OK, let’s take this discourse here past Russ’ “failure” to be the consummate corporate radio antagonist... You know him – you love him, but is he contrite or forced into “compliance” [I believe the latter]. May we move it beyond the simple definition of modern-day corporate radio... Actually [across time] 99.999% of any entities holding a station license issued by the FCC have been “incorporated” [I was, but I conducted my affairs with little resemblance to the Cumulus culture, THANK-YOU]. For the benefit of future discussion, I’m going to invoke an old marketing trick and “camel-case” corporate radio into “CorporateRadio” as a modern-tense depiction... ‘Sort-of like Radio Shack morphing into “RadioShack” in its contemporary presentation.
WHAT has this industry become, left unfettered by a regulatory body that has routinely-given them nearly EVERYTHING they have asked for since that most-unprecedented form of deregulation aka—“TelComm ’96”. It wasn’t enough, THAT legislation was the most-liberal regulatory renaissance they would ever enjoy – then they challenged the limits of sensibility and the public interest and invented NEW “convenient liberties” – and were [unfortunately] accommodated by a complacent and distracted Commission.
Many contend, the “losers” were the public – TRUE, but only-partially so... The industry itself ultimately lost – mostly because the realities of “the marketplace” were soon fuzzed by CorporateRadio’s own self-intoxication. Do you recall the old Imperial Margarine commercial: “You can’t fool Mother Nature”? They tried with the ultimate evolution of: “The audience is stupid” and can be squashed into the confines of minimalist-orientated global research [Indy wants what Vegas and Fresno wants, or we’ll make sure IT DOES]... Management “synergy” is good and “bottom-line” is the only way... The newest fad-format works everywhere with the same image voice... EAS is a necessary inconvenience—IF it doesn’t work, the internet will protect, defend, and serve [even-though it was alleged to be irrelevant from the git-go]... “Warm bodies” are impractical at 2AM [even though we control EIGHT stations in town]... Finally, let’s conspire to violate Ms. Nature and write our own laws regarding the convoluted and incestuous development of IBOC “HD” radio—again, with the FCC’s complacent blessing!
Where has this brought us [well – YOU] as we begin 2008? ...Continued audience despair and erosion—quietly admitted-to on “the inside”... The FIRST “youth generation” since Fibber McGee & Molly that has little relationship with the radio medium –yet the industry has purposely-chosen to “blow-off” their historically-loyal upper demo – instead, satisfied to squeeze their call-letters into a beleaguered and over-competed-for group including adult Gen-Xers and forty-somethings who allegedly subscribe to the ridiculous “less is more” philosophy... A drop in revenue that if experienced within WalMart would ignite their HQ in Bentonville and send their resident rats into the street... AND... A CorporateRadio stock aggregate that has lost FIFTY-PERCENT of its value in just the last 12-months!
Radio claims to embrace “results”... Will they “step-up” and claim these?
Now, let’s contrast “Russ”... ‘Let the blowviating begin!
WHAT has this industry become, left unfettered by a regulatory body that has routinely-given them nearly EVERYTHING they have asked for since that most-unprecedented form of deregulation aka—“TelComm ’96”. It wasn’t enough, THAT legislation was the most-liberal regulatory renaissance they would ever enjoy – then they challenged the limits of sensibility and the public interest and invented NEW “convenient liberties” – and were [unfortunately] accommodated by a complacent and distracted Commission.
Many contend, the “losers” were the public – TRUE, but only-partially so... The industry itself ultimately lost – mostly because the realities of “the marketplace” were soon fuzzed by CorporateRadio’s own self-intoxication. Do you recall the old Imperial Margarine commercial: “You can’t fool Mother Nature”? They tried with the ultimate evolution of: “The audience is stupid” and can be squashed into the confines of minimalist-orientated global research [Indy wants what Vegas and Fresno wants, or we’ll make sure IT DOES]... Management “synergy” is good and “bottom-line” is the only way... The newest fad-format works everywhere with the same image voice... EAS is a necessary inconvenience—IF it doesn’t work, the internet will protect, defend, and serve [even-though it was alleged to be irrelevant from the git-go]... “Warm bodies” are impractical at 2AM [even though we control EIGHT stations in town]... Finally, let’s conspire to violate Ms. Nature and write our own laws regarding the convoluted and incestuous development of IBOC “HD” radio—again, with the FCC’s complacent blessing!
Where has this brought us [well – YOU] as we begin 2008? ...Continued audience despair and erosion—quietly admitted-to on “the inside”... The FIRST “youth generation” since Fibber McGee & Molly that has little relationship with the radio medium –yet the industry has purposely-chosen to “blow-off” their historically-loyal upper demo – instead, satisfied to squeeze their call-letters into a beleaguered and over-competed-for group including adult Gen-Xers and forty-somethings who allegedly subscribe to the ridiculous “less is more” philosophy... A drop in revenue that if experienced within WalMart would ignite their HQ in Bentonville and send their resident rats into the street... AND... A CorporateRadio stock aggregate that has lost FIFTY-PERCENT of its value in just the last 12-months!
Radio claims to embrace “results”... Will they “step-up” and claim these?
Now, let’s contrast “Russ”... ‘Let the blowviating begin!