When the topic of great television series comes up during casual moments in meetings or at client meals, it feels like déjà vu. While the conversations vary a bit, the hot shows don’t.  Whether it’s Homeland, House of Cards, Game of Thrones, or any of the others, the basic them is the same: people are […]

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In much the same way that Facebook is not resting on its laurels, Pandora is experimenting with its user experience.  Like the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz, Pandora is clearly in search of something that goes well beyond its famous “Human Genome” formula – a heart. On the heels of yesterday’s much-talked about […]

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Historically, radio stations have done a great job of attacking other radio stations. Whether Top 40, Rock, Country, or Talk, most radio stations focus their competitive energies on besting another station in town in order to gain both a ratings and revenue advantage. In the meantime, radio has been faced with digital competition for nearly […]

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Last week’s post – “What’s In A Name?” – about Clear Channel’s rebranding to iHeart Media touched a few emotional nerves in various ways. There were a number of comments – both on this blog and in my email, along with a few personal contacts – about the trend to brand former radio products and companies as “media.”  The […]

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As has been pointed out by analysts like Reed Bunzel and Radio Ink, The Radio Show last week contained mixed messages about the role that digital plays in broadcast radio’s journey. Keynoter Bob Hoffman criticized the hype of digital, claiming that online advertising is largely ineffective. On the other end of the spectrum, Bunzel noted that […]

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The announcement yesterday that Clear Channel is rebranding itself as iHeartMedia should come as no surprise. It’s just smart marketing. The Clear Channel name has had a checkered past, often painted with the consolidation, voicetracking brush. On the other end of the spectrum, iHeartRadio has become an amazing multimedia brand, transcending audio entertainment and expanding […]

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Yesterday, we talked about some of the differences between The Radio Show and the PRPD Convention.  Late last week, as commercial and public radio broadcasters made their way back home from these conferences, there is one thing they likely had in common. In both Portland and Indianapolis respectively, there were a lot of high-end, delicious meals consumed in […]

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While many of you reading this post spent last week in Indianapolis at The Radio Show attending Super Sessions and listening to CEO airchecks, I was in Portland at the Public Radio Program Directors convention that received virtually no press coverage outside of Current, public media’s primary media outlet. That’s not a value judgment – it’s just […]

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A new study from statistical app tracker Localytics reveals something we’ve been seeing for a few years now on the jācapps side of our company: Push notifications beget greater app engagement – by a large margin.  And even better news is that music-centric apps perform even higher than the norm.  You can see how the […]

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If you’ve ever lived in New York City or you’re a fan of the Big Apple, you can never forget the impact that Mayor Ed Koch had back in the late ‘70s and throughout most of the ‘80s. Koch became mayor during a tumultuous time for the city, and clearly turned its fortunes around.  And […]

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If you’ve ever lived in New York City or you’re a fan of the Big Apple, you can never forget the impact that Mayor Ed Koch had back in the late ‘70s and throughout most of the ‘80s. Koch became mayor during a tumultuous time for the city, and clearly turned its fortunes around.  And […]

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I made an interesting discovery on LinkedIn last week.  I started receiving congratulatory messages from many “connections” because it turned out to be the 31st “work anniversary” for me at Jacobs Media (who I often refer to as the greatest employer I’ve ever had). When I first signed up for my LinkedIn account, the start […]

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I made an interesting discovery on LinkedIn last week.  I started receiving congratulatory messages from many “connections” because it turned out to be the 31st “work anniversary” for me at Jacobs Media (who I often refer to as the greatest employer I’ve ever had). When I first signed up for my LinkedIn account, the start […]

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The passing of Joan Rivers last week brought out a lot of memories, a lot of laughs, and a lot of emotion for those who were her fans for decades.  The Joan Rivers journey, starting with her standup comedy in the ’60s, her unique runway coverage in the ’90s on E!, and her well-known penchant […]

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The passing of Joan Rivers last week brought out a lot of memories, a lot of laughs, and a lot of emotion for those who were her fans for decades.  The Joan Rivers journey, starting with her standup comedy in the ’60s, her unique runway coverage in the ’90s on E!, and her well-known penchant […]

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Many of you know Beau Phillips – a guy who has held some amazing positions in media, from MTV to Dial Global.  But Beau cut his teeth in the business as a program director of great rock stations, notably KISW/Seattle from 1978-92 – truly golden years for the business and the format.  His new book, […]

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Today’s blog post title are (in)famous words that we’ve all heard before that scream “ADDICT.”  Maybe we’ve even said them at one time or another in our lives. But while most of us think of addiction in terms of various substances or even activities like watching TV or playing video games, the inability to put […]

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