"It's all about the programming content ... " Really. Think about it. Out of stubbornness and loyalty to local TV, are you going to give up your cable or satellite TV? Probably not. Neither is the public. Local radio in general, but not as a whole, is losing its uniqueness and the monopoly it once enjoyed. Local radio is a spoiled brat that won't grow up, has quit maturing and refuses to admit the inevitability of change. "Embrace and learn to use the new "Technologies of the 2000’s" or the new "Technologies of the 2000’s" will chew you up and spit you out in little pieces along the highway to the future." Larry Shannon – August 2003 Are satellites and their technologies going away? If you believe that, blow up or dismantle those satellite dishes you have out back on your radio station property or up on the roof top. But, before you do, ask yourself how you will acquire the syndicated programming that you now depend on for your station? If the public is given greater choices in programming that will be heard in their cars, do you think that they will be loyal to your radio station and not take advantage of those other choices? Hardly. Wake up and smell the technological advances! On your terrestrial radio, you have buttons for anywhere from 6 -32 or more stations. How many of those radio station buttons do you have pre-set to local stations -- and how many do you really spend your time listening to? If you're like most folks, maybe 4-5 local stations. And, if you still crave the static of far away stations, maybe 2 pre-set buttons for far away night time listening of Chicago, New York or Los Angeles stations. On an XM or Sirius satellite radio, you have the same number of buttons. However, there is a vast variety of music formats. There's news and business news from all of the regular cable TV channels, weather reports from the Weather Channel, traffic, Sports from ESPN and many others. You can't hear all of the different talk shows on local radio that you can hear on satellite radio. Why do local radio people boast that they serve their local areas better when about the only thing that they provide that's really different is the local weather? Too many news-talk radio stations no longer have local news. It's national news from Fox News or ABC or CBS news. As a brand, NBC went out of the news business for radio long ago. All across America, dust is gathering in newsrooms because radio stations no longer have news staffs. Sure, local radio has the capability to serve their nearby listeners better in many ways. But, most don't. They have abandoned the public. They have given their local listeners national programming -- and they have the audacity to call what they provide "local"? Was it greed or was it a lax FCC and Congress that let them get away with marginally serving the public? Did the big guys and gals in New York, San Antonio, Indianapolis, Detroit, Chicago, Los Angeles individually and collectively shred the local budgets for on air personalities and force feed the syndicated shows to their local public listeners? Local radio and the big radio operators have deserted their local listeners. They provide them with syndicated music formats and syndicated radio talk shows. They either don't care or protest that it costs too much to have local news. They've left the local news reporting to the TV stations. Many radio stations (not many, but some) simulcast the local TV newscasts. "Local is now national." Get used to it, try to adapt to it and prepare yourself and your radio station for the inevitable technological changes that are with us and ahead of us. Whether you're an on air personality, voice over talent, news person, programmer, in sale or management, there's a place for you in the future technologies and programming distribution channels -- if you're smart enough, have the ambition and foresight to find your place. The merger of XM and Sirius will go through. It is inevitable. Don't waste your time hoping that it won't succeed. Don't hold your breath until you're blue in the face, sulk and refuse to face the future. Local radio stations will continue to serve the local public, although some will go dark. Will satellite radio replace local radio? No. But, it will complement it as another programming distribution channel and has earned its place among the many other programming distribution channels that we have today and will use in the not too distant future. Put satellite radio on the "PDC" list of products along with the iPod, MP3 player, iPhone, GPS, cell phones with music download capability, the Internet, SD card and USB flash memory as technologies that your listeners are already using or will use. Local radio is just one of many now. "Embrace and learn to use the new "Technologies of the 2000’s" or the new "Technologies of the 2000’s" will chew you up and spit you out in little pieces along the highway to the future." Larry Shannon – August 2003 Four and five years ago, in 2003 and 2002, I wrote much of what you just read above in "AM - FM - XM - Sirius 2003" and "AM - FM - XM" in essays in "Shannon's Corner" of RadioDailyNews.com. Rather than repeat now what I said then, you're invited to
revisit and read them both by clicking these links. http://www.radiodailynews.com/amfmxm.htm Where's your farm team? There are still plenty of young and talented individuals out there who are eager to work on local radio in every radio market. Larger metro market programmers will find new and fresh talent in the medium and small markets. If the programmers take the first steps and embrace real local radio with local talent, they just might be able to reinvigorate local radio. I love AM and FM radio. As a teenager, it gave me the magic keys to the kingdom and opened the doors of the various careers of my life when I became an adult. But, I am wise enough to know that radio isn't what radio was and will never be again. It's just another programming distribution channel. It can still serve the public and find its footing for the future if local radio people will use their creativity and wile. Will it? Or will the public desert local radio the way that local radio has deserted many or most of its local listeners? Local programmers and owners, get to work. Many of you are still celebrating the victories of the past, are far, far behind and have a long way to go to catch up. Larry Shannon |
