The Conclave stays in the Minneapolis area for the 2010 conference, July 15-17

The board decides to keep the tradition going: the educational conference will remain in Minnesota and keep its mid-Summer timeframe. The 35th annual Conclave will occur at the Doubletree Hotel in St. Louis Park, three miles west of downtown and next to the Shops at West End retail development. Rooms are just $99 a night and hotel registration is already open at that rate. Details at the Conclave site.

Conclave: With Less Callout, PDs Look For Other Indicators On New Songs

With access to callout research diminished, Top 40 PDs are looking for other indicators on new songs. That was one of the key topics of discussion at “No Hits Barred,” a July 19 session at the Conclave in Minneapolis. KDWB (101.3) Minneapolis PD Rob Morris noted that “callout [reports have been] few and far between” in markets other than New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, although “we have some.” B96.3 (WBBM-FM) Chicago APD/MD Erik Bardley said his station still has weekly callout and is “very lucky to have it.” KDWB is starting to work with on-line callout although Morris said it took several cycles before he felt comfortable with the data. Programmers also talked about the effect of MediaMonitors' PPM-dervied MScore data. Morris said that he was looking at it more to get a read on gold and recurrent titles; Bradley said that B96.3 had dropped two or three songs, all gold, to date, based on MScore.

R&B Programmers Tackle PPM Challenges At Conclave

For all their concerns, Urban program directors have been as determined to gear their programming for Arbitron’s People Meter era as their counterparts in other formats. That became clear again at “Urban Radio’s Changing Environment: What Are the Format’s New Programming Challenges?”, held July 18 at the Conclave in Minneapolis. When moderator Jerry Boulding relayed Urban owners' concerns that PPM could put them out of business, “V103” WVAZ Chicago OM Derrick Brown (pictured) responded that “PPM could put poorly programmed Urban stations out of business.” Despite early suggestions that any special programming would hurt PPM audience, Brown said that V103 had done special “Steppers’ Programming” that had done as much as a 40 share in some hour/target demo combinations on New Year’s Day. By contrast, Brown noted, V103 broke format to air an interview with then-presidential candidate Barack Obama on Oct. 21. Brown says the station later found that “our AQH was zero during that time” and that the station “would have been better served by a Webcast.”

Kipper McGee and Steve Goldstein, Conclave Rockwell Award winners, see radio's future

Former WLS, Chicago programmer McGee (pictured) says “I truly this is radio’s third golden age”, with the digital and other new media possibilities before it. Goldstein admits that “I'm a glass half-empty kinda guy”, but he believes that radio will emerge on the other side of “recession, depression, reinvention” with a business that leverages off of its still-extensive audience reach to create new ways to reach listeners, online and in mobile digital. Neither doubts there is pain ahead. Both men were honored with standing ovations at the Arbitron-sponsored Awards Luncheon at the 2009 Conclave in Bloomington, MN – dubbed “48 Hours”, for its intensive leaning experience packed into two days.

Alone Together: What should a combined RAB/NAB Radio Conference look like?

The son of Radio parents, my first NAB convention was in Chicago, sometime around 1957; I can remember holding my father's hand as we walked the halls of the Conrad Hilton Hotel, visiting hospitality suites. This proves nothing except that I sure am old! In the years that followed, I attended many more NAB conventions (following as the Big Show moved from Chicago to Las Vegas), and participated as the National Radio Broadcasters Association convention morphed into the NAB Fall Radio Show. I've attended nearly every RAB conference, beginning with those wild events at the AMFAC Hotel and Resort in the middle of the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport; I'm certainly not the only one who never found the resort! I've been a presenter at dozens of these meetings, served on their planning committees and, when I succeeded Radio Wayne Cornils as EVP/Meetings of the RAB, was actually in charge of both the RAB conference and RAB's sales and management programs that it supplies to the NAB conventions. I have great respect for those who plan and operate our industry's meetings. It is a tough job.

Is Radio a "Dinosaur"?

From Tom Taylor: “How do we avoid being dinosaured out?” That was a question for the RAB’s Jeff Haley from the Conclave audience, and he was ready for it. One of his answers is that radio needs to be available on all kinds of new mobile/digital and cell phone platforms, like the Microsoft Zune (which also enables song-tagging and purchase). And yes, there have been conversations with all kinds of device manufacturers, like Apple. The other hard question from the audience came from Phil Wilson, who said “there’s less and desire by radio companies to invest in their product.” Haley is practical. He says “2009 is a year about making your payroll, keeping your franchise alive.” But he notes that 7,000 U.S. terrestrial stations are now streaming, so they’re at least making that much of an investment in a digital future.

The reinvention of Dave & Geri

So what do you do after a 30 year career on the radio? While some continue to hit the streets looking for their next on air radio gig, other personalities are taking their talent to the Internet. This isn’t the Internet radio of years past. These are professionals from radio, bringing their years of broadcast experience to “Online Radio.” Legendary Chicago DJ Steve Dahl is “Reinventing” himself after terrestrial radio. His podcast will be available after Labor Day (September 8). San Francisco’s Jeff Vandergrift, known as “J.V.” on Clear Channel Rhythmic KYLD (94.9), is launching “J.V.’s World” online, even while he still has a job on the terrestrial side. And they’re not the only brand names to venture out into the worldwide web. Grand Rapids morning radio veterans Dave Jagger & Geri Jarvis have launched their own daily radio show, or “podcast” as some refer to it, which is heard on DaveandGeri.com.

Ross On Radio #11 – July 21, 2009

In the latest issue of Ross On Radio, Sean Ross asks “Did The Change In Teen Tastes Start With Radio Disney? He also does a double take on Miley Cyrus’ “The Climb.” Other highlights include a first listen to new country WWQM “Q106” Madison, and a wrap up from Conclave. Here’s an excerpt: “It’s a rite of passage of sorts. Any programmer with kids of a certain age must go through the phase where they discover Radio Disney and become intensely aware of every song on the station—including those that don’t exist beyond the walls of radio’s Magic Kingdom. (The most curious now, by the way, is a remake of “U Can’t Touch This” by Daniel Curtis Lee & Adam Hicks).”