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Friday, December 30, 2011

2011 Radio Ink Radio Wayne Winners

Radio Ink's Radio Wayne Awards were presented at the joint NAB-RAB Radio Show in Chicago, with Greater Media Chairman/CEO Peter Smyth taking the award for America's Best Broadcaster. Take a look at the video of all the winners and the presentation of the awards made by Radio Ink Publisher Eric Rhoads

NRG Media/Grand Island, NE's Pat Schroeder took honors as Streetfighter (Sales Rep) of the year, while Greater Media was represented again as Jim Antes of Greater Media/Bala Cynwyd, PA was named Sales Manager of the Year.

Taking NSM honors was Connie Cox of Cumulus Media/Detroit, while CBS Radio/New York's Jenn Donohue is the Radio Wayne winner as Director of Sales.

The General Manager of the Year award went to Alan Bishop, of Finger Lakes Radio Group/Geneva, NY, while the Radio Wayne Market Manager of the Year is Brett Beshore of Clear Channel Radio in Poughkeepsie, NY.

Seen in the photo above: (l-r): Radio Ink Publisher/CEO Eric Rhoads, Greater Media Chairman/CEO Peter Smyth, NGR Media's Pat Schroeder, Finger Lakes Radio's Alan Bishop, Cumulus Media's Connie Cox, and CBS Radio's Jenn Donohue.

(10/11/2011 5:42:11 PM)
Eric...Thank you for keeping Wayne C's memory alive! My 1st encounter with him was in 1962..he came in to manage KFXD and immediately fired me. I was 18 and Wayne said I sounded "too young" for an MOR station. I came back after a 3 year tour with AFRTS and was immediately hired. I then spent 10 years working for the best boss I ever met. He always had a smile and a frendly word and he was a great teacher. I wonder if those who receive the Radio Wayne awards really know how great a person and broadcaster he really was. I have been out of radio since 1982 but will never forget Wayne Cornils.

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TALENT - Consult, Train or Neither

(by Ronald T. Robinson)

Blistering criticisms that fall on deaf ears had better supply some benefits to the one offering the abuse. Otherwise and as my experience suggests, only when alternatives are also being put forward is there any point at all to tabling the critiques. The pervasive wail of ?Radio sucks and it?s because those guys have gutted it!? even though certainly, partially accurate, does little more than adjust the heart-rate and blood pressure gauges in an upward direction.

In fairness, while the corporate pirates were boarding and claiming the local boats and the booty while throwing the crews overboard, the extremely miffed parties under attack have been making no provisions to fend the buggers off or devise methods to retaliate. To the contrary, many are prepared to simply surrender. This is completely understandable, particularly for those who presume they have no alternatives, resources or the gumption to put up a credible fight. And why would they? Many believe they have no possibility of winning.

While Corporate, Music Radio is being run by those with ice running in their veins ? even as they are dealing with a ?hot? medium ? those people cannot, I submit, be charged with doing anything more than running their business by concentrating on the primary and core utility of Radio. That is: as an electronic platform for the distribution of advertising. Given that as the, shall we say, ?Mission Accomplished statement?, they are free to concentrate only on that faculty of Radio and conduct their business as they see fit. That the rest of us have opinions about that premise and its future is irrelevant to the corporate owners.

Meanwhile, how bizarre it is that, even while the venom is being poured on the (alleged) robber barons, so many other ownership groups do the only reasonable thing they can do and? emulate them!

Meanwhile, I want to thank those who have taken the time to respond to some of my comments by reaching me directly through my email. A number have voiced surprise that they are not confronted with the web page of? a Radio Consultant. Rather, they are greeted with a small site offering V/O services.

However, yes, I have done the Radio consultancy-thing and found it to be a very unsatisfactory experience, particularly because of the depth and amount of material I have to cover in order for me to deliver a significant improvement in the experience of my client(s).

Sure, it?s easy and extremely profitable to pull off a one or two-day Seagull Seminar. What that amounts to is: I fly in; cover everybody with an overwhelming amount of (what at first seems to be) weird and toxic crap; say, ?Thanks for comin? out!? and fly right back out again. The real-life reality includes that attendees are, indeed, stunned, overwhelmed and only partially understanding of the material. Plus, even with good intentions ? utterly fail to implement anything we have covered. All this results in a somewhat better informed, but then - an even more frustrated staff and a management who doesn?t know or appreciate what was covered because they failed to show up. I pick up thousands of extra dollars and the knowledge that I am the only one who has been served.

Besides, as it turns out, I?m no Consultant. I am and have been aware of so many Radio Consultants who have been missing the point for so long, it?s as if there never was a point in the first place. Further, I have little respect for those consultants who refuse to celebrate, support and enhance the Talent ? if there are any consultants left who really do know how to go about any of that. More often, consultants approach Talent as if they were mere pawns on a chessboard. That is, available, replaceable, of limited value and, therefore, expendable. Essentially, Talent is worthy only of a few overused editing platitudes. But mostly, Talent is worthy of contempt. While an old and weary clich?, ?deck chairs? still serves as the useful analogy as it applies to a number of consultants. (Plus, the introduction of one more ?pie chart? may be just cause for having to summon the authorities.)

I?m a Trainer, a Coach and/or a Counselor ? depending on the needs of the client. Further, my whole premise ? as it applies to Radio ? is about an advanced re-education and re-training of Talent. Yes, and that includes those who are already brilliant performers. There is more to broadcast communications than those intuitions and behaviors that people bring with them as they enter into or toil at the business. A great deal more. The lack of it shows, too.  My previous rants on The Personal Listener represent only an opening salvo. (No contrary evidence has yet been presented.)

Training, unlike a seminar-event, is a process. Training is not delivered as a one or two-day experience or as a 2-dollar, downloaded app. Training takes a commitment from all concerned parties, time, effort, practice and more of that until the student and management-client ?gets it? and incorporates it into their station?s protocol. Further, when I am working with each of my own clients, I stay with them until they do ?get it? and they have incorporated the new learnings into their behaviors.

Still, even as Radio continues to gut the Talent-base and refuses to enhance the skills of those who remain or go out of their way to encourage and develop new Talent, a bystander can only wonder what results could they be expecting other than those they have been generating.

It?s a good thing I also have other skills and interests because I have yet to meet a management group who is willing to enter into a training regimen for their staffs. Why, I wonder, would they even consider it when their priorities are those of finding ways to under-serve their audiences and advertisers by either suppressing or simply getting rid of the Talent. (?Why feed ?em, dress ?em up and teach ?em to do tricks if we?re just going to throw them overboard anyway??) Valid point.

If Radio ? other than Corporate, Music Radio ? is going to compete well and possibly even dominate their markets, they have no alternative other than to upgrade their products and services to a degree where audiences and advertisers will be lining up to participate.

And that is going to take the efforts of a much more highly skilled and motivated Talent-base. The irony is in that so many managers and yes, a number of the Talent continue in holding the position that there are no alternatives and there are no solutions.

Fortunately, they are mistaken.

Ronald T. Robinson has been involved in Canadian Radio since the '60s as a performer, writer and coach and has trained and certified as a personal counsellor. Ron makes the assertion that the most important communicative aspects of broadcasting, as they relate to Talent and Creative, have yet to be addressed. Check out his website www.voicetalentguy.com

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Budweiser Teams Up With Pandora

Pandora is launching an online extension of the free, live concert series that the company debuted earlier in the month. Budweiser Vice president Rob McCarthy says "Music is a universal passion that unites people, and Budweiser's ties to music run deep. We're excited to assist Pandora in bringing this unique concert series to life, and to connect their local listeners with bands they love."

The live concert series launched in Portland, Ore. on December 13 with Dawes, an emerging rock band from Southern California. As the official launch sponsor, Budweiser presented the inaugural concert free of charge to more than 230 fans, and is now bringing the experience online via the dedicated hub.

All artists that participate in Pandora's live concert series will be showcased on the hub. The hub currently consists of behind-the-scenes video content from the Dawes concert, including: interviews with the band and fans, the band as they tour Portland, Pandora Founder Tim Westergren interacting with the band and highlights from the evening. The hub also features a curated mixtape with up to 100 songs selected by the band and Pandora music analysts.  Pandora determines the right mix of artists and locations for the live concert series from a unique collection of spin and thumbs-up data.

See more detail on the series at www.pandora.com/pandorapresents.

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Thursday, December 29, 2011

Rich Davis Going Back to KDWB

12-28-2011

Minneapolis Top 40 station KDWB has hired Rich Davis as Program Director. Davis is currently the Ops Manager for Clear Channel?s Nashville Cluster and Programs Top 40 WRVW-FM. This is a return to KDWB for Davis, who served as KDWB?s Assistant Program Director and Music Director from 1997 to 1999.

Clear Channel Minneapolis Ops Manager Greg Swedberg said ?Rich is the perfect choice to lead KDWB. I don?t know what I am more impressed with: his creativity, his leadership, or his competitive spirit.  He?s a great broadcaster and the fact that he knows the market as well as he does is an added bonus.?

Davis said ?I can?t tell you how pumped I am to be chosen for a second tour of duty at the mighty KDWB, a radio station I truly love.  Thanks to Mike Crusham, Gregg Swedberg, Tom Schurr, and Clay Hunnicutt for the opportunity.  I look forward to continuing  the amazing heritage of playing the hits and winning in the Twin Cities.  Only a station like KDWB could have gotten me to leave what to this point has become my second home of Nashville TN. I'd also like to say thanks to Dan Endom, Mark Kopelman and Jon Zellner for their blessing in moving on in my career and to my Nashville team for 11 amazing years.?

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Political Candidates Dumping Cash All Over Iowa

It's a scene broadcasters are hoping repeats itself many times over the next 12 months. Mountains of money are being dropped in the laps of broadcasters in Iowa as the battle for the Republican nomination heats up. The Des Moines register reports that the 2012 Republican candidates and their unaffiliated super PACs have spent $10 million on TV and radio ads in Iowa in the month of December alone.
According to the paper:
-Rick Perry has run nine different ads on the air this month, spending $2.86 million. A PAC has spent an additional $1.33 million for Perry.
- Romney has spent $2.85 million. An additional $1.1 Million spent by a Super PAC to support his run for the President.
- The Ron Paul's campaign has spent $1.37 million
- Newt Gingrich has spent $476,000

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SALES - Why Do Salespeople Give Up Too Soon?

12-28-2011

Successful salespeople are able to bounce back from rejection. They understand that it?s business, not personal. However, many sellers give up too soon. They take ?no? literally and don?t keep pursuing their prospect, whether it?s for an appointment or securing the deal. If I?ve determined an ideal prospect for my business, I don?t stop pursuing them until they say ?Theresa if you don?t stop calling me?I?m going to get a restraining order against you!? which has never happened. ?No? is never final in my mind; it?s just a wake-up call that I haven?t established value in the prospect?s mind.

Why are they saying no? 
No is a natural response when you feel you are being contacted by someone who is trying to ?sell? you something.  History has trained us that most salespeople waste our time and provide no value; therefore you stop the process before it before it begins, ?NO!? Clients tell me they don?t want to do business with anyone who doesn?t fight to earn their business. If someone gives up at the first sign of resistance, it?s perceived as a lack of resolve. The old axiom ?winners never quit and quitters never win? is true in sales.

How to overcome rejection
Remember the Tony Orlando and Dawn song ?Knock Three Times?? Make this your mantra. Change it to ?Ask Three Times? (at the very least) when gaining commitment. In other words, ignore them when they say ?no thank you? and repeat your request. Don?t ask why immediately, either. Just rephrase and repeat.                                                                                                                                                                     

Seller: ?When would your schedule allow 15 minutes for my presentation??                                             
Prospect
: ?I?m very busy right now.?                                                                                                                 
Seller: ?I?ll be in your area next Tuesday; will you be in your office that afternoon?  I?d like to demonstrate how Social media can support your marketing efforts.? Always move forward with a valid reason for them to grant you a meeting.
Prospect: ?No, I will be traveling a lot in the next couple of weeks.?
Seller: ?I understand, why don?t we set-up a virtual call then?? Acknowledge politely, but keep coming back with options that accommodate their needs. 

I often say ?I never take no for an answer.? If I?m trying to book a table, at a hot restaurant for Saturday night, and I?m told they?re fully booked, I make a note to call again the Friday before, when reservations are confirmed. If they?re still fully booked, and everyone?s confirmed, I call again Saturday afternoon or early Saturday evening and I always get in. Same holds true for getting an appointment with a doctor, or securing a hotel reservation. There is always a break through point; all it takes is a little staying power.

Persistence is not to be equated with being a pest. When you hold the line, it demonstrates belief and discipline?you have a plan and you?re committed to it. You?re seen not as a pest, but as someone who obviously feels strongly about their product or company?s work. I can?t count the number of times new clients revealed that they were going to say ?yes?, but a seller stopped asking too soon. It?s a matter of critical mass, either you give up or they give in. People buy you first, or they buy nothing at all.
Theresa Merrill is the Director of Business Development for Anovick Associates. She has more than 20 years of sales and marketing experience in NY, Boston and Atlanta working for Katz Communications, CBS, Tribune and Cablevision and can be reached at 201.444.2991 or by e-mail merrill.theresa@gmail.com

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AUDIO)Living The Radio Dream

By Ed Ryan

How many of us have dreamed that dream of heading back to small-town America, buying that first radio station we waltzed through as a young aggressive radio rat and living happily ever after? They are the thousands of small town America stations blanketing tiny main streets across the fruited plain where the priorities range from announcing obituaries, school lunch menus, a lost cat and interviewing the Mayor about a ribbon cutting for a new park. To put things into perspective, they are radio stations that bill the same amount of money in one month as WTOP bills in five hours. But as Cromwell Group President Bud Walters tells Radio Ink in our January 23rd cover interview; "The folks that work there have to want to be in that community. They have to want to be a part of that town. They have to care about where they live. If that?s the case, they will do everything they possibly can to make that place better."

                                  LISTEN TO OUR INTERVIEW WITH MAYNARD MEYER HERE

Fifty-nine-year-old Maynard Meyer is living the radio dream. Meyer is the co-owner of Q-92 FM, 25,000-watt FM in the tiny town of Madison Minnesota, not to be confused with Madison, Wisconsin. Nearly 30 years ago, Meyer sat at his desk, opened a road atlas and with his ruler and a pencil drew a coverage map so he could apply for a station with the FCC. A station he hoped to use to spread local news and community information. Meyer received approval and put the station on the air in January of 1983. Q-92 covers seven counties in a 60 mile radius. Today, without a doubt, Meyer is the biggest fish in that pond.

Meyer isn't too concerned about how to get his radio station on a mobile device or how he'll compete with an Internet music service. His number one priority is to super-serve his community and it's hard to believe anyone would be able to accomplish that goal any better. Not only does Meyer co-own the station, he's the morning man, General Manager and Chief Engineer. He's also the Executive Director at the Chamber of Commerce and the longest serving member of the Madison City Council. He also runs Madison's only local access cable TV station from a back office at the radio station. He has taken community involvement to a level few other people have.

This fall, Meyer was inducted into the Minnesota Broadcasting Hall of Fame.

Are you doing something special to server your community with radio? Tell us your story. Contact edryan@radioink.com

LISTEN TO OUR INTERVIEW WITH MAYNARD MEYER HERE

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Cause of Death Still Unknown in Tower Death

12-28-2011

The dangerous work of tower climbing was put in the spotlight this week when 61 year old Nick Rouskey of Cape Coral Florida died while changing light bulbs near the top of an 800 foot tower. His death is still being investigated and now rescuers are discussing how difficult it is transporting a body in such a situation. Bonita Springs Florida Firefighter Greg Dewitt and five others made up the team involved in bringing Rouskey's body down 700 feet. Rouskey told ABC-TV in Fort Myers "It's nerve-racking, but you've got a job to do. Firefighter Chris martin told the station "I know if it was my family member I would want someone to do the best job they could of getting him down."
With the tower swaying, firefighters carefully untangled Rouskey's harness and started lowering him to the ground. It took four hours to bring Rouskey's body to the ground. Rouskey's grandson watched as rescuers worked to bring his body down. Official cause of death will not be known until the autopsy results are released.

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Radio Fills News Void in Small Vermont Community

12-27-2011

(by Ed Ryan)

If you search hard enough, there are still stations out there doing the "minor league" training our industry needs to grow the next generation of successful broadcasters. That, despite the many loud cries that corporate radio is killing that concept. WBTN-AM could be considered one of those stations. Then again, the volunteer voices heard in Bennington Vermont may like what they're doing so much, they may never want to leave for corporate America. Air shifts at this 1K daytimer are covered by local residents who also have full-time jobs. One person is a singer, another a psychologist and even the Superintendent of schools has a show. WBTN Executive Director John Likakis (pictured) says everything is locally produced and almost everyone on the air has no radio experience. WBTN-AM has become that small town's only source for real local news and information.

                    LISTEN TO OUR INTERVIEW WITH JOHN LIKAKIS ABOUT WBTN HERE

Director of Sales Ted Hollo tells Radio Ink, as a non-profit, our focus is entirely on service to the local communities. "Topics range from medicine and law to the arts and local history. School closings and the school lunch menu are included every weekday early in the morning so parents can make necessary adjustments in their schedules." The annual budget for the station is $155,000.

Hollo says "open forum programming gives listeners an opportunity to call in and state their case, their opinions and their concerns. We give voice to many non-profit and charitable organizations and share in efforts to help feed the hungry and direct seniors to programs that especially benefit them."

WBTN also provides emergency information in times of crises. Hallo says during Irene, Likakis and two station volunteers stayed on the air for twelve hours to keep residents informed. "Following the storm, air time was immediately set aside for interviews with the Town Supervisor and representatives from FEMA to outline relief measures, and what steps needed to be taken for Government assistance along with updates on road and bridge repair, water main repair and  electrical service. For all of these efforts, the Vermont Association of Broadcasters gave John a Community Service Award in October of this year."

Reach out to John Likakis and congratulate him on his work via e-mail at john@wbtnam.org



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Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Cumulus Swaps Morning Shows in Des Moines

12-28-2011

The KGGO-FM team of Lou and Heather (Lou Sipolt and Heather Burnside) are moving across the hallway to WOW-FM. Trading places with Lou and Heather on KGGO-FM will be Bob & Tom. Cumulus Media?s SVP/Programming, Mike McVay, said ?We?re excited to be able to bring 20+ years of morning success to our News/Talk station and can completely eliminate the music on their show in favor of more of why Des Moines area listeners want to listen to Lou and Heather. Bob & Tom?s show is better suited for the Classic Rock that is played on KGGO-FM and will better position both stations for the future.?

?The Des Moines Morning News with Lou and Heather? will make its debut on 98.3 WOW FM on Monday, January 2 from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. weekdays.  Lou and Heather?s last show on KGGO-FM takes place on Friday, December 30th and will feature special guests and a sharing of KGGO memories.  KGGO-FM will continue to air Classic Rock music and KWQW/98.3 WOW-FM remains the Capitol cities only FM News/Talk radio station.

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HD RADIO - It's Just Too Complicated (Part One)

12-27-2011

We leased a new car at our house and a Toyota Scion left the garage to be replaced by a ?cute? (my wife?s description) BMW Mini. It?s small in statue, but a really fun car to drive. I was looking forward to checking out the first car I have owned with an HD radio. The Mini?s standard radio is a six speaker number with AM, FM, HD and Sirius satellite radio. That?s a lot of choice and a crazy number of presets.

I started to write about the content offerings of HD Radio and the deeper I was in, I reached the conclusion that while the new ?band? shows some promise, the whole thing is just too damn complicated. There is a significant price that Radio is paying for this complexity. The most successful electronics brand today is known for its simplicity. Apple makes products that perform a complex set of tasks and they make it simple and elegant. I have often told friends about my Mac products, ?they, just work?

I should share at this point that I have always been an HD radio supporter. Who wouldn?t want extra bandwidth and the ability to add graphics and data to our transmissions? The heart of the HD radio opportunity and problem are those hidden stations. Each radio manufacturer has to wrestle with the complex problem of helping the user find and use the ?hidden stations?.  BMW has their approach. Ford, Chevy, Toyota and the others each take a unique approach and the consumer has no standard. I am sure the fellas at Ibiquity do their best to help but the result is keeping users from the HD opportunity.

It didn?t have to be this way. I was involved with this issue at Susquehanna Radio when the industry was first considering its roll out of HD Radio. Cox Radio made a strong and compelling argument that a new HD radio band be created that would have extended the FM dial starting at 108.1. This would have allowed a clear and marketable new band. It would have allowed all radio manufacturers to use a standard approach. The arguments fell on deaf ears and today we are stuck with a complicated challenge that?s not going away.

The BMW Mini user tunes an FM analog frequency. If the station is HD it will spool the data and blend to the HD digital signal. If there is a HD2 the dial will show a setting called ?list?. Then push that button, the display shows HD 2 availability Scroll down to HD2, Hit enter, wait for the radio to acquire HD2 and finally you have audio. If you are lost here, imagine the average user. It?s too damn complicated. Should we blame BMW?  There is lots of blame to go around but we are lacking a simple and elegant interface and it robs radio of the HD radio opportunity.

I'll have more on radio's missed digital opportunity next time.

Dan Halyburton is EVP McVay Cook and Associates and can be reached at 214-707-7237. Follow Dan @danhalyburton. E-mal Dan at dan@halyburton.com

(12/27/2011 11:38:17 AM)
Hi Dan,

Obviously, I read your article in Radio Ink. I've got a 2011 Scion XB that I bought with an HD radio as an option. While I can't recommend the Alpine unit because of a lack of functionality in other parts of the system, the radio works well, and easily. If you don't use the presets, you tune in a station, and if there are HD sideband stations, another set of up & down arrows appear on the touch screen, which you touch to go to the HD sideband station. Darned easy.

Scott Gilbert
The Radio Mall
888-757-2688
Fax: 888-977-2346
www.radiomall.com

(12/27/2011 11:02:06 AM)
I bought an HD receiver for my car in '07 and I wasn't impressed. The AM broadcasts had more clarity (albeit in a 1996 web-stream sort of way) but I could only hear one for a minute or two (at best) until I drove past power lines or a city bus. On FM the music sounded flat with a sparkling edge to it and talk also had that raspy web-stream quality. When the radio finally crapped out I bought a plain old analog receiver and I haven't missed HD one bit.
(12/27/2011 9:44:14 AM)
"HD radio band be created that would have extended the FM dial starting at 108.1"

Big Group Radio, as iNiquity investors, would have never gone for this idea. Partly, HD Radio/IBOC was designed to be in-band-off-channel, in order to jam the smaller, community, adjacent-channel broadcasters. See, HD Radio really doesn't offer "more radio stations", as in hybrid mode, the HD2s/HD3s replace those adjacent channel analog stations with interference. Analog-only Listeners actually lose the adjacents, but HD Radio listeners pick up the HD2s/HD3s, instead. Biquity is trying to localize radio, by forcing listeners onto their local HD Radio stations, only.

(12/27/2011 7:23:56 AM)
Amen Dan! Also scary....try to buy a simple RADIO in a department store or big-box electronics retailer. I looked for a simple RADIO my 80 year old father could listen to on his kitchen table as he starts his morning. I was stunned. An easy-to-use radio nearly doesn't exist. You'll find complicated clock radios or clunky boomboxes, loaded with tiny, hard-to-read buttons. We don't have a chance getting in-home listening back! And I hope we don't bury our opportunities in-car.
(12/27/2011 3:33:41 AM)
"HD Radio set to botch its first impression"

"It is patently stupid to tack on HD stations to existing analog frequences (as in 98.5-1, 98.5-2, 98.5-3) and then put three different things on those frequencies... Furthermore, the names are so incredibly clunky, moving newfangled digital radio strongly in the direction of even clunkier HAM radio. It's a confusing mass of digits, decimals, and dashes. We would be better off reconceptualizing the entire dial and taking this opportunity to simplify it across the board. For example (and brace yourself), how about numbering our stations 1 to 100? If this sounds like Satellite Radio, just remember HD Radio was your idea, not mine."

http://www.markramseymedia.com/2005/08/hd-radio-set-to-botch-its-first-impression/

Did you also enjoy the dropouts on HD2s to silence, and the echoing affect on the HD1s with constant flipping? A kludged system that mostly doesn't work. BMW and Volvo have outstanding TSBs against HD Radio, as standard. But, the Chipset Salesman probably doesn't even care. Ford still doesn't have HD Radio as a factory-installed option, after four years. Hear the law firms coming down the train tracks? LOL!

- HD Radio was your idea, not mine!
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ALES- Finding Your Station's Sales Leaks

12-26-2011

The following is a case study I used last week for a consultant property in Missouri to identify and assess challenges and opportunities in the sale department. This is a good exercise for January-when you come back from the holidays-or anytime you want to maximize your department?s potential.

The Setup
You and your team members are flight mechanics at Luce?s Flight Mechanic School in Fairhope, AL; the school is affiliated with Continental?s factory service center. Your staff has been called to Houston to fix an oil leak with the right engine of a twin-engine Beechcraft Baron.

Troubleshooting
A small but troubling oil leak has developed in the right engine. The leak amounts to less than a teaspoon per hour, but the oil is seeping into the back of the prop spinner, where it is then sprayed out over the cowling. A tiny amount of engine oil can make a big mess when it gets tossed into the slipstream.

The automatic assumption, by the pilot and the shop mechanics, is that the oil is seeping from the front of the crankshaft seal. As they have seen this problem on another engine, they assume that the crankshaft seal is the source of the leak. There isn?t any other likely place for the oil to leak from the front of a Continental engine.

The shop has already replaced the seal. The job did not require much time, and after a test run on the ground the leak appeared to have been repaired. In flight, however, the leak persisted. The seal was replaced again, this time using a special honing technique, which is intended to trap a film of oil between the crankshaft and the rubber seal to keep friction from burning and glazing the rubber. Again, the ground test was fine, but the engine still leaked oil in flight.

Your Job
Using a whiteboard/flipchart, list 5 strategies to find the oil leak. Display a picture of a Beechcraft Baron to illustrate the cowling?s location for staff members who are not familiar with airplanes. http://www.airplane-pictures.net/image118002.html Some possible questions: Which areas of the engine would you examine to find the oil leak? How would you break down the engine? What recommendations would you make before the plane flies again?

The Solution
As you inspect the engine, you realize that no real troubleshooting had been done. Because the crankshaft seal was the most likely culprit, no one looked for another source for the leak. When the mechanics actually looked at the entire engine during a ground run, they found oil seeping around the bolts of the spine in the center of the engine. A quick turn with a torque wrench revealed that the bolts had somehow worked loose. With the bolts retorqued, the leak stopped.

The solution was so simple and easy that any mechanic with a torque wrench could have made it. The hard part was identifying the problem. Although the leak was about one-third of the way back on the engine-not behind the leak. The powerful low-pressure area in a Baron cowling directly behind the spinner sucked the oil forward at least a foot. No oil flowed aft. That scenario is not intuitive. Air comes in the front of the cowling and exits the rear, as one would expect, but the flow changes in the suction behind the spinner.

Another reason no one expected a leak in the spine is that those bolts rarely work loose on a low-time engine. No one knows why this happened, especially since the left engine had remained leak-free.

The Lesson
What caused this entire series of events-and enormous waste- was the short cut taken when the problem was first observed. The physical symptoms were misleading, but they did not cause the misdiagnosis, two wasted seal jobs, the expense of calling in engineers, unnecessary and costly groundling of an expensive aircraft, and enormous distractions from more profitable endeavors.

The central problem was that the decision-makers (the pilot and mechanics) took action based on an assumption. The ?logical? actions they took based on the assumption turned out to be wrong.

The lesson is that in real life there are no short cuts. We are both victims and beneficiaries of our own experiences. The story illustrates that expert, linear, logical yet intuitive decision-making is simply no match for non-intuitive, process-oriented, objective decision-making. We can avoid costly, unnecessary mistakes by having the discipline to avoid short-cutting the proper decision-making process.

Consider This
This story is about a Beechcraft Baron twin-engine airplane in which leaking oil splattered over the wing and fuselage behind the cockpit. But what if, after the first quick fix, the oil had splattered across the windscreen in flight, as it could have in a single-engine plane? Potentially catastrophic results can be avoided by up-front discipline. And, sometimes our business decisions can have similarly catastrophic impact if they are wrong.

Finding Your Company?s ?Oil Leaks?
Divide your staff into groups of two or three. You can do this as a full staff, but you want as many different ideas as possible. Allot 45 minutes for each group to look for the ?oil leaks? in your sales department. Remember, this is not a gripe session. Have each team list the three most critical problems and three solutions for each.

As each group makes its presentations, you, the manager, write down the problems that surfaced more than once-along with their solutions-so they can be addressed immediately. As a result of this exercise, your company may adopt such ideas as selling more first-week inventory, dong more spec campaigns, profit-sharing among the entire company, better account management, and selling more annuals. Using the proper decision-making process to investigate and plug those recurring ?oil leaks? will enable you and your staff to reach your goals for 2012.

Sean Luce is the Head National Instructor for the Luce Performance Group and can be reached at sean@luceperformancegroup.com.

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SOCIAL - 4 Ways To Make Your Social Media Pop!

12-28-2011

As social media becomes more and more prominent and relevant, it is clear that those radio stations (and shows) with better social media plans will get better real world results.  Everyone knows that content can be critical, but often content managers are missing `important elements that can quickly add to their actual success.  So, I thought I might present 4 basic elements that bring the listeners you target into your orbit in social media and encourages them to engage your broadcast brand at a higher (loyal) level.

1. Use pictures. 
Pictures draw people to you.  Humans are very visual.  Engage them first with the eye, but make sure your content is good.  This can be pictures of backstage at a concert or some gossip related pictures.  We?ve all heard a picture is worth a thousand words, but social media is a place for few words.  So, a great picture is a way to be more foreground with the listeners who are participators.

2. Post videos. 
So many radio stations are active in concerts, events, public events and more, but you don?t see a lot of well thought out video.  Why?  Video flips cost less than $100 and allow you to be so highly mobile.  Even if you don?t have a Video Flip, you can open up your cell phone and get a quick video.  Remember:  We are not talking about a 30 minute video.  Your video posts should be 1 ? 3 minutes long.  However, imagine giving listeners a 60 second interview with a major artist in your format who has come to town (or you have visited with in another town)?  Station events and even a morning show bit can be put on video and placed on Facebook.  Just make the content compelling. 

3. Create a station blog. 
A single person can do it or it can be done by contribution by a variety of staff members.  However, a blog can really help make the station more human and give your team a platform to contribute.  Think of important things in your community.  You have a voice.  Make it count.  Think about access you have to the industry of entertainment that most people don?t.  Think about what makes your viewpoint unique and exploit it.  Don?t forget to post pictures.  Pictures open people up to your content.

4. Giving Benefits You The Most. 
It is unfortunate that people are selfish.  We often avoid the thing that can encourage the most success and make us the happiest people.  Social media brings the truth of giving to the foreground.  Giving is what makes you successful in social media.  Have an important conversation with your staff about what is important to them personally.  When you do this, you may learn about causes important to them and their family. When the causes your individual team members embrace fit with your audience, strike!  Allow and encourage them to post on the cause as themselves on your Facebook page and in their blog. Causes are often very sticky and create loyalty opportunities that otherwise remain hidden.

No one element should dominate.  Determine how much of each kind of contribution should be happening on Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms. Balance is as important as quality of content.  If you don?t have guidelines for how much of each type of content is being put ?out there,? you don?t really have a plan.

You have a voice.  Use it.  Be visual, engage listeners when they engage you, always lead people back to your dot com and your broadcast brand and always create a balance between engagement, emotion, fun and promotion in the elements of your social media. 

You want to create a pattern of impressions that people are missing out if they are not tuned into what is happening at your radio station.  Social media can play an extraordinary role in drawing people to you if you project the correct balance of engagement, emotion and tease into your social media plans.

Loyd Ford is the direct marketing, ratings and social media strategist for Americalist and programmed very successful radio brands in markets of all sizes for years, including KRMD AM & FM in Shreveport, WSSL and WMYI in Greenville, WKKT in Charlotte and WBEE in Rochester, NY.  Learn more about Loyd here:  http://about.me/loydford. 
Reach out to Loyd via e-mail HERE
Visit his Facebook radio social media page www.facebook.com/socialnetworking4radio

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SALES MEETING - Successful Selling in 2012

Download this show

Radioink.com introduces a new weekly program called Monday Morning Sales Meeting. This new feature is a thirty minute podcast with D.O.S.'s from across the country who answer questions about issues managers and salespeople deal with every day on the street. Today we have Adam Maisano (pictured below), Director of Sales for Curtis Media in Raleigh and Director of National Sales for Greater Media in Philadelphia Matthew Cowper. Topics include getting political dollars, the insurance category, the art of selling in your market and why the reps should stop apologizing for radio.

Listen to our Monday Morning Sales Meeting
for Monday December 19th.

(12/19/2011 7:41:20 PM)
EJ...whoever you are...God Bless You for your straight talk. Our business is Cannibalizing itself and we have the 'leaders' at the major groups to thank for it. Idiots all!
(12/19/2011 7:40:27 PM)
EJ...whoever you are...God Bless You for your straight talk. Our business is Cannibalizing itself and we have the 'leaders' at the major groups to thank for it. Idiots all!
(12/19/2011 3:27:26 PM)
Who, other than the obvious people in radio that should apologize like Cumulus and Clear Channel for commoditizing the most unique message delivery system ever created, should apologize? My AE's make no apology for delivering advertiser messages to thousands of people every week, in fact we brag about it!
(12/19/2011 8:20:58 AM)
Love this concept. Short, mobile, focused. I think the sessions will become more valuable if they present a case study of business success stories ("This is how we did it") vs.a warmed over version of what smart managers can debate about on any given day.

Managemnent styles & approaches may vary, but show & tell can inspire replication.There's a load of business opportunity for business-minded (not just media-minded) sales ops. Let's hear a de-construction of those stories soon.

(12/19/2011 7:07:29 AM)
The question is what has the account been saying that leads the sales person to say im sorry for the mess? You and i know that degegulation has almost destroyed GOOD radio.

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Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Lynn Samuels Dies at Age 69.

12-25-2011

Samuels died on Christmas Eve, reportedly of a heart attack. She was discovered after she failed to report for her Saturday morning show at SiriusXM where she still does a show. Sirius employees called police and asked them to go to her home in Woodside, Queens. Samuels considered herself a progressive. Her radio career began around 1979 at WBAI-FM. She moved to WABC in the late 1980s where she worked for 15 years, was fired three times. After WABC Samuels took a job in a laundromat while working at SiriusXM. She left no immediate survivors.



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Stop Apologizing For Radio

Download this show

Radioink.com introduces a new weekly program called Monday Morning Sales Meeting. This new feature is a thirty minute podcast with D.O.S.'s from across the country who answer questions about issues managers and salespeople deal with every day on the street. Today we have Adam Maisano (pictured below), Director of Sales for Curtis Media in Raleigh and Director of National Sales for Greater Media in Philadelphia Matthew Cowper. Topics include getting political dollars, the insurance category, the art of selling in your market and why the reps should stop apologizing for radio.

Listen to our Monday Morning Sales Meeting
for Monday December 19th.

(12/19/2011 7:41:20 PM)
EJ...whoever you are...God Bless You for your straight talk. Our business is Cannibalizing itself and we have the 'leaders' at the major groups to thank for it. Idiots all!
(12/19/2011 7:40:27 PM)
EJ...whoever you are...God Bless You for your straight talk. Our business is Cannibalizing itself and we have the 'leaders' at the major groups to thank for it. Idiots all!
(12/19/2011 3:27:26 PM)
Who, other than the obvious people in radio that should apologize like Cumulus and Clear Channel for commoditizing the most unique message delivery system ever created, should apologize? My AE's make no apology for delivering advertiser messages to thousands of people every week, in fact we brag about it!
(12/19/2011 8:20:58 AM)
Love this concept. Short, mobile, focused. I think the sessions will become more valuable if they present a case study of business success stories ("This is how we did it") vs.a warmed over version of what smart managers can debate about on any given day.

Managemnent styles & approaches may vary, but show & tell can inspire replication.There's a load of business opportunity for business-minded (not just media-minded) sales ops. Let's hear a de-construction of those stories soon.

(12/19/2011 7:07:29 AM)
The question is what has the account been saying that leads the sales person to say im sorry for the mess? You and i know that degegulation has almost destroyed GOOD radio.

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Monday, December 26, 2011

WQKL Collects 203 Tons of Food For Hungry

WQKL is in Ann Arbor Michigan where PD Chris Ammel lets us know that in only five days his team collected 203 tons of food for the local food bank, despite a challenging economy. "Volunteers and radio personalities braved long hours, and at times, frigid weather outside Kroger to collect food and donations for the Food Gatherers? food rescue and food bank program."

President and CEO of Food Gatherers Eileen Spring said, "This generous support allows Food Gatherers to meet the urgent and pressing demand for food in our own community. On behalf of all the people seeking food assistance this year, we are so grateful to ann arbor?s 107one, Kroger and the citizens of Washtenaw County for making a real difference in our community. When we needed you most, you rose to the challenge." Food Gatherers is Washtenaw County?s food bank and food rescue program. Since its inception in 1988, Food Gatherers has distributed more than 39 million pounds of food for the community.

Congratulate PD Chris Ammel for the efforts of his team at Chris.Ammel@cumulus.com
Is your station doing something special to help the community?
Tell us all about it. Send details (and photos) to edryan@radioink.com

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NRG's KKAR Raises $63,000 For Charity.

News/Talk KKAR in Omaha, owned by Mary Quass' NRG, raised a very impressive $63,000 during its annual radiothon for the Child Saving Institute. The institute supports children in need in the Omaha area. PD Neil Nelkin with, perhaps, the understatement of the year, ?The listeners of KKAR delivered again this year.? Hosts from KKAR broadcast live for 11 hours taking in the tremendous number of donations from the locals.

Quass told Radio Ink last night "KKAR embodies the very essence of what we are all about at NRG Media...Great Local Radio! We want to make a difference in the lives of not just our employees, advertisers, and listeners....but our communities...especially those in need. I am extremely proud to work with our Omaha team and their incredible concern for others."

Nelkin added ?Despite the economy, the listeners opened their hearts and their wallets to make a difference for a wonderful cause that will brighten the holidays of hundreds of children in need throughout Omaha.?

For 120 years, Child Saving Institute has provided a safe haven and healing for thousands of innocent young victims of family crisis, neglect and abuse. Today, the agency?s staff continues to provide vital services to make at-risk children safe and fractured families whole through programs such as early childhood education, foster care, adoption, an emergency shelter, parenting classes and therapy. KKAR supports both the efforts and the mission of Omaha?s Child Saving Institute which guides their efforts to give the children served safe, happy childhoods.

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Zimmer Provides A Christmas of Hope.

Zimmer Radio Group Operations Manager Char Elliot checks in with Radio Ink about a heartwarming story in Joplin. "I wanted to tell you about our Christmas miracle here at KZRG, it?s been a difficult and trying year for all of us in Joplin to say the least!  We have about 5,000 less residents in our community since the tornado, a large chuck of our community destroyed and rebuilding is slow and now we?re in the winter months." That startling statement did not prevent ZRG from helping kids around the holidays. 

News Talk KZRG for the last several years has teamed up with a local church (Ignite) and The Missouri Division of Family Services for the Christmas of Hope. Last year, according to Elliot, it was a struggle to help 200 kids. The kids are mostly forgotten this time of year. "We wanted to help but really didn't know what to expect. We just hoped to help at least 200 kids. We launched our campaign earlier this month and by the end of the first week we reached 200 kids. We just decided to keep going. We just finished the campaign and we able to help all the kids on the list this year. We are very thankful and blessed.

Reach out to congratulate Elliot and the Zimmer Radio Group for the great community work they are doing at chade@zrgmail.com

Is your station doing something special to help the community? Tell us all about it. Send details (and photos) to edryan@radioink.com

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HOT 97 NY Donates Hundreds of Toys to Kids

12-20-2011

The HOT 97 Hip-Hop Has Heart Foundation has gone on another giving spree donating hundreds of toys to three local organizations; Harlem Hospital, Emergency Rights and Area 145 Daycare.  For their 5th consecutive year, HOT 97?s Hip-Hop Has Heart Foundation join hand-in-hand with its celebrity DJ?s to give children a reason to look forward to the season.

HOT 97?s Angie Martinez and L Boogs, dropped off the toys to Harlem Hospital?s Children?s Christmas Celebration.  HOT 97?s DJ C-Lo will took to the streets handing out toys in the Bronx for Emergency Rights? 9th Annual Toy Drive.  And, HOT 97?s Peter Rosenberg and J Medina made the final stop at Area 145 Daycare in Harlem?s Annual Holiday Party. 

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Townsquare Tear Jerker in Buffalo

12-20-11

Every year WBLK-FM in Buffalo teams with the Child & Family Services. First names and Christmas toy wishes of up to 15 local children who may not receive anything on Dec 25th are chosen. WBLK then turns to listeners and asks them to donate a gift, (or complete the child's wish). WBLK then produced a special ?Christmas for Kids? party at the Child & Family Services building.

WBLK provided Santa helpers, music and refreshments and the listeners who donated gifts were invited to join WBLK at the party to view the presentation of gifts to each child. The kids range from 20 months to 12 years old and all have been a ward of the state or neglected in some way.  The mission is to bring awareness to the growing plight of children who need a permanent home through adoption and or foster care. On Dec 17th at least for a few hours, a child?s sadness was replaced with the tears of joy with the 93.7 WBLK Christmas for Kids outreach program.

(12/24/2011 11:19:54 PM)
Poverty as promotion.

Tear jerker is right.

(12/20/2011 9:13:43 AM)
This is what old fashion radio is all about!

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Sunday, December 25, 2011

What Was he Thinking?

12-22-11

Here's one we are not going to play the audio for. Bruce Jacobs hosts a show on the Townsquare owned sports station (ESPN affiliate) in Albany. He may be in a bit of trouble after he made very disturbing remarks during a discussion about the WNBA. Jacobs called two pro women?s teams the ?Los Angeles Lesbians? and the ?Phoenix Dyke-ury? during his show, ?Game on With Bruce Jacobs." And as he tries to apologize and explain his way out of the situation, it gets even wackier.

Jacobs apologized on the air for ten minutes yesterday and he told the Albany Times Union he did not think he should be fired. ?We live in a society today where no matter what you say, you?re a bigot or you?re a racist,? he said. ?I don?t like it, but it comes with the territory. So obviously I think that?s ridiculous.?
Really? The teams? actual names are the Los Angeles Sparks and the Phoenix Mercury.

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John Hiatt New D.O.S. in Austin for Border

12-23-11

Border Media says Hiatt is the new Director of Sales for its five-station cluster in Austin. Most recently Hiatt was overseeing the 4R Broadcasting group of stations in San Angelo. He's also worked for CBS in Austin. Border Media Market Manager Bob Proud said, ?We are thrilled to be able to attract a broadcaster with the experience and reputation that John brings.  To so substantially upgrade our DOS position speaks volumes about Border?s commitment to the Austin market.? 

Hiatt said, ?I feel incredibly blessed to be given the opportunity to come home to Austin; and getting to work for Bob Proud just makes a good thing even better.  Bob has assembled a strong team - many of whom I already know and have worked with in the past.  We?re going to have fun growing these stations and I can hardly wait to get there.?

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LEGAL - Do You Still Need to Air Contest Rules?

12-23-11

Now that contest rules are consistently listed on radio station websites, what do stations need to do about broadcasting those rules over the air? A Radio Ink reader asks the question: Is there a law requiring we broadcast them on a regular basis through all day parts and do those rules apply to streaming as well? We turned that question over to broadcast attorney John Garziglia.

A disgruntled listener filing a contest complaint at the FCC is one of the surest ways to provoke the FCC into an enforcement action against a radio station.  Therefore, asking about streaming is good as no broadcaster wants to be on the receiving end of an FCC complaint.  Section 73.1216 of the Commission's rules governs on-air broadcaster conducted contests.  That rule requires that, when a radio station-conducted contest is advertised, the broadcaster fully and accurately discloses the material terms of the contest, and conducts the contest substantially as announced or advertised.

There are no FCC contest requirements for programming on a streamed channel.  For the on-the-air contest that is also streamed, provided the contest rules so  state, the broadcaster may limit participation in the contest to residents of a certain geographic area, or require that prizes be picked up in person, to limit the  contest to contestants in the broadcaster?s market area, rather than allowing streaming listeners at some far away location to enter and win. 

The FCC states that the time and manner of contest rules dissemination are up to a licensee?s reasonable discretion. The material terms of a broadcaster conducted contest must be broadcast when the audience is first told how to enter or participate.  A contest?s material terms must be disclosed periodically by announcements on the station, but do not need to be broadcast fully each time an announcement promoting the contest is broadcast.  According to the FCC, the  broadcast of the material terms of contest rules ?in a reasonable number of announcements is sufficient.?   Simply broadcasting the full contest rules at 3:00 a.m., however, is insufficient. 

It is useful to note that the FCC?s broadcast contest rules are not applicable to the commercial advertisement of non-licensee-conducted contests.  Nonetheless,  as with any advertisement, the station still has a liability for material broadcast so even if the FCC?s contest rules are not implicated, the basic tenants of avoiding  fraud, other scams, and violations of state and federal laws, should be observed. 

Broadcasters are sometime asked to run a contest that the broadcaster believes may violate the law.  The contest may involve what is believed to be an illegal  lottery, offshore gambling, internet poker, the giving away of controlled products such as alcoholic beverages, or prizes that appear to be simply too good to be  true.  The broadcaster, of course, does not wish to turn away a buy, but also must avoid violating the law.  My suggestion to a broadcaster in such a situation is  to ask the entity or agency making the buy to supply a letter from its lawyer stating that the contest as planned is legal under applicable law.  Asking the client for

a lawyer letter usually quickly ferrets out questionable broadcast material.  Needless to say, even if you receive such a lawyer letter stating that the questionable contest is legal, you should still consult with your own legal counsel if you have any remaining doubts. 

There are no separate FCC rules for contests on streaming channels.  The FCC?s contest rule purview is limited to licensee-conducted on-air contests.  With all broadcast and streamed content, however, keep in mind other state and federal laws are also likely applicable. 

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WOR New York Adds The Dave Ramsey Show

In 2012 ?The Dave Ramsey Show? will join the line-up on WOR-AM in New York City, weekdays from 8p.m. to 10p.m. ?In these rocky economic times, New Yorkers need a voice they can trust to guide them in their money decisions,? said Jerry Crowley, Vice President and General Manager of WOR. ?We are proud to welcome the country?s top name in financial talk radio, Dave Ramsey, to our award-winning lineup in 2012.? Ramsey is heard on over 500 stations across America.



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SOCIAL - How to Make Your Station Famous in 2012

by Mike Stiles


Want your station to be famous in 2012?  Then my advice is to gauge what ?worked? in the viral social network world in 2011 and learn some content lessons from it.  These things were liked, shared, commented on, and spread for a reason.  They hit a nerve, struck a funny bone, made people feel something, made them want to connect with others around it.  Now THAT?S good content. 

Taking some items mentioned in a recent year-ender blog, here are the lessons we as radio stations might take away about how to matter to people and consequently make some fireworks go off for our brands.


1. Rebecca Black?s "Friday" video got over 167 million views.  As a PD, if someone came in and showed you this video, you?d have showed them the door.  And you?d have blown a huge opportunity.  People LOVE aggressively bad things.  But the key to Rebecca?s success was that it wasn?t contrived bad?she was serious.  Seek out the unintentionally funny.


2. News of bin Laden's death first broke on Twitter, breaking records with 12.4 million tweets per hour.  When?s the last time you broke news?  Are you even in a position and connected enough to find news to break?


3. UC Davis students posted a video of campus cop pepper spraying protesters.  The "casually pepper spray everything cop" achieved meme status.  Take what?s out there, and put your own comedic spin on it.  Others will likely follow your lead, which makes you a leader.


4. During a GOP debate, Rick Perry couldn?t remember all 3 agencies he wanted to eliminate.  People love to see the mighty turn human.  Whether it?s audio or video, any time you can put a ?blooper? out there, it will be well received.


5. A cobra escaped the Bronx Zoo then started tweeting about his sightseeing.  This fictional snake got 218,000+ followers.  We have a history in radio of creating characters.  You don?t have to be real to post or tweet, just clever.


6. People worldwide planked on everything they could find.  Then "stocking" took off, where people imitated and parodied stock photos.  Start a fad or activity that?s easy enough anyone can do it, and it may start turning up all over your city.  But don?t force it.  If it works, it works.


7. When Charlie Sheen joined Twitter, he set the Guinness world record of "Fastest Time to Reach One Million Followers."  25 hours, 17 minutes.  Can you make a spectacle of something that?s already well-known?  That?s a ?winning? combination that can result in huge, albeit short-term, interest.


8. When the shuttle Endeavor launched, an airplane passenger caught a photo and posted it to Twitter, achieving viral fame.  Sometimes, it?s a matter of taking something that happens on a very regular basis and taking an entirely new, unseen angle on it.


Even if you?re a radio station that?s completely ignoring social media, you?re still in the attention-getting business.  Advertisers count on you to generate attention?an audience.  If you can?t, you are of no value.  Start zeroing in on content that works.


Mike Stiles is a writer/producer with the social marketing tech platform, Vitrue, and head of Sketchworks comedy theatre. Check out his monologue blog, The Stiles Files.

Find him on Facebook or on Twitter @mikestiles

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Saturday, December 24, 2011

AUDIO - Dan Davis Retires From ESPN Radio

12-23-11

One of the most recognizable and powerful ESPN radio voices is retiring after 50 years in the business. After starting his career at a radio station in a small city, Dan "The Duke" Davis is hanging up the microphone. Davis' final job is at ESPN Radio where he does SportCenter updates. Davis joined ESPN radio in 1992 when the network launched. He watched it grow into the juggernaut it is today.

Davis says ESPN radio is successful because it started out slow, broadcasting on weekends only. He's been ESPN radio?s best known SportsCenter update reporter since 1999. We spoke with Davis yesterday about his retirement and the most memorable call of his career, which you can watch below. Here's our Interview with Dan Davis.

After his five decade New England-based broadcasting career, which began in 1962 at WEMJ, in Laconia, N.H., Davis now plans to concentrate on golf in Florida, mixing some radio work with his golf game ? not in that order.

"Dan has been everything you could ask a co-worker to be. A professional, first and foremost, but beyond that, a great role model who shows you how to do it without telling you how to do it. One of the proudest notches on my belt in this business is to say that we worked together, but a much more meaningful thing to call him a friend. I hope he plays golf every day until he gets sick of it and I can't explain how much I'll miss that voice or the man who used it so well for so long." ? Scott Van Pelt, whose show Davis provided updates for.

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Westergren: Katz Wasn't Producing Much For Us Anyway.

12-23-2011
(by Ed Ryan)

It's become clear to most serious observers that the big players in the radio industry are not interested in Pandora wedging in on its revenue. And they've decided on a plan of action to protect their turf. This week, first Arbitron, and now Katz made moves aimed at dampening Pandora CEO Joe Kennedy's consistently stated goal of taking revenue away from the radio industry. You may remember, not too long ago, Cumulus' Lew Dickey made a deal with Bob Pittman's Clear Channel to move all of his stations to iHeartRadio. In return the combined radio station count of 1400 stations will promote Cumulus' SweetJack. That's some serious clout if those two companies decide to work together, which apparently they have, to slap Pandora down a notch.

The Katz Radio Group is an arm of Clear Channel and the official Katz line is, "we originally believed Pandora offered a complementary service to radio; however, its service has not proved comparable to the entertainment value offered by our client stations? online streams. We have found that many of radio?s best attributes?such as its ability to create an emotional connection with listeners through live broadcasts? are unique to broadcast radio and significantly differentiate the real radio experience from Pandora." It's important to note that recent cutbacks in the radio industry have resulted in fewer live voices able to create that emotional connection with listeners. It's a consistent criticism we hear from Radio Ink readers on a daily basis.

Consumers may also disagree that Pandora is "not comparable," Pandora founder Tim Westergren certainly does. He tells Radio Ink Katz wasn't bringing much revenue in for Pandora anyway. "The move has no impact on us since the radio ad sales staff hiring we have been planning will pick up the negligible amount of business that had been coming through Katz." He goes on to say the two moves made by radio this week are proof the radio industry is scared about what's happening. ?Radio ad buyers are beginning to spend their money on Pandora and broadcasters are reacting by trying to stop the flow of information about Pandora?s audience to the ad buying community.  This week's actions by both Arbitron and Katz are examples of the broadcasting community's efforts to prevent advertisers from fully understanding the magnitude of Pandora?s audience.?

Kennedy, in conference call after conference call and presentation after presentation has said Pandora is redefining radio. On November 22nd, Kennedy said the following: "Pandora is one the largest radio stations in every single market in the United States and on track to be larger than most AM or FM stations in most markets in the not too distant future." When Lou Dickey and Bob Pittman and John Hogan hear those statements, some might understand why they seem to be putting the pressure on to shut Pandora out. Apparently they've decided they are not going to make it all that easy for Kennedy. Arbitron, in a very public letter, warned stations about comparing server-side research to the PPM. It was a not-so-subtle shot at the numbers Edison Research was releasing on behalf of Pandora. The Arbitron letter was understood clearly by Tom Webster at Edison who wrote his own letter defending the numbers.

And in response to Katz dropping Pandora, Webster writes the following comment on his blog: "And today, Katz360 dropped Pandora because traditional radio broadcasters pressured them to do so. Which makes Katz360 NOT A REAL COMPANY, since Pandora has well over 50% of the online radio market. Radio doesn't have a "tower" problem or a technology problem. It has a "not enough smart people in management" problem. Pathetic."

Mary Beth Garber of Katz has never been a big fan of Pandora or a believer in the Pandora numbers put out by Edison. She often states the press gives Pandora a free pass. A pass Katz is not longer willing to give them, even if it means giving up revenue by dropping Pandora. "Our top priority is to help build the digital assets of our broadcasters, making sure we assist the more than 4,000 radio stations we represent to fully integrate their over-the-air and online businesses; therefore, we believe this decision is in the best interests of our broadcasting clients, and look forward to taking advantage of the extraordinary growth opportunities available in this digital space."

Westergren went on to say, "the Internet is radically altering the radio landscape. Internet radio already has a large, and very fast growing share of all of radio listening. There's only so long that incumbent radio broadcasters, and the layer of service organizations paid to serve them, can shield advertising agencies and their clients from the new reality. Modern standards for accuracy and accountability expected in the media industry simply won't tolerate it."

To be clear, most people in this space say that Internet listening, while growing, is still only about 4% of all audio listening. Over-the-air radio still dominates in terms of listening and revenue. Should make for a very interesting 2012.

Feedback at edryan@radioink.com or leave your Holiday Greetings and comments below

(12/23/2011 11:36:38 PM)
When advertisers are given the choice of reaching the exact audience in a one on one experience that can be tracked for effectiveness and measurable accountability, does the rationale that a format specific "guess" at who is listening really matter? These ridiculous arguments that PANDORA is not playing fair because it shows ratings based on actual listeners media consumption and not estimated ratings from single format stations shows how out of touch these people are...GO PANDORA!
(12/23/2011 8:49:16 PM)
Wow! This creates an amazing oppertunity for someone to start a business to represent the Internet Radio industry.

It is obvious that the radio industry is scared to death of Pandora and any other internet radio service that will likely rise behind it.

Pandora has over 100 million users, and has an average of over 700,000 active sessions at any given time. Pandora has added around 40 million users in the last year alone, and the growth continues. At this rate, Pandora could have over 200 million users by the end of 2013. That is hardly something to shake a stick at.

I managed radio stations and worked in radio for close to 20 years and decided to get out. I could see the writing on the wall. There was no future in radio if the industry contued to follow its current business plan. It is doing what Kodak did when digital cameras started to hit the market place.

Radio was the industry most well equiped to dominate internet radio as the space evolved, but has refused to do so. The internet radio space is now beginning to grow into something big and it appears the way radio will tackle it is to fight it and stick to its old business model.

Radio can say that it is streaming and has websites, but here is the problem. Radio is only replicating radio over the internet. Long music sweeps and 5 and 7 minute long stop sets. The internet is something different. On the internet people are "Users" not "Listeners". If radio can create something on the internet for people to "Use" then it will have something people are interested in.

If YouTube was run by the radio industry model they would stream the videos to you that they want you to see. You would not be able to chose the videos you want. If YouTube operated in this way not many people would use it.

All iHeartRadio does is stream radio stations, oh and now they have a service invented by soeone else. Pandora on iHeartRadio. If Clear Channel thinks that replicating Pandora on it's iHeartRadio App is a good idea then Pandora must be on to something.

Radio is still in the position to get in on the growing space of internet radio, but in order to do so it must innovate. Innovation is not streaming your radio station. Adding an extention of your brand to the internet that your listeners can "Use" is the answer.

Best
Bob

(12/23/2011 4:05:56 PM)
I have just returned to radio after being out of it since 1981. Wow, what changes have occurred. Took me a while to realize that my search for Cart Machinesm, Reel to Reels, phone couplers, etc was in vain. And where IS that paper log anyway? Today it's MP3's, NexGen, Adobe Audition and other computerized gizmos. I like a lot of it. But I'm at an AM Country station that is trying to compete with all of this. Yes we're streaming audio, have a website, aggregate to Twitter and Facebook. But there is so much more we should be doing. In the discussions about Pandora, Satellite Radio and all the other competitors, I am still naive enough to believe the one thing even an old fashioned AM station can do that most others don't is LOCAL, LOCAL, LOCAL. We're still the ones that sit in drafty pressboxes bringing high school football home to the fans. We're the ones out there in the blizzards, fires and tornadoes bring live coverage back. And THAT to me is what we need to imprsess our advertisers. We also need to recognize the world we knew has long since changed. Having ownership's buy-in is critical. I see that as my own personal battle in 2012, trying to get my ownership to see that the game has changed and we need to change with it, if we want to continue to be a player.

I've just found Radio INK and really enjoy the commentary and all the great responses. Merry Christmas one and all.
David G. Stern - PD - KGYN Radio in, of all places, Guymon, OK (Known for years as No Man's Land.)

(12/23/2011 11:32:12 AM)
It's a timeless scenario....the much heralded fight between the grim-faced, intensely determined gorilla squared off against the jovial, lighthearted deft dancer. "It's gonna be a thrilla, and a chilla, and a killa, when I get the gorilla in Manila," was Ali's chant leading up to the fight to crown the undisputed champion of the boxing world in 1975.

Fast forward to a new time. We're in the midst of a different battle, this phalanx is set to guard invisible turf. In this corner, it's PANDORA "floating like a butterfly, stinging like a bee." And in the other corner, it's GORILLA, and, by Jove, step in his path at your own peril. He's too slow these days to land solid punches but his frontal assault keeps coming at you, pushing, slapping, tripping. He won't stop because he doesn't know when the war is won,or lost. He's always lived to fight, now he fights to live. Bob Dylan said, "The times they are a changing," I say the times have a changed.

What is our attraction to exhibitions where the outcome is so certain. We knew Ali would win, we know that Tebow will pull out many last minute victories, we know there will always be space-protecting gorillas, and we know there will always be an unstoppable Steve Jobs of the world whose contributions cause societies' habits to shift toward new, exciting directions.

We know the GORILLA will dig in his massive claws to protect his turf, we recognize this as self-preservation. On the other side, we acknowledge as parenthetically clear that PANDORA's goal is not to occupy that turf, only to have its rightful access to the fruits of the larger landscape. See, in its mind, PANDORA sees the GORILLA's turf as located on the wrong side of town and far removed from the brisk hum of the modern super highway.

Make no mistake, both undisputed heavyweights will live on to fight another day with no clear winner crowned for years to come, but we know that in our brave new world 'years' can be reduced to nano seconds with a few decisive blows. I wonder if Don King understands the opportunity he's mssing here.

(12/23/2011 10:45:00 AM)
Why does Kennedy think "Pandora is one of the single biggest stations in each market" but then doesn't count a single Pandora station against radio. He's using the entire Pandora entity compared to a single terrestrial station. Buyers review the individual merits of EACH station, they don't look at the collective cluster ratings. Play by the same rules.

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Westergren: "It's The Playlist Stupid."

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That's the saying inside the walls of Pandora and that's their focus. In a wide-ranging interview with Radio Ink magazine, and right before he went before his entire national sales force in California, Pandora creator Tim Westergren spoke to us about his growth model, iHeartRadio, local advertising, broadcast radio and his many town hall meetings with listeners. He also says it doesn't bother him that Bob Pittman and John Hogan constantly call his creation "just a feature" and not a business and had nothing but compliments for the Clear Channel product that will be officially released tonight in Las Vegas. We were also able to get some feedback from Pandora listeners on what they think about you guys and how your station's sound. 

Westergren, who created the Music Genome Project, has morphed into a Pandora evangelist traveling the country hosting town hall research gatherings with listeners. The information he gathers is used to continually improve the product that, he says, competes directly with broadcast radio. Westergren does not consider iHeartradio his competition and says Pandora's revenue growth, which he doesn't lose sleep over, will come directly from radio. He also says he's tried iHeartRadio and considers it a well developed product.

Listen to our interview with Westergren HERE

(12/23/2011 12:29:04 AM)
The MUSIC Format is no more than a broad and generalized attempt at defining a demographic and psycho-graphic target audience.

After that, programming tunes is a fool's endeavor - always falling short in some way or another.

Given that now, audiences gets to program their own music-runs, all that's left for terra-Radio is getting involved in enhancing (training) the Talent and, as importantly - completely re-addressing the CREATIVE.

OH! This just in. I'm told the Talent has left the building? Sorry to hear that. Too bad.

Start packin'....

(9/23/2011 2:27:54 PM)
Interesting since analysts in the radio industry have been saying "It's the talent, stupid." for almost a decade now. I've heard some well-programmed HD-2 stations with no talent but great playlists and yet they aren't reaching critical mass. The Jack format has been having problems in several major markets. Somehow, I think it's more than just the playlist, stupid...

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Larry Elder Returns to PM Drive on KABC

12-23-11

Cumulus announced the schedule changes to Talk Radio 790 KABC in Los Angeles that start January 3rd. ?The Sage from South Central?, Larry Elder, returns to afternoon drive from 3pm to 6pm. Cumulus announced the schedule changes to Talk Radio 790 KABC in Los Angeles that start January 3rd. ?The Sage from South Central?, Larry Elder, returns to afternoon drive from 3pm to 6pm. A Los Angeles native, Elder returned to KABC about a year ago to host 9-12. Also, as previously announced, Doug McIntyre returns to morning drive with news anchor and co-host Terri-Rae Elmer from 5am to 9am.

Rounding out the KABC lineup
Sean Hannity stays in the 12pm to 3pm slot.
Mark Levin moves to 6pm to 9pm
Peter Tilden moves from mornings to the 9pm to 12am shift.
Gary McNamara and Eric Harley air take the 12am to 5am shift. 

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ADERSHIP Are You Having Fun Yet?

12-23-2011

Beth Armknecht Miller

I work with many business leaders who over the last year haven?t had any fun at work or were afraid to display fun. You know who you are. You are very focused on keeping ahead of the economic difficulties this recession has put you and your organization in. You?ve had to cut costs and layoff valuable members of your team. Often you worry about your own job and whether you are safe. And for many of you, the mere thought of enjoying yourself at work feels like a betrayal to those who are without jobs. When you are enjoying yourself, there may be a feeling of guilt.

You often ask yourself: ?How can I be having fun when there are so many people in pain?? The question you should be asking yourself is ?What impact are you having to the people around you?? and ?What message are you sending to them??

If in fact you are a true leader, and according to the book ?The Leadership Challenge? by Kouzes & Posner, one of the five key practices of a leader is inspiring a vision, then expressing your joy and modeling fun, are key elements to inspiring others. I believe that if you can?t at least subtly demonstrate enjoyment to others at work that inspiring them will not take place. People will not believe in the organization?s vision if they don?t see others enjoying the journey to the vision.

Now as you read, I used the words subtly demonstrate, and I don?t suggest that you go skipping down the hall and jump for joy. What I am suggesting is that during your interaction with others there are subtle signs that can be sent to others around you in which you can demonstrate that you are having a good time and model this behavior so others will hopefully model to others around them.

What are some of the techniques that can be incorporated into your daily activities?

SMILE ? When you are talking to others, remember to smile. A smile is contagious. It doesn?t cost anything, takes little effort, and is a visual cue to others that you are having a good time.

TONE
? When you are speaking add some excitement into the tone of your voice. For some of you who are naturally more serious and not as dramatic when speaking, this will take some practice and may take you out of your comfort zone. For others, who in good times, this is a natural tendency and has been forgotten recently. Be conscious and observant of bringing a more exciting tone to your message.

VISIBILITY
- Some of us tend to retreat into our offices to hide our enjoyment and not let others see your reactions. Get out of the office and show others that it is okay to have fun.

RECOGNITION
- Listen for laughter, recognize and encourage it.

MEETING FUN
- During meetings incorporate a quick component that encourages having fun. This should be quick and at the beginning of the meeting so you can set the tone. It can be a funny video that you have found out on YouTube, or sharing a story that demonstrates fun in the workplace. Maybe you had the opportunity to speak with a customer who shared a funny story or someone else in the meeting has a story to share.
So what are you going to do to model having fun at work during these challenging times? Don?t be afraid to share your joy with others and model the appropriate behaviors to encourage others to be joyful and fun loving as well. After all, for most of us, we spend over two thirds of our adult lives at work and we should be having some fun during this time.

Beth Armknecht Miller is Founder and President of Executive Velocity, a leadership development advisory firm accelerating the success of senior executives and the companies they lead. Her career spans over 30 years and includes management positions in Fortune 500 companies as well as several entrepreneurial ventures, one of which was honored as an Inc 500 winner. Visit www.executive-velocity.com or http://executivevelocityblog.com

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Stop Apologizing For Radio

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Radioink.com introduces a new weekly program called Monday Morning Sales Meeting. This new feature is a thirty minute podcast with D.O.S.'s from across the country who answer questions about issues managers and salespeople deal with every day on the street. Today we have Adam Maisano (pictured below), Director of Sales for Curtis Media in Raleigh and Director of National Sales for Greater Media in Philadelphia Matthew Cowper. Topics include getting political dollars, the insurance category, the art of selling in your market and why the reps should stop apologizing for radio.

Listen to our Monday Morning Sales Meeting
for Monday December 19th.

(12/19/2011 7:41:20 PM)
EJ...whoever you are...God Bless You for your straight talk. Our business is Cannibalizing itself and we have the 'leaders' at the major groups to thank for it. Idiots all!
(12/19/2011 7:40:27 PM)
EJ...whoever you are...God Bless You for your straight talk. Our business is Cannibalizing itself and we have the 'leaders' at the major groups to thank for it. Idiots all!
(12/19/2011 3:27:26 PM)
Who, other than the obvious people in radio that should apologize like Cumulus and Clear Channel for commoditizing the most unique message delivery system ever created, should apologize? My AE's make no apology for delivering advertiser messages to thousands of people every week, in fact we brag about it!
(12/19/2011 8:20:58 AM)
Love this concept. Short, mobile, focused. I think the sessions will become more valuable if they present a case study of business success stories ("This is how we did it") vs.a warmed over version of what smart managers can debate about on any given day.

Managemnent styles & approaches may vary, but show & tell can inspire replication.There's a load of business opportunity for business-minded (not just media-minded) sales ops. Let's hear a de-construction of those stories soon.

(12/19/2011 7:07:29 AM)
The question is what has the account been saying that leads the sales person to say im sorry for the mess? You and i know that degegulation has almost destroyed GOOD radio.

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Friday, December 23, 2011

Indianapolis Rock Radio War Turned Into Documentary

Naptown Rock Radio Wars, a 90 minute documentary about the rock radio war in Indianapolis, will be unveiled on public television January 14th. The feature film is a culmination of four years of work, dozens of interviews with former Indianapolis radio personalities and memorable radio airchecks.  The focus is on the rock radio war that raged for nearly two decades in Indianapolis from the late 50's to the late 70's. Indianapolis earned the nickname Naptown during that era. The fight centered around two fierce competitors ? WIBC-AM owner Richard Fairbanks with a 50,000 watt blowtorch and the young upstart Don Burden who launched the promotion-oriented but low-powered, WIFE-AM. Entering the mix was WNAP-FM, "The Buzzard" also owned by Fairbanks.

The project is the brainchild of President of Videopoliis TV David Fulton and former WNAP-FM Program Director  Al Stone. Four years ago Fulton reached out to Jon Quick who was still the Director of Operations at Emmis' WIBC. They asked Quick for help tracking down some of the old jocks and airchecks. Now, Quick owns his own public relations and marketing company called Absolutemax and he's helping Fulton get the word out. The final product will air in the Spring on Indiana Public Television, a special premiere, complete with many of the living legends behind the story is happening at the IMAX Theater in Indianapolis at 7PM on January 14, 2012. 
SEE THE TRAILER

Quick says what happened during this battle was truly a culture shift. "From loosely formatted to tightly formatted stations, the battle for listeners between WIBC, WIFE and WNAP is fascinating. The strategies and tactics the owners and managers developed and the on-air personalities implemented really changed Indianapolis, reflecting the same changes going on all over America at the time. For those who were around Indy at the time and for those who may not even remember a "45"  this documentary is both entertaining and informative.  It is the history of a time in a city when lives were changed and memories were made."

                                      VISIT THE NAPTOWN WARS WEBSITE HERE

Quick says it's still fascinating to see and hear the passion and the excitement the personalities still have about those days. "Many of these radio personalities are still well known in the area, even though some have now been out of the business for years.  It might be hard for many younger people to imagine that there was a day when radio personalities were huge stars, when their voices were instantly recognized in public, and when they were actually stopped for autographs on the street or in the supermarket."

Reach out to Jon Quick about the film via e-mail at QJon79@aol.com

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Wall Street Journal This Morning Adds 12 Stations.

The Wall Street Journal Radio Network has added 12 more stations to its growing roster for its programs, The Wall Street Journal This Morning and The Wall Street Journal This Weekend. Wall Street Journal Radio Network Executive Director Nancy Abramson said, ?from breaking news to in-depth interviews and business news analysis, Gordon Deal does a great job bringing our reporters and editors directly to our listeners, and we look forward to serving listeners in these new markets.

Among the new affiliates joining the lineup of The Wall Street Journal This Morning are:  KID-AM Idaho Falls, Idaho; KNWZ-AM & FM Palm Springs, Calif.; KSMD-FM Searcy, Ariz.; WHBY-AM, Appleton, Wis.; and WVTS-AM & FM Charleston, W.Va.
New affiliates to The Wall Street Journal This Weekend are:  WOC-AM Davenport, Iowa and WRGA-AM Rome, Ga.



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NRG's KKAR Raises $63,000 For Charity.

News/Talk KKAR in Omaha, owned by Mary Quass' NRG, raised a very impressive $63,000 during its annual radiothon for the Child Saving Institute. The institute supports children in need in the Omaha area. PD Neil Nelkin with, perhaps, the understatement of the year, ?The listeners of KKAR delivered again this year.? Hosts from KKAR broadcast live for 11 hours taking in the tremendous number of donations from the locals.

Quass told Radio Ink last night "KKAR embodies the very essence of what we are all about at NRG Media...Great Local Radio! We want to make a difference in the lives of not just our employees, advertisers, and listeners....but our communities...especially those in need. I am extremely proud to work with our Omaha team and their incredible concern for others."

Nelkin added ?Despite the economy, the listeners opened their hearts and their wallets to make a difference for a wonderful cause that will brighten the holidays of hundreds of children in need throughout Omaha.?

For 120 years, Child Saving Institute has provided a safe haven and healing for thousands of innocent young victims of family crisis, neglect and abuse. Today, the agency?s staff continues to provide vital services to make at-risk children safe and fractured families whole through programs such as early childhood education, foster care, adoption, an emergency shelter, parenting classes and therapy. KKAR supports both the efforts and the mission of Omaha?s Child Saving Institute which guides their efforts to give the children served safe, happy childhoods.

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Edison Criticizes Dickey, Defends Pandora Numbers

Although he did not want to be part of an interview with Radio Ink, Edison Research Vice President, Strategy and Marketing Tom webster did post a blog yesterday defending Edison's Pandora numbers and criticizing press coverage of the story and Cumulus COO John Dickey. Webster called coverage of the issue in one of the radio trades "grossly inaccurate." All of this followed an Arbitron letter to stations warning them to be careful about what they see and use in terms of online ratings. From the comments after our story yesterday, many of you believe Arbitron is just trying to ease its way into the online ratings game and get more money from stations.

Read the comments from Radio Ink's coverage of the Arbitron controversy HERE

Here is more from Webster's blog about the issue:
"Amongst the article?s many sins was this line: ?The Edison reports converted Pandora server-side log file listening data into local audience reports using AQH metrics that ranked Pandora alongside local radio stations in Arbitron market reports. [Cumulus COO John] Dickey says he?d like to see Arbitron to ask Pandora to reveal details of how it is calculating its audience estimates.?

"No attempt was made to contact Edison about the ?facts? in this article, which are of course patently untrue. Let us be clear: Edison has never reported anything other than the AQH figures for Pandora ? full stop. We defy any interested party to come up with a ?ranker? from Edison that compares Pandora ?alongside? any terrestrial radio station. Not only have we never produced such a report, we have never allowed a third party to produce such a report. A report comparing Pandora?s AQH measures with those of Arbitron subscribers would, amongst other things, violate Arbitron copyrights. We do not have the legal right, nor the desire, to produce such comparisons."

"Also, Mr. Dickey need not pressure Arbitron to ask Pandora how these audience measures are calculated. Should he, or any other radio executive, care to find out, they need merely ask Pandora themselves, and they?ll be happy to provide the complete methodology for these figures, which are not, as Mr. Dickey intimates, ?estimates;? rather, they are the actual listening data from the population of Pandora listeners."

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