The Jacobs Media Blog

Jacobs Media’s Paul Jacobs weighs in on a missed opportunity for radio: Miller Brewing, a long-time major advertiser on radio and television, has decided to abandon electronic media for the rollout of Sparks, a citrus-flavored malt drink laced with caffeine.  Instead, they’ve decided to place all of their money on a web site (www.sparks.com) and […]

Earlier this week, Mark Ramsey blogged about Clear Channel’s "murky future," and in the process, expressed sadness for company’s employees, listeners in their markets, and for the company itself.  Mark is a passionate radio broadcaster, and one of our best industry observers, and so his comments made me pause and think about the implications of […]

In early ’08, you can clearly see the profound conflicts that are facing our business.  To a great degree, we’re at a crossroads, as cost cutting and garnering ratings clash with brand building and investment. Consider this: PPM will grow and expand in more markets this year, and programmers will be faced with the task […]

Whenever I hear people in Radio take the newspaper industry to task for their falling circulation numbers, I can’t help but think those print guys know something that we don’t about the digital space.  In fact, they are a couple of years further down this difficult road.  This is why you’re seeing some definitive innovation […]

Jacobs Media’s Dave Beasing offers insight on the importance of Radio connecting with the community: An old vacant building in downtown Salt Lake City burned to the ground one night last week.  Fortunately, there were no injuries, and the fire was contained. Why should it receive even a passing mention on the radio?  Credit KXRK […]

Rick Balis sent me a couple of promos that promote their new online "Museum."  It’s all about "stories."  As Seth Godin says in his new book (Meatball Sundae), "Stories spread, not facts.  More than almost any other company, Disney was built on a story.  What’s the story of your next film?  Is it authentic, or […]

At age 67, Tom Brokaw – typical of Baby Boomers – is still in touch with the times.  Maybe leaving the daily grind to someone else at NBC has even given him a fresh perspective.  So leave it to Tom to deliver the news to the folks at the Washington Post, during a recent tour […]

In a recent issue of Radio Business Report (www.rbr.com), CL King financial analyst, Jim Boyle, offered his prescription for what Radio can do to jumpstart its business.  Here are Boyle’s comments: "Can a different revenue stream start and sustain a radio rebound? Yes, by monetizing the P-1 listener. Radio groups fetch about 2%-3% of revenue […]

A funny thing happened while I was reading the latest USA Today/Gallup poll.  Just like always, Gallup interviewed a representative poll of about 2,000 adults in order to determine American attitudes about the candidates and the country. But in a small box, Gallup explained that for the first time, they are now integrating "Cell Phone […]

“If it’s the Psychic Network why do they need a phone number?” – Robin Williams Arbitron is probably asking the same question, as it is becoming more and more difficult to track Americans on their phones in a rapidly changing telecommunications environment. Consider the following headlines and news stories: "Cell Phone Spending Surpasses Land Lines" […]

Jacobs Media’s Keith Cunningham talks about the biggest entertainment trends of 2007, and what they might mean for ’08. In a televised special last year, Saturday Night Live’s Lorne Michaels said, “If you’re not about what people are thinking about that week, then I think you don’t have any relevance.”  Our friends at Nielsen recently […]

The Media Monitors results in Michigan are out, and despite a hot Republican primary in Michigan, Radio earned a small part of political ad spending.  We have used this space to implore Radio and the RAB to get aggressive about garnering more radio dollars from aspiring politicians.  But the winds are blowing the other way, […]

What was the "net worth" of the biggest artists in the music world in 2007?  The LA Times just did an interesting analysis, combining the total revenues that artists accumulated, based on all sources: concert box office, album sales, and even digital tracks sold through iTunes and other web sources.  Depending on the artist, of […]

Item:  Garth Brooks will do a Q&A – and sing a duet with a Radio person – at this year’s CRS. Item:  The Detroit Tigers hold a sold out "TigerFest" where the big stars come out to sign autographs & thousands of fans wait their turn in the cold weather. Item: Celebrity Dennis Miller does […]

We try to tell it like it is in this blog, even when it ruffles some important feathers.  Likewise, the last thing we want to be is self-serving.  On the surface, today’s blog may appear to be just that, but we sincerely disagree. Here’s the premise: Radio is at an important turning point, adapting to […]