In this week’s Programming To Win column, Robby Bridges finds the silver lining in the media’s occasional doom-and-gloom about radio. Comparing radio to the state of the newspaper business and other media options, Bridges says there is plenty to be happy about nowadays in the radio industry.
By Robby Bridges
Robby Bridges
I was struck while watching the White House Correspondent’s dinner the other evening by the reaction to one of Jimmy Kimmel’s jokes (Jimmy, by the way, spent many years as a radio morning man). “Riddle for this crowd,” he quips, “What’s black and white and read all over…nothing any longer!” The crowd, made up largely of journalists, many print, let out a collective groan that bordered on an out-and-out boo. I might add, watch any news program and there are routinely columnists/reporters from major newspapers on board, the stalwarts of public record. Additionally, drive through most cities from the large to the small and more often than not you’ll see a the city’s newspaper has its own building downtown. All of this is remarkable to me because newspapers from the New York Times to the Providence Journal (back in my hometown) to the Anytown USA Gazette has seen circulation plummet; papers in major American cities are down to circulations of 150K and less. A few papers have been able to hold back the tide to some degree with online supplements and apps, but to no real avail as the access to content has been usurped by the availability of information online, on demand and in the 24/7 cable news cycle (many metros have local cable news outlets on television as well). There is no question, the newspaper is a media whose era has passed it by and large despite the chagrin of old fashioned fuddies like me. Interestingly though, print journalists (on display booing Mr. Kimmel) are fiercely protective and passionate about their medium. Ever had to place an announcement in a local paper? Rates haven’t come down with circulation decrease most places. Amazed that overhead with falling circulation/ad sales still allows for a news team in its own downtown building? I am having worked at a motley array of radio station studio locations operating with one person on duty if that most of the day.
I bring all of this up because the economic crisis and the evolution of the radio business (expounded by venom-spewers on message boards and blogs online) have led to a lot of negativity, gloom, frustration and worst of all, lack of passion/excitement for radio product, not just in individual situations but regarding the state of radio overall. I posted an old picture of myself in a control room on Facebook and the first comment it got read “wow, those were the days, too bad no one listens to radio any longer.” The fact of the matter is radio cume is as high, if not slightly higher, than it’s ever been at 93.8% of the U.S. population usage/week according to one research study. Sure, with so many mass media and entertainment options available in this digital era (some even of our industry’s own creation in HD and online-only channels), TSL is a bigger battle than ever; BUT unlike print and even television, radio’s audience hasn’t gone anywhere. And yet, there is a perception among insiders and observers that the best days are past and those of us still creating every day are fighting a losing battle in a dead media…this couldn’t be further from reality. There is no question radio requires a wider array of skills for talent, managers, sellers and programmers than it may have before and requires more hours and hats worn; further, like many businesses the tools/perks may have decreased in some instances so we are all needed to be at times creative in how we create great radio for our audience/clients, but the audience is there.
Pandora, Spotify and others want to be classified as radio; people use radio, radio is now readily available on multiple digital platforms, why wouldn’t they want to sell themselves to advertisers and consumers as Radio 2.0? Yes, they have generated ad dollars and what could be classified as TSL/cume from consumers. The Huffington Post, the Drudge Report, even MSN/Yahoo/AOL homepages have replaced the role of newspapers. I’d argue Pandora and the like have replaced the consumer’s need to buy a hard copy of an album, not the time they spend with radio. Even heavy radio users (whom research often show are heavier than mass music consumers) have traditionally spent time with their personal music collections potentially at the expense of their P1 and P2 radio stations, Pandora has replaced the CD more so than local, terrestrial radio usage.
Radio is a tough business; a competitive business; it requires long hours often for little financial reward or otherwise and that’s nothing new. Most of us are in the radio business because we love it; we are passionate…yes, we are all aircheck geeks to one degree or another. Our medium is facing a new round of challenges and the ongoing economic anemia has only heightened the sense of urgency but radio continues to be a vital, vibrate, profitable and exciting business to be in. The public hasn’t given up on us, and we as an industry ought to not get down on ourselves or the magic of what we create for one second.
Robby Bridges is PD at WFAS/Westchester NY; host on WPLJ/New York and the True Oldies Channel on Cumulus Media Networks. He is also President of BBOR Productions, developing and marketing syndication, music and production pieces nationally. Previously Bridges has worked in various capacities at WCTK/Providence, Z100/New York, Q102/Philadelphia, WODS and Mix 98.5/Boston and elsewhere in New England. Robby can be reached at 203-333-9108 or bridges@bborproductions.com
