jacoBLOG

This may be a first, but it may not be the last. In an honest admission of his capabilities and his passion (or lack thereof), Wilkes-Barre Times Leader‘s executive editor, Joe Butkiewicz, recently stepped aside because the paper’s new design direction “doesn’t fit my style.” Butkiewicz noted that while it was an emotional decision after 30 […]

Read More

Get ready for it because the headline in AdAge blares: U.S. Adults Now Spending More Time On Digital Devices Than Watching TV And deeper into the article, “Overall, the amount of time spent consuming media in all its forms – digital, TV, radio, and print – is cranking ever upward, though radio and print are dropping […]

Read More

The news last week that rock n’ roll icon Mick Jagger turned 70 years-old once brought up that age-old (sorry) question about how to position these milestones on Classic Rock stations. Back when everyone was turning 50 in the ‘80s, it was sort of a curiosity that rock’s old guard was somehow reaching this pinnacle.  […]

Read More

There’s not a week that goes by without conflicting opinions about the state of our lives.  Whether it’s a type of food that is both beneficial but harmful or news about a company like Apple that suggests both record sales and impending disaster, so goes it with the state of radio. In the same week, […]

Read More

Who are three of my new favorite people? George Alexander Louis (the royal baby), Geraldo Rivera, and of course, Anthony Weiner. All three of these wonderful celebrities have conspired to knock the Detroit bankruptcy story right off the front pages of newspapers and out of the mainstream news cycle.  Sometimes this short attention span thing works in your […]

Read More

In memory of one of America’s great radio personalities,  I dug back into our Summit archives.  Kidd graciously starred in our “President of Radio” presentation back at our 13th Summit in 2008 in Austin.  He was one of 10 different industry leaders and personalities who took the stage to opine about the state of radio. […]

Read More

There are some very interesting and progressive things beginning to happen in both commercial and public radio when it comes to personalized content consumption. And I’m not talking about music. So often, the topic of playlists and customization centers on Pandora, Spotify, and now iTunes Radio which makes its debut in the next few weeks. […]

Read More

About a year ago, an industry friend called to talk a little radio, and in the course of the conversation asked me this question:  “What’s going on with Country in Detroit?” He was referencing WYCD’s ratings, which at the time cracked the 7-share threshold for 25-54 adults.  And I explained that it is not the […]

Read More

Jacobs Media’s newest consultant, Mike Stern, is always scouring the industry trades for hot news items.  And recently, he found one that’s close to home. -FJ I’d like to thank Fred for bringing me back to the Alternative format at just the right moment because… We Are Back, Baby! An Inside Radio analysis of Arbitron […]

Read More

Here we are, four years later, and another company tradition is coming together.  I’m speaking of our Summer School sessions at the Conclave, an important conference and organization dedicated to the care and training of future broadcasters. We were once again honored to kick off Conclave with an afternoon of sessions, interviews, and presentations designed […]

Read More

On Wednesday, Jacobs Media kicked off the 38th annual Conclave with our fourth Summer School presentation.  And by the sound of the feedback, it was a strong series of sessions for Conclave attendees. I had the chance to interview both Jaye Albright, one of this year’s Rockwell Award recipients, as well as the often reclusive […]

Read More

Our newest consultant and personality coach, Mike Stern, thinks a lot about what makes a great DJ or morning show.  Recently, he ran across a great web article written by sci-fi author Charlie Jane Anders: “10 Essential Elements of a Great Escapist Hero.” And you know what?  Many of these traits apply to being a breakthrough, […]

Read More

The whirlwind speed at which technology is moving puts incredible pressure on the innovative companies in the vanguard of this space.  Not all of them are going to come out of this maelstrom intact.  And that’s the point – even so-called venerable tech brands are being tested every day. We’ve watched the demise of both […]

Read More

At the very end of last month, in an effort to bolster sales to “make the quarter,” both Clear Channel and CBS ran major pushes to “hit the numbers.”  One-day sales blitzes, higher commission rates, and other incentives and games were apparently attempted in an effort to squeeze out as many dollars as possible during Q2. […]

Read More

One of the quiet trends that may be impacting American business – and radio is right there in the center of it – has to do with morale, employee satisfaction, and keeping staffers upbeat and positive during challenging times. The events of the past few years – the loss of faith in financial institutions, company […]

Read More

Our post about apps and talent earlier this week elicited many comments – especially on Twitter where a number of jocks chimed in about their role in differentiating radio from its digital competitors.  The best comment came from researcher and techie, Mike Anthony, and it’s the subject of this morning’s guest post.  Thanks to Mike […]

Read More

There’s are a lot of shocked faces in the radio industry over this new Gallup poll revealing that radio comes in dead last as a main source for news and current events.  I’m not sure why. TV takes first place with 55% of the votes, followed by the Internet (21%), print (9%), and finally radio (6%).  […]

Read More