Couple of thoughts for the weekend.

Radio station guys' true colors are showing in the fundraising and reporting on the wrath and aftermath of Katrina. You know who you are. Good on you. Keep it going. Think about making it a major part of your thinking, because you can do it better than anybody else.

And now back to the struggle: Look at this gadget--a clip-on FM radio for the Ipod. From a third party aftermarket supplier. Has it come to this? Makes me think--if you're rabid about getting an Ipod and getting your music fix that way, and you bought the thing as is, why would you want to snap a radio thingy on the top of it? Isn't that the whole point?

This illuminates radio's current and immediate future dilemma: Everything that's new and cool in radio and personal music enjoyment is coming from non-stick radio or music sources. What's cool in commercial broadcast radio? JackFM? Rush? Mancow? What radio tech is cool? HD? When?

Stick radio is up against satellite radio, which is to say, only two companies with the ability to speak with a single industry voice, and, down the line, Internet radio, which already steals audience from you. But the good news is, people still want what only local radio stations can provide. Take the weekend off and think about what that means in your town.