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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.

Skip Dillard, PD of Inner City’s WBLS New York, echoes what many programmers—and people in general—tell me every day. “The blackberry is still the saving grace for me. When I transferred to WBLS there was a period where my phone lost my calendar and contacts. I felt almost blind and was stressed until I got everything back several days later. After my blackberry, my laptop would be my 2nd item you'll always find me near.”

Social networking sites have exploded on the Internet, and have been a valuable tool to many--not only for keeping in touch with friends, but also for creating viral marketing campaigns. Dillard says, "Myspace and Facebook still go down as the two most useful networking tools of all time. Hearing from friends, and college-mates I'd lost contact with over the years, as well as keeping up with fellow co-workers today, and making new friends, is so valuable.”

Ken Johnson, newly named Director of Urban Programming at ABC Radio Networks adds, “I can’t live without my iPhone or NewMusicServer.com for the latest music releases. On my wish list is a Mac Air. I often look to USA Today for reviews on new technology products.”

In terms of new products to better serve radio, there are a multitude of products out there. Valerie Geller, consultant and veteran News Talk programmer tells me about a new tool that could be invaluable to News Radio stations.

“In Australia, there’s a software called iNews and they’ve adapted a PDA-based field recorder called the LUCE, allowing reporters to use it as a phone, and video recorder, to receive and send emails, and calls. The recorder also allows wave form editing. You can stick in your audience clips, and stream-live a press conference straight to the web, and you can podcast.”

Geller explains, “TV news is using these types of tools regularly. Radio needs to use this kind of technology for the station on air as well as for additional content for the website. Today, radio has to have video as well as audio. With the internet presence, radio is not just an audio service anymore.”

She adds, “At [News] WFLA in Florida—when they send out a reporter, they are not only required to record their audio report, they are also required to take pictures to be added to the website to accompany the audio.”

Johnson has been very happy with the results from mobile marketing. He says, “What has really been good for radio has been the implementation of incorporating texting into your marketing and promotions plans. The potential is crazy because it’s a form of direct contact to the end user, or listener. Think about it--they always have it [a cell phone] with them, and it’s something they can review and look at when they have downtime--if they’re waiting in line, or if they’re riding in a car, or commuting, they can quickly look at it.”

Johnson explains, “This is a great way to have direct contact with your listener, and it helps them with appointment listening, which is key in a PPM world. You can text listeners when you’re getting ready to do something big on the air, like interview Whitney Houston—and it’s her first interview since the divorce. The listener can then turn on your station—even when they may have been listening to someone else. It’s one-on-one contact.”

Dillard says one of the best tools to hit in recent years for radio has been the “ Serato mix software.” It’s changed the DJ game from a mix standpoint. Now DJ's can come armed with thousands of songs without lugging around a dozen crates of LPs/CDs. If I need a song, one of my mixers can come up with it in two minutes. As a former mixer myself, I can really appreciate that kind of technology.”

And what about new technology for radio in general? One of the most controversial “new” technologies is HD radio. I say “New” because in reality, it was conceptualized and presented to radio as far back as the mid-to-late 90s. It’s also a very controversial, with many people in the broadcast world arguing it’s already failed.
Johnson feels there is still hope: “HD will be important for radio--if we can come up with a better strategy on how to program and market it.”

Geller agrees, “The programming will determine its success. Of course everyone wants it be easy. If you look at any drug, it takes ten years of research & development to see what worked. That’s how it will be with digital radio. In medicine you can’t give up on the first try—Radio has to keep that in mind. If you ask Steve Jobs how long it took to perfect the iPod—it took years. This whole expectation of instant success is not working for us, and that’s what's wrong with our industry. There is not commitment to process.”

She adds, “Record companies used to give an artist, 2 or 3 albums to break. Now, if you don’t make an impact on one single, you don’t get any further. But some things are a process and need more time.”

Geller works with many international broadcasters, and explains, “In Europe we have many digital channels, and they’re finding it hard to be relevant as well. What we’re seeing in Europe are hybrid formats on the digital channels-that’s not working. I am putting together a seminar called radio from A-to-D: Analog to Digital. I’ll talk about how to repurpose content for your digital channels, how to go deeper and change the content you already have, without having to spend more money, They’re not just new canvases; look at them as smaller canvases to dig deeper into what you already do.”

Dillard says, “Up until now, radio's always been on the cutting edge. I started radio in high school as the CD was starting to replace vinyl and cart-machines. Radio was first with Digital Audio Tape (DAT) and initially utilizing the mini-disc. I remember when commercial download hardware gave way to trading music files and mp3s. And although it's yet to become standard, I am still pretty optimistic where HD radio is concerned. However, more than the technology available to radio and coming from radio; content remains king. If you have the right music and the right talk; that's going to matter more than any technology available.”

Geller agrees, “It comes down to this: No matter how many toys you use, or if you have 1000 channels to choose from, or if they find a way to make content broadcast through your fillings as a new delivery system, if it doesn’t connect with the listener or make them feel better, then it still won’t work. You can have the coolest tools in the world, but if the content isn’t what you want or need, it will fail.”