My Guest Column on Radio Insight

[TheBigA]

- Why consider national radio and creating/installing technology that switches the tuner in your car to the stations airing their programming as mentioned in this article, when one can simply switch on SiriusXM and enjoy seamless reception wherever they drive or travel and it's technology that's already in place?

Perhaps because one is free and the other requires a subscription?

- Most importantly, I still want radio as a source of localized information and in some cases, guidance and help.

It's more expensive to do, and there are fewer people interested in receiving that kind of information on the radio at all times of day and night. There are cheaper ways to do that kind of thing. However, there still are quite a few stations that do what you want now. They tend to be in larger cities.

 

[Mikey Radio]

there are fewer people interested in receiving that kind of information on the radio at all times of day and night.

In my case, there was a bad storm that evening and power was lost, so television wasn't an option, and I didn't have a data connection for my cell where I was at, so I was hoping to tune into terrestrial radio to get information and updates, but nope - Everything was syndicated, computerized or otherwise canned...Radio was needed as a true "public service" and at least that night in that market, it failed.

 

[TheBigA]

Radio was needed as a true "public service" and at least that night in that market, it failed.

Unfortunately it's expensive to staff anything at night on the off chance that some emergency might happen. Radio is not in the emergency information business any more. When the Department of Homeland Security was created after 9/11, they changed the entire system for emergency information. Radio isn't in the same position it was in before that.

 

[b-turner]

I get what Mikey Radio is saying however it is just not feasible especially in small markets or stand alones. You are assuming there is ample staff to get the information, hit the air with it and maintain a caller driven live program. The staff is simply not there. I worked small market stations where there was one jock that did mornings and at one point that was a part-time gig. There was no local news director and such. It was the GM and his wife with a high school girl handling traffic working about 15 hours a week.

I have felt the same frustration in a top 10 market when the big boy operators of several stations either didn't have the available people or the resources to get information on the air. I'm talking during Tropical Storm Alison where the 18 wheelers were bobbing in the freeway, every hospital was shut down, evacuation centers were being evacuated, etc. On the TV side it was wall to wall coverage with callers saying where they were and needed rescue. It was so bad people with boats who could safely reach people being flooded out was being encouraged. As for radio, the News/Talk stayed with pro baseball until they realized the whole city shut down (a couple of hours). The FMs were running voice-tracked with information like 'a good night for staying in. We hear flooding is happening at several spots'. I point this out to say you'd think there would be ample and timely coverage in one of America's largest cities where major companies have multiple stations each.

It seems with all the options available for information these days, radio sees themselves as not the only source. Maybe we hurt ourselves or maybe radio is not the primary 'go to' in times of crisis.

 

[TheBigA]

It seems with all the options available for information these days, radio sees themselves as not the only source. Maybe we hurt ourselves or maybe radio is not the primary 'go to' in times of crisis.

I mentioned the creation of Homeland Security in 2002. When that happened, billions of dollars were directed to states and local emergency services. They were supposed to use that money to set up infrastructure to get emergency information to the public. Very little of that happened. Instead, most of the money went to staffing police departments, purchasing 4-wheel drives to replace cruisers, and other equipment. Most of the money went to dealing with the emergencies, and very little of it went to informing the public. These days when a big emergency happens, all hands are focused on dealing with the emergency, and perhaps only one person is left to deal with the media and informing the public. That's a problem. The money is there, but it's directed in the wrong areas. So even if radio stations were staffed, they wouldn't have access to real emergency information.

 

[xmtrland]

You may be thinking of BPS, which was Bonneville Programming Services, a division of Bonneville International. Bonneville allowed for local hosts, and their biggest outlet was WRFM in NYC. BPI was Broadcast Programming Inc, a company that emerged in the 80s and is now part of Cumulus. I think BPI was based in Seattle, and created Delilah.

But there were several national radio programing syndicators in the 60s, including Schulke, Century, and Peters. By the late 60s, Drake Chenault got in the business.

I was thinking of IGM in Bellingham, WA (the IGM Instacart comes to mind). BPI was in Seattle.

 

[davideduardo]

But you also skipped over all of the taped syndication that existed in the 60s and 70s. I've estimated about 20% of all radio during that time utilized some form of syndicated formats from a half dozen companies. Most of them used national voices (although some allowed local hosts). By the 80s, they switched to satellite. This was a huge profitable business, and continues to this day. Last week, I read an article summarizing the variety of daily content syndication for radio coming from United Stations, Sun Broadcast Group, and SkyView, to name a few.

But Shulke did not sell the Shulke format. Every station had a different name and image. Same with Bonneville, Churchill, TM, KalaMusic, Peters, FM 100, RPM, and all the rest. They did not even all play the same songs at the same time, nor did they have the same liners. Those were mostly music services, and the station built around them.

None had a common sales effort.

Shulke required local hosts, live, in the larger markets. Others provided liners and gave voice services. The liners were no different than having a voice-over person do a bunch of recorded drops today.

What I am talking about is a format with the same name, both in a "master stream" that is geotargeted and local stations where they exist, similarly targeted with local ads as well as regional and national spots integrated with the market specific service elements... the way that is very common in Europe and many nations in South America, Asia and even Africa and has been since the technology has existed... in some places going on 50 years.

All the syndication today is basically bits and pieces that a station assembles under their marquee. There is no national name and identity.

 

[davideduardo]

I was thinking of IGM in Bellingham, WA (the IGM Instacart comes to mind). BPI was in Seattle.

They had multiple formats, and I believe one bought the other at one point, but I can not remember which.

 

[davideduardo]

You may be thinking of BPS, which was Bonneville Programming Services, a division of Bonneville International. Bonneville allowed for local hosts, and their biggest outlet was WRFM in NYC. BPI was Broadcast Programming Inc, a company that emerged in the 80s and is now part of Cumulus. I think BPI was based in Seattle, and created Delilah.

But there were several national radio programing syndicators in the 60s, including Schulke, Century, and Peters. By the late 60s, Drake Chenault got in the business.

Drake was actually prior to Shulke and Bonneville which were turn-of-the-decade (I just emailed Marlin who did Bonneville, but he is traveling today) with its "Hit Parade 69" and then "Hit Parade 69" and then a variety of other formats. FM 100 was years later, as were many of the rest when the need for tape-delivered formats grew. The big burst in those companies came in the 1971-1974 period as lots of stations discovered they could not do a good and cheap job on their own. It was closer to '74 when Abrams's Superstars came on the scene, creating local, individual but highly structured AOR stations... beginning the era of the superconsultants.

 

[TheBigA]

What I am talking about is a format with the same name, both in a "master stream" that is geotargeted and local stations where they exist,

Then Entercom doesn't qualify either. Entercom is simply providing common talent to its stations, with different music and commercials. It's in-company VT. They are still retaining local sales staffs, and the local stations have no barter to carry. Meanwhile the syndication done by United Stations, Compass Media, Sun Broadcast Systems, and SkyView are complete packages of hosts, music, and commercials, similar to what's provided by the corporate owned companies Premiere and Westwood One.

 

[davideduardo]

M
- Why consider national radio and creating/installing technology that switches the tuner in your car to the stations airing their programming as mentioned in this article, when one can simply switch on SiriusXM and enjoy seamless reception wherever they drive or travel and it's technology that's already in place?

Most radio listening is not in the car, and most cars don't have Sirius/XM. 32 million active accounts out of 273 million motor vehicles in the US.

- Many of the countries referenced are MUCH smaller than the USA by both population and physical size. Is this really as practical here?

It seems to work for TV. When was the last time you saw a local equivalent of the Tonight Show model or of a daytime talk show on television.

- It's my opinion that many people really prefer radio that's live and local. It's been at least a few decades since I've seriously listened to a syndicated morning show, for instance. Why? Because while I want to be entertained and informed, I also want to hear about stuff that's relatable to me. The local sports teams, impact of recent weather events in the immediate area, information about local politics, excitement about upcoming events here and then to hear a recap once the local radio staff have attended them.

While morning shows many require, in larger markets, some local content that is easy to add, the rest of the day in radio pretty much rejects this. Shows that have huge national audiences like Seacrest, Bones and the rest have the "content" most listeners want to hear: artists and celebrities.

- Most importantly, I still want radio as a source of localized information and in some cases, guidance and help. I wrote a commentary for Radio World about 15 years ago when I was visiting some relatives in a smaller radio market outside of Pittsburgh. There was a horrible weather event that resulted in damaged roads, fallen trees and widespread losses of power. I switched on the radio and went up and down the AM and FM dials: Not a single station was airing information or trying to give helpful details or even taking calls from people who were affected or who were out on the roadways and could possibly give updates on closures and conditions. The only thing on the radio that night were radio shows like Delilah and stations airing computer or satellite formatted music, or networked talk shows and news programs. That's NOT what radio is supposed to be IMO.

As BigA has said, the economies of radio (billing off by about 60% in inflation adjusted dollars since 2000) don't allow that kind of service except for perhaps one or two local stations. The rest can't and won't be able to do anything in that once-every-decade big emergency. It is estimated that, prior to the pandemic, over 50% of radio stations were unprofitable. Look at the developing situation exemplified by Cumulus shutting off permanently its two AMs in Savannah, GA.

The FCC created too many stations, and pretty much killed the industry with Docket 80-90 at the end of the 80's; that was what forced the FCC to allow up to 8 stations per owner per market. The revenues were not growing, yet there are nearly three times the FMs (including translators) today as in 1985!

 

[davideduardo]

Entercom is simply providing common talent to its stations, with different music and commercials. It's in-company VT. They are still retaining local sales staffs, and the local stations have no barter to carry. Meanwhile the syndication done by United Stations, Sun Broadcast Systems, and SkyView are complete packages of hosts, music, and commercials, similar to what's provided by the corporate owned companies Premiere and Westwood One.

But they have no national "station" with the same things across all the stations they own at the same local time and with a matching national but geolocated stream.

Entercom is providing shows, not identities and a total national service with terrestrial where they own and the web everywhere. Nobody has a synchronized and integrated web service relayed on local stations where they have one.

The closest, indeed, is KLove, but they are not a commercial station and they don't geotarget commercial or introduce local elements on the terrestrial stations. Those local elements are everything from local advertisers to service elements and even local promotions, contests and events.

 

[davideduardo]

When I think of radio during the Depression, I think of national shows, not local stations. Jack Benny, Burns & Allen, Edgar Bergen and "Amos and Andy".

Yes, and stations had as strong an identity with Red, Blue, CBS, Yankee, Don Lee and other webs as with their own call letters. But at the time, only a few markets had more than three or four stations, and many areas still had none. And the networks did not provide 100% of programming and stations had to fill in the empty hours with their own shows... it was sort of like local daytime TV, with lots of other local programming or stuff delivered on ETs.

 

[TheBigA]

The closest, indeed, is KLove, but they are not a commercial station and they don't geotarget commercial or introduce local elements on the terrestrial stations.

And the only reason that works is because the same company OWNS all their stations. That's what would be needed for the same thing to happen in commercial radio. That's what iHeart is doing with BIN. They're buying AM stations in every market so they OWN the stations where their format airs. Similar to what Radio Disney did at one time.

 

[Mikey Radio]

Unfortunately it's expensive to staff anything at night on the off chance that some emergency might happen. Radio is not in the emergency information business any more. When the Department of Homeland Security was created after 9/11, they changed the entire system for emergency information. Radio isn't in the same position it was in before that.

I don't necessarily disagree with your comments @TheBigA, @DavidEduardo and @b-Turner, but I do find it interesting that we see articles in industry publications like Radio World explaining that radio broadcast personnel, especially engineers, are being registered as First Responders in some states so they can keep their stations on the air for the public good and they can get critical information, news and details to their listeners during times of weather emergencies, natural disasters and the like, and I've also seen where stations have asked to be high on priority lists for things like fuel deliveries during shortages or times of emergency so they can keep generators going and their stations on the air.

On the other hand, when there is a major weather incident and one scans the AM/FM dials and hears nothing but satellite programming, national news/talk or playlists being aired by a computer, then why the need for all I mentioned in my first paragraph? I realize there's a cost involved, but when not one station in a given market is doing something to inform the public and bring them information when they've lost power so TV is out, cell service is out or jammed and it could be radio's time to shine and prove its real value, that doesn't happen. //Steps off soabpox//

 

[TheBigA]

I don't necessarily disagree with your comments @TheBigA, @DavidEduardo and @b-Turner, but I do find it interesting that we see articles in industry publications like Radio World explaining that radio broadcast personnel, especially engineers, are being registered as First Responders

I see all that too. Every time there's a storm I read interviews with all the stations in the affected areas, and they all talk about how they went live all night, slept in the studio, sent out for pizza, and everything else. I'm sure it happens. So it depends on where you are.

 

[davideduardo]

And the only reason that works is because the same company OWNS all their stations. That's what would be needed for the same thing to happen in commercial radio. That's what iHeart is doing with BIN. They're buying AM stations in every market so they OWN the stations where their format airs. Similar to what Radio Disney did at one time.

What I am saying is that a group does not need to be in every market. They do terrestrial in the ones they own. They build local ad inserts in the steaming where there is no station. The do national everywhere with localization. When it is time to turn off the terrestrial stations, they just remain online.

 

[Groove1670]

When they find that the shows they try to create don't generate the level of artist and entertainment engagement, that aspect of the group will die. They do have a good idea in developing a separate national rep and lobbying for smaller radio stations, not TV and big groups.

This reminds me of Gabbert's NAFMB back quite a few decades...

Small market stations have gave up inventory. We have made WWI and Premiere very rich. With those networks having the capability of inserting ads tagged locally, co-op money is drying up from insurance agencies, auto parts dealers etc.

We have become our own enemy.

I'm rolling the dice with the IBA and see what happens. I talked with several owners who don't want to give up some barter for membership. How much inventory do you give up each hour for some announcer to say that song was and this song is and to read a story about some train wreck celebrity? I heart and Cumulus says thanks.

 

[Theater of My Mind]

I'll chime in with these thoughts:


1. I think David is right, the conglomerates will move more and more toward a model of national shows carried "live" on the music stations in all of their markets with breaks structured to accommodate local spots and service elements, similar to network TV variety/talk shows. They'll still have to be time shifted across the time zones though, also like network TV does.


2. It doesn't have to be one or the other, national or local programming. There are enough radio stations in the U.S. for some of each to exist in each market.


3. We've already had national radio shows in the U.S. for many years, they are on SiriusXM. Europe doesn't have that. Again, there's no reason radio here has to be one or the other. We can, and do, have both national and local programming models and there's nothing wrong with that.


4. America is a much larger country than most others that David is thinking of when he points to national radio models using synchronized transmitters and/or RDS to keep the station locked into the nearest one while you drive from place to place. Terrestrial radio will never work like that in the U.S. because there's not a continuous blanket of transmitters owned by the same company from coast to coast in this huge country. The closest we have is the syndicated network shows, but they aren't coordinated as tightly across the country as those national broadcasts in other countries. The same is true for national Entercom or iHeart hosts.


5. We've already seen plenty of well-deserved backlash over the radio conglomerates eliminating jobs and replacing them with national content. The transition being discussed here is painful for the talented people being thrown out of work. There's also the usual difference in opinions between what's good for business, what's best for American workers and the economy, how companies should treat their dedicated employees, what's most beneficial to listeners, and how much any broadcaster can get away with in terms of firing popular local hosts before seriously damaging their PR.

 

[TheBigA]

There's also the usual difference in opinions between what's good for business, what's best for American workers and the economy, how companies should treat their dedicated employees, what's most beneficial to listeners, and how much any broadcaster can get away with in terms of firing popular local hosts before seriously damaging their PR.

Keep in mind that the "national hosts" are also local hosts. Entercom promoted from within. So sure some people lost their jobs, but conversely, some local hosts are now reaching larger audiences, and likely getting some extra money for what they do. Nobody likes seeing people lose their jobs, but it's happening at a time when there are lots of opportunities for talented radio people with an open mind. If they're willing to move, there are jobs in other markets, or there are jobs in other forms of media. But it will take REAL talent to do those jobs. That means being able to edit audio, write text content, and do personal appearances. Radio isn't as easy as it used to be, but if you have talent, there are lots of ways to use it.