In the early years of the blog, comments were few and far between. And that was disappointing to me. When I wrote that first post in February 2005, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I wasn’t even sure what the blog’s purpose was. But I sensed that if my posts could start a dialogue, I would consider it successful.
As I came to find out, the early days, weeks, and months of a new blog (or podcast or radio format) can be quiet….TOO quiet. And that was the case with the blog. Readership at the beginning was slow, and there was no social media for marketing it.
I stuck with it, and the blog gained some traction. More importantly, it started attracting new readers, and from there, conversation. And then the comments started coming in. At first, it was a trickle.
Today, comments come into the blog regularly, as well as on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Yes, there are “regulars,” pe0ple who leave several comments a week. I’ve got to count on this scrappy group for feedback, as well as to keep me honest when I write something lame. This time around, he was responding to a blog post I recently wrote about the state of AM radio here in the U.S.
I don’t hear from Tom Langmyer often. But when I do, he doesn’t write a line or two. He always leaves a blog-length comment. And his thought process is always very smart. That’s
because Tom is a grizzled radio lifer who’s enjoyed much success in radio.
And he is well-qualified to talk about the state of AM, having served aa VP/GM at WGN, KMOX, and other music and talk stations. Tom has held corporate VP and news/talk/sports programming positions. These days, Tom is President/CEO of Great Lakes Media LLC, a media acquisition and advisory firm. Tom’s stock-in-trade is “localism in media, sales, marketing, and content.” He advises in multiple formats across the spectrum.
Tom Langmyer is our guest blogger this morning on this ongoing topic of AM radio in cars. As you would with me, please leave him a comment below. – FJ
A great analysis of AM radio, Fred.
Lots to think about. And lots of opportunity to step up here at the 11th hour.
How much does it really cost to put in shielded cable into a car?!?
AM characteristics are certainly different from FM. However, just like the good old days, there was a common antenna used for both AM and FM in cars. One coaxial cable put into the back of the unit attached to an antenna on the other end. Add some shielding. Electricity and electric motors are not a new thing. Generally, they can coexist with AM radio. Not an ideal world, but it can be done.
This is too easy an excuse for what is really happening.
The auto companies simply don’t make money on free radio.
They are tied into deals, where they receive subscription revenue from their partners.
And their partners are not friends with radio. They are competition in the audio space and so are the automakers, as a result.
Most auto executives are based in Detroit. The top news station in Detroit is an AM station.
WWJ has an excellent full-time reporter, Jeff Gilbert, covering the auto industry and reports daily on it. Do these auto executives, many of whom actually have a relationship with that reporter, no longer listen to this AM station, all of a sudden?
I’m not sure if anyone has reported on what kind of relationships and lobbying efforts are done by the mega corporations that provide subscription-based audio content, nor the auto companies themselves, who also have all of their skin in the game.
It just seems rather curious, that with all of the people advocating for radio, inside, and outside of the industry, that automakers would draw such a hard line in the sand. It’s not over a shielding a cable in a car.
Look at the evidence of radio usage. Look at the amount of AM radio usage, let alone the amount of FM radio usage.
The automotive industry is actually in competition with radio. Most tend to overlook the fact.
It doesn’t want free radio in cars, and is clearly, strategically, and slowly sunsetting radio, using various tactics which, over time, will wean people off it.
If this issue is not led and managed aggressively by the radio industry itself, the loss of radio in cars will be a self-fulfilled prophecy.
Free radio cuts into subscription revenue for the other audio platforms AND for the auto industry.
How different is this from the refusal to turn on a chip in a smartphone in order to receive radio, back when Jeff Smulyan fought so hard for our industry to try to get that to happen?
At that time, there was no significant admission that the only reason why these entities refused to turn on the chips was because they wanted to shut radio out – because radio was in their “space.”
The automotive industry has deals with Sirius/XM. They make a lot of money because of those partnerships. If you want subscription revenue, “you must murder FREE radio and make it look like an accident” to the consumer, who will now be forced to pay for your subscription-based content.
Additionally, to your point, radio has not done a good job of self-promoting, let alone specifically promoting itself and the premier place to get emergency information.
Let’s be honest about ourselves.
During the winter, I spent time in a city that had two MAJOR snow storms.
During those events, only one radio station provided information. The others were in jukebox or syndication mode and wouldn’t have anybody to do anything about it even knew how to do it, let alone wanted to.
What’s unfortunate, at least, as it pertains to weather, versus train derailments, for the most part, we DO know when the bad weather is coming and can have a plan to cover it, often days in advance. If we don’t even do that, that’s a choice we made.
It’s a little bit hard to sell our industry as a whole let alone just AM with that philosophy.
We have to be the thing you can’t live without. Is that the case anymore?
It’s about putting our money where our mouth is.
Are the CEOs of the major radio groups at the forefront and visible and this fight?
Do they rally the industry?
If an emergency happens, does leadership contact the market and ask if they can provide some help?
When a big AM station does an incredible job covering wildfires in California, a train derailment in Ohio, a mass school shooting, a tornado in Oklahoma, a hurricane along the east coast, what happens?!? And what happens if they don’t?
A station may be lucky to have that one dedicated broadcaster or two that still get it, and feel responsible to their listeners to make sure they are updated and safe. They’ll worry about who is going to fill out their time cards after the fact. And yes, the best leaders in the best companies don’t balk at those who are their bread and butter.
Ask yourself, if you are at any level within a radio company from the CEO all the way down to a board op in a small town: Are your immediate go-to’s “We don’t have the staff,” “It’s on a weekend,” “They can just get it on their phone,” “It’s an earthquake, and everybody already knows what to do” or “It’s a holiday and nobody would come in for something like that?”
Are people on the staff empowered to say “Wow. This just happened. I’m headed to the station right now and will get right on the air and handle it. I will talk to witnesses, law-enforcement, and others on the air live to get the information out.” Will they get in trouble for doing that?
In some instances, I know of people who did amazing things for the community and for the station, and were rewarded by being dressed down for “working hours that are not in the budget.” Is it really that bad?!?
Leadership instills an expectation and a desire to win. Leadership works in concert with a vision that supports what it is we are in business to do. Leadership supports its people to do just that.
So, as an industry, what do we view our purpose as? What are we really trying to do here?
All too often, it seems that we ourselves have relegated our position to a poor man’s streaming service, a jukebox with lots of commercials.
Radio is fundamentally a local business, and it is in the business of serving the community. THAT is our business. It’s about creating a local experience, a real community – whether you are a music station or a spoken word station.
So how does radio differentiate itself?
The fact that it is free, and isn’t dependent on having a power company keeping a transmitter running is just one part of our reliability – but the main part is PEOPLE.
Leadership in our industry, and not just the NAB, needs to use its strength to organize and to more effectively fight this.
At the same time, WE have to embrace the fact we need to produce unmatched service, particularly during emergency situations.
Does every CEO know that each of their local clusters/stations has a plan and people to make sure that the right thing gets done depending on the situation? Who is responsible to lead it? Who are the people who are on call to cover it?
Do we know that we have this set up at our stations? And if we don’t, how do we fix it, and quickly?
Much of this isn’t that difficult to figure out. However, when the most influential groups are troubled, not because radio isn’t good and important, but because of debt, content is the last thing they are worried about!
So yes, it’s about a whole lot more than somebody paying an extra five dollars for whatever is needed to pick up AM Radio in a car.
Tom can be reached at Tom@GreatLakesMediaCorp.com – please leave a comment below.
Jacobs Media has consistently walked the walk in the digital space, providing insights and guidance through its well-read national Techsurveys.
In 2008, jacapps was launched - a mobile apps company that has designed and built more than 1,300 apps for both the Apple and Android platforms. In 2013, the DASH Conference was created - a mashup of radio and automotive, designed to foster better understanding of the "connected car" and its impact.
Along with providing the creative and intellectual direction for the company, Fred consults many of Jacobs Media's commercial and public radio clients, in addition to media brands looking to thrive in the rapidly changing tech environment.
Fred was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2018.
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Dear Tom,
Thank you for the battle cry on the mission to save AM radio! My radio days were 1970-1985, but I’ve continued to follow radio’s life story.
Now living in the greater Detroit area, I continue to tune into The Great Voice of the Great Lakes WJR – AM for all the basics of daily life – traffic and weather, local news and conversation, a couple of great on-air personalities.
What you’ve described are principles that apply in every business: Are you going to be proactive or reactive? Are you doing the most you can to serve your customer – or the least you can get by with? Is your mission customer service or customer delight?
There ought to be an industry-wide anthem for and about the value of AM, FM, and local radio – and it should begin right here in Detroit!
Thank you, Ken.
Hoping people understand what’s really happening.
Fred has been a great friend to and for the industry, particularly through his insights and information on “the dashboard battle.”
We must be the local service people can’t live without.
And not just during emergencies.
As we say at Great Lakes Media, “Radio is Fundamentally a Local Business.”
Some smart insight…thanks, Tom. Regarding weather emergencies, we recently were without power for 24 hours. No TV…no cell phone service…no internet. But most of the radio stations were still on. And a couple were actually talking about the weather. The NPR station (that I used to run…and which does have generators, an aux transmitter and antenna at a separate site, and a plan in place) and a classic Rocker with seasoned veterans on the morning show. Alas, the “news leader” AM station has nobody left to handle it…just cut-ins from local TV weather folks – who were busy on TV. An excellent lically-owned AM station a market away was all over it.
When I was running an AM/FM public radio operation…a public radio consultant frequently egged me on about putting the news on the FM. I pointed to the really good AM ratings and said it’s not necessarily the band…it’s the content. He said he was going to remember that. If we let auto makers and others eliminate AM…well, it WILL be the band (ha, WILL is the station) be the band…then, as you point out, FM is next. As a service, we are indispensable…but when it comes to putting that forth as an argument…it’s tough because too many individual stations are not. Now where is that weather alert sounder cart???
Thanks for this, Jay.
“I pointed to the really good AM ratings and said it’s not necessarily the band…it’s the content.”
Truer words are rarely spoken…
The industry as a whole needs to own the fact that we are in the CONTENT business.
Had many circular discussions with very bright people, top people our industry, who are in complete denial and will make any excuse possible to divert anything besides content being for being responsible, for the issue in the first place. That was the issue that created the problem.
AM as a distribution platform lost its way years ago, when most AM radio stations were simply mounted in an equipment rack.
The same people who are jumping up and down, upset that their “investment” in a AM station has been lost, are the same people who tossed away the stations being relevant or viable in the first place.
It’s a little too late to be jumping up and down about the fact that radio stations on AM in great part, don’t even cover the emergencies we claim they do.
If Radio were truly local and relevant, we would not be having this discussion about whether AM should still be in the dashboard.
And given all of these facts, while we don’t like it, can we really blame the auto industry?
Or was it really an issue of the fact that the content was easily found in other places besides AM or simply wasn’t desired
Who’s fault is that, anyway?
That said, there still are some great radio stations on AM. They typically live in smaller markets and towns where they provide a vital connection and service and interestingly enough do well as a businesses.
In big markets, you might find one or two AM-ONLY STATIONS out of 40 – 50 stations on the AM dial in a market, that are still major players.
The few include:
WABC-AM, WCBS-AM New York
WBZ-AM Boston
WWJ Detroit
KFI Los Angeles
Of course, there are also some AM’s that have an FM presence from a translator to a full-power FM.
WFAN-AM/FM New York
KNX-AM/FM Los Angeles
WBBM-AM/WCFS Chicago
KYW/WPHI Philadelphia
WSB/WSBB Atlanta
KFBK-AM/FM
Sacramento
WLW/W233BG Cincinnati
KSL-AM/FM Salt
Lake City
There are others, but not many.
Which includes the place I work for – WHIO AM/FM in Dayton. Local news 24/7 and it’s live 7 days a week till 10 pm. In emergency situations, we staff overnights. And I have the bags under my eyes to prove that.
Thank you, Tom. So many great points and facts! We’re hardly talking about anything impossible. AM continues to be a valuable service, reaching more people, more ways, more often. And, thanks to the awareness by Jeff Smulyan. All hands on deck! 1220watx.com
Hello Clark. It is great to see your comments here. You worked with a station where I did news eons ago–WWNH in Rochester NH. I currently work with Remote News Service and my primary client is WGMD in Rehoboth Beach DE. They use RNS to augment their local presence and it works out well. I do think there are creative ways to do what radio does best–serve and reflect its LOCAL identity.
Jerry Lademan
I second the plug for RNS (and its main competitor, VirtualNewsCenter). There are indeed several ways for today’s stations to augment their local coverage.
Thanks, Clark.
But as you know, based on your success, as a broadcaster, that it really is about the content you provide on your station.
AM just happens to be the neighborhood where you are located.
That said, it’s important for others, to maintain their property, as well.
When they don’t, it makes it harder for everyone.
In the continued discussions on your blog about AM being excluded from new cars, it seems like FM is sitting pretty. In fact, FM operators shouldn’t be so smug.
Hello from Kenya, where all FM operators should be troubled by something I’ve found in the cars in which I’ve been riding.
They have all come from Japan, and their radios are all set to Japan’s FM band (76-95 mHz), and end far below the “normal” FM band (88 -108 mHz) we’re accustomed to in the U.S. As a former owner of a Japanese import in the U.S., I know it’s not an issue there. But in Kenya and other nations where Japan doesn’t convert its radios to receive the full FM band, it’s an existing and continuing challenge. It leaves Kenya’s FM stations between 95 and 108 unlistenable on Japanese cars unless owners install an FM “extender” or a new tuner. Judging by the cars in which I’ve ridden so far (a small sample of six, I know), many drivers don’t bother, and confine their listening to the lower part of the FM band.
It makes me think about the power of the car companies to control in-car listening, and about the likelihood that, once the car companies come for AM, they could go after FM, too.
Just wanted to give you some additional context as you continue your excellent coverage of this transformative issue for the radio business.
FM in the United States still has the opportunity to right itself, based on the content delivered on it. But there is a little time and those who are the biggest owners of stations, don’t invest much, and what is fundamentally a local business.
And frankly, few FM stations really do commit deeply on a local level.
Consumers have no problem paying subscription fees to Netflix and others for video- and SiriusXM and streaming services for audio.
And if listeners can get music utility they need from streaming services, why would they need that from a local radio station whose only difference is running 20 minutes of commercials, versus non on a subscription-based model?
That point of difference, is the difference.
Local is radio difference. All audio is not the same.
Thanks for bringing this perspective, John.
Tom,
I remember standing in the parking lot of WIBC/WNAP in Indianapolis. The legendary news director Fred Heckman pointed at the clear, blue sky, “If there is a column of smoke up there, and you can’t tell people what it is, you’ve lost them.”
Frank was right!!!!
I ran a radio company in Canada that was comprised of 40+ stations in small to mid-sized markets; mostly FM’s to be fair. One of the things I noticed was the reluctance of the team to respond in an emergency for fear of ‘messing with the format’. The breaking point came during a weekly management meeting where one of the GM’s apologized for being on the call from home because the snow was so bad that he couldn’t make it in to the station. As he was describing the situation I tuned in his station – it was business as usual – “another three in a row coming up next.” This was the opposite of what I wanted. So we created something we called a VERN (Vista’s Emergency Response Notification), it essentially ENCOURAGED ANYONE on the local team to completely alter programming based on the their assessment of the situation; up to and including pulling all the music off the air. Every time a station declared a VERN we celebrated company wide.
Geoff,
Such a great solution to allow people the ability to do the right thing!
VERN clearly was an excellent means/example of doing just that.
I also know some people at major market stations who STILL proactively take control of the station even from home, and can do some amazing things.
One person I know, works for a very prominent large market radio station, whose staff has been cut down to the point where it is a necessity for this person in management to take to the air at any time, 24/7 if coverage beyond the norm is needed.
The difference, is that this person is a true “broadcaster,” and judges himself on results.
Not advocating for indentured servitude, but advocating for something you have done, and that is to empower people to do what is needed to serve.
If that means you have to give them money to do it or a day off later, you just do it!
There is also the notion that providing service IS the job.
A good manager or owner is going to reward that service when a person goes above and beyond to provide it.
If you want to work, regular hours because that’s an important and necessary thing for you, don’t work in the “immediate service area” in radio content.
It’s actually a lifestyle that fits some and not others.
Back in the day, if something was happening, people who are adventurous, dedicated and in love with the profession, would shoot down to the radio station immediately if something big needed to be covered.
Thankfully, during those days, I can’t think of a time where I did that when somebody didn’t say great job, thank you, and made sure that I was made a whole in some way, even though I never asked.
Unfortunately, managers on the local level often don’t have any latitude to do the right thing.
It’s kind of hard to run a local business when the person who is in the local seat doesn’t really run it anymore.
No one can argue the points Tom brings out. Others have also. Yeah, the real reasons for “free” radio’s precarious position in the dashboard? Just follow the money. What does the auto industry lose if AM/FM leave the dashboard ? Nothing. Maybe it would be another bargaining chip in the negotiation process, but if someone really wants that electric SUV-the lack of AM/FM will be a moot point. Bob Christie (another wise broadcaster) points out the other issues. It’s something he told me over 40 years ago. Then there’s Geoff Poulton who’s established a smart plan for his stations.
Daily reads of these blogs do a great job of pointing out the flaws in broadcasting. As long as there are 3 or 4 major players out there, as long as AM/FM continues to be an afterthought with the media companies leaning on the futility of streaming and podcasts, as long as transmitter real estate is more valuable than the station itself, as long as syndicated shows exist from 10pm-6am in most major cities…well I could go on. The answers are pretty simple.
Staff it up – –
Train the staff–
Make it local – –
Become competitive again – –
Improve the sound quality on AM and FM–
Make it entertaining.
When it comes to staffing, can you imagine if an NFL team wanted to use a quarterback from another NFL team? Oh sure, he could play for New England on Sunday, and for Philadelphia on Thursday. It’s a half-baked comparison to radio’s syndication issues but the end result is pretty much the same. I got to hear dozens of all night shows on AM radio in the day (Larry Glick, Herb Jepco, Big John Neville, and many more). They weren’t all what I liked but I had a choice. Today? Red-Eye Radio or George Noory. Oh there’s the sports talkers too..pulling a 1-share in many markets.
In the words of Earl Pitts, “WAKE UP, AMERIKUH!!”
Great comments, Dave.
To your point, there certainly is a great amount of discussion about what’s missing.
There are also great ideas like Geoff’s on how to address these issues.
I’m actually a great proponent of AI technology for example, because it least someone or “some thing” is actually making sure important and relevant content gets on the air immediately. A three day old voice track isn’t going to give me the score of tonight‘s game, a weather forecast that’s recorded 12 hours ago and doesn’t give me the current temperature, etc. isn’t helpful.
Does AI replace authentic human interaction? Of course, not, fully.
However, I don’t have much sympathy for an industry that depends on people, reading liners, celebrity birthdays, and “radio prattle” to run three days later, dropped into an automated system.
Many of these are the same people who are worried about a machine taking their jobs. If the machine provides better content and a better experience, I’m going to go with the machine. Sorry.
Overall, however, we need to understand OUR JOB is to provide local content along WITH the regular things we do anyway (running a playlist), which is actually not unique nor exclusive.
And that part is it easily duplicated.
Our difference lies in what’s BETWEEN the songs.
Let’s face it, radio does not “play the most music.”
We are not the only “place that rocks..”
However, our opportunity is to create the best local experience possible.
It’s actually to be entertaining, interesting, compelling, informative, time-sensitive, feel immediate and be local. Things that are actually rare today in radio.
Of course, that means we also “rock” and we “play a lot of music.”
But the human connection and intimacy that comes from what’s between the songs is our secret sauce, because “Radio is Fundamentally a Local Business.”
Ahhh the word “BUSINESS”. Something that escaped me when beginning a few years ago. Yes, the purpose of any business is to make money. Well as we’ve learned you have to spend it to make it. You have to invest in the product so people will desire the product. AI may be one answer but I’ve heard early versions of it on Weather Radio, The Weather Channel and a number of phone trees. If that’s the future of broadcast radio, shut down the transmitter and sell the land. That way you’ll make money. Tom, your radio career started forming in the city that created Jackson Armstrong, Shane, Joey Reynolds, Danny Neaverth, Stan Roberts, Frank Benny, John Otto and a host of other “personalities” that were the “go to” voices and friends of the listener. AI may be great for ordering your next Wendy’s double, but it won’t replace Norm McDonald. Radio companies have to invest in the product with people – and use AI as a backup tool to enhance the reality of it all, much the same as we utilize automation. In the event of an emergency situation – whatever method to get the word out will work. To be realistic however, would you agree the “source” of the information has to be trusted ? It’s going to be trusted with real people, doing real things that resonate with the community. In other words I have to trust you before I believe what you’re telling me. That’s even more important in 2023 than before. AI can’t do that today. Putting 80% of the revenue to the bottom line won’t do that. Ya need people, talent and wisdom to create content that establishes the environment to let your listener trust you. In the age of fake news, that’s hard to come by. Broadcast radio is one of the few media that can create that trust, isn’t it?
Great points, Dave.
I wish we could look at the state of radio today through yesterday’s lens.
We need to start anew as for 40-plus years after those radio greats and so many others across the country sadly don’t resonate with anyone under the age 50, which is so hard to believe, but true.
Of course, if we could have today’s versions of those lineups, it would be terrific.
However, during that passage of time, the business was whittled down by a couple of things. It was more attractive to suck localism out of stations, because this means of reducing expenses was the easy way out.
The brain-drain ensued, as creativity was replaced be “positioning statement readers” and insipid “we’re the station everyone can agree on at the office” liners.
We have many, perhaps the majority of stations literally running on autopilot, and they have been for years.
Secondly, as a result we’ve had a talent brain drain that spans four decades.
The best creative minds weren’t interested in doing dynamic,
creative and impactful things in an industry that also didn’t want them.
When I think about AI used in the right instances (and AI isn’t just about synthesized voices, but also about content gathering), I do believe it’s better than a tracked radio announcer’s 3-4 day old generic voice tracks being played on a station. Not local, not timely, not compelling or interesting in the least.
Compare that to AI that’s giving you concise information on a storm heading this way, the final score of the town’s professional sports team, talking about a major accident on the freeway, etc.
I simply cannot come up with ANY voice tracker that is a “human personality” that is impactful, memorable or “important,” let alone known – and certainly not a destination for appointment listening.
The sad part, is to hear the generic trackers speak with excitement at the end of their radio factory shift!
“I’m Jimmy Richards and I’m outta here for the weekend, but don’t worry because Amber Roberts is gonna take you through the afternoon!!”
That remnant of vintage radio DJ patter is like the radio cockroach that never goes away.
In actuality, Jimmy Jones said absolutely nothing of interest during his “shift.” No one knows or cares about him. He’s had no relevant nor time-sensitive information or anything else that would rise the human and personality experience beyond the taste of a “nothing burger.”
No one is worried about his being outta here any more than they are excited for the next human, Amber Roberts, to make us laugh hysterically, cry, cheer, learn, be informed or kept safe.
However, we can wait and listen for 3 more hours, because she’s promised to be run down the list of the Top 10 Tik Tok videos from last week.
And after her “shift” is over, there won’t even be anyone doing that prattle for 12 hours, when the station is just spitting out tunes, punctuated by some Star Wars sound effects (credit: Lee Abrams with the analogy), while the station imaging voice says how the station “plays the best and most music.”
When you look at it for what it is, even the use of AI is a huge improvement.
Tracy Gilliam, from Futuri, has,
on several occasions, taken broadcasters through demonstrations of the technology – and all the things it does to get important and timely content on the air.
I was blown away by how good it sounded.
This is coming from someone who is advocating for localism in radio and for personalities and a new generation of stars.
Why would I say this?
Radio companies are so challenged (based on the industry being driven by the mega consolidators’ models), that predatory pricing, commercial loads and little human connection is the norm.
If we could snap our fingers and have brilliant live and local radio stars on on the air tomorrow, let’s do it!!!
Now, reality sets in.
1. The economics of the business, based on greedy decisions made starting in 1996, doesn’t allow for it, at least not yet.
2. Radio is a spoke on the wheel, along with other platforms that orbit content. Not the other way around.
3. Today’s local stars have to be multi-platform threats. It’s arguably harder to do that, than it was back in the day to crank out 18 seconds of witty banter, DJ patter or one-liners, over the lip of a Neil Diamond record.
Either way, when I think of Frank Benny’s radio companionship, his double-entendres, humor, timely and important content, delivered by that wonderful voice – or Shane’s haunting and thought-provoking theater of the mind, I admittedly wish we had it today. I also wish today’s generation could be inspired by by hearing them, so the could create the 2023 version of that magic.
And that doesn’t even include Shane’s “Bandit, The Wonder Dog” doing tricks with a Frisbee in front of hundreds of fans at a remote!
Will leave you with two things.
I was in Pittsburgh a while back for some meetings. I stuck around afterward to check out some of the old haunts. Then I drove past where the J&L steel mills once stood. They aren’t going to open up again anytime soon and give jobs to the steel workers.
Then I looked across Mon and saw the UPMC logo on what used to be known as the US Steel Building. It all made sense.
The most sobering moment perhaps came from a broadcaster in the Pacific Northwest, who told me that when Gordon Lightfoot died, a note from Corporate came down to make sure all (if any) Gordon Lightfoot songs must be pulled immediately.
Why?
Because all of the voice-tracking was already done and was in the system. If they were to just play a Gordon Lightfoot song without anything being said, it would be strange, so just take it out.
And that is another reason why AI can help to cover the times when the best we can do is three-day-old milquetoast tracks from a real human that has less personality that AI.
It’s a start, and we when radio, as part of a wheel of content platforms, grows as part of an integrated play, we can train and grow multi-platform stars in each local market for the future as the NEW local social media!
We can do this!
PS: I hope you can get through all of my typos above and get the gist of what I was trying to say.
Unfortunately, I no longer have an assistant.
She was replaced by me doing voice-to-text.
I guess my “A” isn’t so “I.” 😅
PS: I hope you can get through all of my typos above and get the gist of what I was trying to say.
Unfortunately, I no longer have an assistant.
She was replaced by me doing voice-to-text.
I guess my “A” isn’t so “I.” 😅
TAKE TWO:
Great points, Dave.
I really wish we could look at the state of radio today through yesterday’s lens – but that ship sailed away many years ago.
We need to start anew with a vision of building something different and BIG. Thirty years plus have passed since those radio greats and so many others across the country left the air.
However, the kind of result achieved in those days is what we’re still after.
Even the names of those greats sadly don’t resonate with anyone under the age 50, which is so hard to believe, but it’s true.
Of course, if we could have today’s versions of those personalities, it would be terrific.
However, during that passage of time, the business was whittled down by a couple of things.
It was more attractive to suck localism out of stations, because this was the means of drastically reducing expenses – and it was the quick and easy way out. Today, perhaps the majority of music-based stations, literally run on autopilot – and that’s been the case for years.
These efficiencies created a talent “brain drain” that spans four decades. The best creative minds aren’t interested in doing dynamic, creative and impactful things for an industry that doesn’t want that – and also doesn’t want them.
When I think about AI used in the right instances (and AI isn’t just about synthesized voices, but also about content gathering), I do believe it’s better than a tracked radio announcer’s 3-4 day old generic tracks being played on a station. Not local, not timely, not compelling nor interesting in the least. Add to that, a 12-hour-old rambling or rushed recorded weather forecast by a TV partner that’s still referencing the morning when it’s the afternoon – and NEVER gives current conditions.
Compare that to AI that’s giving you concise information on a storm heading this way from the NWS, the final score of the your city’s professional sports team or a small town high school game, taking about a major accident on the freeway, etc.
I simply cannot come up with a name of ANY voice tracker that’s a true IMPACT PLAYER or a noteworthy tracked “authentic human personality.” Think one that’s really impactful, memorable or “important,” let alone well-known – let alone being a destination for appointment listening. Are they even visible the community? So much for the vaunted human.
The sad part, is to hear the generic trackers speak with excitement at the end of their “radio factory shift.” And doing so along with all the authenticity of having a “radio name” created by using two first names!
“I’m Jimmy Richards and I’m outta here for the weekend, but don’t worry because Amber Roberts is gonna take you through the afternoon!!”
That remnant of vintage radio DJ patter is like the radio cockroach that never goes away, along with those 1960s DJ names.
In actuality, Jimmy Jones said absolutely nothing of interest during his “shift.” No one knows him or cares about him. And it’s better that they don’t, because he’s also doing the same shift on the other rack-mounted radio station in the building, using another fake radio name. He’s had no relevant nor time-sensitive information or anything else that would rise the experience beyond the taste of a “nothing burger” while the tracks of that “non-content” is spread across a six-hour “shift.”
No one is worried about his being “outta here” any more than they are excited for the next human, Amber Roberts, to make us laugh hysterically, cry, cheer, learn, be informed or kept safe with her tracks – because she won’t either. Plus she’s imported from yet another city, 700 miles away. And she’s never even been to your market, let alone could she even find it on a map.
However, those faithful listeners have been told “don’t go away” and to listen for 3 more hours, because she teased her promise to run down the “list of the Top-10 TikTok videos from last week, sometime after six.”
And after her “shift” is over, there won’t be anyone even providing that kind of prattle for the next 12 hours, from early that evening until the next day. During that time, the station will be spitting out tunes, punctuated by some Star Wars sound effects (credit: Lee Abrams with that analogy), while the station imaging voice says how the station “plays the best and most music.”
When you look at that for what it is, the use of AI is actually a huge improvement. No?
Tracy Gilliam, from Futuri, has on several occasions, taken broadcasters through demonstrations of the technology – and all the things it does to get important and timely content on the air.
I was blown away by how good it sounded. Honestly I couldn’t tell the difference. Now, I’m not going to say that great personality was oozing from this “thing,” but it was WAY better than most of the radio I hear.
I planned to be quite cynical – but I was WRONG.
This is coming from someone who is advocating for localism in radio and for personalities and a new generation of stars. 🤔
Why would I say this?
Radio companies are so challenged (based on the industry being driven by the mega consolidators’ models), by debt, predatory pricing, heavy commercial loads, lack of local content and little human connection – a tone that was by the industry “leaders.”
If we could snap our fingers and have brilliant live and local radio stars on the air tomorrow, by all means, let’s do it!!!
However, reality sets in.
1. The economics of the business, based on greedy decisions made starting in 1996, doesn’t allow for it, at least not YET.
2. Radio is a spoke on the wheel, along with other platforms, that orbit content. Not the other way around.
3. Today’s local stars have to be multi-platform threats. It’s arguably harder to do that than it was back in the day to crank out 18 seconds of witty banter, standard DJ patter from muscle memory, and maybe a one-liner over the lip of a Neil Diamond record – and nailing the post.
Either way, when I think of Frank Benny’s radio companionship, his double-entendres, humor, timely and important content, delivered by that wonderful voice – or Shane’s haunting and thought-provoking theater of the mind, I admittedly wish we had that today. I also wish today’s generation could be inspired by hearing them, so they could create the 2023 version of that magic.
And that doesn’t even include Shane’s “Bandit, The Wonder Dog” doing tricks with a Frisbee in front of hundreds of fans at a remote! Way better than the shade canopy, prize wheel and the jock eating corn on the cob slathered in butter in front of a mobile phone store.
Will leave you with two things.
I was in Pittsburgh a while back for some meetings. I stuck around afterward to check out some of the old haunts. Then I drove past where the J&L steel mill once stood. They aren’t going to open up again anytime soon and give jobs to the steel workers. It was over in 1984.
Then I looked across Monongahela River and saw the UPMC logo on what used to be known as the US Steel Building.
It all made sense.
The most sobering moment this week came from a broadcasting friend in the Pacific Northwest, who told me when Gordon Lightfoot died, “a note from Corporate came down to make sure all Gordon Lightfoot songs were pulled immediately.”
Why?
Because all of the voice-tracking was already done and was in the system the day before he died. “If we were to play a Gordon Lightfoot song without anything being said, it would be strange, so just take them out.” There’s the mentality.
And that is another reason why AI can help to cover the times when the best we can do is three-day-old milquetoast tracks from a real human that has less personality than an AI voice!
It’s a start, and when radio, as part of the wheel of content platforms, grows as part of an integrated local media play, we can train and grow multi-platform stars in each local market for the future – and be the NEW local social media!
We can do this!
Dave, I always enjoy seeing your thoughtful comments. You reminded me (and no doubt many other readers of this blog) of countless nights long ago spent tuning in far off stations–hoping the signal would hold long enough to catch a legal ID or some spot or promo telling me what city I was pulling in. I would listen, transfixed, thinking about “that guy” in “that studio” in “that city”–and wondering (fantasizing, really) if one day I might be “that guy.” I no longer stay up to pull in far off signals. I already know what’s going on in “that studio.” There’s a sterile, impersonal computer, playing the same programming I can hear in any other city…including my own. In the words of David Manzi, if that’s the best radio has to offer (and I know it’s not), “GO BACK TO SLEEP, AMERIKUH!”
Thanks David. I’ve known Tom for over 40 years and he’s not only a brilliant thinker, but a great orator of the medium’s problems and it’s potential solutions. He and I would sit down and talk about the shortcomings of the medium back when he was a baby DJ learning his way through the turntables and tape decks. He’s propelled his knowledge into an awesome career -and I hope he can make people… well you know. WAKE UP!!
A bullseye top to bottom in this excellent post today, but especially this line: “The auto companies simply don’t make money on free radio.” That’s the key driver in this whole dashboard issue whether AM or FM.
Dan, and they never have. They’ve installed these devices in their dashboards at no cost to radio. And radio has monetized them ever since. A good deal while it lasts.
Didn’t the car companies make money all of those years off of the hardware? Delco radios, etc? NO cost to radio, but us consumers paid for them.
As cars have become more long lasting (less planned obsolescence) it seems like the dashboard radio is just one more beach head in the move toward ongoing monetization of many items in the cars we already are paying for (along with the eventual monthly subscription to activate the heated seats that are already installed, etc.)
I would trust Tom to be the program director of all AM! I think the new thing has become all about monetizing content. It just seemed to this engineer that radio had the best (and expensive) content and couldn’t make enough money in any delivery systems except broadcast. Slowly a monetizing world of entertainment with news and music was built on ‘free internet’ and radio hasn’t gotten a good share of that cash. I don’t envy owners of radio at this point but encourage them to let someone local run each station. One dedicated person per station. Let them connect with a group of local humans and make something special. But St. Louis gets Tom Langmeyer back!
Thank you so much, Joe.
Your comments about local management and talent rings true.
And, I still dearly miss St. Louis.
Miss working with you, too.
Let’s examine the AM band in Southern California. One (last) Saturday morning at 6:30 I was headed to an event attended by no less than 5000 people (potential radio listeners while in their vehicles). The FM stations? Voicetracked no doubt. The AM stations? One (local) had a financial show on. KFI (50k) had a home improvement show. Very well done -if you’re into home improvement. XEWW (the former XETRA-AM) -77kw from Tijuana–playing all forms of rhythmic music, many songs uncensored. (Today I was treated to a song with several “n” words, “f” bombs and other words outlawed on USA stations. 570, 710,760, 1090, 1110, 93.7fm -Syndicated sports talk. 800AM (from Tijuana) a 120hz AC ground loop hum. (It’s still there burying any real programming.) 790AM- KABC (one-time #1 L.A. station) -a Baptist Preacher sermon. I thought maybe it had something to do with King Charles’ coronation. Nope it’s on the KABC website as a weekly (Saturday and Sunday) program. KNX (50k “All News”) covered the 7am CBS/Local news with a financial program. Should I go on? Tom says it’s a “content” driven medium. I’m in the shadow of THREE major California markets and what’s here is the best I could get on AM on a Saturday morning. By the way, the event I was co-hosting was for The San Diego Humane Society. My co-host was a local meteorologist from a network O and O. The number of local stations on hand ? Other than my representation of the local PBS outlet, and my co-host representing a commercial TV outlet? None. There are brilliant minds here – some reflecting on how it was, others lamenting the way it is. Do the big shots in the “big” radio companies hear what we hear? “I don’t listen to radio anymore” – and are they really listening? The more I read, the more I cringe at radio’s future unless we start playing like the other guys who want that dashboard space. Radio’s products are STILL better than what else is out there. But it’s rapidly shrinking and unless what Fred, Tom (and others) says gets some attention, we’ll be stuck with a litany of non-stop, non-entertaining, ultra fragmented, never-ending choices.
Spot on, Tom.
Thank you, Joel.
Means a great deal coming from a great full-range broadcaster like yourself.
Fred, Tom, et al. What an excellent read! Thanks to everyone for their contributions.
I’ve lived out of the U.S. for 30 years now and only get a taste of what you’re talking about a couple of times a year. At our FM here in Guayaquil, Ecuador, we have been slowly moving over the past two years from being automated to live announcers-friends in the studio with lots of interaction with the audience using WhatsApp. It has been so much fun for everyone!
And if something needs to be covered or a special program prepared, my team is usually on it without having to be asked. They are definitely proactive, and I love it! Live and local. There is nothing like radio!
Whether in Guayaquil or Grand Rapids, people care about the fabric of their towns. And as newspapers go under and the TV stations default to blood & guts stories, local radio has an opportunity to shine. Thanks, Allen.
Allen,
Thank you for your kind words and sharing how you are growing a great radio experience in Equador.
We could use your expertise up here again!
Tom:
You’re very right and for all the right reasons.
Local radio done well still works. Here in Dayton, the group I work for (CMG) still local news around the clock on WHIO AM-FM. The AM sounds better than ANY AM in town, because they will still do upkeep on the station. New transmitters, new processing. The big problem for AM is the age of the cume it attracts. But, that’s another story.
We do local news, traffic and weather live till 10 pm 7 days a week. And, if an emergency situation exists, we stay live and are totally able to staff overnight if needed.
The slogan we use is – “We still believe in local radio”. I still believe in AM radio, too. But, my concern is the lack of interest by the more debt laden companies who are letting literal legendary stations just die on the vine.
Good for you and CMG, Kevin. It does make one wonder if on the job 24/7 would be a better (and more marketable) service. If branding and marketing is more important than ever these days, there are definitely resources available to provide something that no one else (including your bigger competitor to the north and south of Dayton). Live is better than “canned”. Local is also better. But, we know that in many cases our buddy Rush wasn’t always “live” -and definitely not local to folks in Seattle, Chicago or D.C. But, he was entertaining and informative. Splitting hairs? Is anyone’s radio on at 3am? Not if they know they’ll only get a pre-recorded network newscast during the replay of “Coast To Coast AM” which is heard in your town on a number of stations. Your last sentence is the most important part of your (and any) post. At the point where the Benjamins became more important than the product (and the service radio could provide), that “withering” began. It’s not too late to save radio’s reputation for serving its communities. TV is abandoning its role outside of the “peak viewing hours” and we know it’s must more cost effective to cover your (or any) are on radio. One of the big questions once asked in research – “when a major disaster hits, what radio station do you think would cover it?” Today’s answer might be WHIO, or WLW or .. . “I don’t listen to the radio” -something that wouldn’t have happened 20 years ago. CMG is to be congratulated on keeping the spirit of “live and local” alive..but in 2023 is it enough?
Thank you, Kevin.
You’ve always been a great advocate for local radio.
“We still believe in local radio”
Love it!!
Nice comments Tom. The one that we all should take to heart is…
“We have to be the thing you can’t live without. Is that the case anymore?”
Unless we are developing great personalities, creating content that YOU CAN’T GET ANYWHERE ELSE and being part of the fabric of our local communities… listeners, our listeners, will slowly be lured away to other platforms and choices. As Rick Cummings always told me…Choice Kills… and now there is a LOT of choice for our listeners.
I still believe “local, free, over the air radio matters”…but it is up to us as content producers to make sure the audience continues to believe that as well. Great content will always “find a way” to cut through. We just need to continue to be sure it lives on AM/FM radio…everyday. That way, THE AUDIENCE will also demand radio to continue to be a choice in dashes…THAT manufacturers will listen to.
You are so right, Jeff.
You also have been a builder from scratch on of great local talk, in a place where many thought it couldn’t be done.
You know what it takes.
Please read this article from the Washington Post, which doesn’t touch on the MAIN reason all radio will eventually be eliminated by automakers:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/05/13/am-radio-electric-cars/
My response to the WaPo article:
Hello Marc,
As a long time reader of yours, who always appreciates your in-depth work and insights into our world, I want to pass along some very important missing context to consider in adding to your article or as follow-up on AM Radio’s removal from autos.
Not only AM, but FM eventually will be removed from all car radios.
Here is the PRIMARY reason.
The automakers have business partnerships with SiriusXM and Apple CarPlay for subscription revenue.
Those two entities and others work together with the auto manufacturers in a shared SUBSCRIPTION-BASED revenue stream model.
The entertainment suite in a car is a huge revenue source for the auto companies.
This is critical contextual information I’m sure you’d want to include.
“Radio” does not pay automakers to put radios in-car. Radio is actually a COMPETITOR to the auto industry.
The auto manufacturers get a cut of subscription fees from SiriusXM, Apple CarPlay, and others. They also fund the installation of this technology into the vehicles.
While they say you can root around and try to find the “streaming version“ of radio, they are very careful to make sure that on the connected car dashboard, radio takes a back seat on any menu.
This essentially eliminates the competition from disrupting their subscription-based revenue model.
In terms of the excuse that AM can’t be picked up in cars that are electric, two points:
AM radio has worked around electric motors forever. In these cases, just as it had been in the past, AM radio had to be shielded from the sparks generated in an internal combustible engine. It also had to protect the signal from passing trucks. More recently it has had to be shielded from onboard computer technology. That has been done.
This excuse has been strategically forwarded by auto manufacturers. And the auto manufacturers along with their content partners, do not want radio in vehicles, period.
For example, Ford is already eliminating AM radio from NON-EVs.
However, it’s a process. AM radio is the first to go, because it represents only 10% of overall radio listening, and it’s an easy start to the eventual removal of all universally free OTA radio.
It comes with a built-in excuse, as well.
“Interference.”
This has nothing to do with the Right Wing conspiracy theory that the U.S. government is trying to eliminate conservative talk shows. You can already hear that kind of programming on SiriusXM, etc.
You just have to pay for it.
On the other hand it also has to do with who has more lobbying power ($$) in Washington.
Automakers and Big Tech. Not the Radio industry.
And certainly not minority broadcasters that serve millions of people in this country, including those who have no other foreign language options. This is certainly damaging to minority communities and minority businesses.
Every smartphone today, including the one you likely carry around with you in your pocket, has a chip in it. unlike in many other countries, in the United States, this chip is turned off.
Why?
Because if you turn that chip on, it also makes your phone an FM radio receiver as well.
The tech companies do not want anything free to disrupt their revenue model, which also includes their content partnerships. There is absolutely no other reason why these chips have decidedly been turned off.
If you are, AT&T, Verizon, or most any other provider, you certainly don’t want the competition, “free radio,” to get in the way of your shared subscription fees for your content.
This was a fight radio broadcasters lost years ago. There’s lots of information available about that.
The unfortunate part is that TRUE LOCALISM will be further buried.
At the same time, can you really blame automakers as a business, who are in now in the content business and don’t want radio, which is a competitor and not a paying customer, in their cars?
It’s just “business.”
SiriusXM absolutely wants to kill radio because radio has many more listeners. They even actively market the image that radio is “over.” They run this kind of propaganda on their channels as part of campaigns against Radio.
This is about creating a monopoly and requiring people to pay for what was once free.
JACOBS MEDIA, which is arguably the most respected strategy organization that works with radio, just ran a piece on Thursday, which I wrote.
I am also critical of radio companies that have allowed their stations to rot and to no longer serve the community, as they are licensed to do.
The big radio companies opened the door to allow this to happen.
Not sure how the large radio mega consolidators feel about my comments, because impossible debt loads have necessitated unimaginable cost cutting in failed attempts to prevent multiple bankruptcies.
You can read this week’s piece here:
I hope you will have the opportunity to enlighten your readers about this issue, which is the LEAD driver in an effort to remove radio from cars.
It’s important to know my position and goals. My company is focused on advisory work and acquisition of media to return local content to communities. My company was formed based on the dismay of local journalism being lost in our communities. “Vulture” capital companies are destroying our access to responsible, credible Journalism.
This has also lead to the elimination of most radio newsrooms in this country.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
Thank you for writing the story.
Best Regards,
Tom Langmyer
Tom Langmyer
President & CEO
Great Lakes Media, LLC
Acquisition & Advisory Group
(312) 320-4700 (voice, text)
Tom@GreatLakesMediaCorp.com
Great Lakes Media, LLC is a Delaware Corporation.
“Radio is fundamentally a local business” TM
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I am an AM DXer going back to the 1970s. Many see the AM medium as antiquated, therefore open to the chopping block. THIS WOULD BE A GRAVE MISTAKE. In the event of satellites in space becoming inooerative, FM provides only limited reception range. You are spot on by referencing that media today is all about the money, more so than ever. As a result, a free medium not seen as a needed commodity becomes a liability to a corporate mindset. The problem with this thinking is that it is NOT ABOUT the money, it is about serving the public, most notably in a time of emergency. Internet cannot satisfy this nees, plain and simple. The move to eliminate AM radio from electric vehicles is extremely kneejerk and not redolent of wise long-term thinking. Just my take.
AM took it in the chops back in the early 90s when the frequency range was narrowed to avoid that annoying whistle from interfering stations.
Technically and scientifically it may have made sense, but between that debacle and IBOC AM’ers coming on line, the dial truly is a wreck.
Save AM, but *fix* AM while we’re at it.
Tom, as I’ve told you more than once through the decades, I’d proudly join you side-by-side going into battle in the radio trenches. Any day.
As a radio news lifer, I truly appreciate your advocacy for localism. Local matters. I’m alarmed by the growing of “news deserts” in this country. Smaller communities (and some not so small) where local newspapers have disappeared, AM radio stations have gone dark, FM stations are syndicated jukeboxes with no localism, and TV considers it flyover country. News deserts, where no one is watching the city council or the school board.
Thank goodness for the public radio stations, often university-affiliated, that are fighting the good fight with news and information.
I’m just a news guy. I’m not an engineer. I’m not smart enough to tell you if future radio delivery will come from a transmitter tower or an app. Or both.
But, I do know that local matters.
After Superstorm Sandy, my boss printed and posted thank you notes from listeners on a bulletin board. There were dozens of them. People who had no electricity, no TV, no internet.
But, they had radios, some powered by batteries, others by a crank.
And they thanked us for being their lifeline during and after the storm. I’ll never forget one that said (paraphrasing), “I was scared and alone. It was like you held my hand over the radio.”
Local matters.
Mr. Jacobs, thank you for this forum, and thank you for sharing Tom’s important message.
Steve Scott
I would like to see top-40 and new country music return to AM.