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As many industries grapple with monetization strategies in the digital space – including radio, of course – conversations still revolve around the lowly banner ad.  As most of us recall, that’s how web revenue was originally conceived – placing mini-billboards (and skyscrapers and other devices) around our websites in the hope that web surfers (as […]

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Sometimes you have to wonder if it can get any stranger.  More and more these days, we’re reading wild, crazy, and unbelievable news stories online about pretty much everything from politics to sports to technology – and checking to be sure the article isn’t just another clever spoof from The Onion. That thought crossed my […]

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It seems like every few years, a new format flavor of the year comes rolling along, racking up initially high ratings and often spreading like wildfire from market to market. This month, it’s Boom, Radio One’s entry in Houston (and now also in Philadelphia) that is making a lot of noise and spawning backchannel conversations and debate […]

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So here at Jacobs Media, we’ve been engaged in the “connected car” space for a few years now. And one of the challenges has been communicating its importance from both a listening and a sales standpoint to the broadcast radio industry. From national conventions to state broadcaster association conferences to mega-events like “The Radio Show” on the […]

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There are lots of shots fired at the CEOs of our world day in and day out. They’re overpaid, out of step with the times, deaf to the changing needs of their industries, and a litany of other criticisms. It’s easy to knock the guy or woman at the top, whether it’s Bob Pittman, Marissa […]

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                                  Recently, Mark Ramsey wrote a post that took a shot at the downsides of chasing Nielsen numbers – and more importantly, stations that program to it, rather than satisfying listeners and converting them into true fans. In “Nielsen […]

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“Prediction is very difficult, especially if it’s about the future.” Niels Bohr Bohr was a Danish physicist who worked toward a better understanding of atomic structure and quantum theory and he gave us this quote about the difficulty of making calls about what will happen next year…or ten years down the road. But that didn’t stop Gordon […]

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Today is Election Day at long last.  All those annoying political ads for governors, senators, judges, secretaries of state, and various proposals will mercifully end.  On broadcast radio  the early returns on political spending are mixed.  So this post is being written without 100% of precincts reporting, but stories in the industry trades indicate that this was not […]

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A recent feature in Tom Taylor’s “NOW” column highlighted employee reviews of broadcast radio companies.  Perhaps you’ve heard of GlassDoor.com – a website that allows workers to rate, compliment, or vent about their companies. Yes, many broadcast companies are included in these ratings, along with thousands and thousands of companies and corporations in media, entertainment, […]

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Since our DASH Conference earlier in the month, there has been no shortage of conversation and buzz about all things “connected car.”  Some of the stories reinforce a great deal of activity from the automakers, while others are simply making wild and crazy statements about cars that equipped with digital connectivity. For example, the early numbers […]

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When it comes to digital initiatives, I’m often asked, “But who’s doing it right?” And if you search the web hard enough, you’re likely to find an interesting idea here, or a clever application there. But in terms of big picture thinking, it’s scattershot at best.  This seems to be especially true of radio station websites, often […]

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You know the value of free investment advice (or free radio consulting) – not much. So please read today’s blog post with two jaundiced eyes. I am not a professional stock picker, a day trader, or someone who has always made the best choices in real estate investments. But I have a growing theory about companies and […]

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You may have read about the big news out of Country radio that Taylor Swift’s new pop song, “Shake It Off,” is virtually formata non grata. Most programmers simply avoided it because it doesn’t fit the Country format. And the release of the entire album, 1989, is an obvious step by Swift to mine mass appeal contemporary […]

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Yesterday’s post about Pandora’s full frontal assault on broadcast radio via the “connected car” generated a lot of comments – as intended. But if you think the story is confined to the C-suites of major radio companies, automakers and their suppliers, think again. One of the major impetuses revolving around our second DASH conference was to ensure that all […]

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Today’s post title is the only possible conclusion I can reach about broadcast radio’s lack of strategic focus and apparent concern about what is happening with its present and future in “connected cars.” This became even clearer to me after DASH last week.  It was gratifying to see a large, enthusiastic crowd eager to learn, exchange, […]

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