One of the more stressful parts of the last few years may not be precisely about what has happened, but just how predictable it may seem. Clearly, set patterns have been replaced by chaos and something new always lurking around the corner.
Given our unstable times, is it even possible to sum up the essence of an entire year in just a word or three?
That’s the daunting task facing the team at Merriam-Webster – yes, the dictionary folks – each November in their quest to designate the “word of the year.” So, how did they find their answer for 2023, a year that defied logic and precedent in so many ways?
Well, they clearly lean on the data, as you might suspect. What is the frequency with which people are looking up particular words? For accuracy’s sake (no, the word for 2023 is not “accurate”), they factor out
common words people look up to solve games like “Wordle.” But in the end, it seems like the Merriam-Webster picks use a combination of data (i.e., search) and their own judgment call about what actually works – sort of how you might hope PDs would program radio stations.
For perspective, take a look at their selections going back over the last decade or so.
2022 | gaslighting
2021 | vaccine
2020 | pandemic
2019 | they
2018 | justice
2017 | feminism
2016 | surreal
2015 | ism
2014 | culture
The tradition of selecting a word to represent a year has been going on for a long time – Merriam-Webster was established nearly 200 years ago.
But 2023 was a particular challenge, especially because the chosen word did not enjoy big spikes in searches. But Peter Sokolowski, M-W’s editor-at-large, said his team responded to a collective need they sensed.
So, here’s another clue for you all. The word for 2023 begins with the letter “A” – no surprise to me because we’ve been talking about it nonstop pretty much since the ball dropped on Times Square last New Year’s Eve.
In fact, I remember telling my session at the Country Radio Seminar in March – after playing a deepfake Taylor Swift greeting – that it would likely end up being the “word of the year.”
“Artificial intelligence” seemed like a slam dunk – to me. In radio circles, and beyond it’s been all about A.I. And it sure felt like this time, the Merriam-Webster word team had a walk in the park.
But no.
Even though “AI” might have been the obvious pick, they went in a different direction.
Their “A word?”
Authenticity
As Sokolowski told Marisa Sullivan, reporter for People, “We see in 2023 a kind of crisis of authenticity. What we realize is that when we question authenticity, we value it more.”
And in fact, we might even say that in a world of so-called influencers, fake news, and voicetracking, our ability to differentiate between what’s real and what’s not has become blurred.
Smithsonian magazine’s Teresa Nowakowski notes that as “technology’s ability to manipulate reality improves, we’re all searching for the truth.”
Whether it’s a term paper, a new memoir, a political campaign, a photo, or the resume submitted by a job applicant, we struggle to know what is real – authentic – and what’s been faked.
Nowakowski refers to it as “a crisis of authenticity.” As Taylor Swift aspires to let her “true self shine,” we as a society struggle to “get real.”
On the radio airwaves, authenticity has long been a goal – and an elusive one. Fans would say that’s precisely the quality that propelled personalities like Steve Dahl, Howard Stern, and perhaps a handful of others who at least managed to sound authentic.
Authenticity is difficult to exude, and even harder to prove. Since taking over Twitter (and ultimately renaming it X), Nowakowski reminds us Elon Musk has failed to establish his social platform as “the most authentic.” In fact, the debacle over those blue checkmarks only served to confuse the issue.
As Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart famously defined pornography – “I’ll know it when I see it” – so goes the quest to get our arms and heads behind authenticity.
Luke Combs says it’s as simple as “being comfortable in your own skin.”
Famous designer, Coco Chanel made the definition contemporary for us:
“Hard times arouse an instinctive desire for authenticity.”
True but as we learned in 2023, they often make truth, reality, and authenticity even harder to come by.
Maybe old Will Shakespeare nailed it when he wrote in Hamlet (Act 1, Scene 3):
“To thine own self be true.”
Authenticity on the radio in 2023? Who has it?
When you hear it, will you let me know?
Jacobs Media has consistently walked the walk in the digital space, providing insights and guidance through its well-read national Techsurveys.
In 2008, jacapps was launched - a mobile apps company that has designed and built more than 1,300 apps for both the Apple and Android platforms. In 2013, the DASH Conference was created - a mashup of radio and automotive, designed to foster better understanding of the "connected car" and its impact.
Along with providing the creative and intellectual direction for the company, Fred consults many of Jacobs Media's commercial and public radio clients, in addition to media brands looking to thrive in the rapidly changing tech environment.
Fred was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2018.
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To me, on radio, authenticity sounds like the same thing we broadcasters have been talking about for years: live and local. For all the flash a big national personality brings, if a station wants to feel authentic, it has to sound like it is part of the community. That cannot be accomplished with personalities that don’t know the market spending all their time on the latest Hollywood gossip.
This is correct, but I’ll take it a step further. You can be “live and local” and still sound inauthentic if your people are simply mailing it in for a paycheck. Its really obvious when the people we place so much value on – the on-air hosts – are not at all invested in their roles or in the moment. You can’t be authentic when you’re phoning it in. Radio used to be fun, being in the studio was an invigorating and exciting part of our days and we brought our true selves into it every day. I challenge anyone running a station today to put the fun back into it. Give your team a reason to love their jobs and they will reward you with their authenticity.
You’re exactly right about “live & local” vs. being real. Two very differrent things. Thanks for engaging on this one.
I agree with you both, Frank and Abby, and I think you’re both essentially saying the same thing. When I think of the kind of personalities that drew us all to love radio, it’s those who made us feel like friends–those who could talk in a way that was comfortable and natural and said things we actually cared about. “Live and local” is a good start but it’s not enough. I’ve heard live, local people say things that were so unnatural it bordered on uncomfortable to listen to–like they were just a mindless puppet saying what they had to say. (And I’m not talking about liners or promos–we get that they have to promote upcoming events. I’m talking about “fun facts” or other things they were obviously told to say to make them sound natural–which couldn’t have sounded less so. I guess by definition you can’t “force natural.”) I remember a listener telling me one time that he didn’t like the music I played, but he like listening to me. I suppose that’s one of the greatest compliments I’ve ever received. That’s connection. That’s natural. That’s authentic.
Frank, I agree in theory. See Abby Goldstein’s comment. You are correct that being dialed in locally is table stakes. Thanks for commenting.
It seems important to remember the “little things” that bring us to this blog on a daily basis. Fred (and Paul) seem like really close friends by what’s up here. We all learn something-but more importantly, despite the turmoil that seems to be churning through broadcasting daily, we know that the world (and the industry) is still here thanks to our friends. That’s kinda how we’ve all felt about the voices that brought us into this career all along. “AI” has many in an uproar much the same as “automation” and voice-tracking did in the early 2000’s. Rightfully so, as we’ve seen the results of that technology. “Authenticity” is a good word, but it’s only part of what makes a “personality” appealing. These daily blogs are created by a real person, an authentic person who exudes personality-and that’s what we hope will keep broadcasting vital and essential in the future.
My point here is what radio needs is what we see here every day. We NEED to read these daily blogs. Radio NEEDS to be a daily destination, and needs to be real and authentic. Is that too difficult to realize ?
The fact these posts are “cume urgent” for you, Dave is gratifying. Your words go a long way. We love doing this blog (and continue to think that having no money attached to it is impportant, true or not). We do hope that in a world (industry?) that is becoming more “unreal” every day, there’s a little piece of something different waiting in your email box weekday mornnings. Some are better than otherrs, to be sure, but they are written from the heart. Thanks for being a regular reader and commenter, Dave.
If today’s subject line/tease were on the radio – I would have sat through 7 minutes of spots to hear the answer! And – when I heard AUTHENTICITY, I would have felt good about my decision. It’s the perfect word, for an imperfect year. Authenticity and vulnerability are the only things that cut through, for me anyway. Nice work, Fred. You are appreciated. xo
I love that line – “a perfect word for an imperfect year.” I wish I had thought of that. Glad it resonated, Haley. I was taken aback when I first heard M-W’s choice, especially when they admitted it was not their #1 search word. But it is more than appropriate for the envirnoment we’re now in. Thanks for reading my stuff.
Good one, Fred.
I just watched a podcast with standup comedians Gary Gulman and Mike Birbiglia—two of my faves. One part of their discussion that rang true concerned the realization about some of their top material: It wasn’t necessarily constructed to be FUNNY. Rather, it was an honesty, a vulnerability, a story that average folks relate to.
They said being REAL is what really works on stage. It’s a mysterious quality some of us radio hosts who’ve been at this a LONG time have been lucky enough to finally discover about ourselves. Stop trying so hard to be funny. Just be authentic and the funny will grow out of that. Sometimes the best material is right under our own noses, just waiting to unfold.
And, by the way, you were pretty close with your guesstimate on XYT’s Lions and Wolverines-driven ratings when we spoke recently.
Dave, this comment is appreciated – not just because you’re been behind the mic for decades, but because you actively think about these things. thanks for engaging on this topic.
You struck a nerve by mentioning Steve Dahl in your post.
Strictly from a listener point of view here. The thing he’s is most known for “Disco Demolition” was as an authentic response to events in his life (as he told them on the air, if memory serves me correctly). The “Loop” as a station was. It touched a nerve. I remember it to this day.
And like David said in his comment “I’ve heard live, local people say things that were so unnatural it bordered on uncomfortable to listen to…” and to paraphrase Justice Steward – I know when it I hear it.
I’m glad the Dahl comment resonated for me. When I first hear him at WABX in Detroit, he just sounded different. It went beyond his voice, and always about his very real observations and blunt commenets. In many ways, he started something very important in radio during that era. Thanks, Jerry.