The Jacobs Media Blog

I know what you’re thinking – what could the venerable CBS TV anchor have to do with the arts and crafts of new music discovery? Yesterday was Bob Schieffer’s last day on TV as he wrapped up his final telecast of Face the Nation. That put the wrap  on a broadcast journalism career that spanned nearly […]

I know what you’re thinking – what could the venerable CBS TV anchor have to do with the arts and crafts of new music discovery? Yesterday was Bob Schieffer’s last day on TV as he wrapped up his final telecast of Face the Nation. That put the wrap  on a broadcast journalism career that spanned nearly […]

Mike Stern recently made the supreme sacrifice and attended Rock On The Range, a music festival devoted to ROCK that has been around since 2007. It takes place in both Winnipeg and Columbus, Ohio, and features non-stop Rock bands, covering the entire spectrum on multiple stages.  This year (in Ohio), headliners included Papa Roach, Slipknot, Breaking […]

In reading the news over the long holiday weekend on my laptop and phone, I ran across a fascinating series of quotes from important people in the media and technology space.  Each says a lot about where the puck is moving – or has already moved. And they each inspired me to slow down and […]

As our Internet-based lives and the ways in which we communicate and engage with each other continue to undergo change, we increasingly see a form of shorthand taking place. It turns out that emojis – those little symbols we increasingly see in text messages, emails, and on social media sites – are rapidly becoming a language […]

Yes, I get it. It’s Memorial Day Weekend, a time when we honor the amazing people in the military who have sacrificed for our country in the past and the present. Please take a moment over the weekend to remember why this holiday is so important to all Americans. I know that most of you […]

If you know your radio history, you probably recall that among his many wise career moves, Howard Stern got out of broadcast radio before the advent of PPM. His exodus to Sirius in 2005 was about a year before meters became the currency of radio ratings. But that can’t stop “The King of All Media” from […]

A few years ago, we put a spin on our Techsurvey mission. In the early years, the guiding principle behind these massive nationwide web surveys was to determine what radio listeners are doing when they’re not listening to the radio. As satellite radio, streaming, smartphones, and social media proliferated, getting a handle on how audiences are informing […]

At the recent re:publica15 conference in Berlin, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings gave some predictions about TV and technology – over the next two decades. Noting that just 10 years ago, there were no smartphones, Hastings did express confidence in this trend: “We will come to see that linear TV declines every year for the next 20 […]

At the recent re:publica15 conference in Berlin, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings gave some predictions about TV and technology – over the next two decades. Noting that just 10 years ago, there were no smartphones, Hastings did express confidence in this trend: “We will come to see that linear TV declines every year for the next 20 […]

The news of blues legend B.B. King’s passing last week brought back a torrent of memories for a music icon I have long admired. While I had always passively enjoyed his music, it wasn’t until I saw him live in 1979 at Chicago’s Park West with fellow consultant Alan Burns that I realized what an amazing […]

If you remember the days before the Arbitron people meter, you probably recall just how little information we had about radio listening and the behaviors that drive it. The diary was all about recall, so a big part of gaming that system was to market stations heavily, hoping that Arbitron respondents would remember to write […]

Our posts these last two days have generated a fascinating conversation among many people in and outside of the radio industry.  I invite you to go back, read them, and pay particular attention to the comments from readers which offer great feedback.  The discussion about the revenue generation side of radio, and perception about the […]

Yesterday’s post – “Uncool” – predictably stirred things up, generating lots of talk and comments from several people, off-line and in our comments section. But those of you who know our style and the evolving mission of this blog also are aware that we have disdain for those who just complain, finger point, or make […]

Last week, I was honored to moderate a great “connected car” panel at the Canadian Music Week’s Radio Interactive sessions in Toronto.   Driving just four hours from Detroit, you enter a very different world of radio – a more optimistic, upbeat environment where the medium is vital and very much matters. Case in point? The front […]

If you’ve worked in the radio industry for any length of time and achieved a level of success, it’s a good feeling. Even as the business is roiled by the constant pressures posed by new competitive forces, many in radio have made an exceptionally nice living and have enjoyed wonderful, fulfilling careers.  But that’s where the onus […]

If you’ve worked in the radio industry for any length of time and achieved a level of success, it’s a good feeling. Even as the business is roiled by the constant pressures posed by new competitive forces, many in radio have made an exceptionally nice living and have enjoyed wonderful, fulfilling careers.  But that’s where the onus […]