Dont’ write Jack off
Russ Schell says don’t dismiss the JACK radio format just because I haven’t heard it:
“I launched the 3rd JACK station in the U.S. and found it, among the very few I’ve programmed, one I actually enjoyed listening to for extended periods. (It was also a ratings smash before I quit.) Most people don’t realize that every incarnation of JACK is different from another. There’s a very loose guideline, of course, in terms of presentation and production values but you won’t find all of the same songs on JACK stations in different parts of the country. There IS localization. There are collaborations with local values and local tastes when it’s done well. There are “air talents” on some JACK stations and none on others. It’s not satellite, it’s not syndication… it’s a concept, and one left open to wide interpretation. That’s the part that the naysayers don’t get.”
“Your Nano is good. Fine. Excellent for a road trip through Kansas… but Nano is a cocoon. Your own music, your way, without any outside intervention or appeal. It’s limiting in that sense and has nothing more “local” than your own brain and own “mix.” I can talk to myself all day… but that doesn’t make me interesting, challenging, compelling, or unique. Hopefully, somehow, that’s what radio can be.”
Russ tried to post this as a comment to an earlier post that linked to a post by Chris Anderson. (I can’t seem to get comments working properly here at Typepad) As far as I know, the Jack format is great radio. I just have not heard it. So I’m certainly not ready to dismiss it. There must be a place where I can stream it and take a listen.
As for the iPod nano: “nothing more local than your own brain and own mix” sounds pretty good to me, Russ. The good news (or bad, depending on your perspective) is, listeners will decide the fate of radio. If it’s good and entertaining and informative…we will listen. The new factor in the equation is all the choices we now have that didn’t exist a few years ago (Internet, iPods, satellite). Radio had a captive audience… and now it doesn’t.
I forgot about the Mothboard on this topic. The perfect place for Russ to have shared his comments. I’ll have to provide a more prominent link.
Time capsule: October 9, 1984
Oversold again. Expressed my fears and concerns to Clyde. He feels it is a mistake to turn down business. I say there has to be a “good programming” limit. The newscasts just aren’t good quality programming with two minutes of spots.
Another charming little nugget from my 1984 (first year at Learfield) journal. I believe our newscasts were 5 minutes long in ’84. Four minutes of news content, one minute of network commecial inventory. When we sold out, we “double-spotted” (3 and 2) and got away with it. Not sure if we could today. Note the total absence of irony in my “mistake to turn down business” reference. Was I precious, or what?
Is Jack FM the long tail of radio?
The main problem with radio is not the relatively small size of the playlists (although that doesn’t help); it’s that music is polarizing–people may like one song but hate the next, so they’re prone to switch stations or switch off entirely. As MTV found out a decade ago, there simply is no single playlist that can keep enough people listening long enough to please the advertisers. MTV switched to reality shows because they’re sticky. Radio is switching to talk for the same reason.
It is the curse of broadcast: with just a few dozen stations in each city, most must aggregate audiences in the tens of thousands. In an era of infinite choice and narrowcasting, such mass-market broadcast distribution–the ultimate one-size-fits-all model–just can’t compete.
— Chris Anderson on the future of music on radio
I have not heard the Jack format and think it unlikely I will. The little nano is getting more and more of my limited listening time (mostly podcasts, some music). I’m even listening to XM less since getting the little iPod.
Cancellation great for ‘Arrested Development’
Lost Remote offers a fascinating alternative to today’s TV model: “Getting cancelled is the best possible thing that could have happened to Arrested Development. No longer shackled by the whim of a fickle network, “AD” can take advantage of all the technologies now available for video delivery and make more money. The model is just waiting to happen: AD, a pioneer in its style of comedy, should pioneer this, too.”
If you’re in the network business (TV or radio), this is worth a read. [via The Long Tail]