The Stepford Listeners

Critics call them "iPod People."
They ride trains, walk to class and wander malls among the crowd but apart from it thanks to the signature plastic "buds" jammed in their ears and the thin white wires disappearing into their jackets. Apple's digital music player is massively popular with people on the go. And as the iPod morphs from hipster accessory to everyday item, critics worry that the growing number of people tuning out from the world is diminishing public life.

"Get on a subway, and you're surrounded by a bunch of Stepford commuters, all sealed off from each other, staring into mid-space as if anesthetized by technology. Don't ask, don't tell, don't overhear, don't observe. Just tune in and tune out," columnist Andrew Sullivan wrote in the Sunday Times of London (read more - Newsday)

Might be worth an on air rant.. "tune into the community, don't tune out to it.. thanks for listening to real life, authentic RADIO."

USA Cares

USA Cares has reached several milestones. Since March of 2003, we are three states from helping Military families in all 50 states from all branches of service. We have helped in five countries overseas. We have worked with 1,000 families and coordinated or provided over $400,000 in grants. We have done all this without federal or major corporate support for the operational requirements of the organization. We did this with all volunteers.

Since September 11, 2001, over 470,000 Reserve and National Guard have answered the call. We need to continue and, in fact, increase our ability to help Military families.
We need your help. Join us in our "Star Program" and help us find and assist the Military families that need the help. Help us give a "Hand Up".

Note: the Pentagon does not encourage or support the program, feeling that the military has many programs for families itself. They worry that it's unfair to have some troops receiving 'grants' while the person in the bed next to them may not be. However, http://www.usacares.us/ received a nice plug from ARMY TIMES' "Sergeant Shopper" consumer columnist, referring readers to USA Cares MilitaryFamily Assistance Center, (800) 773-0387, or online at www.usacares.us. Seems like a very worthy effort to me.

This HAS to be grist for a stunt or phone topic..

Hilary Swank is coming out swinging against New Zealand authorities, who slapped the Oscar-winning actress with a $150 fine for bringing fruit into the country, the Associated Press reports.

According to a report in The Sunday Star-Times newspaper, Swank was fined in January when customs officials at Auckland International Airport discovered an apple and an orange in her purse that the actress had not declared.

In order to keep out pests, New Zealand has strict guidelines about what can be brought into the country. Swank has reportedly told her lawyers to appear in court to contest the fine, AP reports, but a publicist for the two-time Academy Award winner shrugged the whole thing off, calling it "the apple in the purse incident," and refusing to discuss it further. Visitors who violate the ban usually receive an automatic fine, though hundreds contest them, a Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry spokesman said. "It's a pretty standard practice to issue an instant fine for a biosecurity risk," the spokesman said. New Zealand's ban on items such as fruit has kept the country free from the pests and insects that plague other parts of the world.

KYGO, Denver Gives Away a HOUSE and a CYCLE

Heard in Denver..house keys, cycle keys..to celebrate KYGO's anniversary..

KYGO Home Giveaway:
You've made a home for KYGO in Denver for 25 years, now we're building a home for you. It's easy to win the KYGO U.S. Home Giveaway worth over $246,000. That's right, you win a new house. Simply print the form on our web site, fill it out, and take it to one of the U.S. Home Communities. Listen to Kelly, Jonathan and Mudflap each weekday morning at 6:20, 7:20, and 8:20 to tell you the times throughout the day that we'll announce winning names. When you hear your name, call back within 30 minutes and you'll automatically win a fast hundred bucks and a key that could open the door on your new home. If you open it at our grand prize event, your win it from the only Denver station big enough to giveaway a new home.

Win a Custom Motorcycle
KYGO and Biker-Dude.com want you to win a nearly $70,000 Kendall Johnson custom motorcycle. Only 100 keys will be given out. See the bike on display at Alpine Car Star. You can register at Alpine Car star. Each month you will be able to check out the bike at a new location. Be sure to sign up for Team KYGO cause you could win one of the 100 keys.

Sell Your Requests and Never Mention The Sponsor on Air

Look how KIX, Midland-Barrie-Orillia does it: http://www.kicxfm.com/pages/nooner.htm

GM Mora Austin and PD/Morning cohost Ted Roop could provide more details: (705)526-2268.

Are Listeners Parodying YOUR Style of Speaking?

Tod Maffin sent me to this funny 3 min Flash cartoon about the way radio personalities talk and sound to their audience: Watch it now

Whenever You Are On TV, Send Your Fans a Message

Like CBS's Bob Schieffer did..

It was probably something that the average viewer outside of the Fort Worth-Dallas area didn't really notice. But, if you were watching Schieffer during his debut as the anchor for the CBS Evening News, you were likely right to guess that the purple and white tie he was wearing carried a non-verbal message to the folks back in his home town of Fort Worth.

It's a sure bet that the students at Texas Christian University's newly dedicated "Schieffer School of Journalism" didn't miss the color purple "message" that Bob was wearing the school's colors. When Bob was in Fort Worth at the dedication and symposium this week on Tuesday, after lunch, when a huge crowd of us was walking back to the auditorium for the 2 pm symposium across University Drive, www.radiodailynew.com's Larry Shannon reports he casually mentioned to the former TCU Horned Frog student-turned-radio news reporter-turned newspaper report-turned-news anchor that it was probably a strange feeling he might be having at that moment to walk across the same street he had four decades ago as a student at TCU, but this time in a new role, as professor.

Bob sort of chuckled, grinned and said in that upbeat style and unique voice of his, "Yeah ..." Bob's, worn a lots of hats and walked a lot of streets on a lot of beats.

He got started on the right foot on Thursday evening (visit CBS Evening News)

Podcast Your Best Bits NOW

Podcast Morning Show highlights to create buzz and build awareness. That's what Virgin Radio in London is now doing. The first radio station in the UK to do a daily podcast.

WHAT IS PODCASTING?

Does Your Audience Have YOUR CEO's Direct Line?

The direct phone line to Jeff Smulyan, the founder and chairman of Emmis is (317) 684-6530. Emmis is Hebrew for "truth." The phone number appears in the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics posted on the Web site of Emmis Communications.

That "Hot line to the CEO" is getting lots of action lately, thanks to Hot 97, NYC: (read more - Errol Louis-NY Daily News) (read more - HipHopDX)

BX93 celebrates 25 years

Chris Harding reports from Standard Radio in London, Ontario:

On March 3, 1980 at 12:01 a.m., London welcomed a new radio station. The birth of BX93 Country Radio was heralded with much fanfare and publicity. Now, 25 years later BX93 has a loyal following from Parkhill to Port Rowan, Brussels to Bothwell and everywhere in-between!

London and surrounding area loves its country, according to the latest BBM survey (December 2004). Country Favourites BX93 ranked number one in the coveted 12+ and adults 18+ categories and holds a strong 14.7 percent share of London CMA in the adults 35-64 demographic.

“Broadcasting in London and right across Canada has changed dramatically over the past quarter of a century. BX93 grew with London but never faltered in its commitment to country music and country music fans,” says Operations Manager, Barry Smith. “With amazing new talent like Gretchen Wilson, Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw, the future of country music is bright and we at BX93 look forward to entertaining our listeners for another 25 years.”

The original BX93 on-air line up consisted of Pete Leyland, Robert Q, Ron Michaels, Robin Geoffrey and Karen Cooper. Twenty-five years later, the names have changed but not the enthusiasm!

Listeners now wake up with Dave and Jacquie who, incidentally, just celebrated 10 years as BX93’ morning show hosts. Karl Josephs takes over from 9 a.m. ‘til 2 p.m. then hands the reins over to Chris Harding for the drive home and Wendy Stevens keeps you company at night.

BX93 was a finalist in the ‘Country Station of the Year’ category of the Radio Industry Awards.

Would You Cancel Your Spring Book Contest?

They did in Edmonton and it seems like a smart move to me:

96 X Calls Off Fugitive Contest and Donates Money to RCMP Families

Karen Paulgaard reports:

Yesterday, when four RCMP officers were killed in the line of duty near Edmonton, all of our lives changed.

At a time like this, it is simply impossible to continue with radio games, especially a game of "chase" such as "The 96X $20,000 Fugitive". The tragic events of yesterday remind us that tracking down a Fugitive is not a game for those in law enforcement. Four young men paid the ultimate price in their pledge to protect all of us.

Tens of thousands of 96X listeners have put time and effort into playing The Fugitive. We are so grateful for your dedication to this contest and this radio station and have plans for rewards in the near future. Hold on to your Agent Journals and stay tuned to 96X as we do intend to reveal the former Fugitive's identity to those of you who were playing along.

At this point, we just cannot, in good conscience, continue this contest. We are pulling the Fugitive off the air and, more importantly, 96X has decided to donate the $20,000 intended as a prize to the families of the fallen officers. We are also currently accepting donations for these families at our studios under Little Miracles. We will keep the funds in a sub-category to have all monies be put into a specific trust fund for the families.

Our studios are located at 4752-99 street. Donations can be dropped off during our business hours; 8:30am to 4:30pm from Monday to Friday.Please stay tuned to 96X for updates on our contesting. In the meantime, please consider the police in our community in your thoughts and prayers.

Listen to the CMA Award Winners

Here are the entries that won in 2004: http://www.cmaawards.com/2004/broadcast/award_winners.asp

Major Market
KMPS– Seattle: Audio Entry Sample

Major Market
Kelly & Jonathan with Mudflap
KYGO/Denver (Kelly Ford, Jonathan Wilde, Steve McGrew): Audio Entry Sample

Large Market
WFMS - Indianapolis: Audio Entry Sample

Medium Market
The Ron & Becky Morning Show
WBBS/Syracuse (Ron Bee, Becky Palmer): Audio Entry Sample

Medium Market
WIVK – Knoxville: Audio Entry Sample

Small Market
Holstein & Company Mornings
WIXY/Champaign (Steve Holstein, Andy Roberts, Melissa Anfield): Audio Entry Sample

Small Market
WQXK – Youngstown, Ohio: Audio Entry Sample

Get Listeners To Make Your TV Spots

Have your listeners create your TV spots (and put them on your website for viewing and forwarding to friends).

For example, OBTTV produces and enables documentary advertising/market research/co-created ads/video ethnography/citizen marketing/branded content/brand hijacking/consumer generated media/viral activity/screwing around with brands the way you read about...
local, national, and international programs available.

Check them out at http://www.obtainiumtv.com/.

After looking at their samples of spots produced for favorite products (and parodying not-so-favorite products), by real people with home video equipment, I think you'll agree that you can try this at home...

How To Win A Humanitarian Award

Here's what this year's CRB Humanitarian Award winners did:

Some of the activities the winning radio stations were involved in included local blood drives, silent auctions, toy and food drives and specific local public service announcement (PSA) campaigns.

The CRB 2005 Radio Humanitarian Honorees in each market are:

(Small Market) 104.9 KDXY The Fox; Jonesboro, Arkansas
This year's honoree in the Small Market category gives thousands of dollars and countless hours of free PSAs to support the missions of community organizations. Among over a dozen worthy initiatives within the past year, KDXY has held their 6th Annual "Have-A-Heart Radiothon" to benefit the Make a Wish Foundation, collected truckloads of dog and cat food and supplies to benefit the Northeast Arkansas Humane Society and collected blood for the Red Cross in a "Mosquito Bash Blood Drive."

(Medium Market) 99.1 KXKC; Lafayette, Louisiana
This year's honoree in the Medium Market category conducted two dozen community events and campaigns in their market during the qualification period. KXKC assured that every child in their market would have a toy for Christmas through their "Toys For Tots" campaign. They teamed with United Blood Services for a "Tour De Life Blood Drive." They also partnered with the Junior League of Lafayette for "Tinsel and Treasure," a pre-holiday shopping market that raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for community programs.

(Large Market) 99.5 WQYK; Tampa, Florida
WQYK is the number one ranked station and revenue generator in its market. On top of that, it is the biggest donator in the area. The station has supported more than sixty (60) organizations and events within the qualifying period. These efforts include raising $30,000 for The Angelus, a home for severely handicapped persons with their annual "Redneck Open Golf Tournament," raising $330,000 for St. Jude at the Florida State Fair and supporting Morning air personality and Cowboy poet Les McDowell as he visited over 70 schools to inspire children to write poetry.

Get more ideas and find out how to enter next year at 615.327.4487 or by visiting www.crb.org.

Giving Back To The Community - a new ideas blog

Read the lured.com Radio Ideas Blog - click here Sammy Simpson used to be the Marketing Director of Z-100, NYC and now he's a programmer in DC. Smart guy. Great site.

Ever Seen WHEAT Wave In The Wind On The Web?

Then, you need to look at this clever portal for the Morris/Salina cluster:
http://www.ksallink.com/

Naming Rights for a Day

No, of course no local radio station can buy the naming rights to your local stadium or arena (except for rare instances). But, could you do it for an important day?

WAAF gets naming rights to Boston's big Tweeter Center - for one day.
It's a charity thing that benefits various Boston-area groups and the station will use eBay to generate bids for a prize package built around a Motley Crue concert. The bidding for the prize is for one day only - Saturday, March 5 - and the Tweeter Center will briefly be known as the "WAAF Center."

And, of course, there's always this approach too:

Mile High Honor:
Colorado Governor Bill Owens has declared Saturday to be KYGO George Strait Day in honor of the Denver Country station's 25th Birthday Party concert that evening. Strait headlines.

Localizing in Lethbridge

CHLB PD Reid Morgan really knows his community:

Country 95 is going to smoke in May. Boy, I called it, and am I ever pleased I did. you remember in January I said the border wasn't going to open to cattle on March 7. I decided to go with the Kash Kitty rather than cash cow because of that prediction. We now have some EXTREMELY angry people around here, I am glad we aren't making light of cows in any way right now. It would be disastrous!

Reid Morgan, CRM
Director of Programming
CHLB-FM, CJBZ-FM
401 Mayor Magrath Drive
Lethbridge, Alberta T1J 3L8W
403.329.0955
F.403.329.0195

Cookies from home for the troops

WKRQ (Q102)/Cincinnati morning hosts Jeff & Jenn have started a Cookies For The Troops campaign.

Working with Girl Scouts and Brownies in the tri-state area, they are collecting cookies to send to our troops serving in Iraq. Cookies will be sent out on March 11 to Q102 correspondent Capt. Karen of the U.S. Air Force who is stationed in Iraq. She has been calling in to the Q-102 morning show to say hello to her local family and relate her experiences.

For more info, contact Q-102 PD Patti Marshall.

Texas Hold 'Em Poker at KGNC, Amarillo

PD/Morning guy Tim Butler reported that Amarillo's #1 radio station played "Texas Holdem Tuesday" During The Fall Book. The results were impressive. So:

"We Began Playing Again Today For The Spring Book.
The Basic Idea Is To Do A Progressive Contest. We Deal The First Two Cards On The Morning Show At 7:07am, Then The Next Three Cards (The Flop) At 10:07am, The Next Card (The Turn Card) At 3:07pm And The Next Card (The River) At 6:07pm. We Then (at 6:07pm) Take The 7th Caller To Tell Us The Entire Hand To Win $100.

"We Also Just Got Two Trips To Wendover, Nevada To Giveaway. Everyone That Wins "Texas Holdem Tuesday" In The Month Of March And April Will Be In A Reverse (more fun than a simple one) Drawing To Win.