Quite a few points to address; the most important being "Pandora is not radio and those touting it as being wonderful don't get what radio is about."
1) Radio is whatever the client/consumer chooses to call "radio." Thinking that you still have the power to define it for each group is a misstep.
2) Do you honestly believe that people who have spent decades in radio "don't get what radio is about"? (I, and many others, fall into this category.) Is it possible you are not getting what "accountability" is about?
3) Re: "The personalities you listen to are your friends..." may have been radio's strong point a decade (or more) ago, but that's a watered-down statement in today's world of voice-tracking and jock layoffs.
4) Re: "I am tired of reading/listening to these worn stories about Pandora. It's all 'hype'..." ... "Please stop writing about it and let it just disappear." So, your solution is to not report on the activity which is captivating media buyers - who are shifting more dollars to new media campaigns each year? How wise is that? If you believe that Pandora (or its form of accountable advertising) will disappear, you are the one needing a reality check.
5) Re: "Do you think there might be just one other dealer who satisfied with the results of radio, or dare I say a radio and digital campaign..." Yes, on the first part, but more dealers are placing more money online for a reason. Also, the radio industry has not demonstrated a true "digital campaign" to date. Not, at least, in the sense of managing metrics and accountability. A banner ad run is not a digital campaign.
Be thankful that you have a publication like Radio Ink that's willing to put itself on the line to bring the fine points of advertising's future to you. As distasteful as those points may be they are where media buying is headed, with or without you.
Radio is a powerful media when done right. But there's been a fracturing of audience, across multiple new audio options, and that, coupled with radio programming not staying as sharp as it was in the past, means change is needed within the industry to maintain relevancy for advertiser and audience.
