No shock given our recent memos and blogs, but several stations took the Jack plunge today – from Detroit (Doug), to perhaps TWO stations in St. Louis, Des Moines (The Bus), and even Albany. For stations that are being “attacked” by these new players, it’s the time to reassess variety, audience loyalty, and personality interaction […]
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Our founder, Fred Jacobs, discusses the issues facing broadcasters today.
Radio Sucks. Wait, No It Doesn't!
Today, I’m happy to share a guest blog from Paul Jacobs. Without further adieu: If you’ve taken an entry level physics course, you are aware of the concept that every action has an equally forceful reaction. We’re seeing that in radio right now. For the past several years, our industry has been criticized for stamping […]
Read MoreRadio Sucks. Wait, No It Doesn’t!
Today, I’m happy to share a guest blog from Paul Jacobs. Without further adieu: If you’ve taken an entry level physics course, you are aware of the concept that every action has an equally forceful reaction. We’re seeing that in radio right now. For the past several years, our industry has been criticized for stamping […]
Read MoreWho’s Got Gas?
Sometimes, the old ideas are the best ideas. If your spring marketing plan is still in flux, free gas for a year isn’t just a good prize, it’s a great one. You can talk with us about how the computation works, but there are few promotions that will resonate as nicely as this one. With […]
Read MoreWho's Got Gas?
Sometimes, the old ideas are the best ideas. If your spring marketing plan is still in flux, free gas for a year isn’t just a good prize, it’s a great one. You can talk with us about how the computation works, but there are few promotions that will resonate as nicely as this one. With […]
Read MoreMash-Ups
One of the most interesting phenomena to happen to music has been the creation of mash-ups – a consumer driven, creation that takes two songs and “mashes” them together. If you haven’t found “The Grey Album“ online, it’s worthy of your time – a combination of the Beatles’ “White Album” and Jay-Z’s “Black Album” […]
Read MoreIf There's Hank-FM, What's Next?
The recent surge of guy-named formats (hey, it started with Alice) has now produced Jack, Bob, Dave, Ben, Howard, and now Emmis’ Hank in Indianapolis. There was a Fred in Albuquerque, but I’m pleased to report that it was changed to Ed for reasons that we cannot fathom. In that spirit, Tim Davis (who is […]
Read MoreIf There’s Hank-FM, What’s Next?
The recent surge of guy-named formats (hey, it started with Alice) has now produced Jack, Bob, Dave, Ben, Howard, and now Emmis’ Hank in Indianapolis. There was a Fred in Albuquerque, but I’m pleased to report that it was changed to Ed for reasons that we cannot fathom. In that spirit, Tim Davis (who is […]
Read MoreHank-FM
As predicted, the Jack phenomenon is reaching new formats and morphing in new directions. Today, Emmis signed on HANK-FM in Indianapolis, a Country station that’s been “jacked.” This is just the beginning, as more and more programmers will invent ways to incorporate some horizontal thinking along with surprise into existing formats. Or they’ll […]
Read MoreYou Heard It Here First – Or Maybe Not
There’s some good news with those NAB promos. While some of the artists just don’t sound convincing or engaged, there’s Slash who does the best promo yet. Radio needs more of these – self-deprecating, entertaining, real. (Click here to download it). On the other side, AOL Music has just announced the new Springsteen single, “Devils […]
Read MoreOne Thought Per Break
Our "Technology Web Poll" (conducted among Jacobs Media clients) is wrapping up in the next couple of days. Before it’s over, 20,000 listeners from around the country will weigh in on topics ranging from iPods to streaming to text messaging to satellite radio. As always, email club members are enthusiastically offering their opinions. But some […]
Read MoreThe Most Important Hour Of The Day
That’s how CNBC is now referring to the 3-4 p.m. (eastern) hour in an effort to make sure stock-conscious viewers tune in to see how Wall Street ends up. In truth, this last hour of the trading day is usually quite volatile and there’s often quite a bit of fluctuation before the market closes. But […]
Read MoreLooks Are Everything
Paul and I met with a guy here in Detroit the other day that got us thinking about radio station displays. His name is Rick Portwood and he’s the President of a company called Display Group (www.displaygroup.com). They are one of the Midwest’s biggest display companies, specializing in conventions, meetings, social events, etc. We’re in […]
Read MoreJack LA – Postscript
Dave Beasing noted that KLOS is now positioning itself as "LA’s #1 Classic Rock Station" so it appears they are indeed committed to being Classic Rock. There’s a long tradition of this in the business, as former AOR stations like KQRS, KGON, WGRF, and others opted to "age gracefully" with their original demographics. L.A. still […]
Read MoreFinding New Stuff
The days of having some guy in a satin jacket drop off great new music at the front desk may be a thing of the past. If Rock Radio continues to wait around for great songs to drop in our laps, we may be kidding ourselves, and contributing to our own demise. The singles mentality […]
Read MoreNo "Happy Jack" In L.A.?
With the demise of Arrow in Los Angeles, it’s hard to believe that the second largest market in the country is without a radio station playing the most popular form of rock music. KLOS is a fine all-purpose rocker, but no Classic Rocker?
Read MoreNo “Happy Jack” In L.A.?
With the demise of Arrow in Los Angeles, it’s hard to believe that the second largest market in the country is without a radio station playing the most popular form of rock music. KLOS is a fine all-purpose rocker, but no Classic Rocker?
Read MoreAdapt Or Die
“Adapt Or Die.” Tough talk, indeed, from one of our own – Emmis CEO Jeff Smulyan. Keynoting the Kagan Radio/TV Summit, Jeff noted that radio and TV are “under siege” because of new media. Right on the money. This is one of the reasons why Jacobs Media is involved, as you’re reading this, in an […]
Read MoreCheck Out The Sands Report
The Alternative dialogue rages this week in The Sands Report, as Jacobs Media has an opportunity to comment on some of the big issues affecting the format. If you’d like to read those comments, click the link below. If you are unaware of it, The Sands Report was created and edited by former Live 105 […]
Read MoreImmediacy Of The Internet
The immediacy of the Internet has become even more meaningful to me since starting this blog, and our “10 Questions with…” which debuted a couple of months back. It’s put us in touch with some bona fide luminaries. Where else can you shoot someone an email, get back a “yes, I’ll do it” response, come […]
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