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Taylor On Radio-Info

 

Tom Taylor

Some of the headlines in the latest issue of the free daily publication T-R-I -

Is radio’s spike in interactive revenue coming out of its own pocket?

Virginia owner Gary Burns lost twice in federal court – but wins at the FCC.

Citadel’s still got the Sean Hannity question.

Salem will continue to be a selective station seller - not a buyer.

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The Winter 2008 quarterly ratings wrap up with the publication of West Palm Beach, Greenville, Spokane, and Huntsville, are now up on the Radio-Info.com Ratings page.

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RI 360°

Ross on Radio

Sean Ross
Closing In On a National New Music Channel

By Sean Ross

By themselves, Clear Channel's much heralded eRockster.com and CBS Radio's soft-launched Ampradio.com make a lot of sense.

And it would perhaps make even more sense if somebody combined the two concepts.

Launched at the Coachella Valley Music Festival, eRockster is a national station -- built mostly around Indie Rock -- that will stream, but also be heard on Clear Channel HD-2 multicast stations in a number of markets, overcoming some of the group's previous hesitance about using those frequencies for a national brand.

Ampradio, programmed by KROQ/KCBS-FM Los Angeles PD Kevin Weatherly and heard on KCBS' HD-2 channel, skews older than Radio Disney but younger and poppier than crosstown Top 40 powerhouse KIIS. (It's along the lines of BusRadio.com or Corus' brief-lived BoomBoxBaby.ca.) Ampradio is a mix of mainstream Top 40 music, Radio Disney music and, so far, just a few things that are falling through the cracks at mainstream radio. While it has great untapped musical potential in that regard, it is certainly on the right track in going after one of the constituencies that has been disenfranchised by radio and has responded in kind.

Sean Ross
Edison Media Research
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The Strategy Session

Dana Hall
What can radio learn from past success in the world of new technology?

By Dana Hall

Having just returned from the NAB convention in Las Vegas, I have to say I was completely overwhelmed by the size of the event (over 100 thousand attendees from the states and internationally), as well as the endless number of new products and services created to help us better do our jobs in the broadcast industry. Leading up to the event, I was bombarded daily with emails and calls from companies showcasing new products at the event—everyone wanting a little piece of my time so that I could write about their “new cool” product.

It got me to thinking. How do you know when a new tool or technology is going to work well in the actual marketplace? What are the best predictors for success? I decided to ask programmers what were the tools/devices they couldn’t live without in their day-to-day lives, and what were the best new tools and technology developed in recent years, that help them at their radio stations. Here are their thoughts.

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NEWS

Friday, May 9, 2008

Read all today's news here

Read Taylor on Radio-Info
TOP STORYAllegations surface about ex-KGO host Bernie Ward from his days as a priest

Bernie_WardKGO-TV's "I-Team" finds two women who claim that then-"Father Bernie" behaved inappropriately with them when they were teenagers at a Catholic high school. One says Ward took her to the beach, bought a bottle of rum, offered her a joint, and then began kissing her. Ward's attorney Doron Weinberg tells KGO-TV "the allegations are completely false" and "could have a negative impact on the federal prosecution" against him - the case in which he just changed his plea from "not guilty." Ward faces a minimum of five years on computer-related child porn charges, and the San Francisco Chronicle says KGO Radio management has now relaxed its "suggestion" that talkhosts avoid the topic of his arrest and legal situation. On Thursday, host Ronn Owens devoted the first hour of his show to the pent-up feelings of his listeners. Read the KGO-TV I-Team report here.

Clear Channel is "not certain a closing will occur"

Clear_Channel_logoIts Q1 statement includes scant news about the merger that's supposed to be closing by June 12, except that it's "unable to estimate a closing date, and is not certain that a closing will occur." The company says its 4% revenue drop at Clear Channel Radio "out-performed the majority of our markets." Though it says this current second quarter is pacing to be off a bit more, down 5.3%. Expenses were also down in Q1 (2%), but so was what Clear Channel calls OIBDAN (roughly, cash flow), off 6%. Both national and local revenue dropped, though Clear Channel derived more revenue from "traffic, online and syndicated" - meaning Premiere. Several months ago John Hogan ordered a freeze on outside consulting and research, and that appears to have saved it about $11.5 million in the first quarter. Study what the company's saying here.

Bonneville's new "Sound" in L.A. names its first GM and PD

Programming and Los Angeles market veteran Dave Beasing is named program director of KRBV "100.3 the Sound", while Peter Burton joins as GM. Beasing has spent the past 13 years as a programming consultant with Jacobs Media, but prior to that, he programmed LA's KYSR and KEXZ. Burton is headed up from San Diego, where he has been the Director of Sales for Lincoln Financial's group there. Discuss It

WMMR Philadelphia "Rocks" 40 years

Many of Philadelphia's best known and most listened to radio personalities from over the years will return to WMMR (93.3) Philadelphia this weekend for the station's 40th anniversary celebration. Beginning Saturday morning, voices heard once again on 'MMR will include Mark Goodman, Earl Bailey, John DeBella, Anita Gevinson, David Dye, Bubba John Stevens, Lyn Kratz and Razz. Sunday's lineup includes Joe Bonadonna, Ed Sciaky, Ray Koob, and Dee Snider. The complete schedule is available at www.wmmr.com where you can also find information on the star-studded lineup appearing at the MMRBQ 40th birthday party, taking place May 18.

Making Moves: Friday Afternoon

Congratulations to talker Laura Ingraham who announced on her show that she's adopted a 3-year old girl from Guatemala ... A TV weatherman adds radio duties in Chicago, as WBBM-TV's Don Schwenneker will do hourly weather updates for the WUSN-FM (99.5) morning show starting Monday. He replaces WMAQ-TV weather guy Brant Miller, who's now doing mornings for "True Oldies" WZZN-FM (94.7) says the Sun-Times ... Despite protests, Baltimore's WYPR-FM (88.1) will not bring back the fired Mark Steiner, but DCRTV reports Steiner may be looking for a home at another Baltimore non-commercial station, WEAA (88.9) ... As reported today in Tom Taylor's "Taylor on Radio-Info," Joe Mule is the new GM of Chattanooga, Tennessee's WUUS (980/97.3/99.3) ... The Houston Rockets are on the hunt for a new radio team for next season on flagship KILT (610) ... In Fresno, California, Ray Appleton is making moves - to the local court house. The KMJ-AM (580) morning news host had his motorcycle impounded after he was stopped for speeding and for not having a motorcycle license.

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GUEST COLUMN

On The Mic

Radio-Info welcomes the industry's top thought leaders as guest columnists
The Demise of Age/Sex Demographics?

By John Sutton

Arbitron’s Portable People Meter (PPM) data reaffirms public radio’s appeal to college educated listeners. Public radio’s ratings performance is best among people with a college degree or higher.

While college educated listeners are public radio’s strength, the majority of college educated listeners don’t use public radio on a weekly basis. The data suggest that public radio might still be more a niche medium than we thought.

That niche has served public radio well. That niche will serve public radio well into the future and it might provide an example to all radio stations trying to succeed in a constantly fragmenting media marketplace.

John Sutton

Paragon Media Strategies 

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