2006: A Year in Media Trend Watching
Labels: 2006, Joint Communications, Jointblog, Media Trend Watching, Radio
2006 was the year user-generated viral video content became a trendsetter for pop culture.
It's an On Demand digital world and we're living in it with gusto. This "crazy" year was about small audiences creating massive buzz.
All year long, the Jointblog has been tracking and watching media trends as they happened. What did we see?
Among the top themes:
Radio was everywhere but not on your typical device. Old radio, new radio...it created a lot of pondering and overall listening. Yet radio seemed to grow tired of being so public (or serving Wall Street demands).
Howard Stern's move to Sirius drove millions to search for him online once he disappeared from traditional radio, messing up morning radio listening habits. He pimped on Letterman while getting finger wagged by CBS Radio, Rolling Stone and analysts.
Stern's first traditional radio replacement sucked, creating car wreck radio. Former outcasts replaced the replacement.
Air America said it was "business as usual". It wasn't.
The White House also said they were making progress in Iraq. 3,000 U.S. soldiers and 158 journalists covering the war might disagree...if they could. But they can't...since they're dead.
The World Wide Web turned 15...but the net's neutrality was endangered as Congress debated it.
The definition of TV permanently changed. User-generated content was often better to watch. So was Lazy Sunday on YouTube.
Not all viral videos worked...just ask Chevy about their Tahoe effort.
Yes, YouTube became America's favorite water cooler place online to watch Zidane's World Cup head butt, the Hoff's latest music video or Michael J. Fox's political message.
This got Google's attention...so they bought YouTube.
Of course, Faith Hill probably didn't like YouTube's honesty. And Michael Richards wished cellphones didn't have cameras while Britney wished she remembered her panties.
"Truthiness": Word of the Year plus A Vote For Word of the Decade as fake news was the buzz. Update your dictionaries.
In a related ColbertNation story, Stephen Colbert made George Bush frown.
Bill Clinton gave FoxNews a few choice words, helping turn election momentum and reminding Democrats how to get it done in front of a camera.
A tipping point was reached with "The Long Tail".
Women drove social networking website growth due to their Internet preference to form communities (men just like the experience -- watch porn). Meanwhile, MySpace became more than just a teen hangout; Baby Boomers liked it, too. Or they just formed their own version.
You don't piss off Oprah.
But you do idolize American Idol.
Google went on a buying spree, aiming to Googlize old media advertising. And search marketing remained a hot media trend all year.
Big Media was scared as it kept losing control.
Ringtone sales were off the hook.
Scarlett Johansson made HDTV look real good on The Tonight Show while Borat gave high fives everywhere.
The world's top brand name -- Apple -- made some great TV ads and was the key starting the viral video engine...while, at the same time iTunes reaching its one billionth download (Coldplay's "Speed of Sound") (now at 2 billion and still growing strong, contrary to false reports elsewhere). On-going Apple success spurred mainstream media attempts at podcasting.
But so can you.
Snarky humor was the rule if you wanted a blog hit. However, 50% of blogs die within 3 months. Still, the blogosphere doubles in size every 6 months.
MTV turned 25. How'd they celebrate? By firing one of its founders.
Traditional radio tried to ward off iPod (more popular than beer, by the way) and Internet radio users with HD Radio...with very slow results and few listeners. At the same time, radio did try to fight back against the FCC's indecency movement.
Google denied the government's request for search data...while AOL got in trouble for accidently releasing user's search data.
Identify fraud rose...while hypocrites like Mark Foley and other got caught as teens put themselves at risk online.
Product placement advertising made a serious move online as strong content mattered. Meanwhile, old media complained online search engines steal content.
Radio still couldn't find consensus for electronic people-metered ratings. Cellphone, Apollo Project, Arbitron or Other? Or ever?
Oh, a Desperate Housewife was visible from space, thanks to Google Earth.
The Jointblog's #1 article drawing in readers from organic search results? "Katie Couric's legs are apparently searchable and newsworthy"...and they were, even if she didn't like it. At least she broke a glass ceiling anchoring the CBS evening news.
You are the Person of the Year. Keep the net neutral.
Goodbye 2006, it was nuckin' futs. Hello 2 double oh 7.
posted by Unknown @ Sunday, December 31, 2006,
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What is Net Neutrality? A Battle for Content Control
Labels: brand building, Jointblog, Net Neutrality
Net neutrality to save the Internet remains a hot political and media trend watching topic. Right now, the web remains "neutral"...open to all who choose to access it, allowing content to be freely and naturally distributed -- uncensored, without corporate influence controlling what you see, search or find. Natural organic search results are based on search engine algorithms measuring content authority value matching keyword terms.
Time magazine (and other mainstream publications) says 2006 was the first time user-generated media trumped mainstream traditional media in this week's "You are the Person of the Year" issue.
Big Media Owners, though, are vigorously trying to figure out better ways to capitalize the Internet, as paid search, banner ads, subscriptions and general advertising models can produce only so much potential revenue.
For the past couple of years, some global media pipelines (cable companies, phone companies, broadband providers, etc.) have been pushing Congress to change the Internet's "net neutrality" laws. Big Media hopes to create a "tier" system -- creating a basic access level and a premium access level.
This would mean some Internet content potentially could be no longer part of the Internet's "public domain". Depending on how much you pay might determine how much access to the Internet you have. This has many social and ethical ramifications.
If allowed and enacted by Congress (which tabled the issue last summer), an Internet no longer neutral could also dramatically impact the entire concept of this Web 2.0 user-generated content era. It's a battle of control between Media Owners and Media Users...the most-important on-going media trend to watch in the New Entertainment Ecomony.
With issues like copyright infringement, illegal download file sharing and Hollywood gossip blogger Perez Hilton, has any industry ever encountered a set of strategic choices more fraught than the ones the media business confronts today?
Despite the challenges, keeping the net neutral is essential.
This YouTube video shows how you can Save The Internet and keep it "net neutral".
posted by Unknown @ Tuesday, December 19, 2006,
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You are the Person of the Year
Labels: Jointblog
Pat yourself on the back. You are the Person of the Year. At least that's what Time Magazine says.
And isn't it about time? Yes, it's confirmed. Congratulations, you are fabulous. Even you slackers in the basement.
Okay, now go post another viral video.
posted by Unknown @ Sunday, December 17, 2006,
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More Adventures in Contextual Advertising
Sometimes the human element does matter. First there is this: Labels: Jointblog
Here's another example of automated new media contextual advertising that could use a little sensitivity training, as first spotted by Gawker:
Mmmm, makes you want to run for that all-you-can-eat E-coli lettuce...
Over 250 sick after eating at Indiana Olive Garden (Yahoo)
posted by Unknown @ Friday, December 15, 2006,
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Radio Needs To Target Teens Now
What do teens want? Radio could be something they wanted...if radio actually targeted them.
The Future of Music Coalition says "radio's wrecked...but it can be repaired". Radio better get a-fixing quick.
In reality, teens still listen to the radio; it's just not on the same old receiver. To teens, radio's online, it's on their computer, it's on their iPod or phone. The very definition of "radio" has evolved for teens. Radio just hasn't evolved with teens.
In the ten years since the 1996 Telecom Bill changed the radio industry, radio aggressively went for the ratings gold, reshaping itself into the most "advertising-friendly" medium it could be for 25-54 year old adults.
"Unfriendly" ratings demos (e.g. teens) were avoided, which meant radio mainly stopped providing teen-centric programming and formats.
This naturally created a demand vacuum, which quickly got filled by the Internet and the iPod.
Radio has to put teens back into its targets again and begin building relationships for the future. It's the only way radio will find growth.
Retargeting teens was the main theme delivered this week at ratings publisher Arbitron's annual state of the industry gathering in D.C. CEO Steve Morris said:"There are few bold and innovative ideas for the young audience..., on reaching the 12 - 17 age group. Champion kids programming and audience measurement for this audience. Get them before them become iPod-addicted."
One-fifth of the current U.S. population is 12-24. Radio future must attract today's teens now.
"(Radio is), at a minimum, in the audio entertainment business," he said. "Try new stuff for young listeners. Be thinking in terms of what it means to be in that broader entertainment market. Find new vehicles for audio entertainment."
"Radio is moving too slowly, and the difference between us and other media is widening, not narrowing," he said. "Radio could be the most accountable medium but this vision has not become reality, and I think it is a lost opportunity."
To read more of his comments, click here.
posted by Unknown @ Friday, December 15, 2006,
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Opie and Anthony's new XM commercial is really viral video
Radio morning nutjobs Opie and Anthony (CBS Radio's Free FM as well as XM Radio) have a new ad campaign, just released this morning. It's not for their CBS Radio show...it's for what they do on their XM Radio show on The Virus 202. The commercial really is a commercial/viral video combination, complete with the embedding code just like YouTube. A viral video ad (an entertaining virus?). Wonder if it will make it to TV...Umm, probably not.
Rather, they want the O&A pests to post and promote it. That's very smart.
Will CBS Radio make an O&A web ad, too?
Here it is:
posted by Unknown @ Friday, December 15, 2006,
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What Happened in 2006? JibJab Knows...
Labels: Jointblog
posted by Unknown @ Thursday, December 14, 2006,
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Update: "Official" Definition of "Truthiness" (how to get yours)
Labels: Jointblog
The Colbert Report noticed "Truthiness" was just named Merriam-Webster's 2006 Word of the Year. And yet, when Stephen Colbert ran to his nearby bookstore to purchase the newest edition of the dictionary to see his invented word to bask in his glory, he noticed his word...wasn't in there.
So just where was the truthiness? Were the wordinistas at Webster's just being truthy?
And just where is this Merriam anyway?
Colbert kindly looked past the slight and made available at ColbertNation.com a download for Websters's readers to print up and then paste into their dictionary, substituting the old page.
To make truthiness fit, something's gotta go.
Sorry "try"..bye bye.
It's this kind of interactivity with a show's audience -- merging old and new media together -- which defines truthiness...(and also serves as a line-blurring model for what will eventually turn into Web 3.0).
posted by Unknown @ Wednesday, December 13, 2006,
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Radio has reduced spot time more than 25% in the past 2 years...now it needs to improve its pricing rates
The voice is a powerful influencer. The right voice can sell anything. When an audio ad is broadcast on the radio, it can reach millions instantly on the right stations. No other medium compares.
However, the competitive challenge from new media threats and post-consolidation bloat has caused the radio industry a major case of the "blahs."
As ZenithMedia reported last week, Online advertising is poised to grow 7 times (28%) the rate of overall ad market (4%).
However, last month, radio got an early Christmas gift report to help offset the ZenithMedia predictions. Now radio needs to convert the news into positive industry results through stronger ad rates.
Mediaweek reported that commercial time on radio stations is now averaging less than 10 minutes per hour, lower than the average number of commercial minutes per hour (12 to 14) on television (according to a study by Empower MediaMarketing, which analyzed Nielsen Monitor-Plus data in 15 of the nation's top markets).
This is good news for radio...just 2 years ago radio averaged more than 12 minutes of commercials per hour and more than 14 minutes per hour in the top 10 markets.
Radio now needs to improve its spot pricing model...fewer commercials means more marketing impact due to reduced clutter, especially when compared to other big cume reach media platforms like TV (or newspapers). And Internet advertising media cume reach is so much smaller than what radio delivers every week (226 million in the U.S.).
Radio is undervaluing the value of its commercial time. It's time to get confident again and show radio's worth.
Brandweek/Empower reports:Overall, radio now airs 9.42 minutes of commercials per hour, with Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles airing the most at 10.25 and 10.15, respectively. The three markets with the lowest number of average commercial minutes were Tampa-St. Petersburg, Fla., (8.43), Atlanta (8.83) and Philadelphia (8.84).
Clear Channel -- which launched its "Less is More" initiative to cut total commercial time last year -- averaged 7.99 minutes, 15% below the 15-market average.
The amount of commercial time varied by format. News/Talk and Sports formats devoted the most time to commercials at 11.91 minutes and 11.47 minutes, respectively. Country formats averaged 9.72 minutes per hour of commercials. Most other formats averaged just under 9 minutes per hour of commercial time with Classical and Religious having the lowest commercial spot loads at 6.81 and 7.78 respectively.
posted by Unknown @ Monday, December 11, 2006,
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Truthiness: And That's The Word of 2006
Labels: Jointblog
2006 truly has been the year in truthiness. And now, dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster confirms it after conducted an online survey: "Truthiness" is the word of the year.
Truthiness godfather Stephen Colbert of Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report" get the credit for saying it first, back when he launched his nightly satirical fake news show in October 2005.
Not that the Colbert Nation did any ballot stuffing...that wouldn't be very truthy, now would it?
What is truthiness? Says Colbert, "Truth that comes from the gut, not books."
This year fake news found huge buzz. Our gutty hero Stephen has never been a supporter of the "word police"; he actually thinks the people at Mirriam-Webster are a bunch of "wordinistas".
Nonetheless, Colbert apparently was pleased when he learned his word was Best of the Year:
According to press releases from the Associated Press (which even Fox News published on their site):"Though I'm no fan of reference books and their fact-based agendas, I am a fan of anyone who chooses to honor me.".
Well said, Stephen Colbert, well said. Truthiness...and that's The Word.
"And what an honor," he said. "Truthiness now joins the lexicographical pantheon with words like 'squash,' 'merry,' 'crumpet,' 'the,' 'xylophone,' 'circuitous,' 'others' and others."
Is it the word of the decade?
For the Top 10 words of 2006 according to online voting, click here (metrics2.com).
posted by Unknown @ Sunday, December 10, 2006,
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Instant Messaging equals Instant Feedback
Labels: Jointblog
Instant Messaging equals instant feedback, whether between person-to-person to person-to-community.
For decades, broadcast radio was a leading place for a community to give and get instant feedback. Live feedback. Call in a request. Ask the DJ about some gossip. Respond to a talk show issue. Find out about the weather, traffic or when your favorite band's new album goes on sale.
Instant text messaging is another form of feedback. An information exchange.
Last month the Jointblog pointed out that teens prefer IM over email. Increasingly, there is a generation gap between teens and adults using IM -- the cool kids who do and the don't-get-it grownups.
A new AOL-AP poll says almost half of teens, 48% of those ages 13-18, use instant messaging. That's more than twice the percentage of adults who use it.* Almost three-fourths of adults who do use instant messages still communicate with e-mail more often. Almost three-fourths of teens send instant messages more than e-mail.
The way teens and adults use "instant feedback" in this digital era is very different. If you email, you're probably a grown-up. If you text, you're probably a teen...it's that clear-cut.
* More than half of the teens who use instant messages send more than 25 a day, and one in five send more than 100. Three-fourths of adult users send fewer than 25 instant messages a day.
* Teen users (30 percent) are almost twice as likely as adults (17 percent) to say they can't imagine life without instant messaging.
* When keeping up with a friend who is far away, teens are most likely to use instant messaging, while adults turn first to e-mail.
* About a fifth of teen IM users have used IM to ask for or accept a date. Almost that many, 16%, have used it to break up with someone.
This mirrors radio's disconnect with teens. Not only does radio intentionally avoid providing teen-targeted radio stations (despite the massive impact teens have on consumer product spending and overall trend setting for the masses), radio has also been slow to tap into the power of IM text messaging.
Yes, some stations provide online opportunities for "instant feedback" through email and even open AOL, MSN or Yahoo IM accounts so jocks or hosts can "talk" with listeners live during a show. Very few stations really tap into IM's potential, though.
IMing is immediate customer feedback. It's data. It's information from radio's most active users. That means it is part of a radio station's market research on its biggest fans.
Most stations know nothing of their existing "instant feedback" customer details. Nor do they explore further to build that direct relationship. There are quality services available.
Why do radio listeners contact a radio station to ask a question or express an opinion? Because they want to be heard.
Are radio station hearing their own listeners? Are they even listening to the right listeners?
posted by Unknown @ Sunday, December 10, 2006,
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Creating Your Own Online Radio Station
More and more podcasts continue to pop up online now that there are more than 80 million iPod units sold (14 million expected to be sold this 4th quarter). Podcasts started out on the grassroots, amateur level.
Over the last year, though, mainstream radio broadcasters (PBS, CBSRadio, Clear Channel, and many others) have been podcasting their own show programming, ready for download through iTunes or directly from their websites.
Even non-radio media companies and marketers have started their own podcasts (Wall Street Journal, Business 2.0, USA Today and more), proving podcasting can do business.
Podcasting has leveled the playing field for people around the world. No longer do you need a FCC license, transmitter and tower to broadcast your content. With just a few tools, you can quickly and easily set up your own talk show on the topic of your choice. All you need: a computer, a microphone, and a passion to share your knowledge with others.
If you have the itch to begin podcasting, a cottage industry has sprung up to easily set you up and help you make a pretty slick professional-sounding show. But which tools should you use?
The Jointblog periodically offers suggestions to help demystify podcasting. Kim Roach, editor for SiteProNews & SEO-News, offers these excellent ideas:Here are 5 basic steps to creating your own podcast...
Other Articles That May Interest You...
1. Get the right equipment (buy a quality mic, don't use the one on your computer).
2. Produce and save your podcast (free download Audacity at open-source site SourceForge.net or the Sound Forge Audio Studio package; insert downloadable music intros from music.podshow.com, podsafeaudio.com or audiofeeds.org).
3. Create an RSS feed (save as a low-bandwidth mp3 file. For talk shows and audio books, I would recommend a bit rate of 48 - 56k Mono. However, if you are recording music or music/talk combinations, you'll want to choose between 63 - 96k Stereo. A high bit rate (around 160kbps) is great for music. Don't forget to edit the ID3 tags identifying the artist, title, and genre to make your podcast more findable).
4. Upload your podcast to your website (Audacity, Podmaxx, iPodder and Audacity all can help you with easy functions. Of course, use your own blog. Or find some favorite forum or MySpace websites that encourage podcast uploads. If you can get onto iTunes, you know you made it big.).
5. Publicize your podcast (Make it RSS capable for easy directory listing and easy subscription downloading for automatic synching of new programs. An RSS file is created in XML and will contain four main items: title, description, link, and enclosure. You can also use your RSS feed to provide your listeners with additional information, including file length, file size, file name, category, topics, and channels.
For easy RSS file generating, go to tdscripts.com podcast-generator).
If you would like to provide your visitors with convenient play buttons for your podcast, you can do this using odeo.com or audible.com.
Publicize your podcast using a custom podcast chicklet at TwisterMC.
Make sure you auto ping Weblogs.com.
Submit your podcast to iTunes as well as other major and minor podcast directories. You can find a complete list of directories at masternewmedia.org.
The video podcasting ninja offers some tips
How Podcasting Works
What is Podcasting?
posted by Unknown @ Wednesday, December 06, 2006,
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Got Traffic? Social Media Not Just Talk -- It Drives E-Commerce
Labels: Jointblog
2006 proved online social networking media sites drives e-commerce traffic.
YouTube, MySpace, Xanga, Facebook, Gawker, UrbanBaby, ColbertNation, TV show fan sites and hundreds more served as strong central gathering places online, creating opportunities for users to participate, gather, and to be marketed.
Once gathered, they eventually leave for another site. But where do they go when they leave? Analytics are increasingly showing social media users are going to e-commerce sites to make purchases.
According to Hitwise, one in 20 Internet visits went to social networking sites during September -- nearly double the proportion of traffic a year ago. This was led by MySpace.com -- the kingpin of social media, with an estimated 130 million users as of late November (according to BusinessWeek). Since News Corp. acquired MySpace more than a year ago, its membership grew by more than 80 million new users -- many of them e-commerce businesses (including many Fox TV shows).
Other social sites making big traffic gains including Bolt (up +271%); Bebo (+95%); Orkut (+63%); and Gaia Online (+41%) (reference: Hitwise).
Social media sites create a new "hub and spoke" model, with the social site (like MySpace) the "hub" and traffic to various e-commerce sites the "spokes". Shopping, classified job/product listings, telecommunications, banks, and travel all received big bumps in traffic from visitors coming directly from MySpace pages.
LeeAnn Prescott, director of research at Hitwise, says:"Social networking has become such a significant force on the Web that users are integrating it into other daily Web activities. As MySpace grows, it's showing up in the upstream and downstream [traffic] of other categories that you wouldn't necessarily think would be related."
Although average MySpace users have gotten older, many teen-oriented brands such as American Eagle Outfitters and Hot Topic remain among the most popular off-sites visited by MySpace users overall.
Photo-sharing (PhotoBucket, Flickr) and video-sharing sites (YouTube) are another traffic magnet for the social networking "hub and spoke" ecosystem.
Talk amongst yourselves: How well are you partnering your e-commerce product offerings with a social networking companion site? Do you need to DIY?
posted by Unknown @ Wednesday, December 06, 2006,
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Great Idea: RadioSherpa's On-Air-Now Radio Badge for Websites
Here's a great new idea for radio station websites, fan blogs and MySpace profiles that can drive word-of-mouth marketing recommendations as well as help promote the new HD Radio multi-channel push: Webpage badges that quickly show you what is on the air of your favorite radio station.
This insertable web widget badge makes it easy for stations to promote what they have on the air (and to let fans grab it to paste onto their own personal webpages, expanding a station's advertising network via digital word-of-mouth).
Very smart idea, especially if radio group clusters organize their badges on a single webpage, including the embed code below it for easy listener usage. Below shows what the WBCN/Boston widget badge looks like:
RadioSherpa is starting the idea (beta mode) in the Boston market and plans to roll it out across the country.
They show you what song is currently playing on each radio station... as they say "just like TV Guide does for television." They recreate the market's radio dial on the Internet so that "with one click you can start playing your favorite tunes."
They even customize the embedding code for MySpace or blogs.
What's more, listeners......no longer have to guess which station to listen to or where to even find the Internet stream. Better yet, you don't have to wait for the station stream to load only to find out that the song sucks. By showing you what is on you will never be disappointed.
RadioSherpa's aim is to make radio listening online easier to use and find.
If you sign up for a MySherpa account, we can even TELL YOU when one of your favorites is on the air! This is even better than presets in your car.
Give it a try.
posted by Unknown @ Monday, December 04, 2006,
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BlogTalkRadio: A buzz-building new radio format for "citizen broadcasters"?
Through new podcasting software (like iPodder or Loudblog, broadband and communication tools like Skype, there's a new radio format emerging and it's not on your regular receiver in the car. It's online. It's called Blog Talk Radio and it's forming a new radio network on the Internet.
Will it expand to Internet radios in cars through WiMax? Is it a new form of social media, post-blogging, post-vlogging, post-lonelygirl15? Is it a new radio response to Al Gore's Current TV?
If ever there was a natural fit between Google's dMarc radio ad-placing service, this is a good one.
It's something to media trend watch, or at least listen to...
A new online radio blogging network, BlogTalkRadio.com, has been adding hosts -- and listeners -- at a steady clip since its launch in August. With its innovative, surprisingly simple system, BlogTalkRadio lets anyone become a live radio host. Text bloggers publicly platform on their soapbox via the spoken word. The service is free to users, who share in the ad revenue.
According to Alan Levy, the founder and CEO of BlogTalkRadio, the live broadcasts are available as RSS feeds and can also be archived, recreating text blogs' chronological content trail in auditory form.
According to Mediapost.com:In the BlogTalkRadio system, each host gets a personal "switchboard" page on BlogTalkRadio.com that functions as their radio "home" on the Net. Hosts can drive traffic to their radio home pages by posting an html link on their blogs, and vice versa. Technically, radio bloggers don't even need a computer to participate. Their audio feed is delivered to the BlogTalkRadio server via a simple phone call, and listeners can call in. However, listeners need a computer to hear the streaming audio broadcast.
Can traditional radio create the same model -- only better and bigger? Should it?
BlogTalkRadio monetizes the service by placing ads on each host's switchboard page -- which listeners must visit to receive streaming audio of the show -- then splits the revenue 50-50 with hosts, or "citizen broadcasters," as Levy calls them.
You bet. It's sound future "cluster management", providing plenty of opportunity for user-generated listener content to blend with mainstream mass media. Listeners to local stations can create content inspired by radio listening and Internet-surfing for viral video and audio, making something new in their own show, which radio stations can then play on their own airwaves within primetime shows or even on speciality weekend shows -- the essence of content demand of the new "mashmedia" generation.
posted by Unknown @ Sunday, December 03, 2006,
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Joint Communications' Look Back At 2006 & A Look Ahead To 2007
FMQB's annual year-end review is out this week and Joint Communications' CEO John Parikhal leads the forward view to media trends in 2007:In 2006, the Internet continued to dominate media headlines. Google paid nearly $1.5 billion for YouTube. MySpace was the talk of the town -- costing Tom Freston his job at Viacom and making Rupert Murdoch half a billion dollars richer when he spun its ad inventory to Google.
For John's trend review and 2006 predictions printed a year ago, click here.
Internet radio grew. Some radio companies surfed the online wave while others are still waxing their boards and hoping they don't have to go in the water. JCC research shows that office listening is shifting slowly to online -- and its not just local radio.
In 2006, radio leadership focused on HD ("dead on arrival" according to many) and the idea that radio is "free" (while billions of songs were downloaded "free" on Limewire and others). Bad ideas. But, by 2006 there was no one left in the ranks with the courage or the willingness to challenge the view from the top.
Clear Channel rounded up the tire kickers to see if they could get close to $40 a share for stock that was touted as a $100 certainty only a few years ago. It's clear evidence that the promises of consolidation were broken in the back rooms of Wall Street. 
I'm concerned that 2007 could be a watershed year for radio. If the focus stays on cost cutting and top down management (especially with the Clear Channel buyout), radio will run out of fresh ideas and continue generating initiatives that are out of sync with today's consumer.
If the focus moves towards attracting, developing and managing good people, there's a lot to cheer about.
For a while, radio will still have huge audiences and make money, no matter what they do. It has made margins above 40% for years and spits off a lot of cash. But, it hardly re-invests any of the money it makes into an improved customer experience.
In 2007, there's no evidence that things will change much. Which means that radio won't be attractive to the brightest, creative young people looking to start or advance a career. And, radio needs them desperately.
Next year, radio executives might want to consider the words of super-successful Jack Welch, who said, "the role of the leader is to express a vision, get buy-in, and implement it. That calls for open, caring relations with every employee, and face-to-face communication".
For more views on media in 2007, click here.
posted by Unknown @ Friday, December 01, 2006,
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