As of midnight tonight, we bid farewell to a troubled year. There’s no need to recount the issues that face our country and our industry; if you’re in Radio you probably go to sleep at night worrying about poor sales, cutbacks, and what the future may bring.<\/p>\n
It might make you feel better to know that our country\u2014and Radio\u2014has faced bad times before. During the Jimmy Carter years, inflation was in double-digits, gas prices were climbing rapidly, and the economy was in the doldrums. Many were pessimistic about the future.<\/p>\n
But better times were in the offing. We were just a couple of years away from the Reagan Revolution and a revitalization of our economy. However, it’s important to note that Radio didn’t wait for a change of fortune. Through sales and programming innovation, a positive attitude, and a willingness to try<\/em>\u2014to beat a bad ec0nomy, no matter the odds\u2014Radio was poised to take advantage of the boom times when they finally arrived.<\/p>\n Consider that Radio\u2014from among all the major media\u2014is best positioned to deliver results for local direct advertisers. TV is far too expensive, the newspaper dinosars are facing extinction, and direct mail costs continue to escalate. And local business doesn’t see the kind of results from the Internet that Radio can deliver.<\/p>\n So bring on 2009 and new challenges. I’m betting Radio is up to the task ahead.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"