November 23, 2025 · 3:00 am

Two of America’s “Big Jim Edwards”

These past few weeks, I once again tried to find the whereabouts of one of my earliest mentors in the radio business; Big Jim Edwards (not his real name). What got me to thinking about this man was a post on Facebook by Jim Davis aka “Big Jim Edwards.”

Big Jim Edwards

I learned from Bill Hennes, former program director of CKLW, that “Big Jim Edwards” was often used at radio stations consulted by the legendary Bill Drake* for one of the station’s air personalities. Jim Davis was recruited to be part of a new team of air personalities being assembled to light-up The Big 8-CKLW in Windsor-Ontario, Canada. CKLW would identify itself as being part of “The Motor City” aka Detroit, Michigan. It would be at this Drake formatted radio station where Jim Davis would be anointed “Big Jim Edwards.”

Richard Poirier

When I started working weekends at 1420-WBEC back in the late 60s, the evening DJ on this station was a man named Richard Poirier, but to his listeners, he was known as Jim Walker. While the radio station was a mixture of news, talk and middle-of-the-road music during the day, at night it would turn into a Top40 station to appeal to the teenagers of Berkshire County while their parents were glued to the tube (TV).

Jim would listen to the practice tapes I would produce in WBEC’s production room and critique them, trying to make me a better air personality.

Jim Walker Become Big Jim Edwards

In 1968, Jim Walker was hired by 1340-WNHC in New Haven, Connecticut to hold down the 6-10pm (Monday-Friday) and 6pm-Midnight (Saturdays) at this smoking hot Top40 radio station. It would be here, that Jim Walker would become “Big Jim Edwards.” This is a short air check of my mentor on New Haven’s Boss Radio.

https://archive.org/details/big-jim-edwards-1340-wnhc

I’m sure you can see why, as a 17-year old teenager, I was smitten with this style of radio.

Sadly, this high energy format quickly would burn Jim out and he departed the station in August of 1969. Jim wrote to me that he wanted to move intro radio programming. He would get that opportunity at 1450-WSVP in West Warwick, Rhode Island, where the more music sound of Drake-Chenault was programmed on this Providence rim-shot radio signal.

I lost touch with Jim after he departed WSVP. I’ve reached out to people who he worked with like Bill Hennes and Jim Hooker (GM of WSVP back in the day), but they both didn’t know where my Big Jim Edwards is today.

Oh, how I wish I could tell you

how much you inspired me!

Thank You Jim

*(Bill Drake {January 14, 1937 – November 29, 2008}, born Philip Yarbrough, was an American radio programmer who co-developed the Boss Radio format with Gene Chenault via their company Drake-Chenault, and was heard on radio stations like 93-KHJ, 68-WRKO and The Big 8- CKLW.)

7 Comments

Filed under Education, Mentor, Radio

Tagged as , , , , , , , , ,

November 2, 2025 · 3:00 am

Welcome, Virginia Brown Fairbanks

Today this blog site is going to begin something new; sharing air checks and other audio files from my collection of reel-to-reel and cassette tapes that I’ve just started to digitize. I hope you will find it interesting and fun, as I share some of the radio stations, personalities and other tidbits that created my lifelong desire to be in radio.

Call Letters

One of the fascinating aspects of the radio industry has been that of station call letters. Some, like WLS (“World’s Largest Store” which was at that time owned by Sears), WCFL (Chicago Federation of Labor), KHJ (Kindness, Happiness & Joy) or WKBW (Well Known Bible Witness).

The WVBF call letters (Welcome, Virginia Brown Fairbanks) were chosen by Fairbanks Broadcasting owner, Richard M. Fairbanks after the station was purchased in July of 1971 to honor his wife, Virginia. Mr. Fairbanks had done something similar in 1957, when his company purchased a radio station in the Cape Canaveral area of Florida and changed the call letters to his initials; WRMF.

Short History of WVBF

Fairbanks Broadcasting bought WKOX and WKOX-FM in July of 1971. After the purchase, WKOX-FM’s call letters were changed to WVBF. George Johns was brought in, to create a new sound for this radio station, giving birth to “The Electronic Mama,” as a hybrid Top 40/Rock Station.

By 1975, during Fairbanks ownership, the music programming would evolve to mainstream Top 40, eventually moving to a hot adult contemporary format by the end of the decade.

In 1981, WVBF debuted a new morning show hosted by Loren Owens and Wally Brine. Loren and Wally would survive multiple ownership, format and call letter changes until 2019.

Even Delilah, in the early 1990s, was an air personality on the station before moving to Seattle and entering national syndication. In 1996, the station’s call letters were changed to WROR 105.7 FM and programed a classic hits music format.

Electronic Mama

Today, I will feature an audio clip of WVBF Stereo 105 from Framingham, Massachusetts that I recorded, in stereo, in the early 70s.

To listen to this air check, just click on the link below.

https://archive.org/details/wvbf-stereo-105-electronic-mama

7 Comments

Filed under Education, Mentor, Radio

Tagged as , , , ,

October 12, 2025 · 3:00 am

Happy 80th Birthday Art Vuolo, Jr

On September 27, 2025, radio people from all over the United States traveled to Novi, Michigan to celebrate Art Vuolo, Jr’s 80th birthday and enjoy each other’s company. The weather was spectacular, as the 150 or so folks that gathered renewed old acquaintances and/or made new ones.

I’ve known Art for over four decades, and cherish him like a brother.

Sue and I commemorated Art’s decades of video recording America’s Best Air Personalities, by presenting Art with a crystal microphone for truly being “Radio’s Best Friend.”

Today’s blog is a montage of pictures Sue and I took on that special day.

Art Vuolo, Jr holding his “Radio’s Best Friend” crystal microphone
Phlash Phelps is presented with a plaque commemorating his 25-years on the air at SiriusXM
The Illinois Rock & Roll Museum inducted Chicago radio station WCFL into it’s Hall of Fame, two weeks before Art’s 80th party. Since WCFL is no more, it was decided that Art Vuolo, Jr should be the caretaker for this award.
Shotgun Tom Kelly presenting me with a copy of his book, “All I Wanna Do Is Play The Hits!”
Shotgun Tom Kelly, John Records Landecker, Dusty Rhodes & Gary Jeff
Kathy & Terry Stevens, Art talk with Fred Jacobs and Paul Jacobs

What a fabulous gift idea, a take-off of the BIG 8’s logo. Jo Jo Shutty, of CKLW, is holding it for the picture. Jo-Jo Shutty was the First Female News and Traffic Helicopter Reporter in North America while at CKLW.
Some of the attendees gathered on the hillside, next to Art’s home, for a group picture.

This was not only Art’s 80th birthday celebration, but sadly, also the last Motor City Radio Reunion. After all, we are all getting older, making it difficult for many of us to make this radio pilgrimage.

4 Comments

Filed under Education, Mentor, Radio

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

August 24, 2025 · 3:00 am

When Is Local Radio NOT Local?

WLAN – AM1390 signed on the air in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in 1940 from offices and studios located 252 North Queen Street. Seven years later, WLAN – 96.9FM began broadcasting from the same location as the AM station, which was a three and four story walk-up.

2004

DCF 1.0
DCF 1.0

I was hired as the General Manager of WLAN AM/FMN in the fall of 2004 and quickly realized the stations not only needed to be modernized but relocated to a part of Lancaster that would be more accommodating to our listeners (for prize pickups and events), our advertising clients, and our staff – in particular our sales staff, which had to come and go from the station multiple times a day.

2005

Meetings with Clear Channel corporate led to getting a budget for a move and the green light to relocate to 1685 Crown Avenue, Suite 100 in Lancaster.

2006

In May of 2006 the ribbon was cut and a huge party for listeners and advertisers was held in our parking lot outside of our state-of-the-art broadcast center. Tours of our offices and studios were given while members of The New Holland Band serenaded our guests.

19

Sadly, while the stations were able to broadcast from their original location for sixty-six years, the new facility would be abandoned just 19 years after it was opened.

I learned this news when I stopped in to visit the stations during a weekend getaway my wife Sue had planned in Lancaster County.

As we drove up to the front door, we saw a dumpster outside filled with building materials and looking through the windows, we saw that the former offices and studios had been completely gutted.

Nobody’s Home Anymore

What I would learn is that WLAN AM/FM had moved to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; about 40 miles and an hour’s travel time away from Lancaster.

Listeners who wanted to pick up prizes they may have won, now had to drive to 600 Corporate Circle in Harrisburg.

The website listed numbers to call for the Studio Lines, but all I’ve gotten when I’ve tried calling is a recorded message that says “your call cannot be completed as dialed.”

Local Is Where You Live

In my time as general manager of WLAN AM/FM, I rarely traveled to Harrisburg, even though my regional manager was located there and was manager of Clear Channel’s dominant radio stations in Dauphin County and Pennsylvania’s capital city. Harrisburg was a world away from Amish country in Lancaster.

WLAN-FM now lists itself as a Harrisburg/Lancaster radio station with Elvis Duran’s New York City syndicated morning radio show airing live and voice tracked DJs the rest of the day.

The only local air personality that remains from my days at WLAN is Damian Rhodes who is the station’s production wizard and covers the 4-7pm afternoon drive time period.

Reviewing WLAN-FM’s website reveals mostly items for iHeartRadio, national news, entertainment and music stories with just a couple of items for events in Harrisburg, but it is devoid of anything happening in Lancaster.

For a city of almost 60,000 people located in a county of over 560,000 people, you would think there would be a lot going on that a LOCAL radio station would be involved in.

I know that’s the way it once was, when the radio station was actually broadcasting from the City of Lancaster.

“Doesn’t it always seem to go,

You don’t know what you’ve got,

Til it’s gone.”

-Joni Mitchell

26 Comments

Filed under Education, Mentor, Radio, Sales

Tagged as , , , , , , , ,

July 13, 2025 · 3:00 am

Where Should the Radio Industry Be Focused?

You most likely have heard how the radio industry in America is trying to get Congress to pass a law requiring that all cars sold must have an AM radio installed in them. Radio folks say this is necessary so emergency information will be available to the general public in times of a crisis.

The AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act is bipartisan legislation aimed at ensuring AM radio remains accessible in all new vehicles sold in the United States. It would require automakers to include AM broadcast radio as a standard feature, without any additional cost to consumers. The bill also addresses transparency by requiring automakers to disclose if a vehicle lacks AM radio access before the rule takes effect.

But is this really necessary, if we’re being honest with one another?

When Sue and I are on one of our many road trips, and a weather emergency or some other crisis occurs in the area that we are traveling in, our iPhones go crazy with that critical information.

Redundancy

Today, we live in a world with a lot of redundancy when it comes to communication. It’s not like a hundred years ago where radio provided the only means of immediate information to the public. In addition to broadcast radio/TV, we have computers, tablets, and smartphones filling the role of delivering emergency information quickly.

I won’t ever forget the day a tornado alert was issued for Bowling Green, Kentucky, including the campus of Western Kentucky University; every electronic device my students carried with them went off with the tornado warning.

The sound was deafening.

Obviously, as I was teaching a class at the time, no one was listening to a radio or watching TV but we all immediately knew of the imminent danger and sought protective cover.

AM Radio

From my earliest years as a listener, it was AM radio that caused me to want to pursue a career in the radio industry.

The first ten years of my radio career were spent on-air, in programming and operations. The next thirty years would see me move in to radio sales, sales management, general management and finally as a market manager of radio station clusters.

Over that period of time I watched as AM radio listenership grew older and declined, while FM radio amassed a large audience and the lion’s share of the advertising revenue.

The point I’m trying to make is, that AM radio was always available in cars and trucks, but people had moved on; to FM radio, satellite radio and portable music playing devices.

Reach people where they are, not where you want them to be.

Where Did All Radios Go?

Pete Seeger wrote a song that is applicable to the radio issue today, “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” This song could be radio’s battle cry, by changing “flowers” to “radios.”

If you go into any retailer today, you’ll feel like Harrison Ford in Raiders of the Lost Arc trying to find a radio receiver.

Recently, Sue and I road tripped to Gainesville, Florida for another one of our grandchildren graduating from high school. During our two weeks of travel, every hotel we stayed in no longer had a radio in our room. Instead they had a large screen TV (up to 85 inches) and by our bed a charging block for plugging in our smartphones, tablets and computers.

So, should the radio industry be adding to the “AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act” as well as hotel rooms too? I think not! Have you ever tried to listen to AM radio on one of those cheap radio’s that hotels used to put into their rooms?

The Francis Marion Hotel

On our way home from Florida, we stayed a couple of nights in Charleston, South Carolina at The Francis Marion Hotel. The hotel was named after a revolutionary war hero and built in 1924. The Francis Marion hotel was early to include an AM radio in every room and even housed the city’s first radio station on an upper floor of the hotel.

The 1920s was the Golden Age of railroads, radio and grand hotels, and the Charleston Renaissance was in full bloom.

That was then, this is now.

Today, our room at The Francis Marion featured one of those clock charging cubes by our bedside, two flat screen TVs and excellent WiFi. Oh, and there is no longer a radio station broadcasting from the hotel; that’s been gone for years.

Radio Today

James Cridland reported in his latest newsletter that he read in Radio Today that the UK’s first commercial radio station is switching off two of its FM frequencies. The owners claim that DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting) and online streaming serves its audience well enough. Cridland believes they won’t be the last either.

The Future is here, NOW!

What Do We Listen To When We Road Trip?

Everything we want to hear when we’re on-the-road comes from our smartphones. They automatically connect to our Honda’s audio system via Apple CarPlay. For music we can choose from my own music library, RadioTunes or Pandora. If we want to hear any radio station, we can listen to it via TuneIn Radio, StreamS, myTuner Radio, or Simple Radio. Plus, any time I want a quick check of the latest news, I click on my Hourly News app which streams the latest news from NPR, CBC, AP, ABC, CBS, FOX, and the BBC in succession. By the time I’ve finished listening, I not only have a good sense of what’s going on in the world, but how each news service ranks each story’s importance to its listeners.

The amazing thing about all of this is, the streaming of audio content we’ve found, is stable; with no dropouts, static or disruption of any kind. Unlike satellite radio which drops out under bridges, streaming audio does not.

In fact, my blog of January 9, 2022 titled “Why I Stream ALL of My Radio Listening,” goes into detail about how and why I started doing this. https://dicktaylorblog.com/2022/01/09/why-i-stream-all-my-radio-listening/ While we still own the 2009 Honda Accord talked about in that article, we recently upgraded to a 2018 Honda Accord for our road trips, which makes everything even easier. Mind you, this vehicle is seven years old and has an AM radio in it; somewhere, I just haven’t spent any time looking for it. The touch screen does have a button at the top that says FM Radio, even when I’m in Apple CarPlay mode, which is ALWAYS.

The Bottomline

Today we live in an ON DEMAND world. People want what they want, when they want it, and where they want it. The focus of today’s radio owner/operators should be on that reality, not on trying to keep a 20th Century technology alive by forcing it on people.

Five years ago, the Radio Advertising Bureau’s Senior Vice President Jeff Schmidt was telling radio sales people,

“If you’re selling the way you were five years ago,

you’re in trouble because the world is changing

and we need to change with it.”

And he’s right, but not just about radio sales, about the entire radio industry. It can’t try and hold back the massive change that is occurring in the world of communications. That’s the message.

Radio needs to get on board

or

miss the boat.

23 Comments

Filed under Education, Mentor, Radio, Sales

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

May 18, 2025 · 3:00 am

How You Say It, Makes All the Difference

A few of weeks ago, my wife Sue & I went to two different churches for Easter Sunday services; our new church, where we just became members and our old church where we exchanged our vows of commitment to each other.

Here’s what I learned…

Talking versus Preaching

One of the pastors delivered the service as if he was talking to us. He engaged us with his message, as if he were having a conversation, and even posed questions to the congregation. The religious meaning of Easter Sunday was delivered in a relatable way, bringing meaning and perspective to the world we are living in today.

The other pastor, at our second Easter service, preached…or what I might characterize as “talking at and not to” me. It didn’t really relate to the world outside the church doors, in tone or message. The sermon made no effort to tie a religious message to our current reality.

WABC – “The Last Aircheck”

On Saturday, May 10th, Rewound Radio aired, what’s become known as “The Last Aircheck,” the day that WABC Music Radio 77 would switch their format to Talk Radio 77. That happened 43 years ago on May 10, 1982.

Those final hours were hosted by Ron Lundy and Dan Ingram, and as I listened to the replay of that broadcast, I got goosebumps. The sound of their voices took me back in time, when listening to the radio was like a religious experience for me.

Techsurvey 2025

Fred Jacobs has been tracking the power of personalities in his annual Techsuveys, the most recent one which came out in the first quarter of this year. Here’s the trendline:

Fred’s graph only goes back to 2014, but radio captured my heart in the 60s. It was a time when great radio personalities ruled the airwaves on virtually every broadcast signal.

Radio owners would covet, promote and value their air personalities and so did the radio audience. For the radio listener, meeting their favorite air personality was a heart pounding experience.

The Human Voice

I never had the opportunity to meet Ron Lundy or Dan Ingram, but their voices owned real estate in my brain. As it was broadcast over Rewound Radio, hearing them talking on “The Last Aircheck” made the same impact as it did when I heard them LIVE 43 years ago.

That’s the power of the human voice.

Church Attendance & Radio Listenership

In today’s world, both entities are challenged to build and hold an audience. Our new church saw its lead pastor of 12 years promoted and a new pastor was named to replace him.

Like a radio station that loses a popular personality, and causes listeners to seek out other listening possibilities, a church changing its pastor is monumental change, often causing people to try other churches.

One saving grace in our church’s situation was having an assistant pastor that provided continuity to the congregation during this time of change.

The good news is that when the new pastor arrived, he would be as dynamic as the pastor who had left; maybe even more so. Our congregation has grown under his leadership, at a time when other churches have not. He talks, not preaches; and he listens.

Every Hour in Radio is Front Page

Radio, unlike print publications, doesn’t have a back page. Every minute of the broadcast day is like being on the front page. Every minute counts and a radio station is either building an audience, keeping an audience or losing an audience.

Radio’s reduction in force (RIF) of its air personalities has created two problems:

1) many hours of the broadcast day are now sterile and

2) those sterile hours aren’t just driving away radio listeners to other venues, but they also aren’t attracting a new generation of broadcasters who’ve been inspired by what they hear coming through their radio speaker.

BOTTOM LINE

Today’s radio lacks personality and FOMO.*

*FOMO is Fear Of Missing Out

18 Comments

Filed under Education, Mentor, Radio

Tagged as , , , , , , , , ,

March 23, 2025 · 3:00 am

What Skills Are Needed in Today’s Media & Communications Industry?

This week, Sarah McGrath, an editor with the LinkedIn News team, emailed me to get my feedback about their inaugural “List of Skills on the Rise in Media and Communications.”

LinkedIn mined its member data base of media and communications folks to compile a list of the 10 fastest-growing skills that working professionals feel are needed to get ahead and grow in the 21st Century.

I’m going to post LinkedIn’s list and invite you to share your thoughts and comments about what people interested in a career in the media and communications industry should be investing in. If you feel this list missed a skill that you believe should have been included, please respond on the www.DickTaylorBlog.com website’s comments section.

AI Literacy

Artificial Intelligence or A.I. is certainly a must in today’s world. A.I. is turning our world upside down at the speed of light. I don’t believe anyone could imagine not having the skills and understanding needed to leverage this technology, for fun and profit.

Emotional Intelligence

In a world where your smartphone can quickly provide the answers to any question you might have, the skill I see that should be on this list – and maybe #2 – is emotional intelligence, also referred to as EQ.

People with a high EQ possess the skills necessary in building strong relationships and navigating social situations. They are able to manage emotions effectively, allowing for the achievement of both personal and professional success.

The Harvard Business Review says that while technical skills may have helped you to secure your first promotion, without emotional intelligence it may not guarantee your next one. For EQ is the skill that will help you successfully coach teams, manage stress, deliver feedback and collaborate with others.

“Emotional Intelligence is one of the most sought-after interpersonal skills in the workplace. In fact, 71 percent of employers value emotional intelligence more than technical skills when evaluating candidates.”

The good news is, emotional intelligence can be improved in each of us if we make a conscious effort to practice on developing self-awareness, self-regulation, empathy and social skills.

My wife Sue, who edits this blog, says listening is a very important EQ skill. It’s one I’m still working on.

Active listening means to pay close attention to what others are saying, both verbally and nonverbally, and trying to understand their perspectives.

For “50 Tips on Improving your Emotional Intelligence” click on this LINK.

Now It’s Your Turn

I would really love to hear what your thoughts are on the skills young people should be developing and strengthening to thrive in today’s media and communications world.

Be sure to click on this LINK and share your thoughts in the comments section on the blog.

I look forward to hearing what you have to say.

4 Comments

Filed under Education, Mentor, Radio, Sales

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , ,

March 9, 2025 · 3:00 am

Radio’s Most Pressing Issues

This past week, Radio/TV state broadcast associations were in our nation’s capital meeting with their elected representatives in both the House and Senate about issues that are important to them. It’s the annual National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) State Leadership Conference.

More than 500 radio broadcasters from across America assembled to hear Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) speak on his support of the “AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act,” and advocating for a level playing field in the advertising market.

Cruz is the new Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee and he pledged a proactive approach to support broadcasters, create jobs and uphold free speech.

Free Speech

Brendan Carr is the new Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and in only a couple of weeks, since taking this leadership position, his actions have caught the attention of some members of Congress, who were alarmed by recent moves impacting broadcasters.

Representative Jerold Nadler (D-NY) expressed his concern over the Carr’s FCC assault on a media organization’s free speech.

“Exploiting his asserted ‘unitary executive’ powers, [President] Trump is unleashing his sycophant FCC Chairman, Brendan Carr, on every newsgroup whose news stories he does not approve of — actually threatening to pull the broadcast licenses for ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, and NPR,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD). “Is this North Korea?”

The President of Free Press Action, Craig Aaron, in testimony said that threats and opening investigations into broadcast outlets by the FCC is out of the norm.

“The FCC usually talks about licenses on very narrow terms, such as if an owner has committed a major crime,” Aaron said. “The idea that a news organization would be threatened because they asked a tough question of the President, or because they tried to fact check him during a debate, or because they edited their own news content before putting it out over the airwaves is preposterous, and it’s dangerous.”

DEI

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) has been terminated by Carr at the FCC and he’s been signaling that the agency might go after FCC licensees over their own DEI programs.

Are DEI programs good for business? Apple’s shareholders think so, so do Costco shareholders, and Hyundai’s marketing executive, Erik Thomas, credits its DEI programs with driving the automobile manufacturer’s bottom line.

SiriusXM

Nine years ago I wrote an article with a title that sounded like click bait titled “SiriusXM Radio is Now Free,” which speculated when the FCC licensed satellite broadcaster would start offering ad-supported channels for free.

Four years later, I wrote that “Could 2021 Be the Year SiriusXM Adds FREE Channels?” speculating that new SiriusXM CEO, Jennifer Witz, would be pursuing revenue growth by  leveraging the 132 million cars the service was available in. SiriusXM, like commercial radio over-the-air (OTA) broadcasters, knows that the competition for listener ears is in the car. The advantage the satellite broadcaster has over AM/FM radio operators is they know exactly what their listeners are listening to, and don’t have to rely on audience estimates that may or may not be accurate in today’s media saturated world.

Last year, what I have been predicting since 2016, became a reality, as I wrote in:  “Ad-Supported SiriusXM Requires No Paid Subscription.”

Monopoly

One of the radio industry’s most respected researchers, Dr. Ed Cohen, wrote “The direct-to-consumer satellite radio business is a monopoly,” shortly after my 3rd article on this subject was published. Originally, the FCC offered only two satellite broadcast licenses, one went to a company called “Sirius” and the other to a company called “XM,” with the idea being they would be competitors and that the consumer would benefit by not having a single company – a monopoly – control satellite radio and what it could charge.

The two companies were supposed to never be able to merge, but in August of 2008, by a 3 to 2 vote of the FCC, that changed. Dr. Cohen does a really good deep dive into explaining how this all came about in his article “SiriusXM and the FCC: Is the Camel’s Nose Under the Tent?” Which is an allusion to a story that takes place in Arabia, with this metaphorical moral:

If the camel once gets his nose in the tent, his body will soon follow.

What the FCC never took into consideration was, how much damage might occur to local AM/FM radio stations, if and when, the new combined SiriusXM ever decided to provide an ad-supported free radio service.

Dr. Cohen believes that while this new free service from SiriusXM is limited in scope, like the proverbial camel, it won’t be long before the whole service becomes real competition for audio listeners and advertisers.

People Love Free

AM Radio vs SiriusXM

Dr. Cohen makes an excellent case for commercial radio broadcasters to be demanding, the FCC revisit the SiriusXM merger decision in light of this change by the satellite broadcaster.

By the way, public broadcasters also have a horse in this race, as NPR Now is part of the new free SiriusXM service.

“While the NAB is busy with getting Congress to force OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) to include AM in every vehicle, the battle with SiriusXM’s ad-supported venture is probably more important to the industry in the long run,” says Dr. Cohen.

It’s The Economy Stupid

But the most important issue facing the commercial radio industry are the financial fears that have been generated by the Trump tariffs and fire hose of government regulatory changes that seem to come at us on an hourly basis. I wrote about this concern in February with an article titled “The Cost of Uncertainty to Radio.”

Now BIA Advisory Services this week updated its local advertising revenue forecast for 2025. Cameron Coats, in Radio Ink, reports that “over-the-air revenue [for radio] takes the largest hit, falling by 6%.” Digital radio, says Coats, shows a slight increase of 0.1%.

SiriusXM has enjoyed growth through the sale of new cars, but with the high tariffs Trump has announced, it wouldn’t be a surprise if people hang onto their current vehicles a little longer, which also means that AM radio will still be accessible. Without an economic downturn, the average life of a car in America is 12-years, up from 8.4-years in 1995. Progressive Insurance says that a well-maintained car will reach 300,000 or more miles, and those cars have both AM/FM radios as well as SiriusXM.

The radio industry’s most pressing issue is who wins in the car, and in that arena AM radio – a hundred year old medium is not our industry’s best play –

stopping satellite radio’s FREE ad-supported service is.

When the pie isn’t growing,

the game becomes who can cut the biggest slice.

5 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

February 23, 2025 · 3:00 am

Pilot of the Airwaves

Forty-six years ago, Charlie Dore wrote and recorded the song “Pilot of the Airwaves,” a song about a girl who stays up late every night to listen to her favorite radio air personality. She requests that he play a record for her, either the one she suggested or a record of his choice, and adds “I’ve been listening to your show on the radio and you seem like a friend to me.”

Companionship

Radio’s most important strength has always been its ability to provide companionship to the radio listener, and the radio air personality becomes a trusted friend, like a member of the family.

Freddie Mercury

Forty-one years ago (1984) Queen released “Radio Ga Ga,” a song that reflected on the changing popularity of radio and television with the advent of MTV and music videos. In the song, Freddie Mercury belts out “Radio, someone still loves you!”

Which begs the question, if in 1984, Queen felt it necessary to reaffirm the power of radio – before there was the internet and streaming – what must it be like today, 41-years later? Who’s showing the love now, and why?

I Watched It All On My Radio

Thirty-Five years ago, Lionel B. Cartwright released a song that spoke to how radio is “the theater of the mind” in a song called “I Watched It All On My Radio.” It’s a song about a young boy’s remembrances of listening to his transistor radio growing up. This song brought to mind how Charles Osgood (CBS Radio Commentator) would sign-off his radio broadcasts saying “I’ll see you on the radio.” Ah, the good old days.

Video Killed The Radio Star

MTV signed on in 1981, playing music videos that were introduced by Video Jockeys (VJs). The first song played on MTV on August 1st of that year was by The Buggles, “Video Killed The Radio Star.” A key line in that song was “In my mind and in my car, we can’t rewind we’ve gone too far.” The original VJs were all gone before the end of the decade and while MTV still exists, it’s less focused on music videos having  migrated into reality shows for teenagers.

So, video didn’t kill the radio star, but consolidation of radio ownership certainly has.

Radio Listeners Miss Hearing Their Favorite DJs

CRS ‘25 (Country Radio Seminar) just ended in Nashville. Listener research done by NuVoodoo’s Carolyn Gilbert and Leigh Jacobs found that listeners are noticing their favorite personalities are getting downsized, telling the audience that “thirty-six percent agreed that many of the hosts and DJs they had enjoyed hearing on the radio [have] lost their jobs. They’re aware.”

Techsurvey 2024

A year ago, Fred Jacobs released his company’s 20th annual Techsurvey on the habits of radio listeners. One of the major findings of Techsurvey 2024 was how a majority of listeners enjoy the local feel and connection with personalities.

Yet, radio companies continue to de-emphasize experienced local talent – in other words, fire them.

Expiring Skills & Permanent Skills

Morgan Housel, a partner at The Collaborative Fund and an expert on behavioral finance and history, says that every field has two kinds of skills:

  • Expiring skills, which are vital at a given time but prone to diminishing as technology improves and a field evolves.
  • Permanent skills, which were as essential 100 years ago as they are today, and will still be 100 years from now.

Is Being a DJ an Expiring Skill?

  • Seems like everyone’s been talking about what artificial intelligence (A.I.), means for the future of air personalities. Radio owners seem to be excited about A.I. but radio personalities view this new technology with trepidation.
  • You might be wondering if being an air personality is something that will no longer be relevant and can be replaced by a robot.
  • If we’re talking about replacing mindless voice tracking, maybe A.I. is an improvement, but if we’re talking about making a human connection, I think not.
  • Most permanent skills are human-centric, meaning that they are not something a chatbot can duplicate. Sharing of human experiences can only be done by another human. Permanent skills require emotional intelligence which compound over time.
  • People who spend a lifetime perfecting one skill whose importance never wanes, will be the ones in demand.

AI (Artificial Intelligence) Is Not The Answer

The popular TV game show, Family Feud, began airing on ABC in 1976. It would be the personal charm and witty banter of host Richard Dawson that would make the Feud hugely popular with television audiences.

The show continued on after Dawson left, hosted by Ray Combs, Louie Anderson, Richard Karn and John O’Hurley, but it wasn’t until radio star Steve Harvey took over in 2010 that Family Feud saw renewed success. Ratings for the program increased by as much as 40%, and has become the fifth most popular show in syndication being renewed once again through the 2025-2026 season.

By the way, Steve Harvey hosts the #1 syndicated morning radio show in America too.

Personalities like Steve Harvey are not worried about being replaced by artificial intelligence because they have developed a useful and permanent skill in a world that is constantly changing.

Yes, this is both a national example, as well as one about television, but great local radio stations embrace the importance of having strong personalities, like a Steve Harvey, filling their rosters of air talent.

Humans connect with other humans that engage them.

Being human is something artificial intelligence will never be.

10 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

February 16, 2025 · 3:00 am

The Cost of Uncertainty to Radio

In January, I characterized the future of radio in a word, and that word was “uncertain.” Since then, the future of the business world is now being described using that same word.

Radio Advertising

The radio industry has one means of support for all that it does in our local communities;

ADVERTISING.

Local businesses that advertise their products and services are the economic engine that pays for everything a radio station provides to its listeners. Depending on the size of a radio market, additional monies may come from regional and national advertising too. But it is through advertising that commercial broadcast radio exists.

It’s a business model that today is challenged by digital media services, which offer a subscription with an advertising plan allowing two revenue streams for their support.

Uncertainty is Bad For Business

Every business student has heard repeatedly that “uncertainty is bad for business.”

Under President Trump, uncertainty is gripping the business world, with the Associated Press writing:

“Trump is taking a blowtorch to the rules that have governed world trade for decades,” and the “reciprocal” tariffs “are likely to create chaos for global businesses and conflict with America’s allies and adversaries alike.”

The reality is business has no idea how to plan in a long-term, sustainable way, and that includes the radio business.

Seventy percent of America’s economy is based on consumer spending, and the National Retail Federation (NRF) is warning that the myriad of tariffs being proposed “will be extremely disruptive to [America’s] supply chains.” It will also mean higher prices for America’s families which will erode household spending power.

Recessions & Advertising

I started in radio sales during the recession of the early 80s. Orders for radio advertising didn’t just come in over the transom, as had been the case up until that time. If you wanted to build your account list with advertisers, you had to burn some shoe leather and go out to see them, work with them to developing an advertising program that would bring customers into their establishment. I remember Warren Buffett describing these days as…

“Only when the tide goes out

do you discover who’s been swimming naked.”

Which meant to those of us selling radio, tough times revealed who was actually working at the art of radio sales and who was just waiting for the phone to ring.

History clearly taught that businesses that advertised during difficult economic times like during a recession were taking advantage of a strategic opportunity to increase their share of the market and increase their business’s awareness in the mind of the consumer.

The University of Michigan, which monitors consumer sentiment, says that its index continues to decline, suggesting that consumers are very aware of what’s happening in Washington, DC with the talk of tariffs and the possibility of a global trade war.

“Tariffs are taxes,” said the European Commission. “By imposing tariffs, the U.S. is taxing its own citizens, raising costs for business, stifling growth and fueling inflation. Tariffs heighten economic uncertainty and disrupt the efficiency and integration of global markets.”

Uncertainty & Business

Economists have tried to study what uncertain conditions mean for business in countries all over the world. What they’ve consistently learned was that uncertainty makes businesses:

  • More reluctant to hire
  • More reluctant to invest
  • Leads to lower sales

Businesses can adapt when they have some idea of what the future looks like, but when it isn’t clear what the rules will be, both businesses – and their customers – end up in limbo.

Past spikes of uncertainty were caused by recessions, financial crises, negative word events – and most recently, the Covid-19 pandemic. However, this time the uncertainty is almost like a deliberate move to cause it, making it hard for anyone to predict how both businesses and consumers will respond.

Already both businesses and consumers are pulling back on expenditures of big ticket items, spending only on those things necessary for their daily existence. It’s that pull-back that could result in a much larger impact to the American economy.

People in times of uncertainty hunker down.

When anyone of us is uncertain about our future, we tend to hold on to our money, preserving capital to be ready for whatever the future may hold.

These days, whether you are the radio station owner, the radio seller of advertising or the radio listener, we are all trying to figure out what’s going on, what it means to the world and our family – for at this point in time…

No one knows what’s going to happen next, and that’s the problem.

6 Comments

Filed under Education, Mentor, Radio, Sales

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,