Highlights

This is the best of the blog that was:
"This Is The Box"

Anatomy Of An Implosion: The collapse of radio, explained in simple terms. "One might think driving down the rate card while building massive debt would be the most ignorant of ignorant decisions... but Clear Channel saw the ignorant hand they'd dealt themselves and raised the entire industry a stupid."

The Downfall Of Radio Is The Downfall Of Man: "Eventually, radio will either be wiped out by the internet or it will merge into it. The determining factor will be the strength of each individual radio station's content at the point in time when AM and FM radio listenership truly collapses." Bring on the ones and zeros. It's only change, and you know what they say about the more things change...

Portable People Meter Teasers: PPM is a phenomenal research tool, but the wrong lessons are being learned from the research. "10 second breaks are PPM friendly, but are they emotion? Are they even human? They're fine for a tease but they're not the show. If you're on a date with a woman and you realize she's nothing but a tease, are you going to bother seeing her again?"

You Don't Have To Be Old: "Don't ever wear your age as a badge of honor, because, believe me, it isn't. Of course ageism exists, just as sexism and racism exist. Much like beauty, discrimination is in the eye of the discriminator, but that doesn't mean you are powerless."

Bottoms Up! Consider how the Japanese treat their auto factory workers, and how their actions from decades past are still shaking the U.S. auto industry today. "I'm not saying the Japanese are better. I'm saying a system of top-down management is worse. And that is exactly what deregulation brought to radio."

A Pig On A Seesaw: "There is absolutely nothing wrong with 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 this equipment is functioning perfectly. 100% A-OK. Trust me. I checked. What's broken is the business of radio."

Exited: "The proper term is 'fired.' It's easy to remember because it starts with an F, just like another word which accurately describes the situation. These people have no more exited their radio stations than a shot down airplane exited the sky. Their lives have been disrupted because the bean counters don't understand where a radio station's value comes from."

A Local And A Yacht: "Local is not what makes a radio station win. We've seen it time and time again where a national show causes a local guy to get the boot, and the national show wins. Bird attacks man. Bird wins. But we've also seen bird attack man and end up being turned into a poor-man's chicken McNuggets. Local isn't what makes something better. Better makes something better."

Doug And The DJ: "His name is Doug. He's tall, dark and handsome, with bold eyes, a muscular frame and a curious grin. And he'd bumped into this particular redhead once before. They'd had a nice chat - about his new car I believe. Hoping to strike up another conversation, he leans in and asks..."

Words Are Not Actions: "Much like a man who says he loves his wife yet does nothing to prove it, too many programmers honestly believe that saying "We're your at work station" makes it so. It doesn't."

Scared: "If you want to really scare people... and I believe this to be true for broadcasting as well as business in general ...don't bother talking about risks. Don't waste your time discussing potential for failure. Don't yammer on about doom and gloom. If you really want to see someone shake, all you have to do is..."

Radio As A Music Delivery System: "If you're doing contemporary radio in any form & you find yourself searching for a song to add, why not just stick your head in the toilet & flush - because you're a dumbass. There. I said it. I said it and I meant it."