Dominick Milano is Triton Media Executive Vice President. Following up on my "Gospel" post, Dominick shared some Gospel of his own, and I asked for his permission to publish it here. It's a call to the right kind of action. Enjoy!
I started writing this last week because I thought a message of change needed to be sent. So many fear change, but I have always said, Yes We Can. So, somehow, Mr. Obama’s speech writer hacked into my Mac. Am I upset? Not at all. I am honored to be the ghost writer for the inaugural address. However, I wanted to share with you the original text!
Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, Radio. they will be met.
In reaffirming the greatness of our medium, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. It has been the risk-takers, the doers, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity.
This is the journey we must continue today. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our programming and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions – that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking Radio.
For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the medium calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act _ not only to create new content, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the wesbites and streaming players, the databases, the mobile distribution platform, and all of the other digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together with our consumers that we once called listeners. We will create multiple distribution points, and wield technology's wonders to raise the level of engagement and lower its cost. We will harness the audience and the community and the content they create to fuel our platform and engage our audience. And we will transform our managers and sellers and program directors to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.
Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions _ who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this medium has already done; what risk takers can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.
What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them _ that the stale radio arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether radio is too big or too small, but whether it works _ whether it helps broadcasters connect with their audiences, creates revenue through that engagement, and build a dignified path to a prosperous future. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who want to support radio with digital infrastructure, content, consultation, and training will be held in high esteem to consult, lead, and guide because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their best friend, radio!
You can reach Dominick by email or at 212-419-2955.
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