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Paul Jacobs drew the long straw and is reporting from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week.  Here is the first of his reports.  You can follow him on Twitter, too – @pauljacobsmedia It’s opening night, and thousands of us are waiting for Steve Ballmer’s keynote:  First of all, I forgot how nice […]

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Earlier this week, I was invited to speak to a radio class at Salem High School (Plymouth, MI).  It all came out of a recent blog post ("Michigan, Radio, & Youth" – 12/10/09) that spoke to the dual problems that my home state and our industry are facing in the area of attracting young people. […]

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In our quest to keep moving the ball forward, it's critical to know where the proverbial puck is going, and how we'll be devising strategies around new media opportunities and challenges.  In this case, digital technology is at the intersection of where we've been and where we're headed, so there's no better place to experience […]

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In our quest to keep moving the ball forward, it's critical to know where the proverbial puck is going, and how we'll be devising strategies around new media opportunities and challenges.  In this case, digital technology is at the intersection of where we've been and where we're headed, so there's no better place to experience […]

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Thanks to all the commenters to last week's "Best of" posts.  KISW's B.J. Shea wrote the following response to our "What's Your New Plan B?" post. Fred, Great column today.  I don't profess to have all of the answers, but I do have some observations… radio, and other businesses don't seem to operate the way I run my […]

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A new study from the Global Information Industry Center at the University of California, San Diego, has a lot to say about the old 10 pounds of shit in a 5 pound bag analogy (if you'd excuse the expression).  In this case, the bag is our brain.  And this study is about just how much […]

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  Jacobs Media wish that you have a fantastic 2010!!  JacoBLOG will return on Monday, January 4.

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We sincerely wish all of our readers a safe, happy new year. 2009 was clearly "the year of hanging in there." Here's hoping that the new year has a more positive, forward-thinking  theme. Our blog will be back, bright and early on January 4th. Happy New Year from all of us at Jacobs Media.

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For this holiday week, we've scanned this year's JacoBLOG archives to reprise some of the posts that elicited comments – on and off-line. Today's is about adapting. The Bones At A Barbeque A couple of weeks ago, an old friend and former client, Bob Ottaway, sent me an insightful analysis by Terry Teachout that appeared in the […]

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In our continuing "Best of" shortened holiday week, this post comes from last August, following my return from this year's "Morning Show Boot Camp." Notes From Boot Camp I did something last week that I had never done before during my radio career – I attended Don Anthony's Morning Show Boot Camp, this year in […]

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As we wrap up 2009, we thought it would be insightful to go back to past blog entries from the year that seemed to resonate with JacoBLOG readers.  This one, from last February, elicited many comments from broadcasters – mostly in direct emails to me.  Enjoy.       This graphic by Ji Lee literally […]

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  We wish you and your family a happy, healthy, and safe holiday season!!  The JacoBLOG will return on Monday, December 28.

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As the year winds down, and radio takes a breather from its many challenges, and hopefully, most of you do the same, I just wanted to take a moment to thank clients, friends, and readers of this blog.  It has indeed been a tough year for just about everyone in this business, whether you've found […]

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Here's a guest blog from rock radio programmer extraordinaire, Keith Hastings, the guy behind The Hog in Milwaukee.  Keith is a hardcore radio guy, who admittedly spends time listening to Pandora. I was messing around with a Jackson Browne “station” on Pandora the other day, and on comes “The Load Out/Stay.”  Cool.  Nice long song, […]

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As a company and in this blog space, we have taken an aggressive approach toward digital technology over this past decade.  I don't regret it for a minute.  Now we're seeing important shifts.  Advertising dollars are skewing toward digital and away from traditional media, and yet, I still hear the same questions: Are you sure […]

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There is a bizarre contradiction in the mobile space.  In Japan, South Korea, and in many European countries, mobile phones do so much more than our iPhones and BlackBerries are able to accomplish here in the U.S. You'd think that the country that spawned Microsoft, Amazon, Google, and Apple would be well ahead of the […]

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Think that it's been a flat-to-down year for the media businesses?  Not for everyone.  No talk about "flat is the new up" here.  Just hockey stick growth.

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For more than a year now, we have been gently reminding (and lately, hammering) our clients to get serious about creating couponing programs with local businesses and retailers.  Once those department store Santas put away their pillows and fake beards, drumming up business in January and February will be tough hills to climb. Here's where […]

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As we've discussed many times in this space, many former radio professionals have ventured into new areas as our industry has shrunk over the past couple of years.  At times these career jump-shifts have been forced by necessity.  But in other cases, ex-radio execs have managed incredible transitions as they move into different media realms. […]

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Last week, I spent a couple of days in Annapolis at Arbitron's "Programming Fly-In."  And there were a few surprises. First, they drew a record crowd – in December and in a travel budget challenged environment.  Second, there were a lot of programmers in the room.  And finally, it was good to get outside of […]

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