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Yesterday, Facebook officially changed its name to Meta. Radio has been no stranger to rebranding efforts, including its two biggest companies. Did Mark Zuckerberg just buy some much-needed cover – or does Facebook by any other name smell just as rotten? Let’s take a look.

“Reinvent Radio” – It’s almost become a mantra at industry conferences, virtual meetups, and strategic meeting. And yet, broadcast radio – year in and year out – sounds pretty much the same. Tech companies – Spotify, Apple, Slacker – have tried their hand at radio, with scant success. But now here comes Amazon with “Project Mic,” the newest attempt to reshape a 100 year-old medium. Here’s what they’re cooking up.

It’s budget season.  For many executives, it’s an especially challenging and difficult time of the year. Will there be investments?  Will there be cuts? For much of 2022 – a year of unknowns – there are some big decisions on the table.  We know that a key call is where to invest a station’s (or […]

These past couple of posts, I’ve focused on my dashboard paranoia – where will radio be displayed in the cars of the future. And it’s complicated. But today’s post is dedicated to problem-solving. How does radio reintroduce itself to automakers? How can broadcasters best represent their interests to car makers? Here are some ideas.

In the second post of our deep dive into the dashboards of today’s cars – and those that roll off the assembly lines in the coming years – we look at the outsized influence of Elon Musk and Tesla, as well as tech giants like Apple and Google, trying to capture an even bigger chunk of the car’s “brains.” Where does that leave radio? Come along for the ride.

AM/FM radios have been “standard equipment” in cars and trucks for 90 years. So, there’s no reason to believe the storied relationship between broadcast radio and automakers is in any jeopardy, right? Lately, I’m seeing storm clouds on the horizon as the car industry faces new competition, advancing technology, electrification, and the devolving dealership model. So, what are auto execs thinking about those dashboard radios? Buckle up.

You just can’t keep Classic Rock out of the news, not bad for a music genre that’s more than five decades old, and still going strong. Today’s blog post contains a tripleshot of Classic Rock stories that you may not know about: William Shatner’s newest role as “Mr. Spaceman,” Budweiser’s beery tribute to the Motor City, and the return of the Fab Four to the main stage. Hey, it’s Friday, and the first shot is on me.

Another day and another theory from your friendly consultant about life-changing routines since COVID, and how they’re rocking the world of radio programming and strategy. In today’s blog post, it’s a complete rethink of one of those traditional “radio rules.” Let’s talk about it.

Audience researchers are tasked with measuring the broadcast radio landscape – often excluding the growing list of audio alternatives: streaming channels, satellite radio, podcasts, and others. How can studies be designed to capture the totality of the audio environment in a market, while delivering focused and actionable data to radio broadcasters? I’ve got a thought or two on that one.

It’s hard to fathom, but it’s been 10 years since the passing of tech icon, Steve Jobs. A lot has happened with Apple and with technology since Jobs roamed the Macworld stage. Given his outsized impact on society and technology, what was Jobs’ superpower? Last week, Apple released a short tribute video celebrating the life of their former leader, and it has the surprising answer.

Facebook’s mysterious outage the other day was oddly reminiscent of that queasy feeling you get when your station is inexplicably knocked off the air. And Mark Zuckerberg’s explanation for this epic fail was oddly a lot like what we’ve all heard from station engineers during these crisis moments. There has to be some humor in here somewhere, so today’s blog post is a collective effort by radio veterans who have truly been there. Hold onto those alligator clips and enjoy.

The big media news in Chicagoland media this month is…NEWS. Specifically, local news, and who will own that all-important hill in the nation’s #3 market. The big story about the merger between WBEZ and the Chicago Sun Times should stimulate conversation and discussion among radio broadcasters about “out of the box” thinking, and how it can fundamentally change the state of radio.

Yesterday’s social media outage is an omen – for big companies like Facebook, as well as for the thousands of radio stations that market and sell via social. I hope you find today’s post a a conversation starter.