Friday, July 13, 2007

The Future of Radio: 2007 and Beyond




More than a decade after the consolidation of our owners is it still true that - in an information economy - the people who deliver the most relatable "information" in our medium are still 'endangered?'

If so, radio is both in a) denial and b) hot water. If you're feeling a little like the proverbial frog in the simmering H2O, I am with you.

In that timely context, the speakers at Bill Sobel's latest New York Media Information Exchange Group breakfast yesterday morning were preaching to THIS choir member, as a consensus of the panel agreed that good personalities and good content go hand-in-hand.

KMOX, St. Louis' Paul Harris: ".. overnight personalities are either non-existent or the daypart is voice-tracked. I think disc jockeys are the endangered species.”

Consultant Denise Oliver: "...there just aren’t enough talented personalities. There’s been a brain drain. Radio needs to provide good content to compete in the increasingly-crowded media space. There are so many sources of music right now; radio is just one more.”

ABC Network’s Digital Media SVP John Rosso: "...it’s ALL about promoting that local brand to various media platforms. Our job is to find a way to wrap our brand around those experiences.”

Edison Research's Larry Rosin: "There’s a huge issue with AFTRA's stance that their contract for spots only cover over the radio, not Internet streams. So radio stations have largely pulled those ads from the Internet streams. At the margins, Internet radio has hurt regular AM-FM radio, especially with music services and smaller, more fringe types of music."

Les Blatt has a very detailed recap of yesterday's event and even more quotes on his blog.

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