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RADIO ALSO NEEDS TO HEAR NEWSPAPERS' WAKE-UP CALL

H

Holland Cooke

MUST reading, from Minneapolis Star-Tribune:
http://hollandcooke.com/STrib-BeyondPrint.pdf

Editor Nancy Barnes: "The newspaper industry is in a depression, with advertising slumping and many readers permanently changing their habits."

Thus the shift you will read her detail: "We're trying to transform a site that was once a newspaper on the Web into one that takes full advantange of the medium."

Words RADIO also needs to live by, eh?

HC
www.HollandCooke.com
 
Major news players like KYW and WINS are already doing that, as are news-talkers like WABC and even medium market players like WDEL.

Features you may have missed are available as pod-cats, additional stories are available. There is a reason to go to their web-site everyday.
 
"There is a reason to go to their web-site everyday."

THAT'S the ticket.

Get listeners to bookmark you, then GO there, often, for-a-variety-of "stuff," and your web site is more-than-just-a-brochure-for-the-station.

Tip: Label various online content elements "TODAY'S [whatever]."
 
RE "We're becoming web sites that have radio stations."

congsec51 said:
Pathetic.
Click to expand...

Is it "pathetic?"
Or OPPORTUNE?

We're becoming web sites that have radio stations IF WE'RE SMART.
Ride-the-horse-in-the-direction-he's-facing.

And exploit the immense head start we enjoy with our pre-existing brand equity, ubiquity, advertiser relationships, and cume ("engagement" in Internet lingo).

This is no longer "Don't stop thinkin' about tomorrow."
TODAY, listeners are verbing "Google."
They favor on-demand, pick-and-choose, menu-driven, snack-size content.
We do that.
Though we're sure not-the-only-ones who do that.
But we're the only ones who can tell our cume.
 
Holland,

A good place to look is Portsmouth New Hampshire and Southern Maine. The area has a newspaper that is doing well in these tough times, the Portsmouth Herald. It's smaller sized than most, but with a good-looking non-tabloid look. The Radio and TV markets in the area tend to focus on Boston, Manchester and Portland leaving the paper a great opportunity to be the sole provider of news and info. The radio stations have totally missed the boat in the area- classic rock on FM and Rush on AM. The paper's editorial page is firmly left of center and that may be its strength. The surrounding papers like Fosters (center-right with a dash of curmudgeon) and the Union Leader (radical right with blinders) are completely out of touch with the population of this part of the state. The paper's website is a must-read every day for many locals and is put together better than the other three papers. The Boston-Globe and Boston-Herald are available but not that popular (People of Boston and Mass: we really don't care about your mayor or governor, really, not at all, I mean it).

Now also note that this paper is in a competitive market. People in the area can subscribe to at least 4 maybe 6 papers. No Newspaper monopoly at all. That's not counting at least half a dozen free weeklies of varying quality.

An LPFM pacifica style station started up in Portsmouth and is doing well (I listened recently and the quality was at or above public radio and definitely better than your average college radio), people are so hungry for this type of programming that they will send in money to this station when they can pick up at least 3 NPRs!Unfortunately, local radio stations seem to think this area is intrested in hearing a repeater of Boston's 'RKO (which they can already get from RKO) and the big radio Boremats (AAA, Mix, Classic Rock).

So: find a disaffected community in your area of service and deliver novel local content. You'll never go hungry.
 
I listen to talk radio in my car. When do you suppose they'll ever have a web browser that I can use while I'm driving?
 
Re: "There is a reason to go to their web-site everyday."

Holland Cooke said:
THAT'S the ticket.

Get listeners to bookmark you, then GO there, often, for-a-variety-of "stuff," and your web site is more-than-just-a-brochure-for-the-station.

Tip: Label various online content elements "TODAY'S [whatever]."
Click to expand...


I can think of one radio show that has adapted extremely well to the online world.

Every day, the radio show's website has tons of new content for listeners to regularly come back for:

* Updated Daily - Letters from Listeners
* Updated Daily - News of Interest to Listeners ("Reading & Righting" section)
* Updated Daily - Podcast/Streaming of Radio Show
* Updated A Couple Times A Week - Host's Blog Entries

* Updated Weekly - Book Giveaway
* Updated Weekly - Clips of Host on other TV/Radio Shows
* Updated Weekly - Calls of the Day/Week
* Updated Weekly - Upcoming Events
* Updated Weekly - Call to Action / Activism section
* Updated Weekly - Resources for Listeners / Reading Corner section
 
YES!

THAT'S what it'll take.

Last Fall, I witnessed a startling juxtaposition:

On-a-Thursday, I did a session on podcasting at a radio convention.
(The EMBARRASSINGLY-sparsely-attended NAB Radio Show in Charlotte.)
(http://youtube.com/watch?v=PW6QJr-pLJ0)

On-the-following-Saturday, I did a session on radio at a podcasting convention.
(The EXTREMELY well-attended New Media Expo in Ontario CA...which it's outgrown, and will now be in Las Vegas next month).
(http://youtube.com/watch?v=T0ECoxg_2WM)

The podcasters have an energy, a mojo, that radio USED TO have.
Radio has AN AUDIENCE podcasters would kill for.

Podcasters have a love-hate thing with radio.
They want to look-down-their-noses-at Rush Limbaugh, but he's making more money podcasting than all-of-'em combined.

The lines are crossing right now.

HC
www.HollandCooke.com
www.GetOnTheNet.com
www.ListenToAmerica.com
 
One thing I hate is on the local "heritage" NT in these parts, the news announcer often says, "Read more on the web site..."

That's his job... to provide more than just headlines in the short breaks filling the space between the satellite-fed "programming."

If I want to log on to some web site, I'll do it. But in every newscast, refer to the web site for more details?
Radio should bring listeners the important details..
 
Don62 said:
If I want to log on to some web site, I'll do it. But in every newscast, refer to the web site for more details?
Radio should bring listeners the important details..
Click to expand...

I hear your pain.... I share your pain. We used to get a 30 minute TV news at 6:00 P.M. followed by 30 minutes of network news. Now we get an hour long local at 6:00 P.M. but I'm not sure we get as much news in an hour as we used to get in 30 minutes. A story that is placed toward the end of the hour will be "teased" for or five times to keep us glued to the set. Then they spend time teasing us with a story we will see if we are again watching at 11 P.M. Then we get the teacher for the big expose we will see if we watch Thursday night. If they know the story now, tell us now. Harummmmph!

Here is the dilemma of the radio man as I see it: Some people want music and little or no news. If they give YOU and ME the news we want to hear NOW, the music people tune out. If you are a newsjunkie like me, you will go to the website. So, the station wins: keep the music listeners, and keep us checking to see what is on the website that might be worth pulling up.

This is the second dilemma of the radio lady (turn about fair play.) There are these amateur prognosticators who tell us streaming may someday replace radio. If I own a radio station, I want a website, too, and I want to be the first kid in my town to figure out how to monetize my website, either to supplement my radio station which it turns out has a longer than expected future, or I want to be the biggest, baddest streaming operator in town when web actually does overwhelm broadcasting.
 
congsec51 said:
We're becoming web sites that have radio stations. Pathetic.
Click to expand...

I don't see it as pathetic at all. Like it or not, the internet is where the future is. Gone are the days when a station could get away with putting pictures of the airstaff and a handful of links on their website and be done with it.
If you want to be relevant in the 21st century, go where the audience is.
 
Re: "There is a reason to go to their web-site everyday."

bigtalkradiofan said:
Holland Cooke said:
THAT'S the ticket.

Get listeners to bookmark you, then GO there, often, for-a-variety-of "stuff," and your web site is more-than-just-a-brochure-for-the-station.

Tip: Label various online content elements "TODAY'S [whatever]."
Click to expand...


I can think of one radio show that has adapted extremely well to the online world.

Every day, the radio show's website has tons of new content for listeners to regularly come back for:

* Updated Daily - Letters from Listeners
* Updated Daily - News of Interest to Listeners ("Reading & Righting" section)
* Updated Daily - Podcast/Streaming of Radio Show
* Updated A Couple Times A Week - Host's Blog Entries

* Updated Weekly - Book Giveaway
* Updated Weekly - Clips of Host on other TV/Radio Shows
* Updated Weekly - Calls of the Day/Week
* Updated Weekly - Upcoming Events
* Updated Weekly - Call to Action / Activism section
* Updated Weekly - Resources for Listeners / Reading Corner section
Click to expand...
What show is this?
 
Oldbones said:
congsec51 said:
We're becoming web sites that have radio stations. Pathetic.
Click to expand...

I don't see it as pathetic at all. Like it or not, the internet is where the future is. Gone are the days when a station could get away with putting pictures of the airstaff and a handful of links on their website and be done with it.
If you want to be relevant in the 21st century, go where the audience is.
Click to expand...

It's like the days when radio stations would encourage listeners to see the film of the newsstories they described on their affiliated TV station. It helped grow the TV stations.

The two biggest situations where radio still holds sway over television is driving in the car and listening at the office. By making their associated websites more attractive, radio will do for the internet the same thing they did for television -- chase listeners from the radio to the new medium. Why listen to Rush on a radio in your cubicle at work when you can put his show in one window on your computer screen?
 
Two reasons, one is many companies have filters in their computer network that prevents you from listening to radio streams, and most companies will not have a problem with you listening as you work to the radio or an audio presentation on CD, or music, but they generally are not going to want you watching TV at while you're supposed to be working. Most people can listen to the radio and do something else, but few people can watch TV and do something else. It's their dime so they have the right to say no TV at work.
 
Mike,

I won't dispute anything you've said. I was simply trying to get across that that last time the radio industry attempted to survive a threat from a new medium by developing a synergistic relationship with the new medium, it resulted in the other medium being given a boost at radio's expense. One quick example of a possible way that attempt at synergy with the internet could backfire sprang to my mind. The fact that it might not be a perfect example is not evidence that my basic premise is false. It is evidence that I simply blurted out the first example that came to mind.
 
Biz Listener said:
Mike,

I was simply trying to get across that that last time the radio industry attempted to survive a threat from a new medium by developing a synergistic relationship with the new medium, it resulted in the other medium being given a boost at radio's expense.
Click to expand...

I was working in the radio industry when we faced a threat from a new medium called TV. I'm not sure where you came up with this "attempted to survive a threat .... developing a synergistic relationship....". That came later after that new medium had crushed over us. I remember the days that mentioning that you watched something on TV last night could result in a major reprimand. A few such incidents and you could be looking for a new gig.
 
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