The Jacobs Media Blog

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. […]

It’s the most over-hyped night of the year, which is why many of us will probably spend it watching TV or hanging out with friends and family.  If you’re looking for something to read, let me suggest one of our most-devoured posts of 2014.  In “Live & Local?” this past February, we took a humorous but hard […]

As the holiday season continues, so does our Best of JacoBLOG end-of-year playback. This was one of my favorite posts of the year, because it’s a call to action to broadcast radio that “‘Good enough’ is no longer good enough.” – FJ This morning, a reminder that radio no longer operates in a vacuum.  And important […]

As we finish up 2014, we’re looking back at some of our most-read posts.  One of the big stories in personality radio in this past year was the surprise (to some) announcement that Seattle’s Bob Rivers was hanging up the headphones, and moving on to other opportunities.  Bob is a morning icon, and someone I’ve been […]

The Best of JacoBLOG continues on the day after Christmas with some of our best efforts from 2014.  This  past August, we took the opportunity to review the NPR One app, a revolutionary content and delivery mechanism for both national and local public radio.  In the process, there’s a lot to think about here in terms of […]

The holiday season is the time of year to reflect back.  And that’s what we’ve done the past several years on this blog.  Analytics tell us the most-read posts of the past year, and in most cases, those numbers are very telling.  They almost always reveal some of the best, most thought-provoking entries. This post […]

This is our last new post of 2014.  Starting tomorrow, we’re continuing a tradition that we started a few years back – replaying the most popular blog posts of the past year.  Thanks to all of you who read our blog, make it a part of your conversations, comment on our posts, and provide me with […]

One of the downsides of spending most of your waking hours on social media platforms is that you run across an awful lot of banal, boring, repetitive posts. That’s the price Lori Lewis has to pay for specializing in the social space. As clever as people try to be socially, the fact is that so […]

For those of you outside of Detroit radio circles, this morning’s post won’t have the impact that it will for the Motown media community. It’s been a tough month for TV and radio icons here in The D. Earlier in the month, the most famous anchorman in Detroit history, Bill Bonds, passed away. And then over […]

Remember the first time you played with an iPod and you saw that fabulous album artwork on the screen? It was one of the early signs that digital technology could rock our worlds, and change the way that we listen to and enjoy music. Old school vinyl records have made a comeback in recent years, boosting a […]