Sounds good to me. Check Forbes here for the aritcle.

A day late and a dollar short.

I agree with Andy Brown... it's a nice sentiment, but the DJ's (as we knew them) are dead. There may always be a place for local radio (news, weather, area politics, etc.) but the good ol' days of the quick-witted maestro on the 50KW flamethrowers are gone kids, and I don't believe they're ever coming back.

Still.... hope springs eternal.

I usually listen to Forbes but on this they are way off....
Automation is the wave of the FUTURE and if ya don't believe it just sit back and enjoy the ride....

I agree with Andy Brown... it's a nice sentiment, but the DJ's (as we knew them) are dead.

Radio in general is DEAD!! The dj is completely dead, Program Directors will be a dying breed soon. With all the consolidation
they will soon have 20 Pd's in the country programing all the stations. Anyone who wants to stay in radio needs to get their head examined. What an absolutely awful industry to be in that has no Future. I feel bad for sttations like Kink and The Buzz two of the last great stations in this market that are really making great entertaining radio. Once these corporate hacks get ahold of those stations they will be destroyed and voicetracked just like k103 and Z100! NOBODY CARES ABOUT RADIO ANYMORE! THE PRODUCT MEANS NOTHING! Dj's mean NOTHING!!
There is nothing positive about the future of radio! What is to look forward to??? More Cutbacks and airstaff being let go, More corporate, bland playlists like Movin.

Just like the very music the stations play...

BORING!

Radio should be a hobby, Not a career! Have fun doing it(If there is any fun left in it) but don't be disapointed when you get let go. I feel for people trying to make a career out of radio, Thats gotta be tough!

Hey Timberfake...I see your point. Used to know someone in radio biz who was a really good DJ but unfortuneately worked at a doomed station. WE shared a few common interests and shot each other shit back and forth in emails and then one day his page was gone off of the website and his email bounced. There one day....gone the next....that must have really sucked. Not long after other major changes in staffing also happened. It really is a shame the way people get treated in any corporate environment but that apparently is the nature of that beast. I guess it is a business after all but still people deserve to be treated like people and not just disposeable pawns in some twisted chess game! Glad I work in the private sector!

You ever been in the Radio Biz Justin?

I remember a morning guy on KISN in the 60s...An Aussie that went by the nom-de-aero of Kangaroo. I think he was on the air for something like 7 weeks. Then a promo ran with his voice for about a week saying that he'd gone to Australia to pack up his golf clubs and other things and implied he'd be back soon. He never returned to KISN's air, and I always wondered why...

I prefer to believe the glass is half-full. I've seen it happen before, and, yes, the bidness HAS changed...but everything old is new again somewhere down the road. I've said it from the beginning of consolidation in 1996 to anyone who would listen to me..."Live and Local will ALWAYS win" as long as you make an honest committment to that end.

I've got an idea in my head to put a music format on AM. (Jeez, Mark, are you nuts?? Yeah, I'll be the first to admit it, too.) But I take the best things about radio's advantages and strengths from the past, ensure they are updated and relevant for my target audience today, and superserve them. Make it compelling. Don't you think it's possible to deliver a sound to the listener that they'll be afraid to turn off for fear of missing something special?

It's *local* and full service, and heavy on community involvement. If the weather gets funky (heavy monsoon thunderstorms in the summer here in the desert, or snow and ice or windstorms in the Northwest) my station is all over it. We also keep tabs on what City Hall is up to, and try to ask questions of the politicos about things that our listeners REALLY want to know instead of relying on the soundbites that are provided.

The only thing holding me back is I'll need to hit a big Powerball jackpot to finance it, because I can't find anyone to believe in the concept. (It'll be their loss...) That's my dream. And as a contrarian thinker, why WOULDN'T it work?

On a serious note, I'm planning on driving up to Oregon from Arizona for Christmas with family in my hometown for the first time in 16 years. I'm concerned about the weather in the Siskiyous as I try roaring up I-5. If the weather is too heavy, I'm going to detour to a coastal route. With the broadcasting situation today, I don't know of ANY local radio station in northern California and Southern Oregon that I can rely on to provide live, local, timely and accurate information. I'm going to have to wade through syndicated network crap to try and find the info I need. (As a former syndicated satellite personality for eight years, that's a tough thing to admit!)

To me it borders on the licensee almost being criminal to their service area to just turn on the satellite or automation and go out and sell spots to pay the power bill to keep the transmitter on. Back in the day, stations could lose their license for not serving their community. Today it seems they simply run the risk of being taxed out of existence if they don't hit the delay switch quick enough to bleep profane or demonstrably vulgar content between 6am and 10pm local time.

Live and Local wins...otherwise broadcasters cede a critical advantage they used to *own* to internet, satellite and Ipod sources simply by omission and default!

Okay, I'm done ranting. Forgive me for staying on the soapbox a little too long... I'm going to get some lowfat eggnog...It's a "little" more heart-healthy than the regular stuff...

I vote with the guy near the top of this, day late and a dollar short whatever.

Once you lose em' ain't a whole lot of spin that can get them back. And HD is looking a whole lot too late too.

Sorry, game over.

Yeah! What Mark said!

That's what they said when TV came out.

This industry has treated me well. Doesn't really pay well, but hey I knew that when I got in it.

There are good things coming out of Portland radio, you just have to open your eyes.

If you are so hateful and bitter about this industry, and you think it's dead...and never coming back. (I've said this before) WHY are you posting here? This is supposed to be a discussion about radio....

...not complaining all of the time about how it's dead.

If you care that much, and you think it's dead...try and do something about it.

Get a petition started, work on waking up the public about the 1996 Telecommunications act. Be active. Complaining about it does nothing.

Howard Stern started the movement by talking about the nature of the industry. Phil Hendrie began talking about it as well.

In today's society, you can't just wait for change if that's really what you want. There's too much going on-- too many distractions. You have to be very "in-your-face" about your cause in order to grab people's attention.

Just be proactive. If you care. If you don't want to change it, quit complaining and being pessimistic. It's gross...and makes you appear like a lazy American.

I would have to say that most people, myself included are tired of proactive people in their face about dozens of causes that basically don't really matter to the average joe.

with so many choices in music and entertainment now joe and jane average are not out there complaining about radio, they're gone. it's radio people complaining about radio.

the BBW is warming her vocal cords as we speak.

That being said I do believe once radio is completely run into the ground and sold off for pennies on the dollar as a dead business THEN someone will finally be able to afford to do something creative and nobody will be in the way.

The parts that made up Fronkensteen's monster were dead also.

Radio needs a Fronkensteen!..and a couple Marty Feldmans!

Hell, a dose of Mel Brooks type of irreverence wouldn't hurt either.. afterall, it's supposed to be entertainment!

I'm tired of lazy people complaining about something they won't do anything about.

If you've written off the industry...might as well take the full plunge.

The negativity just isn't a good thing--ever.

I just think that if you have a love for radio, you'd want to try to save it...and not sit around waiting for it to get better.

Ok, here's what we need to do: Let's assemble some great radio minds for a summit meeting. A face to face. I'm talking about individuals, not the corporate geeks who will sit around in their thousand dollar suits and smugly spout corporate approved slogans. I'm talking about the great radio minds of the northwest. Bring out the Robin Mitchells, the Derek Shannon's, and other great radio minds, young and old, who will speak freely and honestly without the sickening corporate kiss-ass talk that has put radio in the toilet. We need a radio revolution. We need to vote out the current administration of radio bean counters who have run our business into the toilet. Lets vote for the other side, the creative side and see if they can bring about a better balance of good radio, and good business. Talking about this problem in stuffy conference rooms will not cut it. Let us select an informal meeting place, set a rough agenda, post a time and date, uncork a few bottles, and get started on solving this problem. Perhaps even form an alternative to existing broadcast organizations. Long live "live" radio.

Here! Here!

But, instead of bottles (because I'm not that classy...) can I "uncork" some boxed wine instead?

The downsizing of the huge congloms has already begun.
The problems they have created should be considered seperately form the problems the Congress created. The result of consolidation has wrought bandwidth map allocation changes that make a lot of the first wave of stations for sale circumspect. Sure, the big corps have beefed up the hardware in the big markets, but have discovered two important things: one, coverage and penetration is a balloon full of air. Like a directional AM pattern, you can only push out in one direction if you suck it in somewhere else (so go ahead and downpower the edge of town to saturate center city even though the long term growth is going to be out there where you downpowered) and two, all the hardware improvements in the universe do not empower a gutted staff.
Needless to say the powers to be are learning you can only make
limited profits when the public has so many other places to get their entertainment and news. Radio only has a future if the barriers to entry are lowered. These days, the properties deemed not profitable by the corps are going to re vended to the next medium large corp thinking "we can make it profitable" when in reality they are the only ones whom can afford the prices that the huge corps are going to set on these properties. So if, e.g., one of CC's less than full power FM's becomes "available" in this market, it's price will be through the roof. So, repeating myself, only another almost big, stuffy, boring, egotistical company will be able to afford to buy it and proclaim "radio returns to the little guy" What a bunch of crap. Don't waste your time and energy thinking anything is going to change anytime soon.

A day late and a dollar short.

KGO Drops Noon News Hour

All Access: abc Talk KGO-A/San Francisco is dropping its weekday noon news hour and replacing it with a weekday edition of Len Tillem's legal advice show. Tillem will handle noon-12:45p PT (followed by Paul Harvey) weekdays and 4-7p Sundays.
____________________________________________________________

Does KGO have a rating problem? NO!

KGO is the number 1 rated station in San Francisco. Summer 2006 KGO had a 6.1 (12+), up from Spring with a 5.6. KGO's next competitor, ranked at number 2 is KCBS with a 3.7!

Getting lean for the coming sale?

I like the long, earlier comment about re-inventing local radio.

My radio experience is limited to my days of as a college DJ when college radio before the web when radio was the thing. So this may be way off the mark:

Radio has the advantage of being the lowest cost delivery channel for audio content, hands down. Economist friends tell me the 'net is a surprisingly costly delivery channel, only the cellphone network is worse: In the future, as subsidy models catch up, audio and video on the 'net may be for the relatively few.

Seems hard to believe to me, too, and economists are paid to be wrong. But they sure tell a convincing story to this layperson.

So as I've been listening to them, from my perspective working as a tech manager with a web-based company right now, this idea has been rattling around in my head:

How about a station that leverages the 'net to introduce a high degree of user interactivity in the programming format, and which makes it painless for local advertisers to accomplish the primary objective of advertising, just keeping their name out there in front of the public?

Like Markandrews, I've been thinking about how to do this on the technical side for some time, but I'd have to win the lottery to do actually do it. But if I did, I'd sure try to buy a station or two CC is selling to try it...

Actually, KGO does have a ratings problem. From what I understand, they're quickly becoming a 55+ station. It should be a big problem in about 5 years and they aren't particularly conservative. Imagine where that leaves all the other News/Talk stations!

turn em all off for awhile...I have records...

small ones with big holes in the middle and some big ones with little hole in them. More importantly, they have music on BOTH SIDES!

Seriously though and maybe a new topic......

Has the radio industry lost focus, or just too fragmented? 12,000+ stations should mean enough choices to keep everyone happy, right?

And San Francisco is conservative???I suspect that KGO does fairly well because it serves the community and knows who they are reaching. I suspect that the folks running KGO have a pretty good grip on things and I can't imagine that younger people aren't going to listen...KGO has always done a stellar job in news and traffic and I don't see the commute time getting shorter in the Bay Area anytime soon. I also think that as the population of 20 and 30 somethings age, they will seek out the AM band to find the information they are seeking. I think for the most part their talkshow hosts have been very good. I am conservative and yet enjoy listening to Ray Taliaferro...and Ronn Owens when I can. Just my 2 pennies worth!

Andy, you need to put a penny on your tone arm.

I said "they aren't particularly conservative". What I heard was that they aren't attracting 35-44 at all and 45-54 isn't much better! The industry is going to see a great deal of simulcasting on FM to try and bring down the numbers. We'll just have to see if it works.

Simulcasting seems to be working very well in Salt Lake city....KSL is a lot of live and local too....

http://www.radio-online.com/cgi-bin/$rolfree.exe/arb101

I've been thinking of a system where people post short playlists. 1 to 3 tunes

Call it Music that Matters.

They detail their theme, whatever it may be. "To my wife of 10 years", "Biodiesel", "Feed the Poor", "America the Beautiful", whatever. The only requirement is that the music reinforces the theme somehow.

Interested people comment on the themes, and vote accordingly. I'm targeting people in the office during the day. They can listen to the stream, or the FM.

The comment section, runs like a blog. Posted themes appear as they are submitted. Comments are collected under each theme.

Top themes are aired during heavy drive, based on ratings applied by interested readers and listeners.

I've noted that a lot of people will listen to music online. Why not incorporate that and the radio into one medium? We've got DJ's using IM and other communication means, and that's cool. Extend this somewhat.

The station staff can be blogging stories, news and other interesting bits that are relevant to their market, and or perhaps frame the issue of the day as a way to stimulate themes from listeners.

The website shows a queue of up and coming themes, further stimulating the discussion as those can be rated, but only by those willing to add a comment to justify their rating.

Obviously, collect names, emails and other demographic bits through a registration incentive. Anyone can rate, commenting and submitting themes are something only registered participants get to do.

Registration comes with goodies. Use the KNRK Nation model here. It's effective.

There will be times when nobody is really using the system. That's fine, have a set of station playsets, pre-themed and discussed by the staff and PD at the ready. In fact, these can be interleaved with the listener stuff to maintain some identity.

As each theme comes up, it's goes out on air. The station presenter, reads it, or a summary of it, along with brief commentary, if warranted and the music plays.

Let the listeners rate the ads, discuss station matters and other side topics in a sub-forum for this.

Themes do not need to be the only source of tunes, though I think it would totally work.

Incorporate the idea that some air time must be earned! Dedicate specific things, like extended playsets, or the chance to call in and announce your theme/message on air, to those regular and highly rated contributors. (This will allow the alphas to really add value to the whole thing and give them some clear incentive to do so.)

Perhaps only allow tunes from a sub-set of possible tunes during ordinary times, or for new contributors. This will balance diversity and keep train wrecks in moderation.

Done well, this kind of blending of the mediums could really have an impact. It may well be possible to weave news, information, advocacy, humor and other things in with music and spots in a way that's engaging and easy to bond with at the same time.

There is is. If it kicks ass, send Dan a nice check!