I’ve posted a few times about the year-long renovation project that’s been underway where I work. Big push to have the new Sports Operations Center ready by the first football weekend (September 3, 2005) and they made it.
I stopped by with my camcorder. Once they get this thing fully tweaked, they’ll bring in a professional and really capture just how nice this facility is. Until then, here’s a little taste (6 min, 14 meg, wmv). If you have any trouble watching this, drop me a line.
Today our farm network did a live webcast from the Nebraska State Fair. It was a 90 minute panel discussion on technology in agriculture and it was great radio. Except I’m pretty sure it wasn’t on the radio. Just our website. In fact, the last eight or ten ag events we’ve covered have not even been put up on our satellite channel and offered to our affiliated radio stations. We’d love it it they would air these long-form programs but program directors are less and less willing to air more than a short ag report in the middle of the day. And I’m not sure they’re wrong.
Are we (the network) wrong to produce this programming? We’re pretty sure Nebraska corn farmers are interested in anything having to do with ethanol. But if you’re the program director of a radio station in the middle of Nebraska, you ask yourself what percentage of my listeners want to listen to someone talk about corn for an hour. Wouldn’t our listeners rather hear some good country music?
Probably. But, as a former small-town program director, I’m convinced there is a “cool factor” at work here, too. It just isn’t cool to air all that farm stuff. Country music is cool. And everybody likes country music, the people in town and the people on the farm. It’s the safe call.
This is where we encounter the long tail of ag programming. While there may be only a few hundred people that care about the future of ethanol in Nebraska, they care very much. And it’s getting harder and harder for them to find in-depth, real-time programming on their local radio station. Enter the web with streaming audio and podcasts all the rest. You want an hour on sugar beets in southern Indiana? No problem, click here.
Radio stations could have it both ways. Put the longer, in-depth programming on their web site and promote same on the air. But radio station owners do not perceive the need. And they no logner have the staff to do much of anything “extra.” At the same time, their listeners are just a Google search away from that they want. And they don’t care too much about where they get it.
Once upon a time, the only place a farmer in Ogallala could get farm news and prices was on his local radio station. Advertisers who wanted to sell stuff to those farmers only had to advertise on that station. It was the natural order of things. The good old days.
New South Carolina Head Football Coach Steve Spurrier has the highest SEC winning percentage in history. And he is –I am told by those that know– something of rock star among big-name football coaches. Our company produces the Gamecock football broadcasts and the weekly call-in show, featuring Spurrier and the the play-by-play guy. Tomorrow night is the first show and in addition to airing on a bunch of SC radio stations…and streaming at Yahoo! Broadcast… we’ve set up a podcast feed. There has been almost zero publicity on this but I’ve got a feeling fans will find this quickly. Thursday nights from 7:05 – 8:00 p.m. EDT
The official memo hit my in-box today. If I read it correctly, there will be no un-approved “stuff” on the walls of our offices. No John Wayne or Elvis life-size cardboard cutouts. No B. B. King posters. Nothing. Just plain, white (or beige) walls. I understand why this is necessary but can’t help feeling that something has been lost.
You might have noticed some construction in my office-cam photos. Big remodel underway at Learfield Intergalactic with lots of office reshuffle and this blogger is leaving his home of 15 years (something like that) and moving to a different office on the other side of the building. They’re letting me keep an office (only a little smaller) because I’ve been with the company for 21 years. And I appreciate the gesture. I’ll be closer to the IT Gods and that’s a good thing. Still have a window and a better view. Soon as we get moved in get the cam going going, we’ll point it that way.
Update: Photo above was taken nearly 20 years ago in the old Learfield offices located on McCarty Street here in Jefferson City. We wore suits and ties back then.
I started working for Learfield Communications on June 4, 1984. The company had one statewide news network (The Missourinet); one sports property (University of Missouri Tigers); and a farm network (The Brownfield Network). Blink.
To a new office that isn’t vacant yet. I’ve spent a comfy and cozy 16 (17?) years in this office but the wrecking ball is swinging my way. On June 4th I will have been standing in the Learfield for 21 years. When I started we were all packed into this nice old house and most of us shared office space. Where did the time go?
Our company has the broadcast rights (football and basketball) for some of the top colleges in the country and most of the production happens here in Jefferson City, Missouri. A major expansion of our sports operations and engineering facilities is underway and I asked Chief Engineer Charlie Peters to give me a tour this week.
Co-worker David says he missed some of the best parts of this call before he got the recorder going.
Our company has registered a lot of domains since we first drank from the Big Web Pond, but two of my favorites are Legislature.com and SchoolViolenceHotline.com. And we registered these very late in the domain game. It is still amazing to me that they were still available. We’ve since transferred SchoolViolenceHotline.com to the client we aquired it for… but still have Legislature.com.
We jumped in early enough that we were able to register (not purchase) the names of most of our networks (RadioIowa, Missourinet, WRN, Learfield). On the other hand, I was reminded this week that 16 members of the National Association of State Radio Networks have NO public, online presence. Maybe they have good domains registered but if not, what are the chances of getting anything CLOSE to the name of your network.