We all have one. In fact, some of us have more than one. Junk drawers, that is. It’s that special place where we stash odds and ends – the stuff that doesn’t have a logical storage place. And yet, we don’t want to throw anything away.
And that’s the gist of today’s blog post – several items of interest and relevance that may not be worthy of a standalone article. That doesn’t make them any less intriguing, interesting, or weird.
I’ve been collecting these five stories over the past couple weeks, and today’s the day I’m pulling them out of the clutter.
So let’s rummage around a bit and see what “treasures” we dig up in the JacoBLOG junk drawer.
Item #1: The NAB Show says “Get vaxxed.” Kudos to the NAB and RAB for making their upcoming conference in Las Vegas “vaccine mandatory.” On Thursday, the NAB’s Chris Brown made the announcement, along with a slew of health-oriented protocols they’re putting in place for the fast-approaching event. Here’s the key line:
“…we will require all attendees and participants to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination. We think this is a positive step in reducing the spread of COVID-19 and will provide further details.”
This move required courage and leadership on the part of both the NAB and RAB. Fist bumps go out to the NAB’s Curtis LeGeyt and RAB’s Erica Farber and their teams for making the call.
This is all a part of an extensive set of health and safety protocols that have been put together for the show. You can access it here.
Not everyone is happy. Yesterday, Rich Broadcasting, owner of 15 Idaho radio stations, cancelled its NAB membership. As owner Rich Meacham explained the move, “People’s medical choices should be their own business.”
The NAB’s Ann Marie Cummings responded that reaction to the NAB’s stance has been “overwhelmingly positive.” That story appeared in Inside Radio.
My question is which convention sponsor will include their logo on face masks included in “swag bags.”
Item #2: A radio beer run. The craft beer movement continues to
spawn some creative brewing, as well as some clever brand names.
Case in point: Untappd reveals a new pale ale with a perfect name:
A Face for Radio
It’s available at select bars and pubs around Duluth, Georgia, specifically the Good Word Brewing & Public House.
And even the logo is precious.
I’ve got the next round.
Item #3: WFH is a BFD. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a well-designed research chart can speak volumes about our current state of affairs.
This revealing chart doesn’t represent everybody. In fact, it is tech job postings for Hacker News, reported in The Economist.
We shouldn’t underestimate just how powerful COVID’s tentacles are. Millions of Americans aren’t especially interested in returning to the office anytime soon.
And now that we’re in the throes of the Delta variant, these opinions are likely to firm up. Again, we’re talking about tech workers who can easily WFH. Still, when you see a spread like 77%-25%, you pay attention. I don’t have to tell you what less commuting time means to radio broadcasters.
Item #4: Maybe it’s time to join AARP. After all, what does a once-cool band do when Alternative stations no longer play their music, but they don’t really fit on classic-based stations? That was Everclear’s dilemma.
When in doubt, fish where the fish are. In this case, we’re talking Gen Xers who have turned the Big 5-0, that exciting moment in time when AARP cards show up in the email.
Last night, Everclear played a virtual show under the AARP banner. I’m told they performed “Grandfather of Mine,” “I Will Buy You A New Walker,” and their other big hits. There were “early bird” discounts on beer and merch.
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Item #5: It’s just a Cameo. This is the last item in our junk drawer, but it may be the best.
JacoBLOG readers may remember a post from earlier in the month – “When Merch Goes Wrong” – about tacky marketing tactics used by major brands.
I was a little tough on Jimi Hendrix bobbleheads (featuring a flaming guitar), but I reserved the most ridicule for Mick Fleetwood, rock n’ roll icon. He recently joined other celebrities on Cameo, a website that offers consumers personalized greetings, for a price of course.
Mick is charging fans $1,000 a pop for his services, and yes, I took him to task.
But that was until I saw a more recent Cameo star, former Mayor of New York City and once-prominent attorney Rudy Giuliani. His Cameo services are more reasonably priced at just $400, perhaps designed to pay those rising legal fees. At that price, you can have America’s Mayor make a loved one’s birthday, anniversary, job promotion (or retirement) even more special.
I hear Cameo is close to cutting a new deal with Rudy henchmen, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman. You get both as part of a twofer package for $19.99.
Let me know if you like the “junk drawer” format (with apologies to Preston & Steve). Perhaps we’ll return to this collection of miscellany for another blog post in the not-too-distant future.
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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I’m saying yes to the junk drawer!
Glad to hear it, Kurt. More junk coming your way.
Fred,
We have three junk drawers, one for me, one for my wife, and one we share.
I missed your story on the panel discussing things you can or cannot say on the radio. When I was in Boston, our sister station, WIBC in Indianapolis covered the Tony Kiritsis hostage-taking. Kiritsis took a banker hostage and wired a shotgun to the guy’s neck. (a technique Tony pioneered and has been used numerous times in movies since) Kiritsis called WIBC News Director and morning anchor Fred Heckman and revealed his intention to kill the banker over a loan dispute. Every other word out of Tony’s mouth was something you couldn’t say on the air, the newsroom scrambled attempting to edit the calls on delay, by the time they could get a beeped version on the air Kiritsis would call Fred again and go off on another expletive, literally every other word, tirade. The newsroom couldn’t keep up. Finally, George Johns, the National PD, called our FCC lawyer in DC, our attorney listened and said, “Is it news?” After that WIBC carried every call live for over 30 hours. Fred was the only person Kiritsis would talk to, he had to take the calls. Fred got Tony talked down and he finally surrendered to the cops. When he removed the shotgun from his hostage’s neck he fired it in the air to let the banker and the cops know he was serious.
Kiritsis was sentenced to a mental institution and for the next 8 years or so he called his best friend Fred Heckman on a regular basis.
WIBC didn’t get any complaint calls from the listeners, at the time WIBC’s numbers were in the high teens and the morning show was in the low 20 share range…nobody complained about 30 plus hours of over-the-top blue language, because it was News!
Robert, I was waiting for your last sentence like I wait or that great punchline. “Because it was News” changes everything. Thanks for the story!
Love the idea of “junk” posts, Fred!
When you cut the promo, just be sure to use “Junk” from McCartney 1st solo LP as the bed 😀
Thanks for this. And I was thinking of the theme from “Sanford & Son.”
Please consider this comment as another vote for the Junk Drawer posts. Thank you, Fred!
Appreciate that Amy. Thanks for voting!
Robert, WIBC in Indy, was where my radio career started back in 1960. It was a powerhouse back in those Fred Hickman and Lou Palmer days! I cried on August 2nd when Jeff Smulyan had to turn off the 50 kw transmitter on 1070 for the final time.
So sad what has happened to AM radio. BTW my whole house is a radio memorabilia junk drawer!!!
Art, I could only imagine. Just remember, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. And we KNOW what kind of man you are. 🙂
Where can Emmis find a 70 acre site to replace the array? It won’t happen. The WIBC Farm Director, Harry Andrews had a little barn out there, kept the WIBC pony in it, I used to take my kids out there so they could ride Myrtle. The seed companies used to plant test plots on the site…so much history. WIBC was a trendsetter and financed the company’s growth. At one time, WIBC/WNAP took over 50% of the revenue in the market.
Asking for a friend: Was the station pony named Indy?
Myrtle, she pulled Harry in a cart for all the area AG events
I vote “yes” on Junk Drawer. Feels right on a Friday.
Kind of chill, right?
Re item #3: WFH is indeed a BFD, and a clue to broadcasters that they need to give serious consideration to making their programs attractive to listeners at home as well as those behind the wheel. Saying that radio can’t compete with all the options listeners have at home or office is defeatist nonsense–just an admission that they don’t want to do the work of creating superior programming.
The upside of the effort would be enormous: You recapture not only those listeners who are now WFH but also those who are at home (or in an office) anyway and would rejoice in the better audio and convenience that a good “table top” radio can provide, let alone a proper high-fidelity system (my Yamaha RX-V863 receiver has an excellent HD Radio tuner in it). And BTW, radio manufacturers would be delighted by the return of a market for such devices.
Or radio can just cede the field. That would be a shame.
John, you’re taking an interesting approach with WFH that deserves more conversation. I will tell you this – I’ve conducted a LOT of Zoom groups this year listeners – many of whom are WFH. And the ones who like radio and know how to listen to their favorite stations are often listening for longer durations than when they were commuting to and from work. Many turn on the radio, leave it on, and don’t typically change stations as much. That smells like opportunity to me. Appreciate the comment.
I vote “yes” on the junk drawer – and to answer Art Vuolo – have you dialed around the AM band lately? It has become a virtual junk drawer.
Put me down as a “yes” for the junk drawer. And the best part, unlike my junk drawer, yours actually opens when I click on it.
Ha! Thanks for the nod. You’ll see it again.
Yes please. Bring more junk.
On it’s way!