The Jacobs Media Blog

Today’s blog post title is a twist on the old saying, “Necessity is the mother of invention.” Obviously, that adage resonated with Frank Zappa, but today’s headline is more about how futility just might be the catalyst that spawns and motivates out-of-the-box thinking. In radio, the old pre-Internet rankings always showed the industry behind TV and print, […]

One of the great puzzles many local-minded stations have struggled to solve is how to effectively cover high school sports. The games represent incredible, hyper-local content that attract sponsors who want to be a part of them.  They can be an incredibly rich source of community involvement for stations in the Talk/Sports environment. The challenge […]

One of the great puzzles many local-minded stations have struggled to solve is how to effectively cover high school sports. The games represent incredible, hyper-local content that attract sponsors who want to be a part of them.  They can be an incredibly rich source of community involvement for stations in the Talk/Sports environment. The challenge […]

As we wandered around the Las Vegas Convention Center and other casino hotels featuring the latest and greatest in gadgets and innovations at the Consumer Electronics Show earlier this month, you couldn’t help but wonder if something was missing. Yes, the gadgetry and innovative devices were amazing this year as we chronicled last week in […]

How often has someone in the upper regions of corporate radio uttered (or at least thought) the title of today’s post? There have been all sorts of audio innovations over the past two decades that consumers now enjoy as a part of their entertainment experience.  Whether it was Pandora picking the next cool song, Shazam […]

As our media lives continue to evolve, we know the numbers for digital and social usage are off the charts.  But if you really want to get a sense for just how mind-boggling the stats are for the platforms, gadgets, and devices that we use, look no further than this link: WebpageFX – The Internet in Real Time Yes, […]

As the creation, exposure, and marketing of music continue to change at a very rapid rate, feel free to join me in lamenting the disappearance of the record album – and the art that accompanied it. Yes, vinyl is making a comeback as more people buy turntables and wander down to their basements to dig […]

Maybe you read the story about 12-year-old Cade Pope from Oklahoma who sent the same handwritten note to all 32 NFL franchises  – addressed to each team’s owner. His letter simply asked these captains of industry which pro team he should support. You can probably guess how this worked out. Young Cade did not receive a response […]

In yesterday’s post, we discussed how the evolution of digital media and technology may be altering the role that broadcast radio plays in the music discovery hierarchy. The spate of new options for consumers points to a familiar theme for this blog:  the media environment has been repopulated with many new digital channels that play a growing role […]

In last Wednesday’s post, we talked about how music performers are faced with difficult challenges and decisions over distribution and monetization.  We have used this space in past posts to discuss the way that digital data and consumption patterns are changing the relationship between artists and their music, and the fans that listen and purchase […]

It seems like a memory now, but our trip to CES last week was one of the better ones we’ve experienced. The spirit at this conference is always upbeat and forward-looking. But there was something very different about this year’s CES. Jerry Lee sensed it, too. Of course, he’s been attending CES for nearly five […]

“The radio talent pool is really a talent puddle.” Maybe you’ve said it or heard it before, but it seems like everyone involved with hiring personnel for radio stations has shared this feeling. And then there’s that sense that young people aren’t interested in careers in radio. Well, myth or fact, it seems that until […]

As the guy who helps put together our “Radio’s Most Innovative” series, Mike Stern has learned a great deal about innovations and the people who bring them to market over these past several months.  In today’s guest post, he shares some fascinating tips from a recent Fast Company article about innovators about brilliance well outside […]

Last month as we were wrapping up the year, I was in communication with an old friend from the radio/music industry with whom I did business many years ago. As we were catching up, I mentioned that my son is trying to break into the film industry in L.A. As a Southern Californian himself, he […]

OK, so it’s a long story. But after years of Buzz Knight cajoling us about the innovative spirit that is part of the Consumer Electronics Show DNA, we made our first trek to Las Vegas  in ’09. And we keep going back every year. I would love to tell you that it’s all fun and […]

Not to start the new year on a down note, but a new report in NetNewsCheck (whose positioning statement is “The Business of Local Digital Media”) features their “10 Local Digital Media Trends For 2015.”  Now end-of-year lists are a dime a dozen – especially those that attempt to predict what will happen. (After all, who could […]

Thankfully, our “Best of JacoBLOG” stall tactic is nearly over. This blog will be back with fresh content Monday (and a good post!), but in the meantime, we’re dredging up our most popular entries of 2014. And this one made the list. It’s a great story of broadcast radio taking the offensive against that little pure-play […]

It’s our “Best of JacoBLOG” as we count down the days to when we return to work.  So in between football games, maybe you’ll have a few minutes to read the wisdom of Lori Lewis.  This post was a big one in 2014, and is a reminder that the winds of social media are changing. […]