The numbers don’t lie: Radio revenue is taking a nosedive. The economy — sluggish at best in 2008 — looks dismal for 2009. More layoffs are ahead as Chrysler and GM reorganize and downsize, with the ripples of their ordeal affecting thousands of suppliers and hundreds of thousands of workers. And yet… As unemployment approaches [...]

This is an article from a couple of years ago. While somewhat dated, the points are still valid. Besides, recycling is one of the few ways I can be “green” and still live with myself. Somewhere on the road to the 21st century, Radio took a wrong turn. No, it’s worse than that.  Radio slid [...]

It is with reluctance that I dip my toe into the cesspool of politics via this blog. I really prefer to concentrate on the ongoing throes of Radio, the Media I Love Best. However much I try to ignore it, the political climate always seems to rain on the Radio parade at one point or [...]

“We have a special this month,” said the sales manager. “Anyone who takes our Mega Monster Package before the end of the month will get 20% off.” There is a buzz among the sales reps. This is a good deal! “And it’s good only for new advertisers.” You’ve probably heard this many times before; a [...]

Have you ever agreed to a long-term, low-rate schedule and later come to regret it? It has happened to many of us. The allure of a large gain in total revenue can blind us to the long-term consequences. A wise Radio mentor educated me long ago that each ad on your station is worth exactly…what [...]

The United States Congress has placed an admitted tax cheat in charge of the Internal Revenue Service. Some of the very people responsible for the housing crisis—that led directly to our current economic problems—are in charge of getting us out of the very same crisis. What’s next? Osama bin Laden in charge of Homeland Security? [...]

You’ve seen this scenario dozens of times in the movies and on TV: the bad guys (robbers, terrorists, etc.) are inside a building with hostages. Outside, police SWAT teams surround the location, and a negotiator communicates with the hostage-takers. The bad guys have demands: food, transportation, release of prisoners, whatever. The police respond by offering [...]

The bad news floods out of our Radios, TVs, and newspapers, and we internalize it. Not an hour passes without news of increasing unemployment, declining sales, and dismal forecasts. Eventually, after continuous exposure to such depressing propaganda, we accept it uncritically. We start to believe it. Once you’re convinced the economy is in a tailspin, [...]

Radio’s continued financial success depends on a strong economy. The logic that somehow the government can fix the economy is flawed thinking; government cannot create wealth. Certainly, government can create jobs—repairing roads, building bridges, adding a bloated government program or ten—but these jobs do not create wealth. Only the private sector produces a Steve Jobs [...]

There’s nothing that could make my blood boil faster than having a client fail to pay for his Radio schedule. While scrupulous attention to accounts receivable can minimize the agony of not getting paid, there are always some accounts that go bad each year, accounting for more lost revenue than you’d like. With the advent [...]