Six years isn’t a lifetime, but it sure feels like one. In fact, 2016 seems like a decade ago given all that’s transpired in the U.S., and in the world. Today’s #TBT is from mid-August in 2016 – a lifetime ago in the radio business.
This post from that past coincides with the start of Morning Show Boot Camp 34 in Chicago. I am honored to get this year’s event underway with our presenetation of AQ4, our research study of commercial radio air talent in America.
We’ll be scheduling a free webinar in the next few weeks because we want as
many people in the industry – especially radio broadcasting’s leadership – to see the data, and gain a better understanding of the perceptions, emotions, and attitudes felt by radio’s most important content creators…OK, “influencers.”
The data this year is chilling, perhaps not surprising given two+ years of a global pandemic, the political abyss, the inflation pressures, and the resultant RIFs – those reductions in force – ironically happening as radio’s only conference dedicated to air talent gets underway. Presenting this data to hundreds of talented radio personalities these past several years has not been especially easy. Sadly, this year won’t be either.
But the attentiveness of this audience for these AQ studies is unlike any other presentation I make to any other group. They’re not checking their email or texting one another. I’ve got their full attention as they watch their lives and careers flow by in the charts and graphs in AQ.
Today’s “throwback” post was written while in Atlanta at MSBC 28. And the good news is that six years later, the crowd in the Swissötel ballroom will be larger, younger, and more resilient than the group I wrote about back in 2016.
They’ll need to be. – FJ
August 2016
I’ve been to a number of Don Anthony’s “Morning Show Boot Camps” over the years, but something was different about this one. Steve Goldstein – who presented with our Digital Dot Connector, Seth Resler – hit it immediately: the crowd was younger this year.
It didn’t take long for me to make the same observation. Not only was the conference well-attended, but it was teeming with Millennials as excited about radio in 2016 as we were decades earlier. This scene in the Grand Hyatt bar could easily pass for a Silicon Valley event. And the MSBC crowd could match an Internet startup for energy, enthusiasm, and a willingness to learn.
Don does a nice job of keeping the panels moving, always featuring some of the top names in the business. The return to a radio gathering from writer/producer extraordinaire, Steve Stockman, talking about the fundamentals of shooting and producing quality video products, a buzzworthy “Women’s Forum” moderated by Dana DiDonato, and the always 
competitive “Battle of the Bits” – perhaps not Makers Faire worthy, but still a great exercise in creativity and spontaneity.
I especially enjoyed the “Masters of the Morning” hosted by Dennis Clark, featuring the venerable Jim Kerr and Shelli Sonstein (Q104/New York), Bert Weiss, John Ivey, Entercom/Seattle’s Fitz, and the Motor City’s Mojo. It was a great mix of grizzled veterans and the new guard of morning talent, mixing it up, and talking about management, preparation, research, and all the other variables that impact on-air success.
That panel and others were reminders of the mentoring spirit that is alive and well at Boot Camp. Seasoned veterans share their experiences with up-and-coming talent. But on the flip side, today’s rising stars are eager to talk about what it takes to succeed in a radio environment that has never been more challenging.
The Millennial generation so often gets an undeserved bad rap for any number of reasons. Yet, in many ways, their mission is so much harder than it was in radio “back in the day.” Business conditions are more precarious in 2016, there are more cooks in the kitchen, and the pressure to perform has never been higher. It wasn’t always that way. Most of radio’s current leaders and owners entered into broadcasting during the fat and happy ’70s and ’80s. Radio was a hot industry, there was easy fame and fortune to be made, and everyone wanted “in.”
Today’s emerging talent are being asked to do a lot more than “4 and out the door,” oftentimes for less money, fewer benefits, and lousier perks. Radio is bad-rapped in other media, in the advertising world, and even among their peers. And yet these young up-and-coming personalities are more energized and enthusiastic than we were to just be a part of the radio business. Their excitement for radio is contagious,
one of the many reasons why I always enjoy coming to this event.
I was part of a “visionaries” session hosted by Mike McVay, and featuring the aforementioned Steve Goldstein, Pierre Bouvard, and Daniel Anstandig. Believe me when I tell you I feel more pressure at these MSBC sessions because it’s nearly 100% talent in the room. Their “bullshit detectors” are turned on to “high,” and I always want to reach higher to provide the best level of guidance possible.
Mike smoothly guided the panel, as Steve pointed out the need for talent to use multiple distribution outlets to share content. Pierre provided insight about how live reads, and involvement in sales by talent will become more important over time. And I reminded the room that talent is the industry’s true “natural resource,” more important than scheduling perfect logs or writing clever liners.
Yes, there were many MSBC veterans in the house, from Gene & Julie to B.J. Shea to Rick Rumble, and it was great to see them all and reconnect. But the stars of the show were the talented members of radio’s youth corps, excited to learn, socialize, and collaborate about how to make great radio in their local markets.
I know there’s a lot of hard work being done to recruit youth to radio, from The Conclave to Dan Vallie’s “National Radio Talent Institute.” But Boot Camp produces that tangible buzz that makes veterans like me, Greg 
Strassell, Pat Paxton, Kurt Johnson, Tim Clarke, and other programming execs keep coming back to remind ourselves there’s a lot of talent, excitement, and desire out there. Now it’s our job to mentor and nurture it (as well as learn a few things or two from them).
It’s hard to believe Don has put these shows on for 28 years (and Art Vuolo has probably been videotaping them all that time). I hope this conference reminded him just how much he’s moved the needle with MSBC.
I always appreciate being on stage at this great event, in front of this inspiring crowd.
Thanks.
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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Fred-Paul,
Congrats on the recognition from the NAB!
Very well deserved!
A big THANK YOU to you both for what you have done for our industry!
Many thanks, Rick. We feel much gratitude.