This is the second installment of a three part series on the problems of radio. Consolidation and financial woes have caused chaos and confusion. The industry is in a position to examine, refocus, and plan for the future.
Rock Bottom and Rebuild
Once radio gets out of the finance business and returns to the business of radio, experienced broadcasters will be necessary to rebuild and make the product viable again. The dominance is over, but with vision, “Intelligent Gut” and a redefinition of success, traditional radio could thrive again.
The election of Barack Obama clearly demonstrated old media (Radio, TV, and Print) needs a new direction. During the last 10 years, some astute radio broadcasters have dabbled with e-mails, the Internet, text messaging, blogging, web videos, mp3’s, social networking, cell phones, I-phones, music downloading, and file sharing web companies.
On the advice of researchers, consultants, station interns, and geeks speaking geek-a-nese, other broadcasters simply copied their peers. However, it is difficult to play follow the leader with so much uncertainty in selecting the correct path. This is why it is hard for some to make appropriate decisions to re-invent the industry. The legendary Program Director Buzz Bennett, said to me in 1996, radio is like an addict; it will have to bottom out and admit the problem before it can begin a recovery. Buzzy, whose life was an open book, knew a thing or two about addictions and has proven correct.
Generations and Technology
In order to fix the problem, it is important to understand the birth generations:
1. Silent Generation, born between 1925-1942
2. Baby Boomer, born between 1943-1960, age 48-65
3. Generation X, born between 1961-1981, age 27-47
4. Generation Y, born between 1982-2001, age 7-26
5. Generation Z, born between 2002-2021, age 6-
It is important to understand the generations and how new technology has changed traditional radio. The two personal computer gurus responsible for revolutionizing communications, Microsoft’s Bill Gates and Apple’s Steve Jobs are baby boomers, both born in 1955. New media usage can be tracked though the generations.
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