Gordon Borrell has issued his latest report benchmarking local media’s digital revenues. Required reading for anyone in the local media business. Yesterday I published a transcript of Part 1 and the full video interview. Today, Part 2: Whereas the emphasis in the radio industry seems to be “let’s communicate the value of the Nielsen numbers, let’s make the Nielsen numbers as accurate as they can be,” you’re suggesting that there’s way too much dependence on Nielsen and the tr

Over the past few weeks I have heard the story more than once: A big segment of a News/Talk show or a morning show was given over to an interview subject whose identity, content, and duration had nothing to do with what interested audiences and everything to do with what advertisers are paying for. Everybody was in on this joke – except for the audience. For them it was just crappy content. It seems quaint to reflect on the fact that advertisers once bought spots. Today, the

Radio is an industry that pioneered entertainment content by and for women. Soap operas began on radio, after all. And later, talk shows from the likes of Dr. Laura and Dr. Ruth and Sally Jesse Raphael spotlighted radio’s incomparable ability to be intimate and one-to-one even as it’s one-to-many. But does radio “talk” to women today? In a sense, yes. After all, pick any strong CHR or Hot AC morning show and you have what is primarily “talk” for (and sometimes by) women. Sure

I am stridently pro-consumer. I believe that if we focus on what consumers show us they want, then we will have more consumers, happier consumers, and a healthier business overall. This is the thinking that has driven all my successful audience research efforts for years. So it was with much disappointment that I reviewed the recent research project produced by Coleman Research for NextRadio, financed by the NAB. Coleman has a well-deserved strong reputation, but this deeply

From Inside Radio: Aiming to bring talk radio fans closer to the studio, CBS Radio is beta testing a new iPhone app that enables faster, more spontaneous ways for listeners to get involved with its shows. Sports “The Fan” WFAN, New York (660) afternoon host Mike Francesa is the guinea pig for AudioRoadShow, which went live yesterday afternoon. CBS Local Digital Media president Ezra Kucharz called the new app “game-changing for sports radio” for its ability to let hosts quic

Michael Stelzner is the creator of the fantastic site SocialMediaExaminer.com, one of the leading – if not the leading – social media strategy sites. Michael also is the author of a great new book called Launch: How to Quickly Propel Your Business Beyond the Competition the book’s official site here).  Needless to say, Michael is also a radio listener and has lots to say about the intersection of radio and social media. Watch this video for our full unedited conversation Pref

What’s the difference between an audience and a “community”? As David Siteman Garland puts it in his book Smarter, Faster, Cheaper: Non-Boring, Fluff-Free Strategies for Marketing and Promoting Your Business A community is not an audience.  An audience passively listens, watches, or reads.  A community interacts, questions, challenges. An audience is one-way, not interactive or social.  An audience doesn’t participate or share with others. A community, on the other hand, is a

Broadcasters are increasingly aware that – even in a PPM-rated world – it’s not enough to cling to listening occasions like they’re life rafts in a vast and dangerous ocean. You can only keep people listening for so long when you eliminate turn-offs. Eventually you need to focus on turn-ons – things that will bring listeners back again and again. Remember, eliminating turn-offs has nothing to do with bringing back listeners because they are deaf to your turn-offs when they ha

1. Understand what consumer problem you solve You’re not simply a radio station full of music that everyone can agree on.  You’re a solution to the problems of your audience.  What problem or problems do you solve?  Are you the spot for them to hear their favorite music?  Or new music?  Or great background while they’re working?  Or the place to keep them company in the car?  Or the place they turn to for an update on news or weather?  Or the spot they pick for a laugh every