PANDORA - WHY ARE WE EVEN DISCUSSING IT?

[TheBigA]

And let me know when your Internet or LPFM station makes a dent in the ratings, or pays a living wage to the people that work there.

If you want someone to pay you a "living wage," go into sales. As for getting ratings, Clear Channel and Citadel get them without staff. They don't have news staffs and don't give emergency warnings unless required by local officials. So what? What does that tell you about the need for achieving ratings?

As I've pointed out many times, you want to serve the public, or make money and ratings? You can't do both.

 

[SirRoxalot]

As I've pointed out many times, you want to serve the public, or make money and ratings? You can't do both.

That's possibly the most cynical, and flat-out WRONG statement that you've ever made. That's EXACTLY what's wrong with most radio management these days. It's also why NPR is getting bigger ratings than ever, and is displacing commercial news/talk for MANY listeners.

Radio is fading away because that type of attitude is undoing the decades of work by dedicated professionals who built the business that the consolidators spent BILLIONS on, only to reduce it to a pale imitation of the industry that meant so much to so many on both sides of the grille cloth.

No wonder you "left the corner office 8 years ago". You "do real radio now"? You're "in the trenches with real people who do it for free"? The REAL people do it for a living, and deserve to get paid for helping guys with 7-figure salaries make multi-million dollar bonuses in spite of dismal management decisions.

 

[TheBigA]

It's also why NPR is getting bigger ratings than ever, and is displacing commercial news/talk for MANY listeners.

I worked for NPR. I left because the pay was bad. So as I said, you can't have both.

Radio is fading away

First you say NPR is a success, then you say radio is fading away. Are you saying NPR isn't radio? Make up your mind.

The REAL people do it for a living, and deserve to get paid for helping guys with 7-figure salaries make multi-million dollar bonuses in spite of dismal management decisions.

No one forces you to take their pay.

 

[SirRoxalot]

For the deliberately obtuse:

1. NPR executives ain't exactly starving while the people producing the product are on the low end of the pay scale, which is part of the point.

2. NPR is getting a bigger piece of a shrinking audience because it's probably the last bastion of intelligent news/talk. Commercial stations are getting hit harder by audience and TSL erosion than NPR stations.

3. If you're going to work in radio above poverty level, and in bigger markets, you have virtually no choice about taking a paycheck from one of the major consolidators. That doesn't mean that their corporate practices are fair, or reasonable. And yes, I'm aware that life isn't fair.

You obviously are in the "radio as a hobby" portion of your career. That's a nice place to be, but it excludes radio as a profession. That's like equating bloggers to journalists. If you don't understand the difference, you're ability to make informed decisions is limited.

 

[TheBigA]

You obviously are in the "radio as a hobby" portion of your career.

That's not true. Guessing is not one of your strong points. I'm involved in lots of things. Almost all are what you'd call "professional." I don't have one easily defined job. So just because I give you one aspect doesn't mean it's the primary aspect of my career.

I don't agree with your point #2. Most NPR stations are no better off than they ever have been. A handful of stations, mainly in educated markets like San Francisco and Boston, are doing better, and they've also increased the number of affiliates. When you look at "commercial stations," you include AM and FM. AM is dead, and drags down the numbers. NPR doesn't have the AM problem to deal with.

 

[SirRoxalot]

Most NPR stations are no better off than they ever have been. A handful of stations, mainly in educated markets like San Francisco and Boston, are doing better, and they've also increased the number of affiliates. When you look at "commercial stations," you include AM and FM. AM is dead, and drags down the numbers. NPR doesn't have the AM problem to deal with.

Really? That's news to the dozens of NPR AMs that have been cutting deals with educational FMs, or going the translator route to chase audiences that have moved to FM. In fact, NPRs demographics are among the last bastion of AM listeners. Some public broadcasters have been buying up faltering AMs and creating networks dependent on NPR programming and emulating he "synergies" attempted by the commercial consolidators.

 

[TheBigA]

In fact, NPRs demographics are among the last bastion of AM listeners.

That may be the case in your area, but definitely not the case in most parts of the country.

 

[Prais]

WGVU, the local NPR has changed their am to oldies, and seem to be doing well. They hired Bill Bailey (e-wls).

The fm is still traditional npr stuff. The am is Jocks w/Elvis through the Beatles, and what sounds like a 3000+ song playlist. The music is deep and often times obscure but the concept is sound.

 

[davideduardo]

WGVU, the local NPR has changed their am to oldies, and seem to be doing well. They hired Bill Bailey (e-wls).

The fm is still traditional npr stuff. The am is Jocks w/Elvis through the Beatles, and what sounds like a 3000+ song playlist. The music is deep and often times obscure but the concept is sound.

Is there a business model for the AM? As I recall, NPR moved away from music, particularly classical and jazz, because the audience $upport was not as good as with talk-based programming.

To their credit, they have increased listenership to the AM since the change. In Fall, they cumed 3,400 persons in the metro vs. 2,400 for the FM.