The Jacobs Media Blog

You know it’s an election year when the indecency monster rears its ugly head.  Even though the majority of complaints filed with the FCC are coming from the Parents Television Council (and other organized groups), Senator Brownback – with an assist from the always politically correct Senator Frist – is fast-tracking a Senate bill to […]

Thanks to Mark Ramsey for putting our new Technology Web Survey under the spotlight on his site, Hear 2.0, including a podcast of our interview (click to download).  Hey, I don’t have those Arthur Penhallow pipes, but it was fun to talk with Mark about what’s happening with technology.  Enjoy.

-“Once that bad November drops out, we’ll be in great shape.” -“There’s that lag time between when our TV runs and when it registers in Arbitron.”-“How could we lose 75% of our 18-34 Men in just one month?”-“The next trend will tell us a lot about how our morning show is growing.”-“Our cume is down.  […]

Our own Tim Davis is a man of varied interests, one of which is his curiousity about the world outside of the U.S.  As a result, he is a subscriber to National Geographic, and recently received the email invitation included below. Note the language: the promise to find out about events before other readers, and […]

How else would you describe the absurd stunt that Clear Channel pulled on Detroit radio listeners this week?  On Tuesday, they announced the demise of WDTW and drove listeners to the website 1067needshelp.com.  At least, the website was well-named.  The smart money was on a switch to Country, but the stunt suggested otherwise. The site […]

That is the question your listeners will be asking each other this morning.  And hopefully, someone from your morning show went to see it. Whether or not your team likes these big movies, the culmination of "American Idol," or how Jack Bauer saves the world on "24," the point is that big portions of their […]

Inside Radio reports that the RAB has six candidates to replace President/CEO Gary Fries, some radio vets and others from different industries.  It’s hard to handicap a race without a program, but our vote is to go from outside the bun.  If there was ever a time for new thinking on the radio sales front, […]

Buzz Knight has turned me on to a new bio about Babe Ruth, "The Big Bam," especially timely in the summer where Barry Bonds will undoubtedly pass The Bambino in round-trippers.  Of course, Babe’s reputation as a hard-drinking, party animal is the legend that we all remember, but author Leigh Montville portrays another side of […]

We’re welcoming back Paul Jacobs for a guest blog today: If you want to get to the bottom of why radio revenue isn’t growing, maybe it’s time to face the harsh truth that we’re out of favor with the advertising community.  While we can argue the reasons, the finding from a recent study from Forrester […]

That’s how it feels from here, as we announce our 11th Jacobs Summit, this time in cahoots with R&R and the NAB.  As you probably know, those august organizations have combined forces to schedule their conventions in the same hotel in Dallas in mid-September.  As has always been the case, there will be no registration […]

While flipping through a recent Billboard Radio Monitor devoted to alternative delivery for radio, I happened across a column called "Programming For Kids:  Still Off Radio’s Radar" (subscription required).  Edison’s Larry Rosin had a telling quote about why commercial radio has virtually no appeal to younger listeners, "You reap what you sow.  Target them and […]

If you counted on ME for stock market tips, you might have to work an extra decade in order to retire.  Having said that, we put together a 3-part blog a month ago (here, here, and here) about satellite radio, and related issues. We talked about commercial radio companies refusing to run satellite radio ads.  […]

That’s one of my favorite lines that a certain radio CEO has said to me over the years, when explaining the true role that consultants play for his company.  No doubt about it, it’s harder to point out the uncomfortable truth than it is to stroke clients from rating book to rating book.  Our philosophy […]

Larry Rosin, of Edison Media Research, makes some compelling points in a new "think piece" on programming HD Radio channels. Click HERE to read Larry’s thoughts.

With all apologies to William Shakespeare… Rock journalist Gary Graff recently asked me about the place of protest music on the radio.  Back in the day, of course, "For What It’s Worth" and "Ohio" were synonymous with that spirit of activism that permeated Rock Radio in the late ’60s and early ’70s.  Of course, there […]