Still think your vote matters?

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Yeah, I know I just wrote about political issues being elsewhere. Let me clarify: Some political stuff will remain here. Just not the more frequent postings I've been wanting to make.

'nuff said on that.

This is an excellent piece that everyone should read. Our elections are a freaking mess. There is a part of me that is convinced this is not just a matter of circumstance. Messy elections favor those in power. Want to run this nation the way you want? Just muddy the will of the people and it's easy to say you are unopposed. Done, next.

Constructive change is needed. Almost all of us agree on that. The poor state of election affairs we are currently experiencing means we need solid numbers to exercise our check on the government, not just winning margins because the margin for error is now very high. Since the Supreme Court decided to select our president for us, a growing number of elections that matter have gone to the courts over ambigious election results.

That means pure numbers folks. Turnout is paramount if change is to come about!

The %$^&#$! DMCA (Death by DMCA)

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This one hits home. Regular readers and fellow geeks all know what the DMCA is about and why it needs reform. For the rest of you, give this one a read and consider all the cool stuff you are missing out on. (And it's a growing pile of stuff!)

I own one of the wonderful ReplayTV products mentioned in the article. It's probably the best PVR made to date, all things considered. It works with your existing stuff, has the right features and does not get in your way. No PVR sold today does what this device does and the vast majority of owners are just trying to get the best experience possible from their (rather expensive) television programming.

The DMCA lies at the core of this and the matter comes down to this:

Should we allow content creators to also control content handling devices? Don't the creators need platforms for their content to thrive in? Haven't we gone along just fine with people having the freedom to rip, mix and share their content with others? (and you can be we have!)

As long as this law continues to evolve as it currently is, we will continue to be denied the results of innovators everywhere. That's a direct and provable harm to you and me the average consumer. (Or, should I properly say citizen!)

Making the switch to Ubuntu: Dapper Drake --That's Linux for the rest of you!

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I've been living by a simple rule, where computing is concerned, for a while now; namely, only run win32 & win64 operating systems if somebody else pays for them.

That means Linux, or a Mac at home for personal computing. So far, I prefer Linux and an older SGI Irix machine for most of my computing needs. The SGI is more or less dedicated to a few tasks, the rest happens on my Linux machine and it has gotten a bit long in the tooth. Time for a new computer and some new Open Source Software!

Having been a very long time Mandrake user since about version 6, the idea of switching didn't hold much appeal. Despite being a fairly happy user, a couple of issues continue to nag at me. These are, package management and desktop functionality.

Enter Ubuntu. These two areas are a focus for this distribution right now and let me tell you, I'm a pretty happy user! Over the last few days, I've been installing some software, getting to know GNOME and generally just checking out the environment. The UNIXey bits underneath are somewhat unfamiliar, compared to Mandrake and it's SGI like structure, but the arrangement is sane overall and easily understood. That means just getting used to a few differences here and there. No biggie.

So far, the GUI controls for nearly everything but window focus behavior are more than adequate for my needs. (Somebody really needs to let these folks know what focus follows mouse means!) Multimedia support is easily added to the base software package as well. Core software included was properly configured and ready to use, making me productive right out of the gate. All in all a net positive.

Package management rocks, particularly with Easy Ubuntu added to the mix. I asked the system for a variety of emulators, editors, some development stuff, etc.. and it was all delivered and installed while I worked on other things. --Nice.

The only downsides I'm seeing right now are some cut 'n paste wierdness, the VMWare Virtual Player and Kernel not matching up, and problems playing DVD media. I don't depend on these things for my core computing, so I'll just work through them and that's it.

Oh, one other thing nagged at me too. The lack of a base development selection choice. Maybe there is one and it was just not obvious. Either way, I was frustrated with having to pick and choose lots of stuff in order to compile some classic game development software. Still having some issues in this area and I'm sure it's just me spoiled by the Mandrake development base. Really I should know better what I am using such that I can just pick it from a menu, but I don't! Guess that's gonna change a bit, probably for the better.

All in all, this has been a great move. My hardware works, including lots of USB stuff, my desktop is functional and productive, and the system runs fast without a hitch.

Nice job guys --appreciated!

If you are looking for a Linux to get started with, Ubuntu sets a nice high bar. Worth learning IMHO.

HD Radio: Digital Boondoggle? (Part 2)

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Here we are another few months into the HD Digital radio saga. Time enough to check in and evaluate where we are with HD Radio and complete my earlier thoughts on the subject as well. Regular OpenGeek readers know I'm no fan of Digital Radio. On AM, it's a mess. We need to knife the baby right now and reconsider how we want to move the AM band forward.

Hint: Am Stereo support in every receiver made from today forward --this plus the modern DSP technology found in the new HD Radios would make for a potent AM solution. We are gonna invest in the design of the new radios, why not cover out bets huh?

On FM, to be perfectly fair, the technology has some merits and brings with it a unique chance for the radio industry to do itself some real good. Things like this just don't come along every day. That makes this discussion worth it on those grounds alone.

Frankly, if FM HD Radio manages to make it, we might actually get to a place where solid improvements to the AM band become viable. That place includes IBOC, BTW for those who might be thinking I'm just another bring back the AM Stereo geek. Well, I am, but I'm also fair too in that I simply want better radio. That means embracing IBOC where it makes sense to do so. 'nuff said, onward and forward!

Here we are some precious months later and the only new buzz I'm hearing about HD Radio still comes from the industry itself. The spots tell me more about Crutchfield than they do about the value proposition HD Radio brings to the table. That's gotta be fixed ASAP.

New radios are not on the shelves for all practical purposes, expectations about the technology are still being managed downward, and fundemental decisions about how to best apply the technology are off the map at this point. Most importantly, the early adopters are not buzzing about this new tech like they normally would a viable tech. What does this mean? It means they don't see the value proposition. Given all of the above, who can blame them?

So, how to sell HD Radio?

In a nutshell, put content on there that is not otherwise easily obtained elsewhere. Secondly, set the right expectations for the new venue (I refuse to buy into the ideal that radio is just another stream delivery system!). And finally, leverage the Internet for both listener interaction and feedback and content cultivation and aggragation.

Let's go through these one at a time.



Content not otherwise easily obtained elsewhere

Right off this means content outside the usual channels. With all the new content delivery choices these days, it's pretty hard to call most of the established content new by any measure. Your average hit single appears in a video game, on iTunes, all over the P2P filesharing services, on a movie sound track, internet radio stations, streamed from the artist web site, through a CD music delivery service, on a ring tone, as part of a TV broadcast, your friends iPod, and it goes on and on and on...

What's worse, for this model, is the reality that we are living today where the overall impact of the mega hit single is dropping. Greater overall availablity of music on demand has allowed people to focus on niches they find interesting. This, in turn, highlights pop music for what it is.

All of these things, and others I'm sure, have sharply diminished the value that 'new' (as in just released by the majors) content has where radio is concerned.

I propose the following: Given the primary strength of terrestrial radio is it's ability to deliver live and local content to it's potential audience, an ideal testing ground for this is the new FM HD subchannels. Things like this do not come along every day. Every FM station, broadcasting a secondary HD stream has a largely risk free venue to promote new ideas and content, without seriously impacting the bread and butter mainstream programming!

The lack of person to person marketing surrounding HD radio is disturbing. The early adopters and talkers should be promoting this technology to their friends, if it's to be a successful tech at all, we need people at this stage in the game to be talking it up to their peers. One such group, ripe for the picking, are local people into the local music scene.

So put some of the more talented ones on the air! (With a mentor of course.) They are going to jump at the chance to do some radio and are also going to be very interested in others hearing their efforts for obvious reasons. Tie these things in with an HD radio availiabity program and you have the makings for some local buzz.

Some of these efforts are going to be great. Run those as promos on the mainstream channel, thus letting ordinary people know not only that there is HD radio and that it has extra channels, but that those extra channels carry something relevant to them. Stream the new content as well, thus giving it a larger potential audience than just those people willing to buy HD radios for local content temptations. Overall, that's a more solid value proposition that resonates on many levels.



Set the right expectations for the new venue

First and foremost, radio is a venue. Position it as such, so that people can easily differentiate it from the other delivery technologies. Of course, radio can be a simple delivery system too, but that's not going to pack the punch required for longer term growth and mindshare being a venue will. There is room for both honestly. This advocacy essay is aimed at building new (and ideally better) radio experiences, so please take it as such.

Another expectation to set properly is content, not quality. The way HD radio exists today means either one digital stream that sounds pretty good, or two that don't sound so good, with one that has no analog backup. Pushing the whole digital means quality thing is just bunk. The bitrates and codec technology we have today just are not enough to meet this expectation, so why even bother setting it. Welcome to entertainment quality audio people.

Digital means choice and in particular it means more of it, period.



Leverage the Internet

Today radio can easily be a whole lot more of a two way medium than it has been in the past. This means we can more easily bond with the people (assuming there are people) on the radio. Technologies, such as e-mail, instant messaging, hypertext (web pages), online streaming, etc... all allow for a much greater interaction with a potential audience than was possible just 10 years ago.


The Internet also represents a potential content source as well. The local content, I mentioned above, may well have sharp limits depending on a lot of factors. However, there will be content online that appeals to the locals, whoever they may be. This content can be aggragated and presented in the form of shows just like the ones that currently pound home the same 40 or so hits every fricking week. This is beginning to show up on television, with shows detailing Viral Videos and other goofy internet culture / content offerings.

That's it on this topic for a while. Again, I've put these ideas here in the hopes of getting better radio --take it or leave it.

Taco Pizza

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Finding a Pietro's, where I live, is tough. Of all the pizzas they sell, the taco one is the one I remember best. After some fiddling around, here is a recipe that will do the pizza justice:

You will need:

Pizza Crust (buy one, make one, whatever --just make sure it's a deep dish style one)
1 can refried beans (or make them, your call)
Grated cheese (moz, jack, cheddar) (enough to cover the pizza all over 1/3 of an inch thick at least --maybe two and a half cups for a medium pizza)
sliced and chopped lettuce (2 cups or so --medium sized bowl)
sliced tomatoes (two tomatoes or 1 cup)
diced onion (1/4 to 1/2 cup, depending on how much you like onions --get the white ones though!)
Dorito's Nacho Cheeze chips. (1 bag)
1/4 pound ground beef for medium pizza
optional: Spicy Jack cheeze
some small amount of corn-meal to sprinkle on cooking sheet

Spread the refried beans onto the pizza crust like you would pizza sauce. Make sure it's about 1/4 inch thick everywhere.

Sprinkle some of your onions on top.

Add cheeze to taste, sprinkling remainder of onions into the cheeze.

Roll beef into little balls, no bigger than 1/2 inch in size and place on top of cheeze. If you want to pre-cook these, that's a good idea too.

Put the whole works into the pre-heated oven for about 12-15 minutes at 425 degrees. If you like corn meal, sprinkle a light dusting onto your cooking sheet before placing the pizza on it.

Pizza is done, when cheeze is well melted and beef is cooked and brown. Depending on your oven, you might have better luck pre-cooking the beef or just skipping it.

Remove cooked pizza from oven and cut it to your preference.

Sprinkle sliced and chopped lettuce on top, followed by about 1/2 cup crused Doritos. Finish with chopped tomatoes on top and it's all ready to eat.

Enjoy a very good Taco Style Pizza!

What's Good for the Radio Goose....

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Since February's announcement that Sirius satellite radio was interested in acquiring XM, we've seen many twists and turns in Mel Karmazin's effort to convince the FCC and others that a merger is in the best interests of consumers. In Mel's usual style, he has done an expert job of laying out the rationale and presenting it in an intelligent, non-offensive manner.

However, as we near the end of 2007, we seem to be very close to a decision on this event and as I mentioned in an earlier blog, my money now is on the merger getting approved.

The National Association of Broadcasters has done a respectable job of countering satellite radio's rationale in favor of a merger, but the time has come for the NAB to face the "Rule of Consolidation".

The fact is that the NAB has lobbied for consolidation of the radio industry since the early 90's and got permission for radio companies to begin buying up each other in a 1996 act of Congress.

The argument was that not only is consolidation good for the business - it's good for the consumer.

Now, eleven years later, many in our business - even on Wall Street - believe that this wave of consolidation has had negative repercussions on the financial well-being of the radio business.

Again, in the last two years, the major radio companies have been stamping their feet for further consolidation. It seems that owning 8 radio stations in the biggest radio markets wasn't enough. There are those who want to own 10 or more stations in the same market.

Yet when it comes to satellite radio consolidating, the radio industry says "no".

The radio industry is concerned about this proposed merger for many reasons...but none of them are truly onerous.

If the radio industry manages their business properly...

• A merged satellite radio company will not significantly impact its listenership
• A merged satellite radio company will not impact radio's revenues and profits

This deal has been examined every which way and in the end, there are no grounds to prevent it.

Bridge Ratings has been studying consumers' reaction to the proposed merger since it was announced in February. Over time and 5 studies, current satellite radio subscribers have become less concerned about the impact of such a merger. Potential satellite radio subscribers are confused, but most will delay their decision to subscribe until a decision is made. This is one reason why year-to-year satellite radio subscriber rates have fallen so precipitously in the last year.

The only negative impact the merger has had on the satellite radio companies is that the news of a potential merger has derailed the sector's growth. That's only temporary.

Satellite radio is a niche business and a merger will not automatically make it a broad-based appeal business.

If consolidation was good for the radio goose why isn't it good for the satellite gander?

Local, Local, Local

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I've been at my new job at ABC radio for about a month now and it's great; I'm really enjoying the fact that as Vice President of ABC Radio Networks' Affiliate Relations department, I can interact with so many radio stations across our grand land.

The lessons I learned through my years of working at Bridge Ratings I brought with me and after a few weeks communicating with a much more diverse group of stations than I ever have before, here's what I've learned:

1. Regardless of market size everyone has the same problems and opportunities.

It wasn't always this way, you know. Before consolidation took our industry by storm, major markets and stations in the top 50 had far different considerations in operating their businesses than did operators in markets 51 and below. Pre-'96, top 50 market stations had operating budgets that included marketing, promotion and research. They also had personnel resources that allowed them to be extremely competitive and allowed them to keep their eyes on the various balls they had to juggle. Major market operators only recently have had to deal with managers overseeing multiple stations. Top 50 stations in those days actually had time to plan and strategize for the future and act upon those strategies. They also have years more experience operating multiple properties than do their big market cousins.

Medium and small market operators have always had to work harder at making their businesses work. They did so with good old fashioned sweat and creativity along with building relationships. They still do it this way today.

2. Medium and small market operators are more aware of the importance of reflecting the local audience.

While this has been a staple of broadcast operations for-ever, somewhere along the line major market radio pushed it to the back burner. Now, I'm generalizing here because there are some major market operators who have not only remembered this important element of serving the public interest, they use their major market resources to make a difference in their towns and cities.

Local radio has always been compelling. The genericizing of American radio which has been pushed along by companies with such huge footprints as Clear Channel have literally taken the spine out of these stations which no longer sound like their communities. These stations provide impetus for all listeners - not just Gen-X, Y and Z - to seek alternative entertainment by virtue of the obvious lack of interest in their local communities.

3. Major market management drink their own kool-aid.

These people are so impressed with their climb to the top many have forgotten their roots. I was visiting a small market operator a couple of weeks back and I was taken by his continued passion and optimism for our business.

On the other hand, not a phone call I have with major market managers doesn't include a doomsday outlook. Small market operators don't fear Internet and satellite radio like their big market brethren. Perhaps there is some legitimacy to this perspective since there seems to be wider consumer acceptance of these technologies in the larger markets, yet I have spoken with some major market management who understand that it is NOT Internet radio and it is NOT satellite radio that has caused terrestrial radio's ills.

My view of the radio landscape is undergoing some adjustment simply because I am now exposed to a broader perspective and I love that. In fact, this broader perspective has allowed me to share some of the small and medium market wisdom with the big boys who seem to react positively to a fresh perspective.

I look forward to being exposed to the inclinations of all of the broadcasters I come in contact with these days and sharing them with each other in a way that perhaps has never been done before.

After all the things I learned through the consulting work I've done through my Bridge Ratings experience, I didn't have the ability to share with the industry the insight of so many others.

The insight seems to be helping gain perspective which we can all use from time to time.

Optimism: 2010's Secret Weapon

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2009 has been a most difficult year.

Most business leaders - including media professionals - have found themselves unable to lead.

Perhaps for the first time in their careers. And when they lie awake at night in their own space they are terrified.

They watch their organizations crumble under the weight of an unforgiving economy.

They've cut their workforces so much that once-competent employees have been unable to perform due to overwork and distraction.

But there is a way out and it starts with the organization's leader.

Leaders are their most affective when they are most in touch with reality, and this happens when they are almost viscerally in sync with the people and markets they lead and serve.

It's about being able to absorb reality and being able to lead accordingly.

So, despite what you know, the mood your employees experience, is so important.

An optimistic mood will help you communicate in a more effective manner.

A leader's mood is infectious. It can spread like wildfire through an organization.

You, as a leader, can poison or uplift the mood without realizing it.

Be very aware of how your slightest signals can affect people when you are in a position of power (that's for all you formal leaders) or people look to you for a lead (for you informal leaders).

No one wants to work for a grouch. Research has proven it: optimistic, enthusiastic leaders more easily retain their people compared with those bosses who tend towards negative moods.

Numerous studies show that when the leader is in a happy mood, the people around him view everything in a more positive light. That, in turn, makes them more optimistic about achieving their goals, enhances their creativity and the efficiency of their decision-making, and predisposes them to be helpful.

In more than one sense, then, leadership is truly viral.

Become an optimist of the will and your organization can pull itself up.

What's Really Next?

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What's really next for media companies?

Smaller - leaner - more outsourcing.

The chart to the right reflects a related growth curve between staffing and corporate efficiency, or productivity.

The way this applies to radio is at the core of its frustration with attracting more loyal listeners.

There just has not been any investment in the product in over a year at a time when radio is competing with media that understand the importance of creative content.

Radio has its own set of rules and at this point, generally, most radio companies can ill afford to invest in the one thing that will help their business grow: personnel and content creation.

Economies such as the one we're experiencing in late 2009 no longer lend themselves to the operations models which allowed companies to staff more robustly.

The benefit to that kind of structure is that if companies staff responsibly, employees reach their maximum potential to deliver for the company by reaching their own competency levels.

What has led to this redesign of culture is the reduction in staffing and a reduction in quality output. Once highly-competent employees have found themselves delegated more and more work often outside their area of specialty or comfort.

This tends to result in staff that are not competent at the new tasks and somewhat less competent at their old tasks. This amounts to a severe reduction in efficiencies and production which further drives down business cash flow.

This cannot be sustained.

Something's got to change. And this is what we're experiencing.

Change can be uncomfortable.

Ultimately, change is for the best.

Therefore, the best option is to reduce workload to a more comfortable level where talented employees can do their jobs at levels that will again produce positively for companies. Operating in this culture will allow companies to regain traction and begin to rebuild.

This means a shrinking of the business as a whole in every aspect.

It may be "circle-the-wagons" time for the media industry - certainly it is for terrestrial radio - and concentrate on core competencies until things return to a less volitile marketplace.

Yet, despite this reduction in services, companies must also understand they cannot grow by cutting. Business development can continue to be a part of the mix.

For radio, an industry that still experiences respectable profit margins, this will mean figuring out a way to reinvest some of that profit margin back into their businesses.

I'll reveal how to do that, in my next blog.

Radio's New Music Fantasy

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The recent headline "Google and MySpace will challenge radio’s music-discovery position," got me asking the question "What music-discovery position?"

In the years I have been analyzing consumer use of media, including broadcast radio, Internet and more recently smart phone behavior, radio has had the potential to capture the new music discovery crown.

Unfortunately, it never has lived up to this potential.






In 2007, Bridge Ratings conducted a series of deep studies of music consumers of all ages and, as you might suspect, found that 18-30 year olds were most interested in discovering new music though any means possible. In the category of where most of this discovery was occurring, broadcast radio followed peers and the Internet as the place to go to find great new music.

However, in focus groups to dig deeper, radio had the greatest potential of all three for new music discovery due to its primary benefits: ease of use, accessibility and the fact that radio is free.

Yet radio never took the initiative.

In the last two years I have discussed this notion of new music discovery with at least 100 radio programmers in the formats of Contemporary Hit Radio (CHR), Adult Alternative and Alternative.

Would it surprise you to know that none of them saw the wisdom of claiming the "new music" position in their markets by proactively promoting and playing new music by either established performers or undiscovered talent.

Radio's belief that it is the new music discovery destination is pure fantasy.

There's a fabulous on-line worldwide talent competition called "Fame Games" which boasts two million worldwide listeners; 70% listen in the U.S. alone. I have had an interest in this five-shows-a-week talent competition and thought it would suit American radio just fine.

"Fame Games" features unsigned artists of any cross-over genre competing for best track of the week and ultimately a major record contract.

This is a well-produced, fun feature that pits two songs against each other vying for the votes of listeners and the program's judges. So, I took it to U.S. radio.

American programmers won't go there.

Aggressively marketing one's radio station as the "place for new music discovery" would greatly bulk up a station's image if done properly and perhaps even draw young listeners back to a medium that is having its problems holding on to this important demographic.

So, when I read that Google or MySpace will challenge radio's music discovery position, or when I read the RAB's Jeff Haley's concern about how radio has to protect this turf, I have to shrug my shoulders.

As far as radio's listeners are concerned, there is no new music turf to protect.

Radio had the opportunity to claim this territory for itself at least two years ago when audiences told us that radio's convenience would make it the most likely place to go to discover new music.

It never took the opportunity and very well may find itself pushed out by new media which seems to take every opportunity to infringe on radio's weaknesses.

This all points to radio's biggest challenge: getting back to creating and presenting engrossing and compelling programming....for all ages.

The radio industry must build upon its rich history of being listener-focused.

In its confusion in recent years, radio has simply forgotten how to compete.

Indiana Jones & Terrestrial Radio

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Interesting title for a blog, eh?

If you're an Indiana Jones fan - or at least have seen one or two of the franchise movies - you know there is always a moment when Indie is faced with being left alone behind a sliding door with spiders or snakes. But, at the last second, he manages to pull out that trusty whip of his and snag it on a branch on the other side of the closing door and he is able to swing himself through to be alive for another day! Hurray!

This happens in the latest Indiana Jones movie as well and it enabled me to visualize what is happening terrestrial radio. The industry is at a significant crossroad and is in severe danger of being left behind a impenetrable door.

I've been researching the radio industry in earnest with my company Bridge Ratings since 2002 and have watched trends from a vantage point few have. Our projects cover everything component of radio listener usage. Over the last six years there were actually moments when radio's pulse increased as if its efforts to postpone or stop listening attrition were beginning to find traction, only to learn in a project 3 or six months later, that what I witnessed was a false revival or it was still-born.

Now with six years 'visibility', and with multiple signposts struggling to show improvement, the industry's efforts may now be too little too late.

What signposts do I pay attention to?

• Young listeners' time spent with the medium
• The multiple alternate media listeners of all ages are using over time
• Strategies used by media companies and how they play out
• Stock price of terrestrial radio companies and how that price has been affected by corporate decisions
• Media coverage of terrestrial radio
• Changes in consumer interest in Internet, Satellite and HD Radio

Of late, the most revealing signpost has been that of corporate radio's decision-making. In the period of 2002 to 2008, we tracked a greater number of missteps or no-decisions that hastened a company's inability to compete.

Poor programming decisions, lack of marketing resources, reduction of key management personnel and slowness to adapt to changing technologies; these are all key contributors to terrestrial radio's current malaise and more of these contributors have had as their source the poor decisions and lack of focus at radio's corporate headquarters (a generalization). There remain a handful of broadcast executives who 'get it', but not enough. It's like an V-8engine running on one cylander.

An objective observer to these trends would perceive (almost) that in many cases the industry had given up the fight or is simply resting on its aging laurels. And that wouldn't be far from the facts.

Terrestrial radio can learn at least one thing from Indiana Jones and that is courage. Our fictional hero never seems to give up even in the face of some of the ugliest circumstances placed before him. And while terrestrial radio as a whole has a tougher time reacting to change than our celluloid hero, the industry cannot afford to be left behind that slowly closing door without a whip.

Certainly the radio industry is hobbled by new technologies it simply cannot compete with, but it is being forced to change with the times which is a good thing. It can offer young and old a new blend of media that is better than its version before there were MP3 players, the Internet or satellite radio.

It only requires the old Indie courage. Where will our heroes come from?

An Open Letter to Investors in the Radio Business

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Dear investor-person:

I have tremendously good news to share with you.

Our great national nightmare is over.

After 12 years of consolidation that is the universal field theory of why the radio industry is in its current state of woe, the business that for decades was not only delivering better cash flow than just about any business you could find, but was also growing, is set for a renaissance.

I haven't been hitting the tequila; I'm referring to the sudden flood of radio properties - generally excellent properties - that are on the market. With Clear Channel setting free 60 stations and Dan Mason & CBS putting up their 50, immediate reaction from some might be "the radio business must really suck, look at these major players bailing!"

Not so fast.

Finally, the radio industry is experiencing the first phase of its rebirth and that is the return to the transition phase of its business cycle to what amounts to 'circling the wagons and concentrating on the segment of the business that is delivering the best financial results.' Clear Channel and CBS should be proud of the fact that they actually have significant numbers of stations they can operate that are throwing off cash flow. By trimming the fat, these two companies can concentrate on running a number of stations that may be more comfortable for them.

These 110 radio stations up for sale now offer an opportunity for two things to begin occurring: 1) the return of more intelligent operators who one way or another were no longer needed by those companies that were so greedy in 1996-2000 that they grabbed up as many radio properties as they could without a consideration as to whether they could operate them all effectively. They THOUGHT they could...but time has proven them wrong.

And 2) many of the profoundly intelligent general managers, program directors and owners who got out of the radio business because they were forced or just gave up, will now start re-entering a business they have loved for years and who had become sickened by what we all have witnessed - the gutting of a business that lost its way.

Yes, I am giving all you investors out there a BIG early tip now so you can start realigning your portfolios or - even better - if you've got money to lend and you've given up on the industry, now is the time for you to feel inspired.

I can count on all my fingers and toes a partial list of highly qualified radio managers who at this moment could take a cluster of any of these soon-to-be-sold groups and make them profitable, compelling to listen to and maybe most importantly, return the fun to working in the radio business that got skewered by operators who saw an opportunity in the late 90's and 2000's but never had a clue as to the 'secret sauce'.

Me and my compatriots who have been in this business since the good times (pre-1996), completely get what made the business such a great investment then and why it attracted some of our country's most creative minds through the years. The time may be coming when you see the return by these individuals to the business as operators. Smart operators.

Expect those who have been on the sidelines in recent years to begin pulling money together and buying some of these stations. I know because I've spoken with them!

Expect those Clear Channel and CBS stations that will be sold to out-perform under these new owners.

Expect this to be the watershed we've been waiting for. 2009 will be the year of the turnaround.

2009 will prove to be a great year for investment in the radio business.

These new independent owners know more about the terrestrial side of the business than most of their peers who seem to have no clue what to do with this vast new frontier.

They have been cooking up digital solutions that will expand the radio business.

If they haven't been scared away for good; if they haven't given it up through disgust, this infusion of lifeblood into station ownership will be the beginning of a return to pre-consolidation days when men were men and radio ROCKED!

Optimism: 2010's Secret Weapon

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2009 has been a most difficult year.

Most business leaders - including media professionals - have found themselves unable to lead.

Perhaps for the first time in their careers. And when they lie awake at night in their own space they are terrified.

They watch their organizations crumble under the weight of an unforgiving economy.

They've cut their workforces so much that once-competent employees have been unable to perform due to overwork and distraction.

But there is a way out and it starts with the organization's leader.

Leaders are their most affective when they are most in touch with reality, and this happens when they are almost viscerally in sync with the people and markets they lead and serve.

It's about being able to absorb reality and being able to lead accordingly.

So, despite what you know, the mood your employees experience, is so important.

An optimistic mood will help you communicate in a more effective manner.

A leader's mood is infectious. It can spread like wildfire through an organization.

You, as a leader, can poison or uplift the mood without realizing it.

Be very aware of how your slightest signals can affect people when you are in a position of power (that's for all you formal leaders) or people look to you for a lead (for you informal leaders).

No one wants to work for a grouch. Research has proven it: optimistic, enthusiastic leaders more easily retain their people compared with those bosses who tend towards negative moods.

Numerous studies show that when the leader is in a happy mood, the people around him view everything in a more positive light. That, in turn, makes them more optimistic about achieving their goals, enhances their creativity and the efficiency of their decision-making, and predisposes them to be helpful.

In more than one sense, then, leadership is truly viral.

Become an optimist of the will and your organization can pull itself up.

What's Really Next?

To contact us Click HERE

What's really next for media companies?

Smaller - leaner - more outsourcing.

The chart to the right reflects a related growth curve between staffing and corporate efficiency, or productivity.

The way this applies to radio is at the core of its frustration with attracting more loyal listeners.

There just has not been any investment in the product in over a year at a time when radio is competing with media that understand the importance of creative content.

Radio has its own set of rules and at this point, generally, most radio companies can ill afford to invest in the one thing that will help their business grow: personnel and content creation.

Economies such as the one we're experiencing in late 2009 no longer lend themselves to the operations models which allowed companies to staff more robustly.

The benefit to that kind of structure is that if companies staff responsibly, employees reach their maximum potential to deliver for the company by reaching their own competency levels.

What has led to this redesign of culture is the reduction in staffing and a reduction in quality output. Once highly-competent employees have found themselves delegated more and more work often outside their area of specialty or comfort.

This tends to result in staff that are not competent at the new tasks and somewhat less competent at their old tasks. This amounts to a severe reduction in efficiencies and production which further drives down business cash flow.

This cannot be sustained.

Something's got to change. And this is what we're experiencing.

Change can be uncomfortable.

Ultimately, change is for the best.

Therefore, the best option is to reduce workload to a more comfortable level where talented employees can do their jobs at levels that will again produce positively for companies. Operating in this culture will allow companies to regain traction and begin to rebuild.

This means a shrinking of the business as a whole in every aspect.

It may be "circle-the-wagons" time for the media industry - certainly it is for terrestrial radio - and concentrate on core competencies until things return to a less volitile marketplace.

Yet, despite this reduction in services, companies must also understand they cannot grow by cutting. Business development can continue to be a part of the mix.

For radio, an industry that still experiences respectable profit margins, this will mean figuring out a way to reinvest some of that profit margin back into their businesses.

I'll reveal how to do that, in my next blog.

Radio's New Music Fantasy

To contact us Click HERE
The recent headline "Google and MySpace will challenge radio’s music-discovery position," got me asking the question "What music-discovery position?"

In the years I have been analyzing consumer use of media, including broadcast radio, Internet and more recently smart phone behavior, radio has had the potential to capture the new music discovery crown.

Unfortunately, it never has lived up to this potential.






In 2007, Bridge Ratings conducted a series of deep studies of music consumers of all ages and, as you might suspect, found that 18-30 year olds were most interested in discovering new music though any means possible. In the category of where most of this discovery was occurring, broadcast radio followed peers and the Internet as the place to go to find great new music.

However, in focus groups to dig deeper, radio had the greatest potential of all three for new music discovery due to its primary benefits: ease of use, accessibility and the fact that radio is free.

Yet radio never took the initiative.

In the last two years I have discussed this notion of new music discovery with at least 100 radio programmers in the formats of Contemporary Hit Radio (CHR), Adult Alternative and Alternative.

Would it surprise you to know that none of them saw the wisdom of claiming the "new music" position in their markets by proactively promoting and playing new music by either established performers or undiscovered talent.

Radio's belief that it is the new music discovery destination is pure fantasy.

There's a fabulous on-line worldwide talent competition called "Fame Games" which boasts two million worldwide listeners; 70% listen in the U.S. alone. I have had an interest in this five-shows-a-week talent competition and thought it would suit American radio just fine.

"Fame Games" features unsigned artists of any cross-over genre competing for best track of the week and ultimately a major record contract.

This is a well-produced, fun feature that pits two songs against each other vying for the votes of listeners and the program's judges. So, I took it to U.S. radio.

American programmers won't go there.

Aggressively marketing one's radio station as the "place for new music discovery" would greatly bulk up a station's image if done properly and perhaps even draw young listeners back to a medium that is having its problems holding on to this important demographic.

So, when I read that Google or MySpace will challenge radio's music discovery position, or when I read the RAB's Jeff Haley's concern about how radio has to protect this turf, I have to shrug my shoulders.

As far as radio's listeners are concerned, there is no new music turf to protect.

Radio had the opportunity to claim this territory for itself at least two years ago when audiences told us that radio's convenience would make it the most likely place to go to discover new music.

It never took the opportunity and very well may find itself pushed out by new media which seems to take every opportunity to infringe on radio's weaknesses.

This all points to radio's biggest challenge: getting back to creating and presenting engrossing and compelling programming....for all ages.

The radio industry must build upon its rich history of being listener-focused.

In its confusion in recent years, radio has simply forgotten how to compete.

Optimism: 2010's Secret Weapon

To contact us Click HERE
2009 has been a most difficult year.

Most business leaders - including media professionals - have found themselves unable to lead.

Perhaps for the first time in their careers. And when they lie awake at night in their own space they are terrified.

They watch their organizations crumble under the weight of an unforgiving economy.

They've cut their workforces so much that once-competent employees have been unable to perform due to overwork and distraction.

But there is a way out and it starts with the organization's leader.

Leaders are their most affective when they are most in touch with reality, and this happens when they are almost viscerally in sync with the people and markets they lead and serve.

It's about being able to absorb reality and being able to lead accordingly.

So, despite what you know, the mood your employees experience, is so important.

An optimistic mood will help you communicate in a more effective manner.

A leader's mood is infectious. It can spread like wildfire through an organization.

You, as a leader, can poison or uplift the mood without realizing it.

Be very aware of how your slightest signals can affect people when you are in a position of power (that's for all you formal leaders) or people look to you for a lead (for you informal leaders).

No one wants to work for a grouch. Research has proven it: optimistic, enthusiastic leaders more easily retain their people compared with those bosses who tend towards negative moods.

Numerous studies show that when the leader is in a happy mood, the people around him view everything in a more positive light. That, in turn, makes them more optimistic about achieving their goals, enhances their creativity and the efficiency of their decision-making, and predisposes them to be helpful.

In more than one sense, then, leadership is truly viral.

Become an optimist of the will and your organization can pull itself up.

What's Really Next?

To contact us Click HERE

What's really next for media companies?

Smaller - leaner - more outsourcing.

The chart to the right reflects a related growth curve between staffing and corporate efficiency, or productivity.

The way this applies to radio is at the core of its frustration with attracting more loyal listeners.

There just has not been any investment in the product in over a year at a time when radio is competing with media that understand the importance of creative content.

Radio has its own set of rules and at this point, generally, most radio companies can ill afford to invest in the one thing that will help their business grow: personnel and content creation.

Economies such as the one we're experiencing in late 2009 no longer lend themselves to the operations models which allowed companies to staff more robustly.

The benefit to that kind of structure is that if companies staff responsibly, employees reach their maximum potential to deliver for the company by reaching their own competency levels.

What has led to this redesign of culture is the reduction in staffing and a reduction in quality output. Once highly-competent employees have found themselves delegated more and more work often outside their area of specialty or comfort.

This tends to result in staff that are not competent at the new tasks and somewhat less competent at their old tasks. This amounts to a severe reduction in efficiencies and production which further drives down business cash flow.

This cannot be sustained.

Something's got to change. And this is what we're experiencing.

Change can be uncomfortable.

Ultimately, change is for the best.

Therefore, the best option is to reduce workload to a more comfortable level where talented employees can do their jobs at levels that will again produce positively for companies. Operating in this culture will allow companies to regain traction and begin to rebuild.

This means a shrinking of the business as a whole in every aspect.

It may be "circle-the-wagons" time for the media industry - certainly it is for terrestrial radio - and concentrate on core competencies until things return to a less volitile marketplace.

Yet, despite this reduction in services, companies must also understand they cannot grow by cutting. Business development can continue to be a part of the mix.

For radio, an industry that still experiences respectable profit margins, this will mean figuring out a way to reinvest some of that profit margin back into their businesses.

I'll reveal how to do that, in my next blog.

Radio's New Music Fantasy

To contact us Click HERE
The recent headline "Google and MySpace will challenge radio’s music-discovery position," got me asking the question "What music-discovery position?"

In the years I have been analyzing consumer use of media, including broadcast radio, Internet and more recently smart phone behavior, radio has had the potential to capture the new music discovery crown.

Unfortunately, it never has lived up to this potential.






In 2007, Bridge Ratings conducted a series of deep studies of music consumers of all ages and, as you might suspect, found that 18-30 year olds were most interested in discovering new music though any means possible. In the category of where most of this discovery was occurring, broadcast radio followed peers and the Internet as the place to go to find great new music.

However, in focus groups to dig deeper, radio had the greatest potential of all three for new music discovery due to its primary benefits: ease of use, accessibility and the fact that radio is free.

Yet radio never took the initiative.

In the last two years I have discussed this notion of new music discovery with at least 100 radio programmers in the formats of Contemporary Hit Radio (CHR), Adult Alternative and Alternative.

Would it surprise you to know that none of them saw the wisdom of claiming the "new music" position in their markets by proactively promoting and playing new music by either established performers or undiscovered talent.

Radio's belief that it is the new music discovery destination is pure fantasy.

There's a fabulous on-line worldwide talent competition called "Fame Games" which boasts two million worldwide listeners; 70% listen in the U.S. alone. I have had an interest in this five-shows-a-week talent competition and thought it would suit American radio just fine.

"Fame Games" features unsigned artists of any cross-over genre competing for best track of the week and ultimately a major record contract.

This is a well-produced, fun feature that pits two songs against each other vying for the votes of listeners and the program's judges. So, I took it to U.S. radio.

American programmers won't go there.

Aggressively marketing one's radio station as the "place for new music discovery" would greatly bulk up a station's image if done properly and perhaps even draw young listeners back to a medium that is having its problems holding on to this important demographic.

So, when I read that Google or MySpace will challenge radio's music discovery position, or when I read the RAB's Jeff Haley's concern about how radio has to protect this turf, I have to shrug my shoulders.

As far as radio's listeners are concerned, there is no new music turf to protect.

Radio had the opportunity to claim this territory for itself at least two years ago when audiences told us that radio's convenience would make it the most likely place to go to discover new music.

It never took the opportunity and very well may find itself pushed out by new media which seems to take every opportunity to infringe on radio's weaknesses.

This all points to radio's biggest challenge: getting back to creating and presenting engrossing and compelling programming....for all ages.

The radio industry must build upon its rich history of being listener-focused.

In its confusion in recent years, radio has simply forgotten how to compete.

The Decade of Radio Cannibalism

To contact us Click HERE
What is the most interesting/startling/eye-opening thing I've learned this year about the radio business?

There are no leaders - only followers.

The conversion of a highly independent-thinking, proactive industry to a defensive, lack-of-self confidence one didn't happen overnight. It's been nine years in the making. Sort of like James Cameron's "Avatar", only this time it ain't pretty.

Up until 2000 when the Internet bubble burst, the radio industry was robust, creative and ballsy, i.e. it took on all 'comers' who wanted to threaten its very existence and it took each and every one on with gusto. It thrived in that environment and it made its members love their business that much more.

The bubble burst and there were no more $1000 spot rates from Internet start-ups.

9-11 halted everyone's business, but radio never recovered because around the same time Napster taught our kids that they didn't really need radio...

The Internet proliferated as high speed access surpassed the tipping point of 50% of households...

Internet radio, You Tube, Smartphones, subscription radio, technology and...

Arbitron's PPM. The last straw.

Audience measurement systems for any consumer product have always been a reflection of usage; no more-no less. Once delivered, it was up to the customer to interpret the data.

What changed with the introduction of Arbitron's PPM service?

The methodology influences the business.

PPM is arguably more accurate, yet it has its limitations just like the diary-system does.

It allows programmers and managers alike to dissect audience movement down to the minute and to over-react to changes in listening behavior. The cause of that change in listening is not measured, yet programmers can make assumptions which may not prove accurate.

The science of Arbitron's meter system has taken advantage of radio management's building inferiority complex by eliminating the 'long-tail' or product variety evident among radio's vast potential listening audience.

The most mass-appeal stations are the victors in PPM rated markets.

The stations that take the least risks to create exciting, compelling listening perform best in this metered world.

PPM has surgically removed radio's best traits: it's abilty to respond quickly to consumer trends and to offer entertainment faster than any other medium. This ability to read its audience from gut and sound research, kept interest in radio at high levels before technology brought new competition.

Perhaps the worst part of this is that the industry has been led by its nose into this quagmire without a fight. And now it has a ratings system which does not fully support its business potential.

If the motion picture industry followed this path, we would be presented with only the most bland, smallest common denominator movies. And while there's certainly a place for them, consumers would never have been exposed to such interesting films as "Momento", "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" or "Requiem for a Dream" over the last decade.

And this secret sauce which the radio business held in high esteem is what is missing in today's newly competitive landscape.

A new study from Bridge Ratings suggests that radio is not dying on the vine it's just sharing usage with other media and tune-in is as high as ever.

This is the time for creativity, risk and reward. Results of this study show that radio consumers like the ease-of-use and the pervasiveness of over-the-air radio. In fact listeners of all ages are pulling for radio, and want it to be better, funnier, more stimulating.

Consumers are pulling for radio because they know it can do better.

The industry is ending a decade of cannibalism. We have seen the disease of "no confidence" coupled with "less courage" seasoned with a measurement system that doesn't support the creation and delivery of many potentially popular radio formats.

During times like these it is strength, courage and the ability to think independently that is needed.

Perhaps it is not too late to embrace those traits that brought the radio industry its greatest successes. There are options to Arbitron's meter methodology; options that would measure the totality of the interests of radio's consumer base.

For 2010, we look for a more positive landscape for all business to operate, and the radio business, specifically, has a chance to be reinvigorated.

Planting Brand Seeds

To contact us Click HERE
Radio - all radio, AM/FM, Internet-Only/Internet Simulcast Streaming - is about to learn about its next great challenge for listeners in-car.

It's no secret that AM/FM radio's final bastion of exclusivity - the car - is up for grabs.

Today's smart phones have legitimately removed the need for Wi-Max/Wi-fi for streaming radio consumption in-car. With my iPhone, I can listen to any Internet stream through my car sound system.

Ford's Sync system developed by Microsoft will be capable of providing in-car passengers the great personalized experience of Pandora.

So, how does traditional radio or any audio content found on the Internet get a leg up on its competition?

Ford's Sync system is a pioneer in in-car audio content delivery and its voice-activated capabilities, though limited for the moment, will expand very soon to provide for safer driver-audio system interaction. Most auto makers are making a 'reasonable effort' to minimize in-car distractions for motorists.

Paul Green, a professor at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute who studies the effects of distractions for motorists says that Ford's system should make it easier for drivers to keep their attention on the road.

This is why voice activation for selection of your personal audio entertainment is coming and all audio content providers must figure out how to tackle this challenge.

If I want rock music and I simply say "Rock" to my in-car system, what type of Rock music will it select. Who will categorize these descriptors? Which streaming station will be fed to me? How will this work?

All indications now are that motorists will preselect a limited bucket of 'stations' or channels they wish to have access to and thus the system will recognize the voice command. This may be as many at 50 preselected channels.

So, brand continues to be the secret sauce in this ever expanding "infinite dial" of options for in-car entertainment and strength of brand will continue to dictate popularity.

Meanwhile, radio's electronic measurement system - Arbitron's Personal People Meter - seems to be confining what traditional radio offers. The science of the device does not seem to encourage experimentation in programming and radio brands are becoming too generic which may inevitably hinder stations' ability to compete in the new world of voice search in-car.

But the branding process starts long before the new car owner uses this voice activated system.

Frankly, it starts long before now. It started yesterday.

Consumer habits are being formed every day and brand trust and expectation will go a long way for any content provider to land-grab in-car real estate.

If your company is competing in this brave new world, brand development and the delivery of the brand's promise should be job One starting today.

Because what you sow today will surely bear much fruit far down the road.

A Tribute to Mrs. Viviane Reding

To contact us Click HERE

Outgoing European Commissioner for Information Society and Media (2004-2009)


"Strong competition and a functioning single market work in the best interests of European citizens and consumers."(11/23/09)

On January 1, Viviane Reding, European Commissioner for Information Society and Media will step down as part of a reshuffle of the EC cabinet in conjunction with the implementation of the new Treaty of Lisbon which makes major changes in the structure of the European Union.  It is expected that she will be appointed to a new position as Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship.  (She previously had been European Commissioner for Education and Culture in 1999 - 2004.)

In the period from 2004-2009, she was, in effect, the "telecom policy czarina" of Europe.  As many readers know, telecom policy in Europe functions at both the national level with the longstanding multinational CEPT as the primary forum of national regulators and at the EC level with RSPG as a multinational forum in the spectrum area.  An additional complication is that CEPT has 48 members, including Russia, and the EC has 27 members.  But the EC is concerned about all social and economic issues in Europe while the CEPT is more focused - tunnel vision? - on the telecom sector.



Mrs. Reding (I have never seen her referred to as "Ms. Reding") was a client of mine while I lived in Paris.  I was appointed her "special advisor" in 2006 at the recommendation of Martin Cave.  (The details of the arrangement we made public the next year when a member of the European Parliament was concerned about cronyism in the selection of consultants by commissioners and demanded public disclosure of all details.  Unfortunately they did not publish the miserly per diem I was paid to stay in Brussels to talk with her and her staff.  However, I did get a first class Thalys train ticket between Paris and Brussels for the trip that gave me free coffee for the 90 minute ride.)

 "This is why (EC) President Barroso and I have proposed a 'Digital Agenda for Europe' to make sure that Europe focuses on:

    * the industries and applications that have the potential to lift Europe's performance and
    * the prominent place and role of consumers in this new environment".(11/12/09)

What really impressed me about dealing with her and her staff was the focus on helping the whole European economy and society develop, not focusing on the telecom industry in isolation and certainly not focusing on the major telecom operators and manufacturers as most national telecom regulators do.  Sometimes her strong pro-EU policies irritated the US, such as her backing for Galileo as a alternative to GPS and using EU funding for a European Google search engine alternative.  But such "nationalism" was quite popular in Europe and I could see some logic for it.  Her office also funded a lot of telecom R&D with joint projects with universities and private firms and at time I wondered about the WPA aspects of this.  But her continued focus on both the European economy and European society made her a much more insightful telecom policy maker than FCC and its national counterparts in almost every country.  Telecom policy need not be focused primarily on carriers, broadcasters, and manufacturers.  Telecom is a key infrastructure for economies and societies.

"ICT also contributes macro-economically to productivity growth and
 increased competitiveness of the European economy as a whole,
 and thus is a factor in growth and job creation." -- COM(2006) 334


I hope FCC and other regulators learn from her legacy.





European Telecoms and Media Commissioner Viviane Reding delivering the 2009 Ludwig Erhard lecture at the Lisbon Council in Brussels.

Origins of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth

To contact us Click HERE


May 9, 2010 will be the 25th anniversary of the FCC's adoption of the First Report and Order in Docket 81-413 - the rules that laid our the rules that became Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee,  many of the cordless phones sold in the US, and a variety of niche products that enhance our lives.  In the next few months we will have several posts on how this all came about and its impact on today's world.


A Dutch team based at TU Delft/Delft University of Technology has completed a book on the background of this decision and the early history of Wi-Fi focusing on the factors that stimulated innovation.  (NCR's Utrecht Engineering Centre played a key role in early 802.11 standards formulation and its Vic Hayes, a coauthor of the book, was the founding chair of the group.) The book should be published later this year by Cambridge University Press.  




The 2008 George Mason University "Unleashing Unlicensed" conference also has a great deal of information on why this decision came about.  The paper presented by Vic Hayes and Wolter Lemstra  from TU Delft is a good preview of the coming book.

A shorter history, "A brief history of Wi-Fi" was published in The Economist in 2004.

Some people think this decision was the just FCC reacting in a dilatory way to a petition from industry - adding no value and just slowing down progress through mindless regulation of technology.  It wasn't. While the then Hewlett-Packard initially supported it, all other significant corporate interests at the time were against it. (The part of H-P that was involved then is now part of Agilent, not the present H-P.  It was supportive and then just lost interest in the topic with a corporate refocusing.)


The FCC initiative that resulted in these rules were an internal FCC initiative that came out of Carter Administration and then Reagan Administration belief that deregulation would stimulate economic growth.  

In occasional posts over the next few months we will review where this decision came from and lessons it offers for the present day.

"Looking back, it is clear that adoption of these rules was one

of the significant achievements of the Reagan FCC

- though I doubt if anyone thought so at the time."

Mark Fowler, FCC Chairman 1981-87, 4/08

2009 Regulatory Review: The Year of Rebuilding and Preparing for New initiatives

To contact us Click HERE

Wireless Design Special Issue Published


The December 2009 issues of both Wireless Design and ECN (formerly Electronic Component News) contain the insert shown above, "A Year in Wireless".

This includes a group of articles entitled "Leading Industry Alliances Speak Out" with articles from the heads of alliances dealing with Wi-Fi, WiMAX, ZigBee, and Bluetooth as well as an article by your blogger entitled "2009 Regulatory Review: The Year of Rebuilding and Preparing for New Initiatives" (p. 11-12).

An interesting package and recommended reading.