Goodbye Radio… we still love you, but more progressive industries await
February 26th, 2010
It is no secret that our emphasis here at CelleCast has been in wedding ourselves to the talk radio industry at a partnership level to help them edge in to the digital future in a way they could own. We dumbed down the process immensely. We focussed on accessibility. We made the promotion process drop dead simple. We explained in all our meetings that the return would start small, but grow over time as the future was ours to prospect together.
We also made a strong case that radio had a great opportunity to lead in the social media space. Maybe that was where we lost em. When broadcasters were asking questions about how to use Twitter, we were already explaining that although tweeting is fine, that radio should use our tools to make an audio version of Twitter that flows from radio’s strengths. Audio community. Imagine what kind of buzz could be created when every member of a vibrant talk radio audience was given a microphone!
What I kept forgetting, even though I kept telling myself not to, was that radio has been traditionally foot dragging. These are the people that stuck to ‘what works’ back in the 50’s when TV was the new media invention. I bet my hopes that the lesson was learned, when in fact it is in radio’s DNA to ignore any opportunity that does not bring an immediate return.
I have been talking with my advisors, both formal and informal about this for over a year now. They are either slightly more or slightly less optimistic than I have been about a change. What we are doing now is going around the whole beast. Opportunities presented and ignored can simply mean a new audience for the opportunity must be sought.
We are going to talk to the publishing industry. We are going to talk with corporate communications departments. We are going to talk to universities and other institutions that are not entrenched to the point that they confuse their distribution tool with their business model. Stay tuned.
In closing, I want to share with you a great bullet list I heard from Bob Garfield in his Hear 2.0 interview, where he explains what he would do today if he were forced into the role of having to own and/or manage a radio station. He would:
- Invest alot in great talent
- Leverage localism to the max
- Invest in making the most robust website possible.. ready for mobile, wireless, IP radio
- Establish a culture that understands that new technology trumps terrestrial radio and create a full service, platform independent, media company.
- Reduce ad slots, as the current level of clutter is more intrusive and value diminishing in audio than it is in print.
To really appreciate where Bob is coming from, you need to hear the whole interview conducted by Mark Ramsey last May.
February 27th, 2010 at 12:05 pm
It’s fair game today to preach and predict the fall of radio. It reaches 93% of adults each week. Nothing else has that reach. It is (when done properly) localized. In times of emergencies (weather, earthquakes) it is the best means of dispensing information. The cell sites go down or are overloaded. Frankly - I’m not that worried about it. Radio will survive.
March 1st, 2010 at 10:51 am
Andrew, as one of the erstwhile talk radio hosts who had the best of intentions, I want to tell you just a couple of things from my end, which you may not have been aware of when you first created your idea:
1. the foot dragging for me was not the issue- here were the issues:-
a. radio no longer has the luxury of having people around who have time to do anything more than they are already doing- it is an industry that has been decimated by job cuts and skeletal staffs are struggling daily just to keep the AMs running
b. as a host/creator/producer of my own show, I am working on a daily basis to produce great content,a nd also to manage a website, which is a “must” calling card. That takes 100 percent of my time.
c. It may have seemed simple and dumbed down (and like anything else, once you know how to do something, it is simple) but that extra half hour per day to cut and re-segment and upload was a chore I couldn’t find anyone to do for me. I simply could not add this to my already extensive list of to-dos every day.
Nonetheless, I know that you will be successful because you are an innovator,and if I had the staff able to work with you, I would have done so.
I wish you only the best best best of success- pls keep in touch. FYI, we just moved in January to a 4-6 PM daily drive-time slot and I just won the 2010 Gracie for best news/talk show for my interview with Gloria Steinem. Maybe I’ll see you at a convention again one day? Take care, Lisa
March 5th, 2010 at 3:47 am
On points 1 and 2…talent and localism, when that is done the results are stunning. This week NEW JERSEY 101.5 celebrated 20 years as a young skewing FM talk station. It was put on 100% local live. It has no syndicated shows. It is the most listened to FM Talk station in the WORLD. By far. Almost 1M cume.
Website…BBC Radio has 280 people who just work on their websites, go look, they are amazing and amazingly simple.
4. New technology does not trump terrestrial radio. Radio has what other tech dreams of—ubiquitous distribution. Every Car. 6 boxes in every home.
5. Ad slots—a newspaper has a 50% spot load vs editorial or they don’t print. Cable networks run more spots than any radio station. 32 units per hour. Count em.
March 5th, 2010 at 10:11 am
Great, but a little scary to see this post reposted on Al Peterson’s weekly newsletter.
http://www.ntsmediaonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/ntsmoweekly_0135_030510.pdf
I am always very grateful for Al’s mentions and the way he covers all things Talk for the industry.. i just hope this does not cause any kind of rift. We have had lots of reaction to the piece. Almost all of it was positive, yet I feel I need to clarify one thing.
We are not against the radio industry, nor am I upset with anyone in particular. Certainly all of our current radio parters are an exception regarding their mindset toward innovation. What my announcement means in terms of CelleCast’s direction is that we are no longer looking for our radio deals to be our lead success story before talking to other industries. That was my strategic risk for the last 3 years that did not pan out. Radio programs will always find great value in creating a CelleCast for their show distribution, but we are no longer waiting for them to prove our model before looking to develop other channels and partnerships.
Give me a call to discuss this anytime.
Andrew Deal
360-859-1174
March 11th, 2010 at 7:18 am
shifting the blame for a business plan that didn’t work? why should i care, never made a cent on cc. meanwhile, have 4,000 biz cards with your damm number printed on ‘em. (where’s that black magic marker?)
April 2nd, 2010 at 9:29 am
Sorry it took a while to publish the various responses to this post. Franky, they had gone unnoticed amidst all the spam we have to chuck. I will be watching this more closely.
Lisa, I thank you for your support. You are right about the need to make things easier for radio hosts as time is more than ever a critical necessity. I think that that has been our biggest problem overall — addressing the time/attention problem in the industry and accounting for it in our growth plan. The industry has been reeling in the attention department for a long time now, mostly due to decisions at the top. The effects are plethora, but mostly hidden in the various lost opportunities all around. Just read Jerry, Mark, Harve and John (http://gormanmediablog.blogspot.com/) on our link bar in case you are still in the dark here.
BTW, I still love radio and believe in it’s future, and would still challenge anyone who calls for it’s demise. That is part of my DNA… I just can’t lose any more money on it.. that’s all.