The Jacobs Media Blog

You can learn a lot about management skills by watching great sporting events. And sometimes you can learn even more by watching a dreadful game. Bill Jacobs is our guest blogger today, still a bit shell-shocked from Sunday night’s NFL game that ended up in a record-low 6-6 overtime tie. While most people were riveted by the action on the field, Bill learned some important lessons about management (and class) from watching the two coaches on the sidelines and how they reacted to adversity.

This past weekend, the Apple iPod quietly celebrated its 15th anniversary. When it exploded on the scene in 2001, it signaled the demise of the Sony Walkman…and radio’s portability. Our post today looks at the iPod’s impact and how it was eventually disrupted by another Apple innovation, the iPhone.

In yesterday’s post, NPR’s Jarl Mohn bragged about NPR’s performance this past year. Today, we look under the hood at Public Radio Techsurvey 8 to see how an adherence to core values provides the “why” behind public radio’s growing appeal.

Last week, NPR’s CEO, Jarl Mohn, did something that rarely happens in public radio circles: he bragged about the ratings. Over the past year, NPR and public radio have experienced significant audience growth. Is it driven by a hot Presidential election or are there other forces at play?

For radio, “connected cars” have changed the rules of the road. Yet, many broadcasters wonder whether they can truly impact the rapidly changing automotive space. Here’s a list of four key areas radio must address in order to ensure a strong in-car future – things that any station can accomplish.

A new tool from LinkedIn makes it even easier to land a new job without your employer finding out about it. In the new job environment, the average Millennial has held four jobs by the time she reaches age 32. Today’s post talks about the keys to staff stability and the factors that can keep a team stable and intact.

Classic Rock has enjoyed a renaissance in recent years among 18-34s, a generation too young to have enjoyed the Beatles, Stones, Led Zeppelin, and the Who in real time. Now the geniuses at Lego have developed a new kit guaranteed to unite parents and kids in the joy of Classic Rock – just in time for the holidays. Here’s the story.

The search for digital revenue is a popular topic in radio circles. A new Events app from Facebook signals opportunity for local radio to create their own mobile entertainment guides, capitalizing on the audience’s desire to find something fun and interesting to do. Here’s how it can work.

It takes a lot of disparate skills to become a great radio programmer, not the least of which is always anticipating the question, “What could possibly go wrong?” In today’s post, we look at promotions that have gone south, from the WKRP “Turkey Drop” to the newest debacle at an upscale steakhouse down the road in Ann Arbor.

Budgets are tight, making it more arduous for PDs to get new initiatives off the ground. Thinking like a VC can help programmers master the fine art of creating, crafting, and delivering a pitch that gets the green-light. Here are 10 steps that necessary in building an effective pitch and launching a successful project.

As the demands on radio stations, clusters, and companies grow, a look at many flow charts reveals the industry doesn’t always have the right people with the right skill sets on board. From video production to automotive to event marketing, the industry needs new expertise. Today’s post takes a look down the road at the next five people you bring on board – their job titles and the tool kits they bring to the table.

In January, we’ll be heading out to Las Vegas for CES as we have for the past eight years. But this year, we’re bringing an enthusiastic group of radio C-suiters with us, eager to explore the innovation and atmosphere that is uniquely CES. As the Consumer Technology Association’s Gary Shapiro reminds us, “Keeping the status quo is a doomed strategy.” At CES, we’ll be breaking new ground.

This election cycle has featured a lot of talk about radio personalities and the political discourse. So who’s the most influential DJ in the Presidential race?