(MARKETING) When Godin Speaks People Listen

Seth Godin has a new book out called the Icarus Deception. It's sure to be a best-seller. What Seth Godin book isn't? According to Buzz Knight, who interviewed Godin about his book, The Icarus Deception is another in a long line of great motivating publications that pushes us to make some noise. Listen to Buzz Knight's interview with Seth Godin HERE

You can purchase Seth Godin's new book HERE

Buzz Knight is the Vice President of Program Development for Greater Media and he can be reached at bknight@greatermediaboston.com. Knight was named among ?Best Programmers? by Radio Ink Magazine in 2007 and 2010. He has served on the programming subcommittee of the National Association of Broadcasters(NAB) and is currently a member of the Arbitron Radio Advisory Council and the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) COLRAM Committee.

Read more articles by Buzz Knight HERE

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When Dan Mason Speaks People Listen

11-15-2012

Radio continues to be one of the most powerful and effective mediums ever invented. The recent weather emergencies, for example, offer just one more instance of radio's ability to inform, communicate, provide companionship, and call listeners to action. Radio, a medium that has consistently proven its resiliency and ability to adapt to every new wave of technology, continues to enjoy remarkable reach among listeners today, and is positioned to enhance that position even further tomorrow.

CBS Radio President and CEO Dan Mason, one of radio's top visionaries, joins Radio Ink's Forecast for a sit-down interview with the industry's leading advocates, Gordon Smith of the National Association of Broadcasters and Erica Farber of the Radio Advertising Bureau. Dan will lead an all-encompassing discussion about what lies ahead for radio. What initiatives will top the radio "to do" list at the NAB? Where does the RAB see the greatest revenue growth potential, and how will it help foster and lead that growth?

"We are fortunate to have such great leaders championing radio," Mason says, "and I'm very much looking forward to hearing more from Erica and Gordon about their vision for the future."

Find out how these organizations, along with one of America's top radio companies, view tomorrow and the opportunities that lie ahead in 2013 at Forecast, on November 28 at New York City's Harvard Club.

Dan Mason serves as President and CEO of CBS Radio, overseeing all aspects of the group's more than 125 stations across 28 markets, including all of the top 10, as well as the day-to-day operations of the division. Mason returned to CBS Radio in April 2007 after serving for five years as an adviser and consultant to CBS and other domestic and international radio companies. He has initiated an aggressive growth strategy at CBS Radio, including the launch of new formats at dozens of stations across the country, the purchase of FM stations in New York and Washington, DC, and creating CBS Sports Radio, a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week lineup of national programming from premier entities CBS Radio and CBS Sports. Additionally, Mason has diversified the division's portfolio with station formats that cater to a variety of male and female demographics, as well as myriad age groups from teens to young adults, and boomers.

Erica Farber is President and CEO of the RAB. She joined the organization in January of 2012 as EVP for membership, services, and professional development and rose to her current post later in the years. Before that she was CEO of radio consulting and Internet service provider the Farber Connection, founded in 2010, and during her 15-year tenure at Radio & Records, she served as COO, President, Publisher, and CEO. Earlier in her career she served as VP/Radio Development Director at Interep.

Gordon Smith joined the NAB as President and CEO in 2009, and before that served two terms as U.S. Senator from Oregon. As a senator, his committee assignments included the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, which oversees all broadcast-related legislation. His role on that committee and chairing a Senate High Tech Task force fostered his interest in new media and new technology issues.

Radio Ink's Forecast is the radio industry's exclusive financial conference, gathering radio owners, CEOs, CFOs, group executives, and managers with Wall Street and private equity investors and analysts to forecast the upcoming year. Well informed and noted economic, political, and media participants present trends, opportunities, projections, and analytical commentary on the state of business, especially as it impacts media. Now in its 10th year, Forecast has become the premium event in radio financial circles. The event is held at the Harvard Club in New York City and is closed to the press.

See the Agenda HERE
Register HERE before someone else takes your seat.

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Mel Speaks to Liberty Shareholders Today

10-10-2012

At 1PM today Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin will speak to Liberty Media Shareholders. Perhaps Karmazin will give hints on subscriptions ahead of the Sirius earnings call on October 30th. Sirius has already added over 1 million new subscribers in the first half of 2012. Guidance for the year was 1.6 million.

It will also be interesting to see if Karmazin says anything about his future plans as CEO of the Satellite company. Mel's contract expires at the end of 2012 and, as of the last Sirius conference call, there have been no negotiations with the Sirius board about his future. Karmazin has said he wants the planned Liberty takeover of Sirius to play out before he talks to anyone about a new deal.

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Huckabee Speaks to Full House at Conclave

7-20-2012

(by Fred Jacobs) It was an n interesting second day at the Conclave in Minneapolis, complete with fireworks. Mike Huckabee led off the festivities by being interviewed in front of a full house in the main ballroom. He had strong comments telling attendees, "Like politics and radio, you?re only as good as you were yesterday." He also added an interesting comment about those who say dumb, offensive things but, ?only apologize if I offended someone.?

In Huckabee?s mind, you should ?Man up and admit you made a mistake.? He compared the role of a Vice President to a spare tire: ?You?re kept in the dark, out of sight, but all pumped up and ready to go when you?re needed.? Says that local hosts make better interviewers because they ask deeper questions, connected to local issues and concerns.

Then, a couple of sessions where ?Minnesota Nice? was MIA. Starting with the ?Syndicated All-Star Session,? featuring Jim Brickman, Geoerge Noory, Todd Schnitt, and Andy Dean. It was moderated by Perry Michael Simon, and for a while was pretty much what you?d expect from a panel of nationwide hosts.

They talked about how they got started in the business, but then Andy Dean began to turn the session into what Pamela Muldoon referred to on Twitter as a WWE match. At times, Dean looked bored, aloof, and even not paying attention. At other times, he attacked Schnitt who gave as good as he got. Some attendees were either entertained by the banter, while others couldn?t believe it was happening. As one tweeter noted, there?s a fine line between arrogance and confidence.

Next up, ?Keeping It Local? moderated by Mike Stern, featuring Clear Channel?s Mike Crusham, WCCO PD Bob Shomper, Entercom Madison Ops Mgr David Moore, and consultant Keith Hill. In this session, Hill was the agent provocateur. He argued that radio is ?broken? because of voicetracking and cutbacks. He also advised attendees: ?Do not take a job at Clear Channel, Cumulus, or CBS. Find a job with a local owner-operator.? All this, with managers from Clear Channel and CBS on the panel. Moderator Stern fired back that there are lots of local owners who are pretty crazy, too.

On the substantive side, the panelists agreed on lots of things:
Social media and the Internet make it even easier for local hosts to prepare their shows.
Shomper: Vertical recycling works and helped grow CCO?s share.
Crusham: ?I bemoan the past but the past is gone.?
Crusham: ?Radio is tribal.?
All-time great local host? Dave Moore says Alaska?s Rick Rydell.
Shomper: Bob Sirott

The always inspiring Val Geller?s ?Finding Future Stars?
?All-stars are storyteller junkies. If you?re a great storyteller and love stories, you?re halfway there.?
And ?Every great talent takes risks.?
And Val?s big 3: Tell the truth, make it better, never be boring.

Doug Harris (head honcho at Noisemaker Communications) had a fun session that had
attendees taking notes?
Quotes: ?Sales thinks programming?s favorite word is ?no.? Programming thinks sales? favorite word is ?yes.? A PD?s best defense against bad sales promotions ? a ?station bill of rights.? Put together your rules for how promotions are going to be done at your station.

One of the more interesting sessions of the day, ?New Ways To Make Money,? moderated by Jacobs Media?s Paul Jacobs. On the panel, Chief Strategy Office of Federated Media James Derby, Dir of Bus Dev & Strategy for Hubbard Interactive Rob McCracken, Northern Lights Broadcasting?s Sam Elliot, and an interesting addition ? a non-radio person, Maureen Carlson from a company called Good Scout.

Paul Jacobs: ?Radio has two secret weapons and needs to leverage them ? our cume and our megaphone. Stop with the CPM and CPP.? Rob McCraken talked about how Hubbard has ?rebranded? its digital marketing efforts using ?2060 Digital.? He says they?ve become one of the biggest social media agencies in the Midwest.

Carlson talked about how non-profits are now using corporate dollars for cause marketing, but need media partners. Oftentimes, she doesn?t know which stations to talk to, or even who to talk to at the station. The room ? and the other panelists ? really responded to this, definitely thinking that non-profit + corporate opportunities may be a missed opportunity for radio.

To get help because they were using the receptionist to handle social media, Northern Lights? Elliot talked about how they?ve brought in an outside agency to help them with social.

Derby: Out of 7 reps at most stations, 1 or 1? ?get? digital.
McCracken: ?The old days with the PD and sales manager fighting over promos is over.? Important to get buy-in from both.
Derby noted that ad agencies are now referring business to Federated Media because of the sophistication of their digital departments.
Good Scout?s Carlson: Don?t give ways your PSAs or just show up at events. Sit down the non-profit and think about strategic opportunities that are win-win.
Federated Media?s Derby: ?It?s about the ask. The digital dollars are out there. Be aggressive.?

Finally, this quote from Matt Fisher (mornings, KKIA, The Moose) :?Conclave is such a valuable tool for the radio industry. I wish more stations and staff members were here to benefit.?

Reach out to Fred Jacobs via e-mail fredjacobs@jacobsmedia.com
Check out his blog
www.jacobsmedia.com
Follow on Twitter @fnjacobs

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Former ABC PD Speaks Out

She's been a Program Director for 14 years, the last 3 at New York City powerhouse WABC. Laurie Cantillo started her new job in February 2009 and as she was making plans to move from Chicago to New York her phone rang. It was her new boss who said "a plane has just landed on the Hudson River, hurry up and get here, we need you. The hustle and bustle of big city news stories came to an end for Cantillo this week when she resigned from her position at Cumulus owned WABC. Last night we spoke to her about her future, her second book, working with Imus and much more. 

Talk a little about your career and how it progressed.
It's been three decades. I know it's cliche but I was one of those kids who had a transistor radio under the pillow. I was the high school newspaper editor and was wow'd by Woodward & Bernstein's role in Watergate, so I went to college to save the world by being a journalist.  I stumbled into a radio news class and subsequently worked as an intern at KBOL in Boulder, where they hired me right after graduation as a reporter and anchor.  I made $4 an hour and drove my own car to cover Boulder City Council meetings.  I loved being on the air and couldn't believe I was being paid to have so much fun.
I was bitten by the PD bug when I was the Executive Producer for 50,000 watt blowtorch 850 KOA in Denver.  I filled in for Robin Bertolucci when she was on maternity leave and never looked back.  I learned of the PD opening at heritage KTAR in Phoenix, sent a resume, and was hired in 1997. When Clear Channel bought KFYI and XTRA Sports 910 in Phoenix, J.D. Freeman lured me to KFYI in 2000 with the marching orders to "narrow the gap" with 800-pound gorilla KTAR. Within a couple years a scrappy group of radio geeks not only narrowed the gap, we hit a streak of #1 books (KFYI's first ever) and gave XTRA the highest power ratio in Phoenix.  
In 2006 Oprah came calling about the new "Oprah & Friends" channel on XM, and - of course - you can't say no to Oprah.  I had an amazing run in Chicago, working with the legendary John Gehron and learning the nuances of female-targeted programming.  While it was a thrill to work with Oprah, Gayle, and Dr. Oz, the highlight of my tenure was being treated to a private dinner prepared by Dr. Maya Angelou, whom I'd admired since I was a girl.  
What is the pressure like working in the #1 radio market in America?
Don Imus likes to say that New York radio is a "b-tch", and it's certainly earned its reputation as the toughest market in America.  However, I found 77 WABC to be like KFYI on steroids.  The programming line-ups and talent issues are similar, and I was already pals with Sean Hannity as KFYI was one of his earliest affiliates.  I recall meeting Farid Suleman before I was hired, and he warned me that, "Imus is going to eat you alive."  I was careful to learn the market first before making any moves, and when I did, the result was two #1 shows (John Batchelor and Red Eye Radio) and an amazing line-up of local talent we call "New York Weekends".  I followed my gut, laughed at jabs from the I-Man, and didn't pay attention to critics on the message boards.
I put the pressure on myself.  My challenge was to evolve a station with an amazing heritage but a dated sound into the new Millennium.  I did this through a strong imaging campaign and by strengthening the programming line-up, writing, and news presentation. I also led the way into the digital realm, taking 77 WABC into the brave new world of Facebook, Twitter, podcasting, and encoded streaming.  Our stream is #1 in New York and the monthly podcast metrics are north of one million. The best way to handle pressure is to have a sense of humor.  
What is it like to be under a ratings microscope on nearly a daily basis? 
Looking at PPM ratings and Media Monitors is like weighing yourself every day.  You'll drive yourself crazy if you overanalyze.  I prefer  to look at trends over time so as to avoid making knee-jerk decisions.  I also teach my hosts and staff that ratings don't occur in a vacuum. You can be up when politics is the big story and down when the Yankees are in the playoffs.  You learn to worry about what you can  control, not what you can't.
What is your fondest memory about working at 77 WABC in New York?
I'll never forgot blowing up air mattresses in the conference room and stockpiling food and drinking water during Hurricane Irene.  We  were all working on little to no sleep.  We were a lifeline for millions without power, providing 28 hours of nonstop coverage with a core group of about 12 people, including hosts, producers, and station employees who acted as weather spotters.  As an added bonus, our coverage was simulcast on 95.5 FM; I threatened to jam the simulcast switch into the permanently locked position, but Scott Shannon wouldn't hear of it. 

What would you like to do next and where would you like to do it? 
I love this business and am aggressively seeking my next opportunity in content creation. I love a challenge and I want to make a difference.  When radio is no longer fun, I'll hang it up and be a full-time writer.  I'm working now on my second book, a sequel to Right-Brained Children in a Left-Brained World.
Name 3 people in the radio industry you most admire.
Only 3?  Names that immediately come to mind:  Jim Farley, Robin Bertolucci, Harvey Nagler, Grace Blazer, Lee Larsen, Jack Swanson.  There are so many more.  They've all been there for me in the last 24 hours. It reminds me that this crazy business is all about people.

Reach out to Laurie lauriecantillo@optimum.net or leave your comments below.

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Former Merlin Newsman Dave Williams Speaks Out

Williams, who had a short life at Randy Michaels' Chicago News station, has posted a note to the Chicagoland Media website. The station has been trying to find its way, launching with a female-focused news format. When that didn't seem to catch on, and the station shifted more toward traditional news delivery, Williams was out the door. Here's his note to Chicago listeners.

As I get ready to leave Chicago and return to my family in SoCal I have taken a few minutes to check the message boards here and I must say I'm blown away by your kind compliments and best wishes. You can be a tough crowd but you reek of dignity and passion.  I want to be on record with two points that are very important to me:

First, I take nothing but warm and wonderful memories of my brief time at FM NEWS 101.1. Doing a startup is an exciting and nerve-frazzling experience. Sometimes exhilirating, sometimes humiliating, I always sprang out of bed each day anxious to get to the Mart. Most of all, I adore every single person who works there. We helped each other, we laughed a lot and we became friends. To his everlasting credit Andy Friedman promised he wouldn't hire any divas or high-maintenance types. He kept his word. I miss every single one of them.

Most of all I would like to thank you Chicago radio freaks for continuing to care about the business I have loved my entire life. I don't know if you're aware of it but the industry at the national level is contracting on a daily basis. Radio isn't what it used to be. Some of us feel like the gaslamp lighters of the 21st century. This is the main reason I was so excited to come to Chicago. It's the last major market that clings stubbornly to radio's Golden Rule, often forgotten these days:

"Live and local".
I am head-over-heels in love with Chicago, its people and your Midwest values. Thank you all for that.
I'm anxious to see my family but a large piece of my heart will stay here.

Dave Williams

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Clear Channel's John Hogan Speaks to Radio Ink Today

July 11, 2011

Today Clear Channel will use all 850 radio stations to make an announcement regarding music event in September that is tied to the release of a new version of the company's iheartradio app. And, despite what you may have read this morning, the app will not be released today. It is still in beta. Radio Ink has an exclusive interview with Clear Channel CEO John Hogan which will be posted this morning. Both Hogan and Bob Pittman have told Radio Ink the new iheartradio app will not be ready until the fall. That remains the plan.

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