APig On A Seesaw

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the medium that is radio. The transmitters still work. Car radios still work. Clock radios still work. The radio in the lobby of your dentist's office still works too.

All of it is 100% A-OK. I checked.

Sure, the medium has more challenges and challengers today than it has ever had before, but the fundamentals of radio are sound. Sure, listeners may be less passionate about radio today, but that's happening because we're giving them less to be passionate about. We can fix that. Any problems facing the content side of radio are easily solved through creativity, passion and hard work, and I don't see any lack of that.

I'll say it again: There is absolutely nothing wrong with the medium that is radio.

What's broken is the business of radio.

Once upon a time not so long ago, your typical radio station was a balancing act: a seesaw of programming and Sales. Programming created entertainment that captured an audience. Sales used that audience to generate revenue. Want more money? Create better programming. Build a bigger audience.

It doesn't work that way anymore because the business of radio is broken. There is no balance of programing and sales when there's a pig on the seesaw.

Take, for example, Clear Channel's KHKS FM in Dallas. They celebrated a return to market dominance by slashing the budget. Is it really a fact that the highest rated English language station in market number five can't afford to staff the midday airshift? Really? ...Please... That decision was made in San Antonio and enforced via Pittsburgh, which I find odd since KHKS's signal can't be heard by people who live in either of those cities.

While we're in Dallas, let's consider the fate of another major player in the market: CBS Radio. They own six stations, four of which are were in the one shares this past fall, yet CBS did Jack squat about it.

The most offensive of these embarrassments to broadcasting is the ironically named "Movin' 107.5", where a successful heritage smooth jazz station was signed off in favor of the latest flavor of radio snake oil. Ranked in 24th place overall, this station is actually out-performing some of the Movin' stations in other markets. You can't even look up 12+ Arbitron ratings for some Movin' stations online because they've literally fallen off the page. Try to find Movin' in Los Angeles on allaccess.com. I dare you.

The decision to put Movin' on the air in Dallas and Los Angeles had nothing to do with entertainment. It was a get rich quick scheme and it failed. The way to fix either of these stations is simple: go into the market, find an under-served sellable demographic and entertain them. These are major markets! Hire talented PDs, compelling air talent and build a winning team, one station at a time. But the days of doing radio that way are quickly coming to a close because large corporations don't view individual properties individually, and that's a key reason why they're not willing to do more to get more.

Years ago, you'd blow out an underperforming jock. Today, you blow out the entire shift and track it regardless of how well the jock is doing.

Years ago, you'd low out an underperforming PD. Today, you blow out the entire station and replace it with a gimmick. Worry about it again in '09, eh?

The old way: Grow the budget. Make more money.
The new way: Slash the budget. Take more money.

And the worst part is, the business of radio was destroyed while the economy was strong. Imagine the pressure to slash budgets further when this recession really takes hold.

The business of radio is broken.