tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145485002011-04-21T17:42:40.599-07:00<i>There is no heavier burden than a great potential.<br> ~ Charles Schulz</i>DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.comBlogger1271100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1157160706784422722006-09-01T18:27:00.000-07:002006-10-13T10:27:29.255-07:00

I've moved my blogging activity on radio to my new book Web site, MarconiDreams.com. I'm focusing even more on my novel, a work in progress, and the posts there will be less industry-oriented and more in line with my objective, to create a supporting site for the book. I'll be leaving dehype-radio up for the foreseeable future.Thanks for dropping by. I hope you like the new site.

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1153242295084760792006-07-18T09:25:00.000-07:002006-07-21T10:37:18.880-07:00

Big flap throughout RadioLand. CBS Radio (formerly Infinity, formerly CBS Radio, formerly Infinity, etc., etc.) sacks about 115 people around the country from its 179 stations, including stations it's already trying to sell, in some "smaller" markets.The way many radio guys were screaming about CBS's dastardly deed last week--out-launching a big One Percent of its workforce, including mid-top

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1152887414544797902006-07-14T06:49:00.000-07:002006-07-14T07:30:14.646-07:00

Google's been working on it for a while -- first they revolutionized advertising on the Web, tried to break into print, which didn't go so well -- not that time, anyway. Then they bought dMarc Broadcasting, which was in the process of Webifying radio advertising sales. Others are working on it, like SoftwaveRadio, but not with the Google war chest behind them. Now the blogger jungle telegraph is

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1151537332285399052006-06-28T16:04:00.000-07:002006-07-01T20:38:34.036-07:00

I watched a replay of Scientific American Frontiers last night on PBS -- its "Future Car" episode. Something a GM engineer said to Alan Alda triggered something in my mind.The engineer spoke of designing the car around the new technology, rather than taking the familiar car design and trying to fit the technology into it. The result -- the Autonomy "skateboard."The technology environment of radio

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1151001795381288832006-06-22T11:41:00.000-07:002006-06-22T11:43:15.396-07:00

"This doesn't feel good anymore. Let's buy back our stock!" Cool, say the broker-boys, we'll take our cut on the downside, too!Well, never mind, you still know how to get that quick spurt in the AQH, dontcha? You know, ARBITRON? Those really, really clever guys who figured out how to slice 'n dice a thousand diaries into at least forty-seven demographic slivers and get you your big 3.0 in M 25-34

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1149478699343767282006-06-04T19:40:00.000-07:002006-06-14T20:51:11.460-07:00

The other night I forgot to switch my clock radio to "sleep." I woke up at three or so in the morning just as Peter Newman introduced Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic. I was awake and alert for the next hour.The piece was the Airborne Symphony, written during World War II by Marc Blitzstein, and first performed in 1946. It's a vocal work that dramatizes the birth and development of

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1149260080195505072006-06-02T07:46:00.000-07:002006-06-02T18:40:02.506-07:00

Any teen with a Webcam can now do TV. It’s a multimedia world. How long before some steel-tower radio guy figures out how easily he could turn himself into a TV broadcaster—feeding computers, IPods, cellphones. Some radio stations have been screwing cameras to control room walls and feeding their morning shows to cable for years and years. Imagine—parity with TV. Hey. It’s no goofier

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1147811352364091502006-05-16T13:27:00.000-07:002006-05-16T13:29:12.376-07:00

Radio PDs blow off MySpace. (Reuters via News.com)

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1147801592914631222006-05-16T09:46:00.000-07:002006-05-16T10:46:33.046-07:00

The US commercial radio industry and its dominatrix, Arbitron--plus a couple of unknowns--struggle on, trying to invent the belt-mounted radio-sensitive spy-pod, hoping to revolutionize the way agencies decide to spend billions of dollars of advertisers' profits on stations that run eight radio commercials in a row. Meanwhile, a few ad buyers are scheming with ebay on a TV ad auction. And, of

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1147786316568574632006-05-16T06:27:00.000-07:002006-05-16T06:34:30.323-07:00

"The device is an extension of the subscriber's personality, a 21st-century Swiss Army knife, if you will," Farren said. "Wireless is the only medium that goes where you go."-- A cell-phone industry spokesman, quotedin the Seattle Post-Intelligencer

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1147464683230160562006-05-12T13:08:00.000-07:002006-05-12T13:11:23.246-07:00

If you think your radio station's on the cutting edge, check this out. BBC Radio One lives in the virtual world.

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1147450898028848432006-05-12T08:34:00.000-07:002006-05-12T09:22:49.123-07:00

New York disc jockey fired for threatening bodily harm to rival deejay's family on the air. . . . Radio station free gas promotions snarl traffic (Video at eleven!). . . . Senate mulls higher indecency fines for broadcasters. . . . Clear Channel President expects $99 HD radio "in 12 to 18 months. . . . "But hey...new research says people are perfectly happy with steel-tower radio....

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1147281802066494752006-05-10T09:36:00.000-07:002006-05-10T10:23:22.143-07:00

Ran into a guy on the bus yesterday; second time we've met. Windbreaker, Nikes, big glasses, shoulder bag, unhip baseball cap, single earphone in right ear. "This is the first time I've allowed myself to appear in public with an earphone in my ear," he said, right at the top of the conversation. "But I wanted to listen to National Public Radio." He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1146928949983443632006-05-06T08:21:00.000-07:002006-05-06T08:22:30.000-07:00

If the US Congress passes legislation, up for a vote next Tuesday (05/09/06), ATT, Comcast, or other major telephone carriers could decide which Web sites you can see fastest, or at all, based on how much the Web publisher pays them. The issue is called "net neutrality," meaning nobody can make anybody "more equal" than anybody else on the Internet. Please read up on the issue, then get to your

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1146545217892317082006-05-01T21:16:00.000-07:002006-05-01T21:51:26.946-07:00

Three news items involving CBS Radio this week, two of them breaking today, dramatize the Big Radio Guys' approach to the new media revolution.1) CBS announced that the programming of its "Modern Rock" KROQ, Los Angeles, will now be heard on two of its "FreeFM" talk stations' HD subchannels, San Diego and Phoenix. Another of those intensely local programming moves that characterize the HD radio

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1146335841806383622006-04-29T11:09:00.000-07:002006-04-29T11:43:03.346-07:00

No news made in Vegas this year. Oh, new NAB president, who tested the waters, suggesting broadcasters get off their asses. At least they laughed on cue. . . . Assorted grousing among TV types on high cost of high-def equipment--how long can we put off buying it (Huh?!)?. . . FCC commissioners making semi-nice. . . good attendance at the "What is the Internet?" panels (I made that up-- disclosure

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1146249332686262902006-04-28T11:30:00.000-07:002006-04-28T11:35:32.713-07:00

Haven't seen one of these outside the HD Radio Alliance site. I'm trying to be positive, here. The link: Engadget.

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1146164048314198232006-04-27T11:41:00.000-07:002006-04-27T22:30:48.493-07:00

There is hope. The audience isn't pouring over to Web radio or satellite. It's a slow leak. You've still got a chance to recapture them. But, if you're counting on HD, and willing to wait for the dynamite HD radio everybody'll want, the leak will dissolve the dike.My three tips:1. Do something local and earthshaking on your signal.2. Get on the cell Smartphone networks.3. Stream everything you

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1145981768076504082006-04-25T08:59:00.000-07:002006-04-25T09:17:14.330-07:00

David Rehr is the new president of NAB. In Vegas yesterday, he delivered a true departure speech--instead of the usual industry self-congratulation keynote, Rehr challenged broadcasting to get with the present, in what Inside Radio called a "kick in the pants" for convention attendees. He succeeded in remaining positive, too. Good trick in today's crumbling electronic environment."For radio, let’

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1145922018409612902006-04-24T16:26:00.000-07:002006-04-24T16:40:18.423-07:00

Read this. From RadioWorld. Written by a station owner who's discovered that stereo can save AM. Will wonders never cease?

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1145909794558359342006-04-24T12:29:00.000-07:002006-04-25T09:27:53.656-07:00

Ah, spring in Vegas. NAB: A hundred thousand TV and radio guys checking their hair in Hilton lobby-casino mirrors as they trudge through the air-conditioned tunnel to the convention center next door. I'm not there, thank God.What's the buzz on pre-opening Monday? Let's surf the trades: HD Radio angst. Good roundup here from RadioWorld's Paul McLane....Bunch of new markets roll out HD formats (

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1145644180620022742006-04-21T11:24:00.000-07:002006-04-21T11:44:51.156-07:00

I know how much radio guys hate to read anything that doesn't fit on a three-by-five card, and I know how hard you work to remain clueless on new media, not to mention the world, but you gotta read this fascinating article from the NY Times Magazine about Google and China. You'll know all the words, I promise.

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1145459653345400382006-04-19T07:58:00.000-07:002006-04-25T09:23:26.833-07:00

It's gotta be difficult to come up with topics for radio research company Web sites these days, when nothing particularly earthshaking is happening in the industry. If you've got nothing important to do, or just need a laugh, read Sean Ross's dead serious "When Contest Winners Will Not Scream," over on edisonresearch.com.

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1145378056648217142006-04-18T09:28:00.000-07:002006-04-18T09:35:07.626-07:00

InsideRadio.com's all about Jeff Smulyan's Wall Street conference call today. Just in case you think it's easy projecting optimism in a creaking, yet moneymaking, industry. But, then, if you work in US radio, or got dumped by it recently, you know.

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1145075921211629172006-04-14T20:08:00.000-07:002006-04-26T12:01:15.576-07:00

Don't tell me you're already doing it. See my last post. This is Number 4 in the Think-through, because I've been tinkering with how to re-juice steel-tower radio in the personal-digital media era. There's always been a considerable percentage of the population who could do better radio than radio guys.Now anybody can produce "broadcast quality" audio and programming content and distribute it for

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1144949037983637322006-04-13T09:50:00.000-07:002006-04-13T10:23:58.043-07:00

While I'm at it: Since the days of the legendary radio news guy Rip Reed, radio stations have mouthed what wire services printed out on that endless paper or monitor screens. More-serious radio news departments relied on police-fire scanners and phone "beat checks" to police departments. They actually wrote things on typewriters before running to the studios carrying paper and carts containing

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1144865470768124102006-04-12T10:33:00.000-07:002006-04-12T11:11:10.896-07:00

Run on over to InsideRadio.com and read blogger Brian Maloney's first column for the trade, headlined, "If local is so important, why are radio companies going with syndication?" IR calls it a "special report," but it's a commentary (Come on, Tom, call it what it is)."Could more local programming quickly contain increasing threats to traditional, land-based radio from satellite radio, podcasting

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1144770980030785412006-04-11T08:17:00.000-07:002006-04-11T08:56:20.093-07:00

Excellent article in today's LATimes on the million or two paying listeners Howard Stern took with him to Sirius, out of the twelve million he got credit for on steel-tower radio.The timing could scarcely be worse for terrestrial radio, which needs an oversized, rudderless audience now like it needs another intriguing and easy-to-use competitor — say, an iPod, podcasts, personalized CDs or, Stern

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1144727820747303262006-04-10T20:47:00.000-07:002006-04-10T20:57:00.760-07:00

In Saturday's L.A. Times, Charles Duhigg wrote that radio music programmers are reluctant to add new songs to their stations' playlists, because of the scare Eliot Spitzer sent down the alleged spines of their corporate bosses. What year is this? [Techdirt comments, too.]

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1144185818880811792006-04-04T14:13:00.000-07:002006-04-04T14:24:26.403-07:00

Zowie! Starting this month, all visitors to Clear Channel's radio station Web sites will be able to make Google searches right from the station pages! They'll also see Google's "paid advertising search" feature and Google-sponsored ad links on the station sites. (Reuters story, via AllAccess.com) This is truly a breakthrough for the upstart Internet search company--with the support of America's

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1144162913509486172006-04-04T07:56:00.000-07:002006-04-04T08:08:43.836-07:00

In my Pandora.com post, below, I leaped to the conclusion that Pandora is more Web competition for radio. Now I've discovered--by bookmarking the site--that the Pandora people don't think of themselves as radio at all. Here's their "description" blurb:Pandora is the music discovery service that helps you find new music basedon your old and current favorites. Listen for free.Check out their

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1144118071779506122006-04-03T19:18:00.000-07:002006-04-03T19:34:31.793-07:00

Why broadcast radio stations must go local, Reason #5,323: a new streaming music Web site called Pandora.com, from something called the Music Genome Project. This is the slickest, smoothest Web jukebox site yet. You type in one (1) song or artist name, and hit enter, and the system starts streaming a custom radio station just for you--all sounds that share musical DNA with your selection. I wrote

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1143657889282090972006-03-29T10:15:00.000-08:002006-08-04T15:43:23.283-07:00

Permit me to nag. There are signs of interest among radio guys--hits on this site, for one--in the two move-in FMs in Denver, whose "new" formats, "Martini on the Rockies" and "Sassy," are apparently, uh, "different" from anything on the air. (See my earlier post.)If you're not in Denver, you can't hear them yet--not at this writing, anyway. No Web site. A dead giveaway that either 1) the Denver

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1143253144277570622006-03-24T18:12:00.000-08:002006-03-24T18:40:33.966-08:00

Consider the poor satellite radio companies. Cell networks and phones are getting smarter and faster. After launching space satellites, which I hear is kinda expensive, the sat-guys are facing competition for distribution of their own product over the Web to the phones, producing income for the phone companies. Explore this tangled, uh, web here, on Techdirt.

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1143215501790976422006-03-24T07:38:00.000-08:002006-03-24T07:53:04.506-08:00

David King, up in Albany, has a point and makes it well in this piece in the upstate weekly Metroland. The point: satellite radio's hot because it's got fresh content. And you guys are still sitting around thinking you're "compelling" because everything's stamped RESEARCHED. And promoting satellite with stupid NAB attack ads. Smart move. Meanwhile, more real radio fans are scraping up $12.00

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1143049319944575652006-03-22T09:08:00.000-08:002006-03-24T18:42:53.840-08:00

According to AllAccess.com*, the Denver Radio Company launched two new FM formats this morning, "Martini on the Rockies," shaking, like, Norah Jones, Sarah MacLachlan, and Sheryl Crow with a splash of Linda Eder, Diana Krall, plus a spritz of Michael Buble. You might even hear Sinatra, Bennett, Ronstadt or Rod Stewart. Get the picture?The other format, "Sassy"-- for "active adult women," --might

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1142967741215136922006-03-21T10:50:00.000-08:002006-03-21T11:04:59.360-08:00

...you really ought to download Eliot Spitzer's Entercom complaint, and particularly the file of exhibits he's submitted. It contains apparent photocopies of emails sent by Entercom employees, working on the company's alleged pay-for-play program (Get them here). These are tantalizing bites of corporate radio life, in familiar, frequently emotional voices. I find one email particularly affecting-

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1142537808673253812006-03-16T11:26:00.000-08:002006-03-16T15:39:58.646-08:00

Cox Radio says it will be encoding its Houston stations for the MediaAudit smart-phone ratings test. Something it's conspicuously refused to do for Arbitron's People Meter tests in the same market. Meanwhile, Arbitron is said to be making radio execs fume over its rolling on for a July launch of PPM ratings only in Houston, according to InsideRadio, in spite of the Clear Channel selection process

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1142463984503542342006-03-15T14:56:00.000-08:002006-03-15T15:06:24.520-08:00

I'm repeating for emphasis: AM-FM radio is facing, for the first time, radio competition on new distribution platforms and receivers that exclude AM-FM, or muscle in on its "territory." HD Radio? Yawn. You're going to have to do a lot better inventing new formats before you make somebody want to buy a new radio. Please, radio guys, reread the preceding post.

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1142297690483089622006-03-13T16:41:00.000-08:002006-03-13T20:24:36.840-08:00

I’ve been going through the motions of thinking through a radio station idea for the new multimedia-digital marketplace—a programming vision for the reinvention of a local steel-tower radio station. I’ve identified a target group—high-community-conscious adults. And, I think of the station as in the news and information category—no music. But I keep getting snagged on the overall problem, one

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1142108753969044152006-03-11T12:04:00.000-08:002006-03-11T12:25:53.986-08:00

Edison Research's study of country radio music listeners, recently presented at CRS (lotsa Flash on this site), contains some "interesting" trend numbers for country stations--their listeners, thought to be 'way behind the curve with new tech (too busy going to square dances in their gun-rack equipped pickups?) are now tech savvy. And, I would add, this can be taken as a glimpse of what's

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1142034594265483802006-03-10T15:10:00.000-08:002006-03-10T15:52:18.246-08:00

I've been reading Eliot Spitzer's complaint against Entercom, and his accompanying exhibits--mostly emails among Entercom program directors, vice presidents and other top management, and a few record company and independent promotion people. And one poor disc jockey. Take the time to look this stuff over and decide for yourself if you think Spitzer's got a case.A few years ago, as deregulation

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1141843984768408902006-03-08T10:43:00.000-08:002006-03-08T10:58:51.770-08:00

Attorney General Spitzer of the State of New York, of course. In case you thought he'd gone away after tripping up a couple of record labels over payola, he's back. This time, he's suing Entercom, fifth largest radio station operator, for corporate pay-for-play deals with record companies, with, he alleges, no on-air notification to the listener. If true, this is a violation of federal law. Gotta

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1141837052857519342006-03-08T08:44:00.000-08:002006-03-08T08:57:32.966-08:00

That's a quote from economist William Hamilton, in this article in the Cal alumni magazine by Michael Zielenziger. I post it here because I'm thinking about the local radio station (post below) and its need for a rebirth. It isn't a stretch to say that local radio stations and newspapers have much in common in the Internet age. The Net offers destruction and opportunity to both, and in some

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1141777602136897562006-03-07T15:44:00.000-08:002006-07-10T06:59:25.506-07:00

This is the third in a series. I'm thinking through the development of a local radio station that...well, that's totally local. Because I believe this is a frontier for owners of local radio stations. I want to get rid of that word--local. It's meaningless, for a couple of reasons. 1) Radio has drained it of meaning--the radio station owner's threshold for defining "local" content is so low--

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1141231012768739412006-03-01T08:31:00.000-08:002006-03-01T20:26:45.133-08:00

Finally, the basic radio tool advances. For computers, of course.

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1140983273168159312006-02-26T11:39:00.000-08:002006-03-05T15:26:23.563-08:00

Radio ratings are a fraud. I commit this heresy with joy and relief (I highlight “heresy” because ratings are part of radio’s religious dogma)—like everybody in the radio business who ever thought it, I suppressed it for decades. By the way, “music research” is bullshit, too. Blame ad agencies—they must have a rational basis for timebuying—the clients demand rationality from ad people, even

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1139277279190955182006-02-06T17:46:00.000-08:002006-03-01T20:37:03.140-08:00

Ace technology writer John Heilemann writes about HD radio, Sirius, and Mel in the latest New York magazine. First good press for steel-tower radio I've seen outside the cheerleading radio trades.

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1139246040798051992006-02-06T09:06:00.000-08:002006-02-06T09:50:33.270-08:00

This morning, thinking about my new project--the development of a true local news-talk radio station--I was reminded how fast things are moving by this story in the NYTimes. Bravo is big-into developing Web sites for their program products that don't make it or are two narrowly targeted for cable. If we're talking about targeting radio stations in some new and creative way, and tower radio's

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1139081083517971722006-02-04T11:18:00.000-08:002006-02-04T13:44:33.490-08:00

When I was in advertising, because I was a one-man company without brainstorming partners, I used my writing to develop strategy for clients. I called it a "line of thinking." I sat down with my yellow pad--later my computer--and just started from square one, laying out the premises, history, situation--and this activity stimulated ideas. I still use the method, now mainly for fiction. But, I

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1138905647136809032006-02-02T10:25:00.000-08:002006-02-02T13:53:38.660-08:00

Tectonic plates are shifting and grinding. Finally, the first signs of major movement in the steel-tower radio business can be detected. (1) Two radio groups have chosen to stop reporting music "adds" to record companies and radio-music-biz trades. That's big. (2) Three major radio groups have decided radio news and talk might work on FM. Big. (Will they also decide that actual journalism may

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1138657106772147472006-01-30T13:10:00.000-08:002006-01-30T13:38:26.800-08:00

Tom Taylor, in Inside Radio, reports today on his peek at public radio station ratings, which don't get published in the Arbitron books that go to agencies or to the stations that pay the big bucks for them--be too disturbing--to the radio guys. Because the best of the public broadcasters get highly respectable, often competitive, sometimes impressive ratings. A 3.0, for instance, is worth a lot

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1138385422798894662006-01-27T10:02:00.000-08:002006-01-27T10:10:22.820-08:00

Radio guys especially, who've always been so focused on creating "perceptions," have the chance to take a lesson from Oprah's James Frey fry. Best summary of the lesson is this NYTimes editorial. Wake up. How about developing more on-air human beings, rather than just "personalities," or "formats," or "promotions." Oprah sells. Get it?

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1138210655407343302006-01-25T09:30:00.000-08:002006-01-25T09:39:23.280-08:00

A few of my new friends and I are doing a little Dutch Uncle job on a young fella over on Google Groups. You might enjoy it...

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1138123430758849052006-01-24T09:08:00.000-08:002006-01-25T09:27:44.900-08:00

This week the biggest steel-tower radio guy companies' HD Radio Alliance is rolling out a variety of subchannel formats in 28 markets. But I fear they haven't gotten creative enough to give listeners compelling reasons to buy one of the amazing new $300-plus HD table radio sets. So, in the interest of loosening the industry up a little, I humbly offer a few push-the-envelope format suggestions.>

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1138076002490228862006-01-23T19:48:00.000-08:002006-01-23T20:18:53.830-08:00

Nicholas Lemann says this passage from the U.S. Radio Act of 1927 motivated CBS to hire Edward R. Murrow and develop its legendary news and public affairs reputation. Mr. Lemann is Dean of the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University, and a staff writer for The New Yorker. He posits commercial broadcasters would never have touched public affairs, issues, and news without regulatory

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1137956607198315442006-01-22T10:50:00.000-08:002006-01-22T11:03:27.213-08:00

To be fair, the HD Radio Alliance’s rapid deployment of new subchannel formats is impressive. Eight competitors working together and getting product out there just a few weeks after forming their, uh, alliance. And, they’ve come up with a number of formats that aren’t on the AM-FM air anywhere. You gotta start somewhere, guys. At least you’ve started.But wait a minute. I don’t work for a radio

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1137859363855425032006-01-21T07:55:00.000-08:002006-01-21T08:02:43.886-08:00

Without further comment, I offer, in its entirety, this posting from GoogleGroups alt.radio.broadcasting bulletin board, posted last night by "Whussappi."Does anyone know if the FCC is granting any more licenses? Frankly I am sick of the stations here in town. Most are own by 3 big corporations and now they just started to syndicate (outsource) out of state programming. I am all for Capitalism

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1137606073441706182006-01-18T09:08:00.000-08:002006-01-18T09:41:13.453-08:00

While we were away for the holidays, the radio guys were scheming and plotting. Now, they're in the Press Release stage. Today's announcement (read about it in the trades, or in the geek press) by the Big 8 station owners' HD Radio Alliance, that 28 markets will soon be able to hear a bunch of new, sorta, formats on subchannels is impressively quick action for a committee. It's not all vaporware

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1137526428243980502006-01-17T11:24:00.000-08:002006-01-17T11:33:48.260-08:00

In every American city and town, there's a "demo" nobody's focusing on. Community-conscious people. They read the local newspaper. They join service clubs, churches, and charities and lead them. They lead companies. They go to city council meetings. They write letters. They get things done. Many of them have higher-than-average incomes.Why don't they have a radio station of their own, one they

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1137519864517864122006-01-17T09:30:00.000-08:002006-01-17T09:44:24.540-08:00

Google has purchased dMarc Broadcasting, a tech company that sells radio time a new way, and will fold its system into its AdWords program. This is--make no mistake--earth-shaking. Arbitron's pressure-campaign to stampede radio into signing up for its PeopleMeter with agency signing announcements pales to invisibility by comparison.Thanks, Inside Radio, still the champeen radio trade.

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1137458386031574772006-01-16T16:19:00.000-08:002006-01-16T16:39:46.080-08:00

Ha. Got your attention, didn't I? Us Radio Guys want "creativity" and "compelling programming," we just want it to be free, and capable of being run 24-7 by an eight-dollar-an-hour announcer. OK, so I exaggerate a little. This is also in the job description.See, we've got to start producing real ideas--I mean, the big winner music idea of today, "Jack," came from Canada. We just can't go on

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1137093944962537582006-01-12T11:06:00.000-08:002006-01-12T11:25:44.980-08:00

The NAB's radio campaign for radio is lame. Recorded spots featuring top pop music artists saying they got their starts on radio. That's it? This is the satellite-IPod-Web-radio killer? This is the "benefit?" That radio plays new artists? Since when?

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1136939304030619892006-01-10T16:10:00.000-08:002006-01-10T16:28:24.046-08:00

At MacWorld this morning, Steve Jobs introduced something radio people should have sorta mixed emotions about. The good news: it's a "remote" control for the IPod and Nano that adds FM radio to the IPods. The iffy news: will IPod buyers (there are 42 million of them now) pay $50 for it, to get FM? Isn't that why they bought the thing...to get away from FM? Not to mention AM. Steve's new gadget

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1136851253706345082006-01-09T15:36:00.000-08:002006-01-09T16:00:53.740-08:00

Before he uttered his first four-letter word on Sirius satellite radio this morning, Howard Stern had already paid for himself. Well, close enough to earn his 200-plus million dollars in Sirius's $7.00-or-so-a-share stock. In this new medium, the listeners get counted up front. Over a million people subscribed to Sirius because of Howard--they can prove it, or at least they're satisfied enough

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1136666161709801122006-01-07T12:26:00.000-08:002006-01-07T13:49:08.296-08:00

People are buying new radios for the first time in decades. When was the last time people bought an electronic gadget because it was a radio? But the new radio's they're buying are satellite radios. And these radio buyers, about nine milliion so far, are taking a further step: they're signing up for subscription radio. The conclusion is inescapable; they're willing to pay for radio--for more

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1136474273255208382006-01-05T06:26:00.000-08:002006-01-05T07:17:53.323-08:00

The more I think about Bonneville's DC announcement yesterday, the better I like it. "Moving" WTOP from 1500 AM to 103-whatever FM and announcing Washington Post Radio on 1500 and another FM sounds just crazy in old-radio terms. But in the new media universe, this is a brilliant transitional move.It's also a wonderfully local move--the sort of move that makes sense, right now, only in Washington.

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1136399346677263662006-01-04T10:19:00.000-08:002006-01-04T10:29:06.693-08:00

Maybe it'll be a big Tower Radio year after all. And it's one of the Real Radio companies that's moving the way all of radio ought to be moving. This morning Bonneville announced that WTOP gets its own FM place on the dial, and they're creating Washington Post Radio, in cahoots with the Post, on the old 1500 'TOP spot, and another of their FMs. They're moving and expanding their classical formats

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1136331829387303352006-01-03T15:20:00.000-08:002006-01-03T15:43:49.400-08:00

Motorola's iradio launches this week at CES in Vegas. 500 channels straight into your cell phone for seven bucks a month. Not just more programming--another new radio distribution system that excludes AM-FM. I know, Radio Guy, you don't need any more of this kind of news. But you gotta keep up with developments. Here's what they're reading about the "Radio Scramble" in Philly. I also read today

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1136228063685284782006-01-02T10:25:00.000-08:002006-01-02T11:20:17.783-08:00

About a year ago...or so...not sure about the date...KING-FM got a stern shaking up. Longtime Program Director Peter Newman "retired" (and reappeared immediately doing various announcer fill-in shifts), and "consultant" Bob Goldfarb was brought in to, uh, not sure what he meant to accomplish on the only classical station in Seattle, but maybe it had something to do with, uh, ratings? Ya think?

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1136218780326922062006-01-02T08:15:00.001-08:002006-01-02T08:19:40.326-08:00

I've been campaigning for years to give the "focus group" the heave-ho. Looks like the Internet will finally accomplish this blessing. Read all about it in the NY Times. Ahem: "...focus groups tell you what you already know." Are you listening, radio guy? More to the point, are you listening to the listeners?

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1136059710026166402005-12-31T11:32:00.000-08:002005-12-31T12:08:30.056-08:00

In the piney kingdom of Seattle, two mighty fiefdoms are today locked in mortal combat. The Principality of Entercom has laid siege upon the Duchy of CBS, oft called Infinity. Entercom's quest: to carve a great swathe of Country from the domain of CBS' long-unchallenged tower, Castle KMPS, called by its contented subjects, "Compass."Entercom has dubbed its new Country tower "The Wolf," in order

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1135984394571883702005-12-30T15:03:00.000-08:002005-12-30T15:13:14.586-08:00

Bill Figenshu, radio executive and consultant, is becoming radio's Dutch Uncle. His FigFamilyNewsletters, sent to his growing industry mailing list and posted on his company Web site, never shrink from telling Marconi radio people the plain truth they don't particularly want to hear. Last week, he sent the industry a suggested "letter to Santa." He says he's going to post it on the site soon, so

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1135969361880485782005-12-30T11:00:00.000-08:002005-12-30T11:02:41.893-08:00

Go see that British kid's MillionDollarHomepage, and think about your radio station's site, and your station.

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1135729871107556822005-12-27T15:54:00.000-08:002005-12-27T16:33:51.540-08:00

When Marconi radio figures out it's gotta get back to its roots, it'll be magic again. What roots? Why, the roots every radio station has, planted in the soil of its city of license--its ground system grid.I use this metaphor to avoid uttering that worn-out, now-meaningless word, "local." The future of steel tower radio is its hometown, its 1-millivolt coverage area, its metro market. Its future

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1134678216925334332005-12-15T11:47:00.000-08:002005-12-15T12:26:38.826-08:00

The radio guys, several of them, have been talking back to me. Not very many. A few. Mostly, they say the following:1. Antitrust? Huh? Just because eight of the biggest, richest owners of radio stations are going to be having meetings to discuss which of them will do which locally produced formats on their new digital subchannels and which will not, doesn't mean they'll be violating U.S.

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1134153361098049412005-12-09T10:14:00.000-08:002005-12-09T10:42:14.980-08:00

How can you guys sit around bitching about your tiny raises, your shrinking sales, or the quality of various brands of earphones, when eight of your bosses just got together and, in the name of "HD Digital Radio" promotion, effectively quashed programming competition and creativity? Their new cabal reportedly intends to decide who gets to do which format on their stations' new digital subchannels

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1134004435578745752005-12-07T16:12:00.000-08:002005-12-07T17:51:44.780-08:00

Got my other writing under control. Got some time to attend to my first media love, radio.Yesterday, eight of the biggest post-consolidation radio-licensee companies announced the HD Digital Radio Alliance, to speed up the rollout of digital radio. These companies control just over two thousand of the twelve thousand commercial radio stations in the United States. Only seventeen percent, you say?

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1131407825196078972005-11-07T15:56:00.000-08:002005-11-07T15:57:05.213-08:00

This will be my last post for quite a while, maybe for good. I have other writing projects I need to focus on. You're welcome to browse past posts. I'll leave the blog up until the end of 2005, at least. Cheers.

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1130957893004769112005-11-02T10:39:00.000-08:002005-11-02T10:58:13.020-08:00

I'm thinking of deleting this blog. I'm not sure it's worth my time, or yours. At least, I'm not interested in continuing to just complain and push the sarcasm button.Here's a radio station format idea--and as I write this, I'm thinking it will sound Martian to most radio guys. Nevertheless...how about a format for old people. And I don't mean "The Music of Your Life." First, of course, you'll

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1130607741151946552005-10-29T10:18:00.000-07:002005-10-29T10:42:26.816-07:00

This week, US commercial on-air radio (it's not enough to just say "radio" anymore) proved that it is indeed bouncing off the walls of its box these days. The buzz was all about what Infinity radio's going to do to replace Howard Stern. It's a big deal to Infinity and the non-Infinity stations who carried him--millions of bucks on the line. Even though Stern is a mere thin demographic slice of

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1129919674100325362005-10-21T11:30:00.000-07:002005-10-21T11:49:32.926-07:00

When Microsoft says "innovation," they mean stuffing somebody else's idea into their monopoly operating system. Ah, but when Google or Apple use the word, they've got the paradigm-pushing products to back it up. The world is literally heaping money on these guys.How about on-the-air radio?There's JackFM. Zzzzzz.There's talk that one or two of the Wall Street license-collectors are starting talk

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1129744577416795062005-10-19T10:55:00.000-07:002005-10-19T10:56:17.443-07:00

A moment of calm reflection produces the realization that: 1) Radio was supposed to kill newspapers. Didn't. 2) TV was supposed to bury radio. Didn't. 3) Cable was supposed to vaporize network TV. Didn't.Ergo, Ipods, satellite radio, and Internet radio won't kill over-the-air radio (once, long ago, called "wireless").There is still a place in your day for the switch that turns on the live

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1129311973302923762005-10-14T10:20:00.000-07:002005-10-14T10:51:18.856-07:00

Radio used to be thought of as a fast-moving business. No more. It hardly gets above a trot. And I include satellite radio, despite its current buzz. You want fast? Apple and Google roll out new products every few weeks.What "new" products does radio spring on us? Just a series of playlist remixes, louder talk hosts or gamier jocks.How about something completely different? Like a local radio

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1128983248136508192005-10-10T15:26:00.000-07:002005-10-10T15:27:28.146-07:00

Check out this NY Times article, via CNET News.com--the latest thinking about what newspapers need to survive. Their own Ipod, says this writer. There are some hints between these lines for radio guys. More to come.

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1128704326047864432005-10-07T09:39:00.000-07:002005-10-07T09:58:46.060-07:00

The more I think about it, the madder I get. Clear Channel says the success of satellite and Internet radio and Ipods justifies further consolidation of radio station license holdings in NY, LA, and Chicago--or, markets with more than fifty or sixty steel-tower stations. [Scroll down for my post on the subject or click here.]This, of course, would benefit only one license-holder, Clear Channel--

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1128703056170935092005-10-07T09:35:00.000-07:002005-10-07T09:37:36.176-07:00

Gee, I hope so. Read this from the Mercury-News. A pox on all their mikes.

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1128468335834959202005-10-04T16:20:00.000-07:002005-10-05T16:21:12.646-07:00

"Free radio" is waking up to the threat of new technologies. And what are they doing? Running to the government for help:Clear Channel says they need more deregulation, so they can own more "channels" in their markets, because those nasty satellite radio companies have hundreds of them in every market."If XM is allowed to have 150 channels in each market, it is a competitive disadvantage for us

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1128368158479125082005-10-03T12:35:00.000-07:002005-10-03T12:35:58.506-07:00

I went to a presentation by a cable network executive once. It was years ago, when cable had just recently achieved fifty percent penetration of U.S. households. People were beginning to realize Ted Turner was right. This was one of the new cable programming channels that were starting to appear. The exec was pitching ahead of the curve, so to speak, like, this is gonna be big.What she said still

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1127947239442098892005-09-28T15:13:00.000-07:002005-09-28T15:40:39.453-07:00

I've been getting AllAccess.com's daily emails for maybe ten years. I do believe Joel Denver and his staff do their best to reflect radio thinking, and give radio management people what they want. But I think it's way past time for an overhaul in how radio people think about ARBITRON, or whatever statistical system replaces it, in that unlikely event. Take today's ratings email, reporting summer

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1127936485555747212005-09-28T12:37:00.000-07:002005-09-28T12:46:22.746-07:00

The self-styled liberal talk radio network, AirAmerica, is asking visitors to its Web site to become their "associate" by giving them money. It's not deductable. $50 gets you three bumper stickers, $100 gets you the stickers plus a tote bag, and $250 gets you stickers, tote, and a personal thank you. Not much in that goodie closet. You don't get stock. (I call it "self-styled" because I hate to

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1127768771088922212005-09-26T13:53:00.000-07:002005-09-26T14:16:15.303-07:00

So, the radio guys talked to themselves in Philadelphia last week. Judging from the radio trades I've been scanning this morning, you could miss the point completely or take an icy swim in reality, your choice. The trades mostly missed the prophesies and calls to action, or they didn't want to ruffle feathers. Only BillboardRadioMonitor seems to have covered fire/brimstone and self-back-slapping

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1127417412074210522005-09-22T12:07:00.000-07:002005-09-22T12:33:26.753-07:00

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

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1127157126593063272005-09-19T11:42:00.000-07:002005-09-19T12:12:06.600-07:00

I confess to commenting (below) on The Morey Group's flip of their three Long Island stations to music machines with no DJs and hour sponsorships with a hint of a sneer and my tongue in my cheek--I have low expectations for radio guys' use of the word "creative."But I read the other day that the Morey stations are also going to sell those sponsorships via forms on their Web site, presumably with

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1127146329840491382005-09-19T08:56:00.000-07:002005-09-19T09:12:09.850-07:00

Today, Inside Radio leads with Sirius news and talks about an Ipod FM clip-on, R&R's all about who's working where, and Radio Ink's right on top of the NAB succession scene. Meanwhile, my GoogleNews "radio" search picks the Mercury-News's story on a new bedside Internet radio as its Number One. Where's steel-tower radio's hot story?

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1126899158217433422005-09-16T12:11:00.000-07:002005-09-16T12:32:38.226-07:00

So now we have the spectacle of a radio "innovator" turning his three Long Island stations (WBON, WLIR, WDRE) into format jukeboxes with virtually no commercials--he says he's not stunting--and announcing that it's the future of steel tower radio. This is classic radio station thinking. When you're petrified, imitate the competition.I guess he thinks if he offers something for free that's like

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1126851095765459312005-09-15T22:57:00.000-07:002005-09-15T23:13:18.476-07:00

A group station operator in Long Island, New York, is flipping its three FM stations to "channel" formats. No DJs, just continuous music in three different categories. And most interesting, only 80 seconds of commercial time per hour. They're selling hourly sponsorships to advertisers, with open-close and a minute spot in each hour of music. Read all about it in the Long Island newspaper,

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1126628856437900172005-09-13T08:57:00.000-07:002005-09-13T09:27:36.456-07:00

This is really a TV story, but it's for radio people to think about, too. A couple of weeks ago the Seattle Police gave local TV stations copies of video shot by a witness to a street beating, hoping to stimulate tips. It worked, they say; they've got leads, though no arrests yet. The two victims of the thug attack were Iraq veterans, so the story had hooks beyond the usual caught-on-tape TV news

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1125770150727210112005-09-03T10:45:00.000-07:002005-09-03T11:22:27.190-07:00

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

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14548500.post-1125417114063597662005-08-30T08:51:00.000-07:002005-08-30T09:24:22.450-07:00

Sick of hearing what satellite radio's doing yet? Radio guys will find this confusing: Sirius will air two radio plays this weekend. Actually, it's a recording of a stage presentation of two radio plays written by the Coen Brothers (Fargo) and Charlie Kaufman (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) to "accompany" a concert of film music by their favorite screen composer, Carter Burwell. Actors

DAVE NEWTONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14266605793504741624noreply@blogger.com0