Salem Hires Former WOR GM Jerry Crowley

1-10-2013

Crowley will become the new VP/GM for Salem's two New York stations, WNYM-AM and WMCA-AM. Crowley spent 18 years at WOR-AM as Sales Manager then GM before Buckley sold it to Cumulus. In addition, Salem has named Sean O'Neil to the position of Market Manager. Sean will report to David Santrella, President of Salem's Radio Division.

Crowley said, "It is with the greatest anticipation that I look to join the team at WNYM and WMCA for Salem Communications. These call letters represent great brands that will hit their stride now and in the coming years, serving the Tri-State listeners in exactly the manner they would expect and frankly need."

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The TRN Michael Savage Replacement Is Jerry Doyle

10-1-2012

Doyle's show began airing Monday night 6 p.m.-9 p.m. Eastern. TRN CEO Mark Masters said, ?Jerry Doyle is the vanguard of talk radio?s next evolutionary step, and he has been setting the standard for talk radio?s profitable, saleable, and sustainable future for some time now, with commentary that is entertaining, memorable, and responsible."

General Manager of WSAR/Providence Paul Giammarco said, ?Out of the gate, Jerry has always been a true performer who understands the business. I love Jerry and he is a radio pro.? Former Clear Channel Program Director for WPGB in Pittsburgh Jay Bohannon said, ?Jerry is the leader of the new generation of Talk Radio hosts and has been the stations number one-ranked host in the Pittsburgh market for years.?

TRN said, "Jerry will work with his stations reading their ads and promo?s, because he understands radio isn?t about host ego, it?s about high levels of performance, and it?s about business." For more information, contact: Talk Radio Network Enterprises 1-888-383-3733.

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Syndicated Talker Jerry Doyle Endorses Paul

Republican Ron Paul is attempting to milk this endorsement as much as he can as the Iowa vote inches closer. He's even sent out a press release about it. The release says ?In many areas of the country including in some key early voting states, Jerry Doyle is a household name, discussing current events but also energizing and entertaining audiences. We appreciate the support Jerry Doyle gives Ron Paul as it contributes to the likelihood of a strong showing in the first few voting contests where Ron Paul is competitive."

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Jerry King to Run Cumulus Media Networks Operation

12-15-2011

 King leaves McVay Media, where he was the past 20 years, most recently as Vice President of Operations and Programming. You may also recall Mike McVay is part of the new Cumulus team. King's title will be Director of Operations for Dallas. He'll oversee the network?s Dallas operations, as well as the program directors and the 24/7 satellite delivered radio programming in fourteen different formats originating from Dallas. Mr. King joins Cumulus on January 1st.

?I?ve had one of radio?s best jobs over the past years as a consultant,? Mr. King said. ?But, this network opportunity is simply too dynamic to pass on. I?m looking forward to re-joining Mike, working with the talented programmers at the Cumulus Media Network Dallas, and being a partner as we write new pages of radio history with the team at Cumulus.?

(12/15/2011 3:26:45 PM)
What a great choice. Jerry King is a true professional with great talent.

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Latest Merlin Add: Jerry Rohira As VP/Production

If the trend continues Randy Michaels will make another staff announcement today as he has every day since the launch of his new company Merlin Media was announced. Yesterday, Jerry Rohira was added as Vice President for Production for Merlin.  Michaels recently agreed to buy Emmis' WKQX and WLUP in Chicago and WRXP in New York. Rohira was most recently creative director at Sirius XM. There is still no official word yet on what will happen to Emmis employees when Merlin starts running the three stations.  

"Jerry will be responsible for creating the highest level of innovative production that exists in American media," Merlin COO Walter Sabo said. "The overall sound, philosophy, and imagery of Merlin stations in all formats will benefit from his soundscapes."

Rohira said, "Merlin Media has shown a strong commitment to building a compelling company and a preeminent executive team. It's truly an honor to work alongside people who have the same love for the media business as I do, and I'm excited to dive into a creatively boundless environment along with them."

Since the deal to buy the three Emmis stations was announced, Merlin has brought in Sabo as COO as well as Greg Janoff as EVP of revenue and Andy Friedman as VP/Internet initiatives. Additionally, John Gehron is serving as chairman of Merlin's advisory board while Liz Aiello has come in as VP/New York, to oversee WRXP.

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Radio Ink Names Jerry Lee Winner Of 2011 Lifetime Leadership Award.

June 20, 2011

Cumulus CEO Lew Dickey says of Jerry Lee: "?I?ve always admired Jerry for his unwavering commitment to R&D.  He has consistently been an innovator in our industry and has demonstrated against the odds, that a well-run stand-alone operation can be competitive against the industry?s largest operators.? Radio Ink has named Jerry Lee the 2011 recipient of the Lifetime Leadership award. Radio Ink publisher Eric Rhoads said "Jerry Lee is always ahead of the pack in his thinking. He is admired by many in our industry and we are proud to select him for this award." Lee has been a part of radio for over five decades. He will receive the award at Forecast 2012 which will be held in New York City on December 6th.

Jerry Lee needs very little introduction. He began his radio career in 1961. Today, he's part of a small fraternity of independent operators. He owns WBEB-FM in Philadelphia. Lee is a consistent leader in revenue and ratings in the number eight market, giving his competition fits with the amount of money he spends on marketing and researching his station. And, he attributes a lot of his success at WBEB to the money he spends on marketing and promoting the station. "You could sum it up in a word: research.  We do more research than any station in the country.  We probably do more research than all of the radio stations in Philadelphia, combined." 

Lee now dedicates a lot of his time, and money, on projects outside of radio. These days, Lee is passionate about changing the way government operates. He does a lot of work trying to put an end to poverty and working with the Office of Management and Budget to reform government, in addition to his criminology work that everyone has heard him speak about.

Robert Shea was a colleague of Lee's at the Office of Management and Budget in Washington. Lee is the founding funder of the Coalition for Evidence-based Policy in Washington. Shea said the following about Lee: "Jerry is energetic and optimistic ? a delight to work with.  He is a problem solver.  One doesn?t often find private sector benefactors with an interest in things like program evaluation.  But he?s committed to it, because he knows in order to fix things, government must identify what works.  Jerry has invested his time, energy, and money in changing the government?s policy regarding program evaluation.  Today, in part because of Jerry?s leadership, the government is taking a long, hard look at its programs and investing in programs that have been proved to work.  I?ve learned a lot from Jerry and am proud to have worked with him while I was in government." 

Check out our feature on Jerry Lee in the July 11th issue of Radio Ink. Jerry discusses consolidation, his thoughts on the Internet, why he never grew his company and much much more.

Congratulate Jerry at Jerry Lee JerryL@101-fm.com or leave a comment below

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Why Jerry Lee Is Dead Wrong

by Kerry Brewer

June 15, 2011

Whether you are wasting your time and money on streaming has been an interesting debate over the past two days. For 3 months now Kerry Brewer has been writing for radioink.com touting the benefits of streaming. Every week he offers broadcasters tips on how to promote their stream, reasons why they should stream, ways to stream inexpensively and how to generate revenue. So, it;s no surprise Kerry does not agree with Jerry. He makes his case for why Jerry Lee is wrong.

In reading yesterday?s editorial about Jerry Lee of WBEB in Phili, I couldn?t help but think about the old buggy whip nalogy from the movie OPM, with Danny Devito. As a matter of fact, by the year 1890, there were over 13,000 businesses in the US that were in the horse-drawn wagon and carriage business. I am sure that there were many business owners in that sector that on any given day could find 10 different problems with the steam engine, and then its follow-on successor, the internal combustion engine.

One of the most valuable things that I learned in the Marines, is that you constantly have to improvise, adapt and overcome if you want to stay one ahead. In 1926, the U.S. Whip Company decided to face the inevitable, and switched from making buggy whips to making fishing line. Radio shouldn?t fear the internet, but embrace it and use it to its advantage like many are. A few years ago, the fear of losing listeners to the internet was far more prevalent. Today, more and more broadcasters have come to the realization that the internet is here to stay, and streaming is not a fad, and the ones that are denying the inevitable are simply sticking their head in the sand.

The ability to stream over the web also gives your listeners all kinds of new interaction ability, social media tie-ins and again, the ability to reach listeners at any time of the day, at any location. Providing you are using the right streaming provider, your advertisers can geo-target their ads to relegated market areas, or the whole world if they want. To deny that you need to be streaming, is telling your listeners that you are not willing to embrace the new media and communicate with them on their terms. To deny that you need to be streaming, is telling your competitors that you no longer wish to compete with them. To deny that you need to be streaming is refusing to acknowledge the huge proliferation of desktop players, mobile apps and internet devices that are flooding the market. No, this is not a fad that is ?going to fade out?. One has to simply study the history of transitions to new media over the last 100 years knows that this is not a fad, but has become deeply rooted in our culture and is becoming as mission-critical as the terrestrial signal itself.

And don?t count on the FM HD chip in every cell phone being the answer . . . or carriers that would cut their own bandwidth throats by activating the chips. That is far from a ubiquitous solution in a world where total penetration by the internet is now a reality. HD is still limited in many aspects; no DJ interaction, equipment is still very expensive, the higher-quality aspect is exaggerated when multicasting, as individual channel rates are reduced. On the other hand, streaming over the internet is as simple as hooking up an inexpensive PC to your board and sending your signal to a streaming provider that can multicast your broadcast to as many people as you want. Plans are very inexpensive nowadays with bandwidth getting cheaper and cheaper. And have you heard the quality of an AM or FM station that is streaming in AAC+, the latest format for streaming ubiquitously to any device, player or phone? In most cases, it is far more superior, especially when it comes to medium wave transmissions.

Many terrestrial station owners with whom I have talked over the years were resistant at first, in part because it is human nature to resist change, and in part because they really didn?t think they needed to. I do agree with Mr. Lee about keeping his eye on the terrestrial advertising ball, because that is the engine that powers the signal, but the internet is here to stay, and it complements the terrestrial side when used properly. Streaming is not meant to replace radio, but to augment it. Just like video didn?t kill that radio star, neither did the internet . . . it only made it stronger. My article last week

outlined several ways that a station can promote their online stream and I have written many articles on how to monetize and create new revenue. If you are not promoting what you are doing, you are not going to enjoy any real level of success. With all due respect to Mr. Lee, complaining that you have to pay additional royalties to SoundExchange to stream online is like saying that you don?t want to make any more money because you have to pay the taxes. Many broadcasters still don?t know what the real cost of streaming is, and are assuming themselves right out of the online arena. When the streaming fees and royalties are all added in, it may be a lot cheaper than you think, especially if you are a small broadcaster. If you are promoting your online streaming properly (see my article from last week), using it to its fullest extent, including all the listener-interactive features and social media tie-ins, you will start to gain simple shift momentum of the same listeners, and actually create more loyalty in doing so. The real key, however, and it?s simple to do, is monetizing the listener traffic with ads. If you really promote it and work it, you can not only cover your streaming fees, but also cover the additional royalties to SoundExchange . . . AND still make a profit.

And finally, let?s look at the cold hard facts of the fastest-growing medium in history.

Most of your listeners are at work or on the road during the day. Making your stream available to them over the internet, via mobile and desktop streams, gives them the convenience of being able to listen anywhere, any time. In today?s technological world, people are going to make choices based on what?s available to them. Online advertising, especially display advertising and impression ads, is literally exploding. According to eMarketer, online and mobile advertising is slated to hit $100 billion this year. That?s 1 out of every 5 ad dollars spent in the marketplace. And the area of fastest-growth? Online radio-anything. Look at the latest Infinite Dial 2011 by Arbitron and see the incredible growth charts, growth that is going to continue at this pace, with some continuum projections as far out as 2015. Bandwidth carries are, in fact, not doing away with bandwidth, but gearing up to try and keep pace with the flood of internet devices from home to the workplace to the car.

Kerry Brewer is Sr. Managing Director at Securenet Systems, a leading provider of online streaming services to the worldwide radio industry. He can be reached at kbrewer@securenetsystems.net or on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/kerrybrewer.

(6/15/2011 7:24:48 PM)
Mr Brewer, You also said that if you are promoting it right you can cover your royalty fees, bandwidth cost, and still make a profit. As far as I can see, no one is actually doing that. Can you tell me just one major market music radio station that is?
(6/15/2011 7:21:55 PM)
No, I didn't miss the article on the Lincoln, Nebraska cluster. On the other hand, Lincoln, Nebraska, while undoubtedly a lovely place to live, isn't a major market. And nowhere in the article does it say how much it costs them to stream and whether the 250k in revenue covers that. So, my original question remains.
(6/15/2011 6:49:48 PM)
I think Jerry makes a good point though that understanding the real cost of streaming and the potential revenue don't currently add up. If Pandora, who is doing this full time, is losing money on it, what makes you think a station that does not have the same kind of resources will have more success monetizing it. Now, that being said, a stream is a great "added feature" for your advertisers. If you can tell them that you can get them over the air and online, you just showed your value over Pando
(6/15/2011 11:02:14 AM)
Jake- I guess you missed this article.
http://www.radioink.com/article.asp?id=2204565
(6/15/2011 10:56:51 AM)
Hey d-fence, i never said streaming was replacing radio, and i have committed many years and my firm to helping terrestrial radio embrace streaming. look at some of my recent quotes that are threaded consistently through all my articles / "...the internet is here to stay, and it complements the terrestrial side when used properly." / "Streaming is not meant to replace radio, but to augment it." / "Just like video didn’t kill that radio star, neither did the internet, it only made it stronger" KB

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Jerry Lee...The Lightning Rod

by Ed Ryan

Monday's story highlighting Jerry Lee's opinion that streaming is a "bad business model" and will eventually "fade away" ranked in our top three as far as most reader comments received. We received so much feedback from across the industry it's clear you are all very passionate about the issue of streaming. It's also clear that there is no consensus on what to do.

The Lee story even prompted a comment from "The Wizard of Ads" himself Roy Williams who posted "I believe Jerry is right. And I appreciate that he had the courage to say it." Many more readers were less supportive of Lee, harkening back to the same old tune of how Radio people have their heads in the sand - or elsewhere - and how Pandora and Slacker and all the others are stealing radio's listeners. How radio people are blind and cheap and have lost all of their creativity. It's the same old stuff from the same old playbook. It just never really pans out for you radio haters now does it? We know. We know. This time will be different. Blah Blah blah.

Rob Green, the CEO of Abacast, logged on and got himself involved in the Lee story making some excellent points. " Jerry Lee?s comments are right on the money--if it was still 2009. However, it?s 2011 and streaming growth and revenues are exploding. In 2009 all media markets were depressed, including Radio which was down 15%, and streaming radio was still maturing as a viable market. Jerry also mentions the cost of bandwidth. This cost alone has dropped over 80% since 2008. In fact bandwidth is rapidly trending down to zero and is now at best a minor gating issue. Jerry is correct about Sound Exchange. It is really expensive and that?s a shame because it is inhibiting streaming growth. Streaming royalties are something that the radio industry as a whole needs to get together on, to apply pressure to reduce these fees."

Kevin Neathery is General Sales Manager of the Jonesboro Radio Group. He also chimed in on the Lee piece. "The most powerful message in this article is buried in the final paragraph. It has nothing to do with streaming and everything to do with what's wrong in the radio industry today! The interactive revenue stream is a pipe dream. And the longer we search for it, the farther we stray from the REVENUE RIVER! Jerry is right and we should all take his advice."

The funny thing about Jerry Lee is that he's laughing all the way to the bank. If Lee is number one in revenue and a consistent leader in the Philadelphia market in the ratings why would he listen to any of you people who say he doesn't know what he's talking about? Why should he change his business model because a few people, not doing what he's doing, think streaming is the next big revenue thing? Why would he pull his sellers off the street, train them to train their advertisers to go online and disrupt a business model that works? And for those of you who disrespect Lee in favor of business models that are very cool but have generated zero profit, that seems slightly arrogant, don't you think?  Feedback me at edryan@radioink.com or leave your comments below. If you post a comment do not be afraid to leave your e-mail address. We respond to ALL letters.

(6/14/2011 6:03:47 AM)
Ed:

What bothers me about your comments on the respondents to Jerry Lee's article are your words - "It just never really pans out for you radio haters now does it?"

Is it possible to consider that those who you define as "radio haters" are every bit as passionate about the radio industry as the people Radio Ink has to appease (your subscribers)? The difference being they want to push radio into the future, and you want to hang onto the past.

I'm not against Jerry Lee and believe, in his situation, streaming may not be the right move. But radio industry groups better start making a move towards the accountability that new media brings, or it's going to find itself deeper in the hole than it is today.

Keep in mind that the current slip in radio's stature was predicted years ago by your "radio haters."

This explain my take on this topic - "Radio's Online Success Not Simply Streaming" - http://www.audiographics.com/agd/061311-1.htm

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Jerry Lee: "Streaming Your Station Is A Bad Business Model"

Jerry Lee may go down in history as one of the most successful independent broadcasters in the history of radio. Operating in the 7th largest market in the country, Lee's WBEB dominates. He credits a lot of his success to spending tons of money or research. Lee will research and test anything that moves to get a real time feel for whether or not something will work. How many radio stations can say they test morning show bits before putting them on the air? What Lee does not care too much for is streaming. He says his view on whether stations should stream is different than everybody else.

WBEB stopped streaming its signal over two years ago, according to Lee. "First of all we are one of the few stations in the country that doesn?t stream. The reason we stopped streaming is that it?s a bad business model."  Lee says eventually royalties will kill streaming. "Right now it?s a bad model without that.  If you take the combination of the cost of streaming and the royalties you are paying now, it is a stiff dollar.  You are paying a lot of money versus, roughly, 3% on terrestrial radio to BMI and ASCAP. The problem is going to get worse, because the royalty tribunal, has no incentive to do anything but raise rates.  They can do anything they want.  As an industry, we have absolutely no negotiating power.  Theoretically, you get to the point where they want 90% of the money.  Why go that direction?  It?s bad now, it?s only going to get worse."

Lee says "the chip" in the phone - and elsewhere - is the next big thing, not streaming your over-the-air signal. "One of the things that is going to happen to streaming, is a company called SiPort, who has developed an HD chip that is incredibly small, that will fit into a smart phone or a car radio or anything else. It will sell to the manufacturer for about $2.  You will have HD on it.  With HD you will be able to do things like couponing and you will have interaction between the listener and the station. The beautiful thing about this is, it?s not taking up any bandwidth.  All of the major carriers are doing away with bandwidth or they are starting to charge for bandwidth. That?s where it?s going to go.  In my opinion, streaming is going to fade out.  There will still be some niches like the Pandora?s of the world. I don?t think terrestrial radio, in the long run, will continue to embrace streaming, when they can have this great signal on their cell phone with HD radio."

Lee goes on to say that radio stations should focus on selling over-the-air advertising. "The other thing about digital is that you should use your website in combination with your advertising to make everything you do at your station more valuable.  For me to go out and sell digital, my website, etc, is playing with pennies against the dollars I could make by becoming sharper at selling my product.  The money comes from selling commercials. Put all of your energy there. The Internet does not create desire. Radio and television create a desire. The internet is a great fulfillment mechanism. The Internet is a great information mechanism, to get more data on what you want to buy.  It performs a great role.  It does not create a desire for the product.  We work very closely with the advertiser to help them take advantage of our website to move product."

(6/13/2011 1:49:19 PM)
Yes, terrestrial broadcasters. This is 100% correct. Please continue to do exactly what you are doing. Pay no attention to us or to the technology that your listeners are already adopting en masse. Thank you!
- Pandora, Slacker, and all internet radio business(6/13/2011 12:44:10 PM)
Both streaming and HD have their business model problems. We can't disregard the simple fact that the internet is fragile. Oh so fragile. Ask the people in Joplin or Tuscaloosa. See what happens when yet-uncreated viruses target online streams and wreak havoc. Ibiquity's venture capitalist model of the license fees and annual payments fits only the large markets and the people who want to pay $100 for a small clock radio. Terrestrial is the only solid, reliable medium. (6/13/2011 12:33:03 PM)

The most powerful message in this article is buried in the final paragraph. It has nothing to do with streaming and everything to do with what's wrong in the radio industry today! The interactive revenue stream is a pipe dream. And the longer we search for it, the farther we stray from the REVENUE RIVER! Jerry is right and we should all take his advice!
(6/13/2011 11:13:36 AM)
Jerry presumes it's not possible to sell enough advertising to support the platform, and I would have to ask, "why not?"

There's a real and growing audience in streaming, so to feign failure in digital is to fail in sales. Radio is a culture that refuses to graduate to modern CRM facilities, so with virtually no order automation, $10 spots carry hefty cost of sales; our sale-by-appointment mentality cannot sustain digital.

(6/13/2011 10:47:24 AM)
If you look at the Arbitron Edison Infinite Dial study it shows that radio and streaming can be complimentary. I don't believe it's one or another. However streaming when compared to HD radio is a much better investment because it puts you into the path of the quickly growing internet and mobile device markets and reaches beyond your signal footprint. Also it can be very profitable if you know how to use it. There's more ways to use streaming than just simulcasting 24/7.

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