As a kid growing up in the ’60s, “Ripley’s Believe It or Not!” was a big part of the social lore that was discussed at dinners, around campfires, and just hanging out with friends.
The institution itself is more than a century old, begun with a different brand name – “Champs and Chumps” – way back in 1918 as a newspaper feature (although it sounds like a morning show benchmark). The concept – news of the weird – was started by Robert Ripley and has become a multimedia sensation.
The “Believe It or Not?” franchise started in daily newspapers, later making its way to radio, television, comic books, museums (like the one pictured above in Gatlinburg, Tennessee), books, and games. Ripley Entertainment, Inc. is now owned by the Jim Pattison Group who many of you know has been a long-time owner of broadcast properties in Canada.
These days, I often think of “RBION” because of the many outlandish, counter-intuitive things happening in the world of media. Coming out of CES this year, we were witness to some pretty crazy “innovations,” some brilliant but others that can only be described as hare-brained.
But you didn’t have to go to Las Vegas in early January to see outlandish decisions being made by otherwise sane companies. A little scrolling via your favorite browser is all you need to appreciate just how contradictory everything is.
And who knows – maybe I’ll end up doing some show prep for some of you. WMMR’s Preston & Steve have made a nice living on their “Bizarre Files,” one of their longest running bits that never gets old.
And then there’s the syndicated “The Bob & Sheri Show” where longtime co-host Bob Lacey announced his retirement earlier this week. That show’s benchmark, “Can You Believe This S*&4?” is right out of the pages of Robert Ripley’s strange imagination.
Bob’s last show will air at the end of this month, putting the wraps on a radio career that has endured for more than a half century. Bob and Sheri have
worked together in morning drive since 1992 – a 30+ year run. Believe it or not. We wish Bob well.
So, without further ado, here are some of my picks to amaze, astound, perplex, and perhaps incite you to repeat Bob & Sheri’s poignant question:
Barnes & Noble is opening 60 book stores – That’s right, in the age of Kindles, the venerable book chain is headed back to the future. They’re opening 60 new stores in the U.S. this year. But this is not an anomaly. It turns out B&N launched 57 new locations last year.
Their CEO, James Daunt, is a believer in the power and uniqueness of local book stores, allowing managers to provide hometown character through each location’s inventory. So while retailers are going bankrupt seemingly every week, Barnes & Noble is swimming upstream, and making it work.
Vinyl listening bars are opening all over NYC – Maybe it has something to do with all the media noise and news cycle stress. Or maybe it’s the appeal of an IRL experience in an AI world. But the New York Times reports city dwellers gather in these “listening rooms” (or “listening bars”) to hang out with friends, have a cocktail and listen to Jazz on an actual turntable.
The story by Brian Josephs points out these sound systems are high
quality and the experience is all about vintage vinyl in actual listening environments that don’t involve Air Pods.
Ironically, it was recently announced that early this year, the last two Sam Goody stores in America will close, one in St. Clairsville, Ohio and the other in Medford, Oregon. Clearly, two stories that summarize the yin and yang of the vinyl experience.
Oh yeah? Well, Netflix is opening a restaurant – It turns out the video streamer has already tried this concept in L.A., and will now roll the
dice on a one-year residency at the MGM Grand casino hotel.
“Netflix Bites” will include popular dishes from the channel’s food shows, including Iron Chef and Drink Masters.
Imagine watching Squid Game while noshing on a calamari appetizer.
Streaming and commercials – Remember when one of the main reasons you gravitated to streaming audio and video sites was to get away from all those commercials?
It turns out nearly half all streaming subscriptions carry ads. That’s right. A story in TubeFilter shows how ad-supported streaming sites are inching dangerously close in usage stats with commercial-free channels:
Many Spotify users don’t care what music they listen to – This, according to Harper’s, who reports that many Spotify subscribers just want something on in the background when they’re cleaning house, making the dinner, or just hanging out.
Spotify’s solution? Don’t play well-known artists and songs at
full music royalty prices. And thus, the Perfect Fit Content service came to be, comprised of “ghost artists” and their songs that sound familiar – but aren’t.
Typically, the music on playlists such as “Ambient Chill” are by production houses and other “stock music companies” – thus, no music royalties to pay.
The story by Harper’s Liz Pelly is “The Ghosts in the Machine” is a great read, and you can read it here.
Subscribe to your plumber’s newsletter – For several years now, we’ve tracked the explosive growth of local newsletters among public radio fans. In our new Techsurvey 2025, we’ll see how they go over among commercial radio P1s.
But now Home Pros News reports niche newsletters are having their moment. They report a newsletter targeted to HVAC contractors in late 2023. They now have a podcast dabbling in live events.
Remotes can’t be too far down the road. Please hand me that wrench.
The “endangered technology list” now claims…landlines – It had to happen. With well over 95% of the population walking around with a cell phone (yes, the Jitterbug qualifies), those household landlines we all grew up with will soon become a thing of the past.
In fact, they should be officially sunset in 2029, according to AT&T except in one state…
California
In a PC Mag story, AT&T spokesperson Susan Johnson refers to landline phones as “inefficient” and a “copper voice technology.”
But the story notes that rural residents often have difficult accessing high-speed fiber or consistent cell signals. At least for now, Californians who reside in remote areas will retain their landline service.
You never know. Earthquakes or even wildfires can strike at any time.
Believe it or not.
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, you may find this hard to believe, but not everybody lives in or near a big city. There are large swaths of this country where there aren’t a lot of people, little cell service, and terrain makes AM radio the primary source of news and information. They do have copper landlines which can also provide limited internet and are a lot more reliable in an emergency than cellular. Until there’s a viable replacement at a reasonable cost, copper has a place in telecom, and so does AM.
I have no trouble believing that. And as someone who lives in the middle of a large city near a major university with countless cell towers and service providers to choose from…I can tell you I still have dropped calls or many times when one person or the other’s voice suddenly sounds “muffled” or like we’re in outer space and both are trying to tell each other they can’t hear each other — but of course the other person doesn’t KNOW the other person is trying to tell them they can’t hear each other. These are all things I never had happen once with copper-wire landlines. Granted, you can’t easily take your landline to the beach or surf the web on it. But for phone calls, it has yet to be beat. Believe it.
Brian, thanks for the geograpphy lesson. The fact that California is the only state that fought for (and won) its retention of landlines makes a statement, don’t you think? Thanks for engaging on this one..
While it’s paywalled, both the headline and the subheadline here (“The Era of Finance CEOs Running Retailers Is Over” and “What do the spectacular turnarounds at Abercrombie and Barnes & Noble have in common? Merchants are leading the companies.”) give a good summary.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-01-14/why-abercrombie-and-barnes-noble-stores-are-doing-so-well
Thanks for making us smarter as always, Eric.
As a kid, I used to go with my mom to the local Wegman’s grocery store. They often had 10″ LPs on sale, featuring current hit songs, but recorded by unknown artists. It was a bit disappointing because they didn’t sound the same as the original versions. Still, many artists like Elton John, Lou Reed, and others got their start this way. “10 Top Hits for $1.99” was a steal for a wide-eyed Top 40 fan, even though the songs weren’t quite as good as the originals.
Fast forward to 2025, and platforms like Tubi, Roku Channel, and other FAST services are now competing, with classic hit TV shows and yes, even commercials. “Believe It Or Not”, the business community could still learn a lot from offering consumers a good deal even if it’s not “just like the big guys”. It’s a far cry from the $150+ monthly fees for bundled cable channels that most people don’t watch, while still being flooded with ads. The difference between now and 1950 is that today, the market is split hundreds—maybe even thousands—of ways, whereas back then it was much more concentrated.
Good comment, Dave. Thanks for the story.