The radio guys are meeting in Philly for the rest of the week at the annual NAB Radio Show. Not all of them--just the few who still have travel budgets and the folks who want to sell them stuff, including ideas. I recommend you go to Mark Ramsey's blog for on-the-scene reporting, including a podcast from the scene. Mark's also one of the head's-on-straight radio guys, who's selling the future of radio in the real world. Look into what Kurt Hanson's selling, too. He was one of the first radio people to embrace the Internet and new tech, and he built a site about it. Both these guys get it..."it" being the fact that radio faces competition that for the first time threatens to end its monopoly on wireless audio. (The new Sprint-Nextel is calling itself a "communications and entertainment" company. Not a telephone company.) If radio people wait for digital "HD" radio to save them (called DAB everywhere else on the planet) and do nothing to return to local programming (besides more weather reports), their share of ears will continue to shrink. Well, have some beers in Philly for me, boys.
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1 comment:
Dave,
As someone who attended the convention I must tell you, there were 3 camps in Philly.
1. The guest speakers that told the attendance of the upcoming changes, the consequences for radio, and the admonishment to "wake up" before it's too late.
2. Radio leaders that told the attendance of the upcoming changes, how well radio is responding,and, uh, how well radio is, uh, well, we're radio, people will listen, because, uh, we're radio. Ok? Ok! Gotta go!
3.Radio attendees that heard both and wondered who to believe!
Overheard on the floor,
"I hope all those cheesesteaks I ate won't make my butt big!
Is my name tag straight?"
It's getting scarey this radio biz.
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