S
scottwmro
Guest
Here is a message from Eric Rhoads, Publisher of Radio Ink. I thought that folks like Pat Julian, Tibbs, Swiss, and a few others of you need to read this. It was in my eamil box this morning. Don't get mad at me on his comment. My disclaimer: the views are of Mr. Rhoads and not mine!
Scott
My Promise For 2008
A Message From Radio Ink Publisher Eric Rhoads Regarding Radio in 2008
I'm trying hard not to be one of those old salts who is living in the past, wishing the "good old days of radio" would return. Yes, there are elements of the past that radio can learn from, but if radio returned to the old ways of doing business, we could not succeed in this fast-paced world of digital media. The keys to our success will be reinvention and reinvigoration, which are relevant to today's society and to advertisers. Radio remains strong in many ways, but seven years of negative growth on Wall Street have not helped, nor has the recent news of the 6 percent drop in radio advertising in November. Of course, not all radio is about Wall Street and what one reader of ours calls "the radio elite."
In this industry that I love passionately, I am seeing trends that I do not like: Some of radio's best managers and sales managers are resigning over proposed 2008 budgets that cut down to the bone and that they simply want no part of, and some of radio's best are being pushed out by executives who think non-radio people can do better. These group executives are not bad people; they are simply under enormous pressure from investors to solve their problems.
Who Broke A Mirror?
Radio's seven years of bad luck seem to be continuing. We should be investing in our product, yet it's the worst possible time to do so. With economic indicators signaling bigger problems, advertising -- at the end of the food chain -- is usually the first cut made. Although radio sometimes benefits in a recession from advertisers that cannot afford television and move their budgets to lower-cost radio, sadly, many of those advertisers have been seduced by new media and are moving away from traditional media altogether.
I Refuse To Accept Failure
What about you? During the last major economic downturn, Mel Karmazin told his staff at CBS that "recession is not an option" and continued to lead his company with the mindset that failure was unacceptable. It worked -- and while others stumbled, CBS held its own. I believe that each of us must make a personal commitment that, no matter what it takes, we will not allow our medium to decline. We will work harder, smarter, and more passionately than ever.
Human Decency
A decent human being would not abandon a spouse if he or she contracted cancer. Just as your care and attention are needed for a sick family member during a challenging time, your devotion to radio is needed now -- no matter how great your frustration level with your employer. You are not alone. If you got into radio because you love it, find the devotion to fix it. Mounting pressure has detracted from radio's fun atmosphere, but solving our industrywide sales problem will relieve that pressure. You are valuable and you are needed now.
The Power Of One
Change always starts with one person who is bold enough to try one idea. Your one idea may be the catalyst that will change the radio industry. Ed McLaughlin's vision for Rush Limbaugh was that one idea that saved the dying AM radio band. One idea. Commit to trying new initiatives, even in the face of bold disagreement. Radio needs your innovation now.
Eight Promises To Radio
Don't assume that you cannot change the industry. Each of us can make a huge difference, including you. We each need to own the problem, to take on the problem at our personal level, and to experiment boldly. Here is what I am doing personally:
1. I have directed my editorial staff to publish your bold ideas in Radio Ink. I encourage any industry professional, in any size market, to share your vision with the entire industry in hopes that they, too, will try your initiatives. Submit your ideas to Editor-in-Chief Joe Howard ([email protected]) or to me ([email protected]). We want to follow your progress as well, so please keep us posted as ideas develop.
2. I've asked our editors to gather station success stories in all areas -- sales, promotions, marketing, etc. -- to disseminate practical and profitable ideas from around the country (and the world). This industry has a bad habit of not sharing successful ideas. This must change. We're all in this boat, and this is not a time to be focused on self. We will publish these success stories as you share them.
3. I'm sick and tired of radio stations selling against one another. It's one thing to compete; it's another to try to destroy the reputations of others. If it is happening in your market, I want you to phone me and give me specifics. I will personally call the individuals conducting themselves this way to tell them why they are hurting themselves and radio. Furthermore, I will phone their boss, their regional manager, and their group head. This must stop. And, if my lawyers tell me I can do it without litigation, I will publicly embarrass those who commit this cardinal sin. I need your commitment that 2008 is the year where we will build radio together as an industry and not tear one another down.
4. I will personally offer my time to assist any company that feels it is at a loss over what to do. I will take a proactive approach to meet with the heads of radio companies to offer a fresh perspective on their businesses. Frankly, these people are eminently more qualified than I am when it comes to running radio companies, but a fresh perspective might prompt an idea or two.
5. I will be your messenger. If you feel your company is conducting itself badly, if you see clear mistakes being made, if you have a better way that you are convinced will help your company or your stations, if you are not being heard or fear that you might lose your job for offering suggestions, I will send the message on your behalf. You can e-mail me anonymously and tell me to whom you want your message directed, or you can e-mail me with your name, which I will keep confidential if you ask me to. I will make sure the group heads see your responsible suggestions.
6. The GM of our conference division has been instructed to pack the content of our conferences with even more practical, usable ideas. No fluff! I've instructed her to make sure that each speaker, moderator, and panelist is focused on solid, usable, moneymaking action items that are relevant to your needs, no matter what your market size or conditions. You'll leave with a list of action items you can implement at home the next day. Our upcoming conferences include:
March 10-11: CONVERGENCE: Radio's Digital Media Conference, San Jose
May 19-20: Radio Ink Hispanic Radio Conference, Miami
December 2: Radio Ink FORECAST, New York
7. At our Forecast Conference last month in New York, every group head emphasized the critical need for innovative ideas on how stations can make money in digital media. We've been told by countless market managers that they have been given high interactive budgets and they have no clue how they will meet them. With this specific goal in mind, I have designed our upcoming Convergence conference to do two things: 1) show you what is working and how it's being done (for example, one small-market station generates $600,000 in local interactive revenues, which exceeds its on-air billing) and 2) stretch your brain and make you uncomfortable by exposing you to things happening in Silicon Valley that you need to understand to build your station's interactive strategy to a new level. This conference is critical for managers, sales managers, and PDs -- not your interactive people. As a manager, you must not delegate this until you understand it fully. I've asked that every session have strong, income-generating action items.
8. I've asked Roy Williams to come out of hiding and conduct just one more conference for us. He has agreed to conduct a full-day, invitation-only conference at his private compound in Austin. I've asked Roy to create a special emphasis on building radio in recessionary times and a radio survival strategy. This conference will focus on solving radio's problems at a local level. If you wish to be invited, let me know. I think we can only accommodate 125 or so people.
THE FIGHT OF RADIO'S LIFE
"Small plans do not inflame the hearts of men." -- Napoleon
Radio is surrounded by companies and technologies that want to steal our audiences and our advertisers. Will you let your competitors take them away, knowing they may never return? This is the fight of our lives. This is not just about a dip in business, this is about a change in society, driven by technology. It's the perfect storm, as technology meets over leveraged companies with pressure to reduce expenses while the economy is suffering.
Radio is not only a viable medium, it is critical to the people in our towns across America. Perhaps our listeners are flirting with iPhones, digital media devices, and satellite radios, but every ear will be glued to your station when disaster strikes. But we need people glued to us every day. Radio needs to be relevant to communities and individuals at every level, at every station, no matter the format. Your station needs to be compelling now, because compelling radio cannot be touched by any competition. Listeners will only leave if we drive them away by not understanding and meeting their needs. Some in our industry are meeting those needs and reaping the rewards. Others need to become relevant and compelling again.
With your bold thinking, 2008 will be the year we reclaim radio.
It's time for big ideas, bold moves, and true revolution in our industry. It's up to you, not someone else. Are you in?
Eric Rhoads
Radio Ink
[email protected]
[EDIT]
[EDIT-privacy concerns]
Scott
My Promise For 2008
A Message From Radio Ink Publisher Eric Rhoads Regarding Radio in 2008
I'm trying hard not to be one of those old salts who is living in the past, wishing the "good old days of radio" would return. Yes, there are elements of the past that radio can learn from, but if radio returned to the old ways of doing business, we could not succeed in this fast-paced world of digital media. The keys to our success will be reinvention and reinvigoration, which are relevant to today's society and to advertisers. Radio remains strong in many ways, but seven years of negative growth on Wall Street have not helped, nor has the recent news of the 6 percent drop in radio advertising in November. Of course, not all radio is about Wall Street and what one reader of ours calls "the radio elite."
In this industry that I love passionately, I am seeing trends that I do not like: Some of radio's best managers and sales managers are resigning over proposed 2008 budgets that cut down to the bone and that they simply want no part of, and some of radio's best are being pushed out by executives who think non-radio people can do better. These group executives are not bad people; they are simply under enormous pressure from investors to solve their problems.
Who Broke A Mirror?
Radio's seven years of bad luck seem to be continuing. We should be investing in our product, yet it's the worst possible time to do so. With economic indicators signaling bigger problems, advertising -- at the end of the food chain -- is usually the first cut made. Although radio sometimes benefits in a recession from advertisers that cannot afford television and move their budgets to lower-cost radio, sadly, many of those advertisers have been seduced by new media and are moving away from traditional media altogether.
I Refuse To Accept Failure
What about you? During the last major economic downturn, Mel Karmazin told his staff at CBS that "recession is not an option" and continued to lead his company with the mindset that failure was unacceptable. It worked -- and while others stumbled, CBS held its own. I believe that each of us must make a personal commitment that, no matter what it takes, we will not allow our medium to decline. We will work harder, smarter, and more passionately than ever.
Human Decency
A decent human being would not abandon a spouse if he or she contracted cancer. Just as your care and attention are needed for a sick family member during a challenging time, your devotion to radio is needed now -- no matter how great your frustration level with your employer. You are not alone. If you got into radio because you love it, find the devotion to fix it. Mounting pressure has detracted from radio's fun atmosphere, but solving our industrywide sales problem will relieve that pressure. You are valuable and you are needed now.
The Power Of One
Change always starts with one person who is bold enough to try one idea. Your one idea may be the catalyst that will change the radio industry. Ed McLaughlin's vision for Rush Limbaugh was that one idea that saved the dying AM radio band. One idea. Commit to trying new initiatives, even in the face of bold disagreement. Radio needs your innovation now.
Eight Promises To Radio
Don't assume that you cannot change the industry. Each of us can make a huge difference, including you. We each need to own the problem, to take on the problem at our personal level, and to experiment boldly. Here is what I am doing personally:
1. I have directed my editorial staff to publish your bold ideas in Radio Ink. I encourage any industry professional, in any size market, to share your vision with the entire industry in hopes that they, too, will try your initiatives. Submit your ideas to Editor-in-Chief Joe Howard ([email protected]) or to me ([email protected]). We want to follow your progress as well, so please keep us posted as ideas develop.
2. I've asked our editors to gather station success stories in all areas -- sales, promotions, marketing, etc. -- to disseminate practical and profitable ideas from around the country (and the world). This industry has a bad habit of not sharing successful ideas. This must change. We're all in this boat, and this is not a time to be focused on self. We will publish these success stories as you share them.
3. I'm sick and tired of radio stations selling against one another. It's one thing to compete; it's another to try to destroy the reputations of others. If it is happening in your market, I want you to phone me and give me specifics. I will personally call the individuals conducting themselves this way to tell them why they are hurting themselves and radio. Furthermore, I will phone their boss, their regional manager, and their group head. This must stop. And, if my lawyers tell me I can do it without litigation, I will publicly embarrass those who commit this cardinal sin. I need your commitment that 2008 is the year where we will build radio together as an industry and not tear one another down.
4. I will personally offer my time to assist any company that feels it is at a loss over what to do. I will take a proactive approach to meet with the heads of radio companies to offer a fresh perspective on their businesses. Frankly, these people are eminently more qualified than I am when it comes to running radio companies, but a fresh perspective might prompt an idea or two.
5. I will be your messenger. If you feel your company is conducting itself badly, if you see clear mistakes being made, if you have a better way that you are convinced will help your company or your stations, if you are not being heard or fear that you might lose your job for offering suggestions, I will send the message on your behalf. You can e-mail me anonymously and tell me to whom you want your message directed, or you can e-mail me with your name, which I will keep confidential if you ask me to. I will make sure the group heads see your responsible suggestions.
6. The GM of our conference division has been instructed to pack the content of our conferences with even more practical, usable ideas. No fluff! I've instructed her to make sure that each speaker, moderator, and panelist is focused on solid, usable, moneymaking action items that are relevant to your needs, no matter what your market size or conditions. You'll leave with a list of action items you can implement at home the next day. Our upcoming conferences include:
March 10-11: CONVERGENCE: Radio's Digital Media Conference, San Jose
May 19-20: Radio Ink Hispanic Radio Conference, Miami
December 2: Radio Ink FORECAST, New York
7. At our Forecast Conference last month in New York, every group head emphasized the critical need for innovative ideas on how stations can make money in digital media. We've been told by countless market managers that they have been given high interactive budgets and they have no clue how they will meet them. With this specific goal in mind, I have designed our upcoming Convergence conference to do two things: 1) show you what is working and how it's being done (for example, one small-market station generates $600,000 in local interactive revenues, which exceeds its on-air billing) and 2) stretch your brain and make you uncomfortable by exposing you to things happening in Silicon Valley that you need to understand to build your station's interactive strategy to a new level. This conference is critical for managers, sales managers, and PDs -- not your interactive people. As a manager, you must not delegate this until you understand it fully. I've asked that every session have strong, income-generating action items.
8. I've asked Roy Williams to come out of hiding and conduct just one more conference for us. He has agreed to conduct a full-day, invitation-only conference at his private compound in Austin. I've asked Roy to create a special emphasis on building radio in recessionary times and a radio survival strategy. This conference will focus on solving radio's problems at a local level. If you wish to be invited, let me know. I think we can only accommodate 125 or so people.
THE FIGHT OF RADIO'S LIFE
"Small plans do not inflame the hearts of men." -- Napoleon
Radio is surrounded by companies and technologies that want to steal our audiences and our advertisers. Will you let your competitors take them away, knowing they may never return? This is the fight of our lives. This is not just about a dip in business, this is about a change in society, driven by technology. It's the perfect storm, as technology meets over leveraged companies with pressure to reduce expenses while the economy is suffering.
Radio is not only a viable medium, it is critical to the people in our towns across America. Perhaps our listeners are flirting with iPhones, digital media devices, and satellite radios, but every ear will be glued to your station when disaster strikes. But we need people glued to us every day. Radio needs to be relevant to communities and individuals at every level, at every station, no matter the format. Your station needs to be compelling now, because compelling radio cannot be touched by any competition. Listeners will only leave if we drive them away by not understanding and meeting their needs. Some in our industry are meeting those needs and reaping the rewards. Others need to become relevant and compelling again.
With your bold thinking, 2008 will be the year we reclaim radio.
It's time for big ideas, bold moves, and true revolution in our industry. It's up to you, not someone else. Are you in?
Eric Rhoads
Radio Ink
[email protected]
[EDIT]
[EDIT-privacy concerns]