Dan Mason - The Writer
Responding to a "Hollywood Reporter" article that highlighted the age of some of radio's most powerful talkers, CBS Radio President/CEO Dan Mason wrote a rebuttal piece that appeared online yesterday. Mason's piece is called "Sorry, Radio Is Far From Dead," and he writes, "the good news for those who like radio is that reports of our untimely demise are not only premature but, well, just plain wrong. These kinds of stories conveniently fail to take into account that, according to Arbitron, more than 92 percent of the U.S. population still regularly tunes in to over-the-air stations, with millions more listening online and via mobile devices."
The magazine included the ages of Rush Limbaugh who is 61, Sean Hannity who is 50, Michael Savage who is 70, Laura Ingraham who is 48, and Ed Schultz who is 58. Combined those five names reach 47 million weekly listeners. Mason pointed out there are other radio stars on the rise. "Just last month, CBS Radio hired Ty Bentli to host morning drive on our Top 40 station in New York -- the No. 1 radio market in the U.S. I'd point out that Ty just turned 31. Changing directions is never easy, but ultimately it must be done. You might never hear another Tom Leykis, Howard Stern, or Rush Limbaugh on your local radio station. That's not to diminish their long history of success or their loyal followings. Programming that appeals to those audiences might very well find a new home on satellite or via podcasting or online streaming. It's great that those options exist."
And Mason writes, despite the ages the magazine points out, the talk format is still popular. "Talk radio formats targeted to the 18-to-34 and 25-to-54 demographics are still thriving, with hosts of similar age taking the leading role engaging listeners in topical discussions about news, sports, and pop culture, and exposing them to new music. Did you know that 660 Sports Radio WFAN in New York broadcasts one of the most popular morning talk shows with men 18 to 49? CBS Radio's WBZ-FM in Boston and WXYT-FM in Detroit are both No. 1 with men 18 to 34 in morning drive. More important, if you look at the median age of listeners to CBS Radio's sports stations, you'd see they are 44."
And, Radio Ink would like to point out that in our issue this coming Monday, we have interviews with Andy Dean, Andres Gutierrez, Monica Crowley, John Tesh, Nikki Sixx, Bobby Bones, Blair Garner, and others. Many who are young. Many who are making a name for themselves in the arena of syndication. In fact, the syndication bullpen is in a lot better shape than most people think.
Read the entire Dan Mason article in The Hollywood Reporter HERE
(8/24/2012 1:26:32 AM)
89% of Americans did NOT learn of the selection of Paul Ryan to be Mitt Romney's running mate from radio. Also, twice as many Americans learned about it from a computer than from a radio. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-media-poll-20120824,0,3396454.story
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