Now What?

[ejohn374]

Time for a solid discussion on what's next for local radio. With Kevin Cohen gone, Good Morning Columbia gone and a handful of Charleston people gone does anyone really think local radio will make a come back? I know we all hope/wish it would but is it too far gone?

I think someone like Mike Willis will do well because its very local and not a lot of overhead. What about the others?

 

[ncscradiogeek]

to be honest I think local radio is all but over. that is not a professional thought but just my thinking. I think we are going to have to get used to the new normal and stop wishing for the good old days.

 

[Scooter Lesley]

Well,...I'll add my part to this discussion, but before I do, I'd also like to ask that all of the members of The Think Tank, as well as the few Boobs that occassionally take issue with me...Pitch in here!
A Columbia resident recently said to me: "It you think Greenville(GSP) radio is bad, you should hear Columbia or Charleston!".
It is my understanding that those two markets are firing quality Air Talent, as if they can no longer speak. It would be easy for me to side with what appears to be a keen grasp of the obvious; Commercial Radio Is Dead. However, I see a faint light at the end of the tunnel. That light is held by newcomers to Radio Broadcast ownership. Whether current owners will admit one jot or tittle of failure is irrelevant. They own it. If they were to sell it, they can not get what they originally paid for it. Now, to the point of allegedly being stuck with it, how do we, at least, turn a small profit? To me, breaking even,..."is loosing". Here in the GSP market, COX will eventually make their exit, and sell both Hot 98, and the smoke blowin' monster freq 107.3 FM. Even though Clear Channel botched the format flippage of MY102, that was an effort to gain. The FCC also needs to have a say: Run it with all the intention of turning a profit or we will pull your license, and you will have to sell it! You get by with maybe two employees, but not for long. Then, just leave the PC on,...but you have to have at least one to ajust it. If you go dark, and turn the transmitter off, you still have bills...a meter base fee, and etc... I'll continue, and add more later, but let's now, here from everyone else....................

 

[RobynWattsV2.0]

Good thoughts and points, Scooter.

However, as we has seen "the bomb dropped and there's nothing left but engineers and account execs" (as some big wig schmuck from Capstar predicted what would happen and said to the whole Columbia cluster in a staff meeting back in 1999) over the last 12 years, what's to say that Clear Channel, Cumulus, etc. goes to the Federal Government for a "Detroit style" bailout to save their companies and their sorry overpaid asses "the public airwaves" from going under?

To paraphrase the words of former Presidential candidate, now turned trivia question, Mitt Romney......let'em go bankrupt. Maybe we'll get some broadcasters running radio stations again, but I have a gut feeling that, unless radio stops being an I-pod with a transmitter and offers something different, then........really, I don't want to go there.

Robyn

 

[RadioMetalMan]

I listen to local podcasts and they are LEAGUES beyond the service level of any AM or FM talk station here in town.

 

[ejohn374]

Good discussion! Everyone has hit on great points. There are over 45K Internet radio stations and now Ford offers Wi-Fi for most cars and with a soon nationwide Wi-Fi we'll be able to pick those stations up in the car. When that happens old school radio stations will be in real trouble the car is where terrestrial radio is king.

iPod, podcast etc. offer ways to hear music, news and everything else that 25 years ago did not exist. As a career nobody chooses radio any more even finding sales people is a big challenge . Cumulus lost three AE's who have been there selling for 10 plus years. The big corporate giants (for the life of me I don't get this) somewhere along the way forgot that all radio is local. These are the smartest people in the room and they forgot the number one rule?

Nobody has a favorite TV station, no favorite newspaper etc. Everyone has a favorite radio station it's the personal connection that radio provides. However, today, those 30 and younger have that connection with the iPods, You Tubes etc. that's not going to change its now part of their daily lives. So what do we do with these 10,000 + radio stations?

 

[DudeFan]

Funny thing is that over the weekend, I got to talk and listen to 18-20 years olds staffing WUSC. Radio is far from dead. They've had more interest in years from fellow students wanting to join the station and the students that are there want to do (and are doing) experiemental and creative things.

So, radio is not dead.

Voice-tracked liner radio is.

My observation is that current students see radio as an extension of social media rather than the reverse. They see radio for its value as a social connectors and group communication tool and another way to share "news," information and music.

 

[TheBigA]

There are over 45K Internet radio stations and now Ford offers Wi-Fi for most cars and with a soon nationwide Wi-Fi we'll be able to pick those stations up in the car. When that happens old school radio stations will be in real trouble the car is where terrestrial radio is king.

Except that there's nothing on the internet that's actually local either. So what you're saying is the motivation for people is no longer localism. There's another motivation at work. And you can see it with everything you're talking about. Their world isn't driven by the local church or the malt shop. It's driven by their friends, by like-thinking people who aren't necessarily local, but are interesting in the same stuff. So in that way, OTA radio is simply responding to the changing media marketplace. Just because you offer something unique, like local DJs, doesn't mean the audience will want it. The audience wants what it wants, and it may not be a local DJ. As long as you give them the weather and traffic, that may be all they're really interested in. Plus keep in mind that companies like Clear Channel are now in the streaming radio business. So if you don't listen to them on air, you MAY listen online. So they've got you either way.

 

[freqdev]

agree big a. site is made up of bitter people on the outside.

 

[snailboy]

Local radio coming back, it may (if) take years. I voice track a FM Station in Canada all the way from Atlanta, Ga. I am local as the next vt guy...lol.

 

[ejohn374]

Big A great points! The issue with CC and the rest of them is you can stream all day (I-Heart Radio) and the cost is nothing compared to running the actual stations. That's the rub. There is simply no way the Clear Channel's can make back the money they invested they end up kicking the debt can down the road. DudeFan said he spoke with a number of college kids who have genuine interest in radio who see radio as more of a social media tool rather than the way most of us see (seen) radio. For me I never got into radio to make money (only towards the end of my career did I make any real money) and right now young people will have to understand that still holds true. Here is the good news! These young people today (gosh I sound like my parents) seem to think fast on their feet and have good innovative ideas (using radio as a social media tool is a great example). They see radio differently and I know I stand to learn some things by watching this unfold. Radio is not dead however, it clearly will be changing.

 

[Gatekeeper007]

I have heard from a good many people that stream my station thru their cell phones when they are out of range of the OTA signal. I have tried it and found that so long as you are in a cell covered area and hooked to an AUX input on the car radio no problems except for the drop out areas that cell internet doesn't cover, I can guess WiFi would be a lot worse on coverage.

 

[upstate29651]

They see radio for its value as a social connectors and group communication tool and another way to share "news," information and music.

Outside of college radio, I can't see this. Stockholder-run radio won't allow their stations turn into a 100k watt facebook, as that'll turn off advertisers in a heartbeat. Define "news" and you may be able to convince me.

G

 

[TheBigA]

Stockholder-run radio won't allow their stations turn into a 100k watt facebook, as that'll turn off advertisers in a heartbeat.

Actually almost all "stockholder run" radio companies insist their on-air staffers do social media. And we're finding that advertisers want to tie in with radio Facebook pages for campaigns. If you have an active Facebook page, advertisers want to be a part of it.

 

[upstate29651]

Stockholder-run radio won't allow their stations turn into a 100k watt facebook, as that'll turn off advertisers in a heartbeat.

Actually almost all "stockholder run" radio companies insist their on-air staffers do social media. And we're finding that advertisers want to tie in with radio Facebook pages for campaigns. If you have an active Facebook page, advertisers want to be a part of it.

Point taken, as long as that presence isn't allowed to become "campy" or "potty mouthed", as I have seen on numerous jock FB pages.

G

 

[upstate29651]

Stockholder-run radio won't allow their stations turn into a 100k watt facebook, as that'll turn off advertisers in a heartbeat.

Actually almost all "stockholder run" radio companies insist their on-air staffers do social media. And we're finding that advertisers want to tie in with radio Facebook pages for campaigns. If you have an active Facebook page, advertisers want to be a part of it.

Point taken, as long as that presence isn't allowed to become "campy" or "potty mouthed", as I have seen on numerous jock FB pages.

G

I should clarify. I've seen numerous airstaff pages that are littered with comments like, "you used to play A, now you play B, so you suck!" Jock: "that's what your mom says/no one is forcing you to listen/comment used to defend the mothership". I doubt advertisers would want any of that.

G

 

[RadioMetalMan]

Advertisers want results, period.

 

[Scooter Lesley]

Pardon me, while I echo the briliant simplicity of the last post...from RadioMetalMan, and advertising's prime directive.
Larry, at Larry's Muffler Shop, does not give a rat's ass about anything,...but the busted tailpipe business, and profiting from the service thereof. If he spends $1500 on a flight of spots this month, he better see some return. He has seen a clear return in the past, but since listenership is down, and his last run was disappointing, Larry is getting harder to convince. Ratings that were a 10.5 are now a...Pee-u-nee...4.1, and the Cable TV sales guy is buying his lunch on Friday. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm?
...and you don't have to be Kreskin to know why!

 

[DudeFan]

Guru:

I am just saying how the next generation sees and uses radio. Corporate radio either pays attention to that or ignores it at their peril. Remember, it is the audience that tells us what is relevant in terms of programming. Not us telling the audience what they should hear.

 

[freqdev]

if i were an advertiser i would want results too. i still belive this site is full of old radio hacks who were forced out for various reasons and are bitter. i am still on the inside and radio thrives with listener participation and interaction through the social media as well as direct contact with the station. i guess it is your job to continually point out the industry's faults, but since you are no longer around listeners target practice is easy broadcast tv is not the same since cable and satellite. banks are not the same since atm machines. cleaning is not the same since the swiffer sweeper and vinyl is coming back. better sounding and more room for liner notes. embrace the medium if you love it. it is easy from the armchair