Kearney New VP For Cox in Miami

7-20-2012

CMG Miami names Dan Kearney as its new VP and Market Manager effective immediately. Kearney succeeds Jerry Rushin, who is retiring this month, and is responsible for CMG?s award-winning brands, WFLC-FM, WHQT-FM, WEDR-FM, and WFEZ-FM. Kearney was VP/GM of CMG?s Atlanta radio operations, a position he?s held since 2010.

Kearney began his radio career in Southern California working for several stations in San Louis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura and San Bernadino/Riverside. He joined Cox Radio in 1998 as local sales manager of KFI. In 1999, Kearney became general sales manager with WSB Radio. The station became the top billing station in the country, breaking the $70 million mark in 2003 and 2004. Other career highlights include being named general manager of WBTS and WSB-FM in 2005, launching WSVR The River in 2006, taking it from No. 24 to No. 3 in the market's ratings and simulcasting WSB-AM on 95.5 FM in August of 2010.

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(AUDIO) Why is Cox Shaking Off 6 Radio Markets?

7-20-2012

Earlier today Cox Media Group announced it was looking to sell radio stations in 6 markets (see next story). The stations are located in medium sized markets and CMG wants to shift its focus to mostly top 50 markets. Announcing publicly which markets and specific stations are up for sale is not something you see often. CMG Executive Vice President for Broadcast Bill Hoffman explains why the company made the announcement and says he hopes to have a buyer within 6 months. LISTEN HERE

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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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Arbitron Reports 9% Jump in Quarterly Revenue

7-19-2012

Arbitron reported revenue growth of 9.1 percent ($104.4 Million) for the second quarter of 2012. In addition, net income increased 31.4 percent to $10.0 million, compared with $7.6 million for the second quarter of 2011.  Arbitron says factors contributing to the increase include annual escalators in the company's multi-year radio ratings contracts, in particular the continued phase-in of contracted price increases for the Portable People Meter service as well as growth in revenues from the company's cross-platform and mobile services. In addition, second quarter revenue benefited from the timing of certain items associated with survey data from prior periods.

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(MANAGEMENT) Measuring Your Life

7-20-2012

By Buzz Knight

I just finished reading the new Clayton Christensen book entitled, "How Will You Measure Your Life?" and I wanted to pass on some observations from it that can apply to your day-to-day operating of a radio station.

As general managers, programmers, and air talent deal with having the "hard drive" in their brain crammed with lots of priorities coming at them from all directions, it's so important to make an analysis of what takes up the most space. By picking up this book now, you can begin the process with an open mind and new perspective.

Christensen is the author of seven books and is one of the world?s most influential business thinkers. He has consistently challenged his readers with his processes and logic, and this new book is no exception.

Here are some of the great insights Christensen offers up:

1. What has to prove true for this to work?

This is a vital question that radio operators need to ask as they embark on a journey. What has to prove true for my station to be number one in a target demo? What has to prove true for my station to be the number one billing station? What has to prove true for my station to take a greater share on digital revenue?

Christensen gives credit to a couple of academics, Ian Macmillan and Rita McGrath, for creating the "discovery-driven planning" process and believes that the importance of testing assumptions is a vital starting point in a process.

2. What is the job you are hired for?

Christensen takes a fascinating look at case studies like IKEA in analyzing how companies should focus their perspective on their customers' needs.

He says that companies focus too much on what they want to sell their customers rather than what those customers really need. In our radio terms, we have to frequently ask this question in terms of the job we were hired for and our listeners.

As brands can be frequently diluted in this day and age, it?s an important question to stop and ask.

3. Understand your capabilities

This may be the most important piece that relates to radio.

Christensen takes another important case study from Dell and looks at what he calls their "Greek Tragedy of Outsourcing." He exposes the danger of outsourcing and says if Dell?s leadership had realized what the outcome would be, they would have been much more hesitant?ESPECIALLY if they understood the concept of "capabilities."

Understanding what capabilities are and which of them will be critical to the future is vital.

The factors that determine what a company can and cannot do fall into three buckets: resources, processes, and priorities. In radio terms, have you analyzed the resources you have available? More importantly, have you analyzed the people on your team, their qualities, and their aptitudes? Have you considered the process that allows your team to arrive at key decisions? Have you focused on what your key priorities are to drive your success?even if it?s incremental success?

Clayton Christensen is one of our prized thinkers and he inspires and challenges us not only in our business life, but also in our personal life.

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.

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Fred Jacobs Recaps Day One of The Conclave

Conclave 37 got underway with Jacobs Media?s Summer School 3. I have to tell you that after doing these the last three years, this was the best of the bunch ? really well attended from the early 9 am start (and they had to drag in more chairs). You can look at the tweets from today at #Conclave37 and for Summer School at #JMSS3.

A few highlights from our 8 Summer School sessions (9a-12:15p):

1. Lori Lewis: ?The same standards you have on the air should apply to what you communicate via social media.? Her ?5 Zuckerisms? session broke down Mark Zuckerberg?s thoughts about the true purpose of Facebook from that company?s IPO filing. Lori also talked about Facebook?s algorithm and some great information to help ensure your posts are seen by as many of your ?likes? as possible. Lori: ?If you want ?shares? and ?comments? and Facebook, stop chasing ?likes.??

2. Paul Jacobs hosted ?There?s An App For That? and reminded everyone that while the mobile space is exciting, ?Everything that is great now will be old within six months.? He also encouraged stations to use apps like TuneIn and iHeartRadio but achieve deeper mobile branding with individual station apps.

3. Consultant Michael Brandvold (music industry strategist and former web guru for KISS and Gene Simmons) ran ?Tweet Like A Rock Star.? His best quote, ?Tweeting is a reality show.? He encouraged stations to tweet as often as 12 times a day because the Twitter audience turns over. A lot like scheduling promos for radio stations.

Brandvold also talked about how fans of bands (and radio) just want recognition, and that a simple thank-you goes a long way. This is simple to do but SO powerful. Brandvold told the room that when it comes to social media, CARE. Connect, Acknowledge, Request, Engage. What?s the dumbest thing a rock star can do on social media? Brandvold: Not be there.

4. Arbitron?s Jenny Tsao attributed the difference between top-rated PPM stations and also rans that play the same music with the same basic rotations to branding. She highlighted some of PPM?s top performers ? among 18-34s, WHMH of Greensboro/Winston Salem-High Point, and among 25-54s, KGMS in Memphis.

5. I spoke about the ?Emotional Triggers? of broadcast radio from Techsurvey8, and the line that got retweeted and talked about??The number one negative about Pandora ? ?I miss hearing people.?? And: ?The way to beat Pandora? Do great radio.?

6. Coleman Insights? Chris Ackerman discussed the balance of winning in PPM in the short run and branding benefits in the long run. A good example is the 20- 30% ratings hit you take with a fundraiser vs. the value of doing great community service and supporting your brand strength.

He did a great job of explaining the trade-off of in-the-moment content versus branding. An example was Whole Foods. They might make more money by carrying Diet Coke (in the moment) but by doing so might erode their brand equity.

7. Jacobs Media?s Lori Lewis on how the Department of Defense uses social media. She talked about the importance of using metrics that matter, as well as monitoring online chatter ? especially about the competition.

Lori: ?Loose tweets sink fleets.? She also reminded the room that ?You can?t force trust. It?s about affinity and authenticity.?

8. Chris Iles, Corporate Communications Manager for the Minnesota Twins was a killer guest, and did a great job of talking about ?Socializing Baseball.? People were really buzzing about this session which closed out Summer School 3. The Twins are very active on the social media front. They have specific revenue objectives to their social media activity, but he explained that 80% of it is still about relationships and fan engagement - and that allows for the extra 20% to be about making money.

Even though they?re very active on Facebook and Twitter, the Twins also use Pinterest ? a great way to engage their female fans. He also noted the Twins? president is on social media. ?It?s a big priority for the team.? Chris talked about how the Twins essentially did ?random acts of social media at the beginning, but got more strategic as time went on. Today, they use social media to allow fans to tell stories on their
Facebook page ? like ?What?s your opening day tradition?? They also use a Tweet Board at Target Field, and fans enjoy the acknowledgment of seeing their tweets on the big screen.

After Summer School?

It?s interesting that it?s called the Conclave Learning Conference. I don?t think any other radio event truly gets to the fundamentals like this one. A case in point, two concurrent sessions?

Ratings 101 featuring Arbitron?s Jon Miller and Harv Blain (Vallie, Richards, Donovan). These guys really broke it down, brining in paper diaries and a meter to literally illustrate the way that ratings work. As Miller called it, showing ?how the sausage is made.? It was a great X?s and O?s look at the Arbitron system. Across the hall, Time Management for Dummies. (Ironically, the session was late in
getting started.)

Jim Hopes, CEO of the Center for Sales Strategy was the presenter, and he went right to the basics of prioritization. In fact, he told the room that it?s impossible to manage time because it?s fixed. ?Effective time management is really priority management.?

Later, ?The Voice-Over Edge? was an upbeat panel moderated by Dennis Green (Cumulus) featuring Pat Garrett and Rachel McGrath (both very talented VO people), Jhani Kaye (CBS/LA), Nate Zietz (agent/CESD) and Mark Todd (Ops Mgr ? Journal Omaha).

Fun session with some great quotes?

Jhani Kaye on selecting VO talent: ?It?s all about casting.? He told the room that when it?s time to bring in a new voice person, he refuses to look at the packages, pictures, bios. He judges solely on the sound. Mark Todd: ?Radio stations are communities?so the voice that runs through the station is the common threat 24/7 365.?

Rachel McGrath talked about how she gets in the right mindset for the audience she?s talking to: ?I imagine the listener right there in front of me.? And ?A voice person is a dime a dozen these days. A great voice person is a gem.?

Nate Zeitz went a little baseball on us: ?The most important thing?is to have the five- tool VO actor. If you are versatile, you?ll have longevity in this business.?

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Kraddick Join's "Dish Nation"

7-19-2012

Kidd Kraddick  is bringing his radio morning show to TV in a new, nationally syndicated entertainment show called ?Dish Nation.? Set to premier on September 10th, Dish Nation features drive-time radio teams from five cities across the country. The cast from ?Kidd Kraddick in the Morning? will be featured on the half-hour program, which will run during access and late-fringe time slots.

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