The buzz is always about how TV and print are changing with…or are threatened by the new digital world. You hardly ever hear anything about radio dealing with the new realities.
Maybe that’s because some have already written radio’s obit and just don’t worry about it anymore.
But some still figure that radio will always be there in some form. It’s an old argument. TV didn’t kill radio. FM didn’t kill AM. Portable media didn’t kill radio. Each time, radio has adapted and pulled through the threat. But it’s different this time. This time, the radio stations are going to kill radio.
If you’re a long time reader of this blog, you know that I am an “old” radio guy. I was regularly bathed in RF radiation for about 15 years. And once you’ve been in radio, the passion never really leaves you. In fact, on 4 separate occasions in my short life, I have been “this close” to purchasing a radio station (and in one case, I actually had the capital-in-hand to do it!) My love for the medium is one reason I’m disheartened by the course that it seems to be taking.
A great discussion about the way radio is going to have to cope comes from one of my favorite radio “thinkers”, Mark Ramsey. He recently did an interview with Seth Godin (about Seth’s new book, natch) that talked about the future of radio and the dangerous ledge on which it currently stands.
If the technology develops, I say Seth’s “Scenario A” will change not only radio, but everything. However, I agree that “Scenario D” is likely to be the one to emerge.
My favorite quote from the interview is:
Well, if radio is about the “how do I leverage my FCC license” business, you’re in trouble. But if instead you say, “how do I deliver multimedia to local users wherever they are”, then you win.
This is something that all media should take to heart. The current mindset of most media is like Pizza Hut worrying about the delivery guy’s car instead of the pizza. It’s not about the delivery method. It’s all about the content.
tags:: radio – media – mark ramsey – godin
UPDATE:: And even if you think they are a monopolistic gorilla, apparently Clear Channel is getting the message
