Did you ever get that feeling that you were being watched? I think we all have at one time or another, but it’s usually after you’ve watched a suspenseful movie or when you are walking alone and feeling “unsettled.” Most of us wouldn’t get that sensation at a grocery store, but depending on where you […]
In a low interest election last Tuesday – both from the press and from the voters who turned out in record low numbers – there were some results of interest. At least four members of the New York City Council lost their bids for re-election. There has been a lot of talk this summer about […]
In November 2005, I was part of a team that conducted an exit poll for the Parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan (Warren Mitofsky and I wrote about our “Adventure in Baku” shortly thereafter.) It became clear to us on election night after the polls had closed that the Azeri authorities, who had originally seemed to be […]
A year of radio tumult can be counted on to produce some heated discussion. And one of the best forums was the comments section at the end of 2008’s Ross on Radio columns and our postings to Edison’s The Infinite Dial.” This year’s topics prompted comments both from radio’s heavy hitters and from displaced listeners, who often ended up on our site because there was no other place for them to go. Two Country-themed columns in particular generated what were easily our most heated discussion threads to date. So if you didn’t get a chance to go back and read the comments, here’s “The Best Of You” from 2008.
Three years ago, it was hard for an adult-leaning Top 40 to compete with a younger, more Rhythmic model. So now consider that WBZZ (B94) Pittsburgh has returned to the format with an initial approach that leans adult, while the younger, more rhythmic WNOU (Radio Now 93.1) Indianapolis has lost its lease to accommodate WIBC’s heritage N/T format. Edison Media Research’s Sean Ross looks at the implications behind those two headlines, and gives readers a “First Listen” to the new B94 in this week’s Ross On Radio: “Top 40 Gains One, Loses One.”
Any quick look at the surfeit of blogs commenting on radio reveals endless carping about HD Radio — with no end of critics who are saying it will never work for any number of reasons. Radio needs positive ideas for creating content that will compel consumers to want to put an HD Radio in their car, home, or office. And of course, it has to create such content at little or no cost. Here is one strategy to marry HD Radio with the most powerful consumer brands to create a new vision for what HD can become.
Infinity’s foray into “Open Source Broadcasting” offers variety that Jack/Bob stations can only dream about. By offering would-be broadcasters a platform to air their homebrew podcasts, KYOU Radio is certainly taking risks. But is it compelling radio?
Radio stations are doing fewer focus groups than ever. Why? Should they? Edison VP Tom Webster asks the central question: are focus groups fundamentally flawed, or a crucial part of your station’s strategy?
There is more to building an online listener community than simply putting up a message board—you have to build trust, credibility and provide the right motivation. The good news: there is an oft-neglected part of your audience who is more than willing to help—if you treat them right.
It took more than a year, but Canada’s Classic Hits/Hot AC “Jack/Bob” hybrid is finally making some inroads in America. Its first two stations have had their first book and two others have debuted in the last week or so. So will it work in America? Well, in some form, it already has.
