Sometimes, it seems downright counter-intuitive.
When you read about the shocking percentage of Americans who suffer from food insecurity, you get the feeling of cognitive dissonance. That’s especially the case for so many of us who enjoyed a feast last Thursday, hopefully surrounded by the glow of friends and family. Holidays can be stressful at times, but here in America, most of us enjoyed Thanksgiving Day dinner with oodles of food on our abundant tables.
But the website, Feeding America, offers up different stats suggesting that utopian view of America is a myth for millions of people. They estimate that 44 million adult citizens suffer from not having enough on their plates. For 13 million kids, it’s an acute problem here in the richest country in the world.
Here’s another head-scratcher about life in America. It turns out “news deserts” in the U.S. – areas where there are no viable news media outlets – are growing at an alarming rate. And yet, the Internet has brought us exponentially more news sites and information platforms.
Axios reports on an ongoing study about the state of local news by Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications. And the news about news is bleak.
The U.S. is on course to lose one-third of its newspapers by 2025. The erosion and elimination of newspapers in communities throughout the U.S. is concerning, especially when you consider the need to have an informed electorate.
And yet, “news deserts” are growing as daily and weekly newspapers are falling by the wayside. The map below from Medill vividly illustrates the problem. Areas in off-white are all communities or regions without a newspaper:
As Axios reminds us, “more than 200 counties in America have zero local news outlets.”
So perhaps this is an area where radio has the ability to step in. Consider the the following half dozen conditions and opportunities for news-oriented stations, but also for broadcasters looking to expand their revenue opportunities at a time when demand for over the air inventory remains tepid:
1. Lean into radio’s superpower – It starts with the medium’s ability to
move bodies – eyeballs and wallets – to any number of sites and sources of content. Radio’s local cume, while depressed (see Larry Rosin’s guest post from earlier this month) is still an engine broadcasters can harness. For some operators – including those who traffic in news and information already – it’s a matter of creating adjacent content like podcasts or newsletters.
Our Techsurveys can help determine your audience’s habits to maximize your opportunities. By understanding what they’re already doing, content can be directed to those platforms. In the case of newsletters, seven in ten public radio fans already read a locally-sourced one at least weekly, a target rich environment for more of these online “town criers.” When it comes to “meeting the audience where they are,” having research is Square One.
2. It doesn’t have to “fit your format” – Your audience’s tastes and interests run well outside of the music you play or the stories you cover. Determining what else they’re “into” isn’t difficult. If you have a database, you have a source for answers. Do they enjoy sports, scrapbooking, farmers markets, movies, what?
Creating content around these other verticals isn’t difficult, especially if there’s a personality or staffer at the station who already makes it a hobby. In this way, you build around an existing strength while generating the ability to monetize an entirely new piece of content
And consumers don’t even have to love your main brand to access this other content. The New York Times, for example, has many “non-fans” of the paper who otherwise subscribe to Games, The Athletic, or have downloaded their Audio app. (More on them in a moment.)
3. It doesn’t have to carry your station brand – In fact, it might work out better if it didn’t. (See #2) That town crier guy “delivering the news” at the top of today’s post was selected to highlight Mid-West Family’s online news
vertical in southwest Michigan, “Town Crier Wire.”
Saga Communications has also been active in this space, starting with “Clarksville Now,” and extending the concept to their other markets.
These examples don’t have call letters or radio company names. They stand on their own.
And the smaller metros often fit the “news desert” definition perfectly. Using the power of mobile apps and websites, these growing operations are congruent with their broadcast partners, focusing on the beauty of “hyper-local.” They are filling a local/regional need.
4. Abandon conventional radio thinking – This may be a tough order for industry vets, but the fact is, “you’re not (solely) in the radio business anymore.” In this space, the ratings don’t matter. It may not be about going into a studio and making audio content or keeping it to :60 long. Or live reads.
It’s not AQH, cume, or CPP. It’s about engagement, clicks, signups, and maybe even subscriptions if the content is good enough. For most broadcasters, it’s an entirely different way to generate revenue – one that’s been a long time coming. This is how radio will begin to “digitize the audience.”
5. Treat it like a startup – Rather than task the existing staff with handling new content development and marketing, consider bringing in new people to run it. Depending on the platform, chances are it will demand strong writing, as well as unconventional marketing. In other words, people who understand digital.
6. Treat it like an independent – Similar to how the early FM stations were allowed to spawn their own unique cultures, an adjacent operation will need separation in as many ways possible. This might include being outside the main building, separate staffers, and its own budgets and P&L.
For inspiration, think about how the New York Times has pulled this off while continuing to operate the “mothership.” Separate divisions for their various verticals – “Cooking,” “Games,” “The Athletic,” etc.
Another story in Axios by Sara Fischer details how the Times has now blown through the 10 million subscription barrier, thanks to these verticals.
Thanks to content bundles, Times CEO Meredith Kopit Levien (pictured) says this
inoculates the company from touch news cycles – something we know has an impact on public radio NPR stations.
The Times is now marketing bundles rather than individual subscribers, making it possible to earn more income from individual subscribers. Clearly, some of the company’s growth is due to its acquisition, specifically The Athletic’s roughly 1.2 million existing subs.
But that’s another way legacy companies can grow. Launching new products may be the conventional route, but acquisitions and mergers can be just as strategic – and effective.
And to confirm the trend away from traditional content, last quarter marked the first time in history the Times added more paid subscriptions to its non-news products than its core news business.
While many radio companies aspire to do just that, the Times offers the schematics: the architecture, the strategic foundation, and the execution to other newspapers – and to traditional media companies.
Like radio stations.
Think about it. The Times has grown its revenue and customer base without expanding its readership.
While most radio companies might not be able to pull off a subscription model just yet, the ability to grow cume in non-traditional areas is well within the realm of possibilities and capabilities.
But it will require research, investment, strategic thinking, patience, marketing, and discipline – five attributes in short supply these last few decades.
But to win, they’re table stakes.
When all that work is done – and done right – the megaphones (all those local radio stations) can go to work, doing what they do best.
It reminds me of the Michael Lewis book Moneyball where a somewhat
desperate, out-of-ammo (and money) baseball GM, Billy Bean, went against conventional wisdom to see his mission in a whole different way.
He created new metrics and ways of measuring success and he did it without having massive resources – very reminiscent of the problems facing radio broadcasters today. (If you haven’t read the book, watch the movie starring Brad Pitt.)
In many ways, this is the “moneyballing of radio” – ideating how radio can turn its business model on its side to redefine its content, its revenue, and what success now looks like.
As you can see in the Moneyball screen cap, Billy Bean/Brad Pitt has his work cut out, trying to convince his old school scouts to see their world through a different lens.
In the world of traditional media, looking at your assets differently and redeploying them in new ways is the essence of innovation.
And it’s needed now, more than ever.
Speaking of food insecurity, you can help those less fortunate by donating to Feeding America or a local food bank. If you enjoy this blog, please make a donation this holiday season. Thank you.
When it comes to understanding how your station can efficiently and effectively “meet the audience where they are,” sign up for Techsurvey 2024, fielding in January. In collaboration with Inside Radio, this version of our syndicated research is designed for commercial radio only and covers all the key areas mentioned in today’s post. Info and registration is here.
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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Once again right on target. With your thoughts comes an old school fact. WABC in it’s music days was the #2 station listened to for news in the city. Only behind 1010 WINS! Yes this comes from research we did before making the switch. I won’t get into what happened before the research came back, but the fact remains that your point about format and news, where appropriate is correct as is the use of other media within your reach. Bravo.
Always a compliment when I get a “thumbs up” from Jay Clark. I think the same could have been about CKLW’s “2020 News” in the high-flying Byron MacGregor era. Those stations did a lot more than just “play the hits.”
Maybe that map should have another color:
Places with one newspaper that might have one employee.
“Ghost” newspapers are on the rise…
A saad state of affairs for the Fourth Estate.
Another eye opening piece about how radio has to start thinking out of the box to better serve their communities…again. The ideal hopefully is that small market stations with one newspaper (daily, weekly or monthly) would pool their resources and share their talent to aid each other to provide a local slant news. Just a thought…
Bill, on a bigger scale – WBEZ + the Chicago Sun Times. Thanks for bringing up the partnership idea. In these tough times for media, joining forces is a viable strategy.
Thanks for this, Fred–It’s a great reminder of what the internet and the digital age “can” provide. Wise consultants look at the whole picture and realize how the listener can relate to a station much the same as readers can relate to The New York Times. It’s more than just a physical paper, just like a good book is more than a series of printed words on a page. Radio can be more than 4 talk sets an hour, 12 drops by the imaging voice – but it’s not. Radio execs somehow got spooked back at the turn of the century by satellite radio and its potential to take away audience from local radio. The internet has even intensified the concern. Then the thought that radio could be a great Wall Street investment..well, the history tells you that the past 23 years may have been a great experiment that’s worked for . . . (anyone? anyone?) – -“Full Service” radio can exist in many forms in 2023 just like it did in 1983. It just doesn’t. Fred-you continue to point out what we can do (and how other media sources like New York Times) is doing successfully. Their stock price is pretty good too!
Another good example of a news-focused website that doesn’t use station/owner-specific branding is CapeCod.com, which is an officially separate property of Cape Cod Broadcasting Media. Also noteworthy is the fact that the station cluster here is four music-formatted, full-power FMs (Hot AC, Soft AC, Country, and commercial Classical).
https://www.ccb-media.com/about-us/capecod-com
Eric, right down the same alley. And as you point out, a music broadcasting company with a smart news/info app for their community.
A great/informative/timely story, as always. When the majority of network radio stars of the 30’s and 40’s jumped to the new medium of television in the 1950’s, radio had to re-invent itself… and now 70 years later- its deja vu. How did radio capture audience back then? By super-serving the local market with news, exciting personalities and making emotional connections throughout the day and evening – and doing things like remotes, on-air contesting. If you didn’t listen- you had a FOMO. How can radio thrive in the 21st Century? By doing exactly what was done 70 years ago. The ‘win’ for radio is going back to being super-local… because no other medium knows (or knew) how to do that better. Local news is a great way to jump-start radio’s revival- and advertiser interest- especially in light of local news deserts and by hiring exciting, relevant personalities who know how to engage, entertain and inform. Hoping someone will take the lead- not just in smaller markets- but in every market because that’s where ‘the hole’ (opportunity) is and always will be. Thanks again Fred… you planted a great seed.
Appreciate that, David, and thanks for connecting those dots. An irnoic piece to the puzzle is that it’s easier pulling off hyper-local in a smaller market than a sprawling metro like Chicago or L.A. thanks for engaaging on this one.