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 […]

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“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" […]

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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 […]

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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, […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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Dave Beasing shares a recent article from Seth Godin.  Here is part two (find part one here): As part of the team that invaded the homes of young people during last year’s Arbitron/Jacobs "Bedroom Project," I can tell you that we met a lot of young people who consider themselves to be huge music fans.  […]

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Dave Beasing shares a recent article from Seth Godin.  We’ve split it into two parts, with part two appearing here tomorrow: Author Seth Godin helps people "see the forest for the trees."  No industry has ever been so in need of an objective perspective as the music business.  To this day, many of our friends […]

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Amidst all the gloom and doom PR about radio comes a piece from CNNMoney.com/Fortune’s “Small Business.”  The headline?  “Radio Is the Hot Tech Frontier.” Now, that has to make you feel good… At least for a moment. It’s an interesting twist on the Consumer Electronics Show that’s happening this week in Vegas.  Author Jonathan Blum […]

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Stuart Wilde, a self-help author and lecturer, quips: “You’ve got to know what you’re selling.” It’s so obvious, but also so universally ignored in many businesses – including Radio.  Right now, Radio is going through a truly transformational process, as we try to morph our business from the single platform (:30 and :60 spots) to […]

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One of the many promises that Arbitron has made about PPM is its ability to drill down into specific programming components to determine their true ratings value – or lack thereof.  They call it “granularity” – which translates to being able to hyper-focus on specials, features, stunts, sporting events, and everything else we programmers cook […]

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…It’s The Motion.”  OK, maybe I’m one of the few who remembers that song from Maria Maldaur from the early ’70s.  But as the CES is the big story of the week, those lyrics ring true.  Of course, the CES is all about the newest gadgets…or is it? The more you talk to key players […]

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…It’s The Motion."  OK, maybe I’m one of the few who remembers that song from Maria Maldaur from the early ’70s.  But as the CES is the big story of the week, those lyrics ring true.  Of course, the CES is all about the newest gadgets…or is it? The more you talk to key players […]

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Note from Fred: Today’s posting is a guest entry from RIFF2 Program Director Mark Pennington.  It’s a veritable “6-pack” (Hey, we’re in Detroit) of ideas about how radio can better approach the programming and strategic planning that ought to be a part of HD Radio.  We have been critical of the lack of content and […]

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Here is a guest blog from Jacobs Media’s Keith Cunningham, morning show & talent development specialist, with thoughts on generating buzz: What did the home pages for the Drudge Report, CNN, Fox News, Google, AOL, The Huffington Post and virtually every other news source have in common yesterday? If you guessed the Iowa Caucus, you’d […]

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We certainly touched a nerve with our blog entry on 12/20 about the new HD Radio campaign.  Along with Dave Martin, we expressed the opinion that the new agency spots may not be congruent with what broadcasters expect from the Alliance.  In our view, the campaign throws AM/FM Radio under the bus in order to […]

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