The Jacobs Media Blog

Today’s guest blog from Keith Cunningham teaches us a lesson about great talent: Some may not know the Boston Celtics had the worst record in the NBA’s Eastern Conference last season.  Yes, the worst record.  The press was calling for coach Doc Rivers’ head, the fans were booing, and some fans even wore bags on […]

In yesterday’s blog, we talked about how the automakers may need to pay more attention to teens in order to better understand how consumers will eventually use dashboard media. Too bad that radio never took that advice.  A new study from Coleman Insights indicates that we’re at a techno “tipping point” when it comes to […]

As technology moves at lightning speed, it is increasingly difficult for radio companies (and all businesses) to track and respond to it – much less get ahead of it.  When you consider that iPods, Google, YouTube, and MySpace have only been around a few short years, it can be mind-boggling to even think about what […]

As radio proceeds through tough financial times, marketing budgets (among other expenditures) have been slashed.  What type of impact do these cuts have, and how might they be hurting the medium’s long-term growth, as CEOs continue to tighten the belts? There’s no better Petri dish than right here in the State of Michigan where the […]

In the midst of this musicFIRST fiasco, radio’s role in breaking music and artists continues to be minimized.  Of course to those of us in radio, this nearly "1984" spin about the truth is mind-boggling. But now, consumers weigh in on the topic.  A new Pew study – "The Internet and Consumer Choices" – reveals […]

Our Tech Poll clearly shows the impact that iPods are having on the driving experience.  While iPod ownership continues to soar, more than half of these consumers say they can connect these devices into their cars.  It’s more proof that radio continues to fight a difficult "location war," especially in its long-time bastion – the […]

At long last, a new AC/DC album is on the way (untitled), and the big news is that it will only be available at Wal-Mart stores.  This is more evidence that distribution paradigms are rapidly changing, and that the labels continue to lose control over their domains. This news comes on the heels of the […]

Kudos to Edison’s Larry Rosin for his recent think piece about college grads and radio.  If you haven’t read it yet, it’s worth your time.  To give you the 10-second headline, Larry’s Arbitron analysis shows that college grads give considerably less quarter-hours to radio than their less educated counterparts. And he raises a myriad of […]

We heard from a number of you about our streaming blogs last week.  R&R’s News/Talk/Sports Editor (and former Jacobs Media staffer) Mike Stern writes today’s entry: Radio people don’t seem to realize that listeners don’t understand or care about the legal and talent issues that affect streaming.  All they know is that when they stream […]

What is on the minds of Buffalonians these days?  It’s not the economy, the war, the weather, or even a quarterback controversy.  Instead, it’s why 97Rock chose "Sweet Emotion" as the #1 song in the station’s annual Memorial Day Weekend "Rock N’ Roll 500." For one of those "evergreen" promotions that programmers often tire of, […]

Here is a guest blog from our own Keith Cunningham enlightening us on the power of topical CGM: While it’s not the greatest photo gallery you’ll find online, you’ve gotta give CNN some credit – they definitely get CGM.  With the passing of the legendary Bo Diddley earlier in the week, CNN sprung into action […]

What goes up on your home page when your hometown team wins the big championship?  If you’re WRIF, you play it up big, provide great resources, and make it the big deal of the day – because that’s what the Red Wings winning the Stanley Cup means in Detroit. It’s this flexibility and understanding "What’s […]

Question: How are television networks working around the TiVo problem? Answer: By doing something that radio has done forever. The New York Times reports that live commercials (or as we call them in radio, "live reads") are making a comeback on network TV shows.  Jimmy Kimmel (yup, a former radio guy) has done a live […]

So, musicFIRST in their "humorous" effort to extract pay performance fees from broadcasters is sending the following songs from iTunes to the NAB: Springsteen’s "Pay Me My Money Down" Steve Miller’s "Take The Money And Run" McCartney’s "Back in the U.S.S.R." (huh?) Sheryl Crow’s "A Change Will Do You Good" Maybe David Rehr can respond […]

In Part 1, we talked about all the weird and lame reasons why many stations still aren’t streaming.  I’ll bet the majority of you who read this blog smugly read that post, comfortable in the knowledge that your station has been streaming for years. Well, I’m here to tell you that many broadcast radio streams […]

As streaming capability rapidly makes its way into phones and cars, I think about the odd and meandering course that radio has been traveling during the past decade.  Slowly, but surely, most stations and companies have reluctantly thrown in the towel and begun to stream – as if they’ve been forced to do so. And […]

You have to hand it to Fox Entertainment.  They’re going to try a new experiment with two of their new television dramas this fall – fewer commercials at higher rates.  What a concept. As Peter Liguori, chairman of Fox Entertainment, notes: "It is potentially revolutionary." If it works, it truly will be revolutionary.  Marketed as […]

A burgeoning trend among many web-savvy businesses is to create microsites to help their efforts stand out.  A great example of this in radio is KQRC/Kansas City.  They’ve built a microsite for their upcoming all-day concert event, Rockfest.  Users have access to resources that include a venue map, ticket info, rules, lodging options, the full […]