The Jacobs Media Blog

Tom Shales, legendary TV critic for The Washington Post, has seen the tube go through lots of changes.  From cable to satellite to DVRs, and from black & white televisions to flat screen plasmas.  In a recent column, he also discusses the demise of television "seasons," network control of what we watch, and the rising […]

Today’s blog is from our own Keith Cunningham who speaks on radio needing to step it up and take "risks" to improve its quality by embracing new digital initiatives. While there are many opinions about whether or not cable news networks are biased, here’s a news flash:  Fox News is NOT conservative when it comes […]

It’s getting tougher out there, and I thought that on a Friday, perhaps you could use a bit of good news before you head out for the weekend. The RAB showed a video at the NAB Convention that is "Must-See TV" for anyone in radio.  It’s linked below, and really does a nice job of […]

Today’s guest blog is from our own Paul Jacobs, who provides insight on how advertisers can better connect with consumers by advertising more with radio. While glancing at a recent copy of Automotive News, I saw yet another headline about where automobile advertising is going – downhill.  This article points out that not only will […]

Last week, Pink Floyd’s Richard Wright passed away, another of those sad but not surprising Classic Rock passings.  At these moments, we make it a point to look and listen to how stations handle these big music news events. While a few clients and other Classic Rock stations acknowledged Wright’s career (a few Floyd songs […]

THAT was the question that many people were asking Friday morning, the day after Summit 13.  No doubt about it – our "President of Radio" generated buzz. Of course, my point of view is a bit skewed, but I have to tell you that this year’s panels actually lived up to our hyped "Best Summit […]

Here we are, scurrying to get our Summit videos on our web site so you can see them. And guess what?  Some of them have already been posted – and not by us. Someone at our Nikki Sixx session, who goes by the name of linkinparkchazyb, shot video and posted it on YouTube within 24 […]

OK, at the risk of sounding like an asocial networker, I keep wondering what we’re all accomplishing on LinkedIn.  I have to give the creators of this business-focused social networking site a lot of credit.  It seems like just about everyday, someone wants to be linked in with me. I’m just not sure why, or […]

OK, so it’s not as routine as brushing your teeth or grabbing that grande Starbucks, but a new Pew Internet & American Life Project reports that nearly one-fifth of American Internet users have downloaded a podcast.  As we saw in Tech Poll IV, the percentage of podcasters continues to rise. Yet, podcasting is only a […]

These are fightin’ words, and they’re from the lips of "The Tech Guy," Leo Laporte.  Leo will close out our Summit 13 on Thursday afternoon, and then Tim Davis and I will appear with him at an NAB panel, "60 Digital Ideas in 60 Minutes." In this week’s R&R, Talk Editor, Mike Stern, interviewed Leo […]

Last week, Clear Channel got together with its market managers, and promptly cribbed a slogan from Lee Abrams – AFDI (or "Actually Friggin’ Doing It").  (As an interesting aside, isn’t it ironic that Tribune rips off Clear Channel’s brainstrust, and what’s left of it rips off Tribune’s marching orders to its troops?)  While AFDI may […]

It’s difficult to find a lot of happy Arbitron stories these days, but today’s announcement that "cell phone only" measurement is going to become standard operating procedure in the diary system starting with the Fall 2009 survey period is great news for everyone involved in under-34 formats. This has been a major Jacobs Media initiative […]

At this past summer’s Morning Show Boot Camp, Triton Media’s Mike Agovino was quoted as saying: "Radio has got to get past the protect-the-status quo-at-all-costs mentality, to a point of technological acceptance, comfort and competence."  He says it needs to happen very quickly and involves "re-inventing some roles so that the new blood understands not […]

Remember that fictional town of Mudville?  It’s the place where a struggling baseball team comes up short when the Mighty Casey strikes out.  That Mudville disappointment is reminiscent of how the inside of many radio stations and clusters are feeling right about now.  While there are many bright, motivated radio professionals out there who still […]