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Last Friday’s guest post from Scott Westerman generated a lot of comments and reactions from a number of circles – DJs, managers, and even an owner.  The role of the air personality as audience ambassador and community conduit was a big part of Scott’s premise. Yet, as I was perusing the radio news sites over […]

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I had the pleasure of attending a different kind of media event last week.  I went to a poetry reading by Billy Collins (pictured), an artist who brings a very regular guy approach to his writing.  If there was a Jerry Seinfeld of poetry, it would be Billy Collins, who sees humor, irony, and a rainbow […]

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So it turns out I’ve known Scott Westerman about as long as I’ve known anyone in radio.  We met at Michigan State back in the ‘70s, but Scott was already a radio veteran having started out at WPAG/Ann Arbor at the ripe old age of 14.  By the time he earned a Telecom degree at […]

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Yesterday, I gave you a guided tour of how Jacobs Media ended up becoming major proponents and practitioners of web-based audience research. Today, there’s some interesting evidence to share that suggests that because of population shifts, landline erosion, and the mobile phone explosion, a version of web-based methodology may actually be more accurate than telephone studies. I can […]

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At the risk of offending some of my brothers in media research, today’s blog focuses on how all the many tech changes in our world are impacting the ability to accurately survey a population.  The fact is that while web-based research was once a very non-conventional form of research – especially among purists – it has now entered the […]

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You know how in radio, you often run across people who are fun-loving, interesting, and personable?  And then there are a lot of folks who are just plain good at the business with a keen sense for how to succeed and make things work.  Trip Savery is one of those rare guys who combines both […]

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There’s been a lot written and said about Pandora, especially in broadcast radio circles over the years – some of it true, some of it wishful thinking, and lots of it just emotional. Last week at CES, I had the opportunity to interview Pandora’s Chief Revenue Officer, John Trimble (pictured).  I asked him a wide array […]

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The quaint scene pictured below symbolizes a technology and platform that has served radio so well since its very beginnings.  You were granted a license and then went about building the infrastructure that would guarantee coverage and reach.  Acquiring a plot of land, erecting a tower, buying and installing a transmitter – all the costs of doing […]

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OK, it wasn’t the greatest film of 2002, but Minority Report was a movie that had an indelible effect on me as a marketer and programmer.  The setting is America in 2054, and Tom Cruise plays a troubled anti-crime cop.  The screenplay is based on a book by the late writer and visionary, Philip K. […]

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Radio Ink recently posted an interview with Seth Godin centered on his new book, The Icarus Deception. Greater Media’s Buzz Knight happily took on the interviewing chores, and I encourage you to spend a few minutes and hear it for yourself.  Seth talks candidly about radio’s future, and a myriad of topics that focus on […]

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Now that I’m back from CES 2013 and regaining perspective, it strikes me that the deluge of content, platforms, and gadgets can make the average consumer feel a bit lost in all the options and choice.  I sure felt that way while wandering around an over-crowded Las Vegas Convention Center. While just about everyone talks […]

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If you’ve never been to CES before, it is difficult for me to describe the magnitude of it all.  I know you’ve heard it all before – 35 football fields of gadgets has become a cliché.  But the daunting size and dense crowds are what make CES amazing and challenging at the same time. Over the last […]

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I know this post will come off as callous or even blasphemous to many hardcore radio people, but I’ve been thinking a lot about point of view over the holidays. In fact, I’ve changed my Facebook Timeline picture to show a view (in Michigan) out the windshield – rather than looking back through the rear-view […]

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Starting today, the connected car has been “unchained” thanks to the vision of Ford.  And we’re excited to tell you that our mobile apps development company, jacAPPS, will play a co-starring role.  We think it’s a big win for radio. Since 2008 when we launched jacAPPS, we’ve been fortunate to have been selected by great broadcasters like […]

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By now, most of us mature types have long admitted how “native” users of technology discover technology long before it shows up on our radar screens. Aside from the obvious benefits, one of the greatest things about having had children back in the ‘90s and early ‘00s was watching them adopt and master new gadgets and platforms. If […]

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I love political quotations, and one of my favorites from the last few years came from none other than Sarah Palin, commenting on the first year of the Obama administration: “How’s that hopey-changey stuff workin’ out for ya?” Well, for those of us who have been at this awhile, we know all too well that hope […]

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So now we know that the world did not end last month.  And unlike Y2K, companies did not spend any money or human resources preparing for this predicted gloom and doom.  And somehow we made it to another new year, fiscal cliff and all. But if you were Newsweek, it was the end of the […]

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What would a new year be without someone whispering in your ear, reminding you to think about how you can improve your game in 2013? And that’s what the first new jacoBLOG post of the new year is all about.  For the past couple of weeks, I’d been thinking about what the best action steps […]

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We’ve been spending our holidays perusing some of the most-read posts of 2012.  And the one you’re about to read has the distinction of being #1.  And as you’ll see, it managed to stir things up all over the radio industry.  Hopefully, it’s as entertaining as today’s bowl games.  And fear not – JacoBLOG will be […]

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