Category Archives: Media & Culture

The Future Radio Morning Show

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It isn’t simply streaming your current morning show. Or putting it online for download. Jerry Del Colliano lays it out — in ten easy steps — on his blog (invitation only).  #1 gives you the setup and #7 and #8 my favorites.

1. Start ten morning shows (other than the one that is airing on your terrestrial station). The content should aim at one demographic that is desirable to sell. Example: women 25-54. Ten shows that don’t air on the radio.

7. Hire the right person(s) to host this 45-minute show – not, I repeat, not anyone from your airstaff. Podcasting is not to be confused with broadcasting. You may be a professional broadcaster but it is not in your best interest to make these podcasts son of what is already on your air. Give the host a piece of the show and lock him or her into it for the long term. As it develops it will be a moneymaker for you and for your talent.

8. Do not include traditional spots in the podcast. Commercials have seen there better days. Young people don’t listen – but consider the “live read” approach that goes over very well with young people. If they are hooked on a podcast then they will listen to a “live read” by the host(s) if it is sincere and keeping with the overall approach of the show.

Mr. Del Colliano concludes his post with a bit of insight into Generation Y:

(Gen Y) went through childhood without a love for radio, unlike baby boomers or Gen X. They are attached to their iPods and smart phones – their new radio. If you still want to be in the content business when the last baby boomer passes into The Hall of Fame, learn about the new radio – podcasting.

The “ten morning shows” had me puzzled at first. But I’m guessing you need this many, all aimed at the same demo, to reach the numbers that will be attractive to advertisers. The advertises cares about reaching the demo (Women 25-54 in the example above) and not so much about how many shows he sponsors to reach them, assuming the price makes sense.

So let’s assume we have a 25 minute commute to Jefferson City (from Columbia or Loose Creek). Would I be willing to produce five, 25-min podcasts a week for a piece of the show? I would if Mr. Del Colliano was managing the station.

“When was the last time you saw a dead American soldier on TV?”

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FlagdrapedcoffiinI was talking with a co-worker about Lara Logan’s (CBS Chief Foreign Correspondent) recent appearance on The Daily Show. She posed the question, “When was the last time you saw a dead American soldier on TV?” She was making the point that media in the U. S. has been MIA on the war in Iraq (except for that victorious march into Baghdad).

My co-worker’s take was: “The only reason to show a dead American soldier would be to turn someone against the war.”

Or maybe that war is news and death is part of the story?

Actually, I didn’t have a response. I can understand that view coming from W or Rumsfeld (back in the day). But how many citizens feel the same? How many would rather not to see the bloody reality of war on their TV screens?

By this logic, we also shouldn’t be seeing the critically wounded at Walter Reed. Or can we translate missing limbs to a “don’t-let-their-sacrifices-be-in-vain” message?

So I’m asking myself why we saw more dead troops during the Viet Nam war, and it came to me. We had lots of reporters on the front lines in that war. But not so many on the mean streets of Baghdad.

In the old days, you could make a career filing reports from the front lines. Sure, you could shot, but you weren’t likely to wind up the star of a YouTube beheading video.

Naw, American journalism took a pass on this war. Better to let the Brits cover this one.

What is it with the Apple logo on TV?

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Applelogo

"Sex and the City’s" Miranda, Cynthia Nixon, sat down with Jimmy Kimmel on Wednesday night to promote her blockbuster chick flick. Jimmy brought out his laptop partway through the interview for an online multiple choice quiz, which decides which of the four main SATC characters the taker is most like."

I started noticing this after I turned in to a Mac fanboy. What’s the big deal about masking the Apple logo? I guess they’d mask any recognizable brand logo. The difference is how distinctive the MacBook is. But maybe that’s true only of Mac fans. To everyone else, it’s just a laptop.

So here’s today’s assignment: Name another product that is equally recognizable (without seeing the brand logo). Begin.

Microsoft’s Ballmer on future of media?

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“In the next 10 years, the whole world of media, communications and advertising are going to be turned upside down — my opinion. Here are the premises I have. Number one, there will be no media consumption left in 10 years that is not delivered over an IP network. There will be no newspapers, no magazines that are delivered in paper form. Everything gets delivered in an electronic form.”

[from an interview -video/text- at washingtonpost.com]

New beau for Sheryl Crow?

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The National Ledger –quoting Life & Style– reports Sheryl Crow is dating John Cassimus, a restaurateur from Birmingham, Ala.

Cassimus

“John, who’s also a pilot, has been flying his plane to Nashville to see her. They’ve kept it pretty low-key — cooking together, riding horses, going up in his plane.” And if they decide to dine out, they’ll never have to worry about a reservation.

“John runs a restaurant chain in the South called Zoë’s Kitchen,” the insider says. “He’s also a partner in a Japanese place called Jinsei in Homewood, near Birmingham.” Sheryl is set to perform in nearby Pelham on May 23 — and, according to the insider, be with her new beau.”

End of TV news anchors?

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Lost Remote’s s Cory Bergman thinks J-schools should downplay anchor careers:

“Journalism schools, as a public service, should strongly discourage students from pursuing an anchoring career. The emphasis should be on the “do-it-all” multimedia journalist who can produce, report, write, shoot and edit both on TV and the web. Flexibility is key.”

And if you need another reason to be discouraged from pursuing a career as an anchor…

Omaha man saves own life with self-tracheotomy

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“An Omaha man apparently saved his own life by performing an emergency surgery on himself. Fifty-five-year-old Steve Wilder awoke in the middle of the night last week and couldn’t breathe. He’d had breathing trouble after a bout with throat cancer several years ago and his windpipe had swollen shut as he slept. Wilder says he knew he only had one option, as an ambulance would never arrive in time, so he gave himself a tracheotomy. He used a steak knife and poked a hole in his throat, which brought a gush of blood — and a rush of air. He could breathe. He says it didn’t hurt. Doctors say it saved Wilder’s life but they don’t recommend what he did — call 911 instead.”

[Radio Iowa – Nebraska Radio Network]

It’s not whining if we have a good reason

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Amy Gahran is a former full-time journalist, editor, and managing editor. Today, her work mainly involves conversational online media (weblogs, forums, wikis, e-mail lists) as well as feeds, podcasting, and e-learning. Here are a couple of excerpts from her recent post at E-Meida Tidbits:

“I’ve been getting quite aggravated at the close-minded and helpless attitudes I’m still encountering from too many journalists about how the media landscape is changing. I realize that right now is a scary time for journalists who crave stability. I have immense sympathy for good, smart people (many of whom have families to support and retirements to plan) who fear the unknown. Many of the news orgs that have sheltered and supported these journalists as they ply their craft are crumbling due to their inability or unwillingness to adapt their business models — leading to layoffs, buyouts, attrition, dwindling resources, overwork, and general demoralization.

I also know — first hand — that the prospect of learning new skills can be daunting. Plus, many of us have spent lots of money on j-school and many years in professional journalism honing our writing and reporting skills. We don’t want to learn how to think like an entrepreneur, or an information architect, or a community manager. We just want to keep doing what we know how to do; we didn’t sign up for all this extra stuff.”

This is an insightful post, worth a full read. (Shirts available in S, M, L, and XXL)

When is it time to unplug?

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From a Reuters story about a new grass-roots movement in which tech geeks, Internet addicts, BlackBerry thumbers and compulsive IMers are unplugging (if only for a day)

“I realized it was a problem when I would sit down to check my email and it was almost like I would wake up six hours later and find I was watching videos of puppies on YouTube.

“I’d try and think what I had been doing for the past two hours and I had no idea. I associate that kind of time loss with blackouts when you’re drunk.”

“I have dream blogged. I have surfed the Internet in my dreams sometimes. If I start hearing imaginary incoming message chimes on my computer when I am out in the back yard, it tells me I have spent too much time online.”

I’ve posted before that I can’t quite remember what I did before I started blogging. And it’s even harder to recall what I did before the Internet captured my attention (and time). That’s probably not a good sign. But what was I doing with my time before I got my first computer, sometime around ’85 or ’86?

Perhaps I’m just rationalizing, but I think the time I’ve spent online, blogging or reading blogs (and news), has been positive for me.

I’m less argumentative. Perhaps because I dump my views and opinions here and, somehow, feel less need to yak about them. I’m better informed about many more topics. I watch less television.

Some of my best friends are people I’ve met online.

But the greatest personal benefit has been the creative outlet. Bearing mind that “creative” is relative.

[Thanks, Chuck]

A few lines from last night’s 30 Rock

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“My cologne is distilled from the bilge water of Rupert Murdoch’s yacht.”

“When I find something I want, I don’t let go. Like a Killer Whale going nuts on his trainer at Sea World.”

“A stripper offered to give me a squeezer last night. A white stripper!”

“Save it for your iVillage blog.”

“If reality TV has taught us anything, it’s you can’t keep people with no values down.”