Clear Channel’s niche play online

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“The days of listening to two or three radio stations on a regular basis are long gone, a sign of the times Clear Channel is more than willing to acknowledge. In a direct nod to podcasts and satellite radio, the terrestrial leader is looking to expand its online reach by creating its own hyper-targeted programming for two of the most underserved niche audiences on the airwaves — Nascar fans and the gay community.” — AdAge.com

RadioSomebody(s) at Clear Channel has figured out “this Internet thing.” This article is worth a read.

There are probably some NASCAR formats on the air but I’ve never heard one. And I sure don’t expect to hear a station programmed for the gay community. I think this is a brilliant move and would like to hear some of the stuff they produce.

In a very short time, Rock, Country, Easy Listening, News/Talk and similar formats will seem quaint and anachronistic.

I know what you’re thinking. Why not program for gay NASCAR drivers? Why indeed?

Sci Fi Channel: “The Lost Room”

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In the Sci Fi Channel’s “The Lost Room” miniseries, homicide cop Joe Miller (Peter Krause) stumbles upon a key that turns any door into a gateway to this unassuming motel room that’s been frozen in time. Aside from being able to access the room from anywhere, there’s something else odd about it: no matter what you do inside it – sleep in the bed, set fire to the carpet or add an assortment of Ikea table lamps – it always “resets” itself to its original orderly configuration the next time you enter. [AZ Central]

The first (of three) installment of this miniseries was pretty damed good. Sci Fi is airing the first part again this evening at 6pm Central…followed by part two.

BlackBerry Orphans

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Interesting story at WSJ.com about how hand-held email devices (BlackBerry, Treo, etc) are cutting into quality time at home. I’m never far from a computer so I have no stones to throw, but there seems to be something even more addictive about these devices. They are just so easy to use. So handy. And Barb’s Treo makes this insidious little tone when a new email comes in (“Check me! Check me!).

BlackBerryOne ninth-grader (in the WSJ story) says she has caught her parents typing emails on their Treos during her eighth-grade awards ceremony, at dinner and in darkened movie theaters. “During my dance recital, I’m 99% sure they were emailing except while I was on stage,” she says. “I think that’s kind of rude.”

Most of the senior managers in our company have BlackBerry’s and I’ll bet you a hot oil back rub on Oprah they’re using the little buggers right up until bedtime.

Update: NPR interview with the reporter that did the story and some of the people she interviewed.

Update: Google Audio Ads

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From Inside AdWords blog: “Over the last year, we’ve been working hard to integrate the dMarc advertising platform into Google AdWords. We’re happy to announce that the integration is now complete and we’ve recently begun a U.S. beta test of Google Audio Ads with a small group of AdWords advertisers.”

If you haven’t been keeping up, here’s how Google describes their Audio Ads:

“Google Audio Ads brings efficiency, accountability, and enhanced ROI to radio advertising by providing advertisers with an online interface for creating and launching radio campaigns. You’ll be able to target your customers by location, station type, day of the week, and time of day. After the radio ads are run, you will be able to view online reports that tell you exactly when your ad played.”

A couple of days ago, Mark Ramsey (Hear 2.0) pointed us to an application page on the Google website.

Ad Specialist Application — Thank you for your interest in joining the Google Ad Creation Marketplace. We’re looking for some of the top audio ad specialists to join our Ad Creation Marketplace – a searchable directory of talent to help AdWords advertisers to create radio advertisements. For advertisers new to the radio space, or who are starting a new campaign, the Marketplace provides an invaluable starting point for finding the talent they need.

So, I decide to buy some Google Audio Ads. I search the Google Ad Creation Marketplace database for someone to write and produce my spot. We agree on a price. I send some copy. They email back an MP3 file. I’m off to the races. Maybe. Mr. Ramsey is skeptical and I confess I am too. But if it works… it could have a profound change on how advertiser buy and place ads.

Update: According to News.com, the radio ads are running in more than 260 metropolitan markets, covering about 87 percent of the country

“Is it time to give up on radio?”

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The sky is not falling!That’s one of the headlines in the latest issue of the StateNets newsletter. StateNets –formerly the National Association of State Radio Networks — is the marketing arm for most of the state radio networks in the country.

Jim Underwood of the Florida Radio Network wonders if it’s time to drop “radio” from their name.

“First of all, we are not really in the radio business, the broadcasting business or even the network radio broadcasting business. We are in the business of supplying information to people and charging clients a fee to include their message with that information.

We produce a lot of valuable, exclusive content about our states every day and we need to devise new ways to make that information available to people everywhere who may be interested in it. (We’re) working on software to make FRN – er rather maybe Florida Information Network – content available to websites of affiliates, then maybe newspapers. Why not supply State Government sites with the content?”

Such a rude question would have been considered heresy just a short time ago. Based on all that I’ve seen/heard, the future of state radio networks (including ours) is closely tied to that of the radio stations we serve. I’m convinced there are other markets for our content, but I still haven’t seen the business model that will replace –dollar for dollar– the revenue state networks have come to depend on. Stay tuned.

Voice recording on the iPod nano

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One of my rationalizations for buying a new iPod nano was the Voice Memo feature. Plug a mic in and record directly to the iPod. I had no idea how well this would work until tonight when I plugged in a tiny little mic called the iTalk Pro from Griffin Technology.

Pops into the bottom of the iPod and records in mono or stereo. The interface on the iPod is a wonder of simple design.

I’ll let you decide on the quality but I can certainly imagine recording an interview with this delightful little gadget. And I’ve always got the nano with me anyway, so…

New and improved Blogger

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I made the jump from Blogger to Typepad a couple of years ago because Blogger was driving me nuts. All kind of problems and missing features. A number of Learfield bloggers and friends are still using the service so this link is for you. It’s an interview (video) with Eric Case who works on the Blogger team at Google. I’m posting here because it’s easier than trying to remember who to email.

Yahoo and Reuters want your pix and video

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This morning one of our networks posted a story about how last weeks snow and ice storm has caused millions of dollars in damage to docks, marinas, and boats at the Lake of the Ozarks. A short time later, someone forwarded a link to a web page featuring photos of the damage. I called the guy that put the page up and got his permission to use one of the images (and linked our story to his page).

I only mention this because, starting tomorrow, users will be able to upload photos and videos to a section of Yahoo called You Witness News. All of the submissions will appear on Flickr or a similar site for video. Editors at both Reuters and Yahoo will review the submissions and select some to place on pages with relevant news articles, just as professional photographs and video clips are woven into their news sites today.

According to the story at NYTimes.com, users will not be paid for images displayed on the Yahoo and Reuters sites. But people whose photos or videos are selected for distribution to Reuters clients will receive a payment.

The piece goes on to say that Yahoo plans to use the images on its sports and entertainment sites. Over time, it wants to expand to local news and high school sports. And it will consider allowing users to contribute articles as well as images.

Now, before you tell me that the public won’t be smart enough or take the time to upload a photo or video… let me just say: YouTube.

Who might use the Yahoo/Reuters service? Well, we struggle to come up with photos for the stories our networks cover. We’re radio guys and we’re still figuring out how to get good images for our stories. And we haven’t touched video. If the Yahoo/Reuters service was easy and affordable, yeah… I’d be interested.

And here’s a question for radio station webmasters: If some of your listeners have great photos and video of last night’s local high school football game… and they’re willing (eager!) to share them with you… do you have the wherewithal to add them to your website? Or, better question… do YOU have anything about the big game on your site? Mark my words… someone will make a place for that very local content.