The Jacobs Media Blog

Last week, our blog commented on Representative James Sensenbrenner’s (R-WI) (SP) senseless concept to make on-air indecency violations a criminal offense.  Somehow, we just can’t picture visiting some of our favorite morning shows in federal prison. Now former Rep Bob Barr, a staunch Republican conservative, has commented on Sensenbrenner’s idea.  In a recent guest column […]

In the Sunday New York Times Magazine, Tom Peters has an insightful quote about branding and the Internet:  “The Web makes the case for branding more directly than any packaged good or consumer product ever could…So how do you know which sites are worth visiting?  The answer:  branding.  The sites you go back to are […]

That’s the title of the cover story of Sunday’s New York Times Magazine – Our Ratings, Ourselves.  It’s a great piece about PPM, and Arbitron and Nielsen’s joint efforts to change how audience habits are measured.  If you’re looking for a great piece that explains the confluence of new technology and media consumption, this is […]

We’ve put the wraps on our all-client Technology Web Poll (more than 50 participating stations and 19,000+ completed interviews).  The research is rich with incredible findings about how Rockers use streaming audio, iPods, and videogames, along with opinions about satellite radio and other new media. But the big finding that emerged from the study is […]

Is it me – or is Starbucks becoming more and more like a great radio station?  Or the kind of station we’d all want to work for? After I bought some shares of their stock, they sent me a special “shareholders card,” loaded up with $3.50.  Every time I use it (yes, I loaded it […]

The new twist in the indecency debacle comes from Representative James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) who recently told the cable industry that when it comes to indecency violations, he’d rather seek criminal prosecution as an enforcement measure. When all of this started shortly after Janet Jackson’s wardrobe malfunction, we started a site – www.saveradionow.org.  It is an […]

The Wall Street Journal recently wrote a fascinating story about how Microsoft mogul, Bill Gates, takes two "Think Weeks" a year.  Gates goes off by himself to a secluded cabin somewhere in Washington state where he isn’t interrupted by other people or distractions.  A couple months before each "Think Week," Gates’ assistant gathers papers from […]

On the front page of this morning’s New York Times is an article about satellite radio.  The twist is that it addresses the issue that broadcast radio has begun to respond to the challenge.  The article cites reduced commercial loads, expanded playlists, and the notion that commercial radio will always be a hugely successful business. […]

John Hager (WGRF) writes in to point out that the new Jack sign-on in Albany at WEQX yesterday was indeed an April Fools Day stunt, signing on Dick-FM (“You don’t know Dick”). But thanks to the Albuquerque Tribune, we now know what happened to Fred-FM, the station that suddenly became Ed-FM.  As we suspected, XM […]

No shock given our recent memos and blogs, but several stations took the Jack plunge today – from Detroit (Doug), to perhaps TWO stations in St. Louis, Des Moines (The Bus), and even Albany.  For stations that are being “attacked” by these new players, it’s the time to reassess variety, audience loyalty, and personality interaction […]

Today, I’m happy to share a guest blog from Paul Jacobs.  Without further adieu: If you’ve taken an entry level physics course, you are aware of the concept that every action has an equally forceful reaction.  We’re seeing that in radio right now.  For the past several years, our industry has been criticized for stamping […]

Sometimes, the old ideas are the best ideas.  If your spring marketing plan is still in flux, free gas for a year isn’t just a good prize, it’s a great one.  You can talk with us about how the computation works, but there are few promotions that will resonate as nicely as this one.  With […]

  One of the most interesting phenomena to happen to music has been the creation of mash-ups – a consumer driven, creation that takes two songs and “mashes” them together.  If you haven’t found “The Grey Album“ online, it’s worthy of your time – a combination of the Beatles’ “White Album” and Jay-Z’s “Black Album” […]

The recent surge of guy-named formats (hey, it started with Alice) has now produced Jack, Bob, Dave, Ben, Howard, and now Emmis’ Hank in Indianapolis.  There was a Fred in Albuquerque, but I’m pleased to report that it was changed to Ed for reasons that we cannot fathom.  In that spirit, Tim Davis (who is […]

    As predicted, the Jack phenomenon is reaching new formats and morphing in new directions.  Today, Emmis signed on HANK-FM in Indianapolis, a Country station that’s been “jacked.”  This is just the beginning, as more and more programmers will invent ways to incorporate some horizontal thinking along with surprise into existing formats.  Or they’ll […]