrote a letter to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, urging him to reject the deal. Meanwhile, the satcasters announced
this week that a new merged company would offer consumers
an opportunity to choose programming on an a la carte basis,
with one option as low as $6.99 a month for 50 channels. The
NAB was unimpressed with the proposal, saying nothing was
stopping the satcasters from offering limited program packages
now, and urged policy makers to "not be hoodwinked."
Gig Alerts
If you look good in mouse ears, Radio Disney is searching for a
VP/Programming to oversee all aspects of the “tween” network's
program operations. More information at www.disneycareers.
com ... WBAL/Baltimore is seeking two full time midday talk
hosts. Rush your demo and resume to PD Jeff Beauchamp at
[email protected] … WFBQ/Indianapolis, flagship of
The Bob & Tom Show, has a GSM opening. Resume and cover
letter to [email protected] ... CBS Radio/Dallas is
looking for a Digital Sales Manager for the company's six-station
cluster. Resume to [email protected] ... ESPN Radio is
seeking account executives, a PD, promotions director, talk show
host, sales assistant and promotions assistants at their various offices in New York, Los Angeles, Dallas and Connecticut. Apply
at www.espn.com/joinourteam ... Got a gig? Need a gig? Email
your information to [email protected].
Dancing With Whoopi
Tom Bergeron, host of ABC-TV's Dancing With The Stars
and America's Funniest Home
Videos, dropped by Premiere Radio
Networks' Wake Up With Whoopi
studios in NYC recently. Pictured
(l-r): co-host Paul "Cubby" Bryant,
Whoopi Goldberg and Bergeron.
©20 07 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 27, 2007
(continued from page 1)
is on making content more accessible, interactive and available
on-demand. We're moving our model from push to pull, or more
accurately, a balance of both." Deriding those still giving away
their website real estate for free, McGee adds, "Radio's biggest
challenge remains monetizing this valuable asset. Google and
other top-billing websites do not bonus a free radio schedule with
each order. Too many radio stations continue to offer their Web
assets as 'value added' — a great way to weaken, if not eventually
kill, this killer app."
Own Their Ears And Eyes
WIOD and WINZ/Miami Director of Programming Ken
Charles says things have changed a lot when it
comes to the Web and Talk radio. "Three or four
years ago, we looked at the AM sites as places people
could go to for streaming inside big buildings and
not much else. Many programmers even looked at
Ken Charles
websites as competitors. That view is not only wrong,
it's detrimental to the future of our brands and our business.
We're not just broadcasters any more, we're content providers.
The delivery system doesn't matter. Delivering it to our existing
customers, and to places where our next generation of customers
exists, is the goal." While Charles subscribes to the theory that creating compelling
content is certainly the key to website success, that alone won't
cut it. "Just saying, ‘Go to the website’ is not enough," he says.
"It becomes a throwaway to the talent and is background clutter
for the listener. You have to give listeners a reason to go to the
site for something they actually care about. The personalities
and even the news anchors have to sell it and provide a tangible
reason for a listener to go to your site for ‘more on the story,’
such as pictures, video or other exclusive content."
Summing up just how important the Web has become to Talk radio's future, Charles says, "We all know we are losing user ‘ears’
to our stations that become user ‘eyes’ to various Web products
and services. But if we can create compelling content for our
sites and integrate that content and the site into our programming,
we can then better own both their ears and their eyes — and keep
them using our brands longer."
Contact NTS Aircheck
NTS Aircheck
1102 17th Ave. South Suite 205
Nashville, TN 37212
Al Peterson: 858-486-7559
Brooke Trissel: 512-218-8228
[email protected]
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