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Here's a guest blog from Mike Stern, former R&R News/Talk Editor, and major market programmer. "It’s no surprise to me.  I am my own worst enemy.” Lit A pair of anecdotes recently reminded me that many of radio’s wounds are self-inflicted. While I shadowed a class at a local broadcast school, the instructor excitedly told […]

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I remember being at an outdoor barbeque about 10 years ago, and the host's teenage daughter put on a CD that surprised me – Steve Miller's Greatest Hits.  I was sort of expecting Green Day, or Mariah Carey, or maybe even the boy band of the month.  And as one hit played after another, everyone […]

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Here’s a guest blog from Jacobs Media’s Keith Cunningham:  Would an NFL coach move the kicker to the QB slot just to save a few bucks?  Nope.  So why would someone be asked to program or sell a format they have no experience with, just to add some dollars to the bottom line? If you […]

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Years from now, it will be much easier to post-analyze how media spending and advertising changed during this past decade.  Until that time, those of us in the middle of this maelstrom have to figure it out as we go along.   That's precisely the challenge facing CEOs of major newspapers, television networks, and of course, […]

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A recent Wall Street Journal feature, "The Count," that uses data to draw some interesting conclusions, notes that Tiger Woods tends to perform very well, even if a tournament is held on a course he's never played before. The article notes that of the last 12 "virgin" courses Woods has played, he has finished 1st […]

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A new forecast from Borrell Associates is bold, and it has amazing implications if it comes to pass.  They're predicting that newspaper revenues will stop their decline this year, and will actually increase by more than 2% next year.  In fact, they believe that by 2014, newspapers will enjoy an increase of nearly 9% over […]

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Al Franken has been in the news a lot this year because of the crazy Minnesota senate stalemate.  It's often difficult for us boomers to think about Al as a U.S. Senator because our first exposure to him was on Saturday Night Live. One of his best bits revolved around his premise that "The Me […]

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Al Franken has been in the news a lot this year because of the crazy Minnesota senate stalemate.  It's often difficult for us boomers to think about Al as a U.S. Senator because our first exposure to him was on Saturday Night Live. One of his best bits revolved around his premise that "The Me […]

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The latest wrinkle in post-9/11 political discourse is the dilemma that many politicians are facing regarding the health care debate.  At so-called town hall meetings hosted by Congressmen around the country, the level of anger has become so palpable that any exchange of views has become short of impossible. And both sides are lining up, […]

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This performance tax kerfuffle keeps bringing out the worst in everyone – especially some of the fringe artists who are just waking up to the notion that perhaps they've been screwed by their record labels, and now look to radio to fix everything. In an op-ed piece in The New York Times last week, Nancy […]

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This performance tax kerfuffle keeps bringing out the worst in everyone – especially some of the fringe artists who are just waking up to the notion that perhaps they've been screwed by their record labels, and now look to radio to fix everything. In an op-ed piece in The New York Times last week, Nancy […]

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Today's blog is from Fred and Keith, thinking about a recent TV show vacancy.  Highly successful and well-known ensemble show looking to replace popular but sometimes controversial female co-host.  Applicant must be willing to voice her opinions, and be open to generating some controversy with the other program hosts.  Knowledge of text messaging platforms helpful, […]

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Radio professionals must have laughed – and then cried – when they heard Craig Ferguson's rave at his network bosses over their obsession with youth.  In a monologue last week, dubbed "Why Everything Sucks" – Ferguson went off on CBS sales executives and their clients for their narrow focus on the youth of America. Of […]

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Radio professionals must have laughed – and then cried – when they heard Craig Ferguson's rave at his network bosses over their obsession with youth.  In a monologue last week, dubbed "Why Everything Sucks" – Ferguson went off on CBS sales executives and their clients for their narrow focus on the youth of America. Of […]

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Here's a quote that may have a ring of familiarity to it: "Everything we're doing starts with the digital property at the center of the program.  Whether it's a traditional media site or an entirely Web-based site, the entire program is developed around a digital platform, and then if there's a promotional opportunity to take […]

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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 Nashville. It was an eye-opener.  First, the sessions were on par with anything that you'd see at the NAB or other radio conventions.  The "ops guys" session featured […]

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As the performance tax debacle continues to drone on, and each side digs in deeper, the ongoing state of the music business and its alleged "strategy" gets curiouser and curiouser.   Consider an article in a recent issue of Billboard predicting that the coming Christmas season will be just as "un-merry" for the labels and their […]

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It's been an interesting month for Amazon.  First, there was the debacle with 1984 and the Kindle.  You probably read the well-circulated story about how Amazon botched a situation where customers had bought 1984 (and Animal Farm) only to find that one day, these books were mysteriously deleted from their digital readers.   It turned out […]

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As if Pandora hasn't caught enough of a break by getting its music royalty fee situation together, founder Tim Westergren (or just plain, folksy "Tim" in his recent email to customers) is going after broadcast radio in a blatant, sleazy, and not-so-nice way.  In an email to Pandora customers, "Tim" asks them to contact members […]

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We all know those narcissistic people who can't go anywhere without being distracted by mirrors, or for that matter, any surface that provides a reflection.  But for too long, many radio stations have been guilty of just that – being self-absorbed at the exclusion of listeners.  To address that issue, Alan Burns has come up […]

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