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That career choice obviously correct
Eh, eh, eh
There’s a reason I steer clear of live radio. Over the years I’ve grown up but still terrible on the air. Here’s an example, me politely being interviewed by Tony Johnston of WRS.
The pleasure of maturity is knowing to limit that which gives pain. I share in the spirit of responsible journalism. (What?)
When times are tough change something
Life is too short
Radio broadcasters are special. Unlike other mostly analogue or linear media stations reinvent themselves all the time. Listeners seem to like that and media buyers are thrilled with a new story to tell.
Big legacy broadcasters, however, hesitate making big changes, confusion among listeners and advertisers a certain risk. Italian national pop oldies channel R101 took the chance this week and changed logos, jingles and the entire station branding. There is, of course, a marketing budget for it all, about €3 million, part spent on a TV campaign with the slogan “Life is too short to listen to bad music.” The station will be official sponsor for several big name concerts in coming weeks, including the Rolling Stones show in June. Earlier this year new programmers were hired. (See more on media in Italy here)
R101 is owned by media house Mondadori Group. “Radio has always been a priority of our group,” said CEO Ernesto Mauri to the press gaggle, quoted by Il Sole 24 Ore (March 25). “With the launch of the new R101 we decided to step up our presence in radio, one of the areas where we want to have a leading role.”
Also this week Mondadori reported 2013 financial results, notably a 9.9% drop in revenues over 2012. The company took a €31.3 million impairment write-down on R101. Revenues at sales house Mondadori Pubblicità, which sells ads for several radio outlets, dropped 18.1%.
Rhyme and reason in Ireland
digital metaphors
Let there never be heard a discouraging word is the typical frame around industry conferences. It’s certainly true of broadcasting conventions where executives and minions go for fire-ups from the mighty and successful. Gatherings of radio people – like the just finished RadioDays Europe in Dublin – are hardly humble in that regard. And that’s as it’s supposed to be.
The RadioDays Europe show featured none other than Ireland’s prime minister (Taoiseach) Enda Kenny as keynote. “Radio has lost none of its currency, urgency or intimacy,” he told the radio people after admitting to listening to the BBC’s shipping forecast. “In the white noise of social media, radio endures.” (See more on radio audience here)
As so, once again, the specter of new media is undeniable. The BBC’s head of radio Helen Boaden said radio broadcasting is facing “iceberg challenges,” reported the Irish Times (March 27). The tip of that iceberg – the visible part – is the very social nature of radio,” the most participative linear” medium. Beneath that – dark and cold – is competition from streamers and social apps mixed with slow uptake of digital radio platforms. Young people are “broadcaster-promiscuous,” said Irish public broadcaster RTE director general Noel Curran, meaning “less loyal.”
Next spring RadioDays Europe moves to Milan. The always over-the-top World Mobile Congress remains in Barcelona. The World Avocado Congress will be in Lima, Peru.
Hackers winning Web traffic
People shrug
With oodles of money streaming into the Web and out of nearly all other media sectors media buyers blink and wink at questions about what, indeed, is being measured. Once upon a time the Web was thought to be the answer to advertising effectiveness; joyfully coupling customer data with Web traffic. Also, there seems to be a problem.
More than a third of all Web traffic is fake, said a report by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), quoted by the Wall Street Journal (March 24). Robots and other dastardly schemes are creating phony traffic in search of easy money placed on websites by media buying software. The IAB wants new metrics to thwart the “crisis.”
“The IT staff of ad-tech companies are just not built to be winning fights against the world's best hackers,” said hacker detector White Ops CEO Michael Tiffany, quoted by AdAge (March 25). “In practice right now, you promise to deliver it, you don't quite deliver it, people shrug, the world moves on.”
Newspapers tainted by child labor at newsprint producer
This will take time
Finnish pulp and paper products manufacturer Stora Enso has entered a storm of controversy after a TV news investigation showed a Pakistani subsidiary has continued to use child labor in newsprint production. The company’s head of renewable products Mats Nordlander, interviewed by Swedish TV4’s investigative program Cold Facts (March 9), revealed the company was aware in 2012 that as many as 1,500 children were employed to glean paper waste from landfills. He has since been reassigned as CEO Jouko Karvinen tries to limit public relations damage.
“We sincerely apologize that we have failed to communicate clearly and specifically enough what we knew and what we decided to do about the issues when we entered Pakistan,” he said in a statement to shareholders. “This will take time, and we will report progress openly, as we cannot just force all supplies that have children involved out overnight, but must train the supply base and also work with the communities to find alternative income sources for the families of these children. Just walking away would cause nothing but even worse things to these children.”
Stora Enso is a major newsprint producer, particularly for Scandinavian publishers. “I guess that about 35 to 40 per cent of Danish newspapers are printed in their paper,” said newsprint supplier Pressens Fællesindkøb CEO Thomas Isaksen to journalisten.dk (March 24). “Stora Enso has told us that the matter would be taken care of. So I assume that is fixed.”
When asked if big Danish publishers expressed to him concerns about newsprint produced by tainted child labor, Mr. Isaksen answered “No, actually not.”
Second hand CD store gets station library
Emotional rescue
Zagreb station Radio 101 is selling its 11,000 CD music library. The station’s music is now all on a computer hard drive. At least one commentator finds it disturbing.
The entire music library was packed up and moved to a second-hand CD store in Zagreb. The station’s program, said program director Daniel Berdais, quoted by Jutarnji list (March 20), “should not suffer consequences.” The CDs were taking up too much space.
Radio 101 is an alternative music station in the Croatian capital. Selling off the CD library, to the Jutarnji list writer, symbolizes the “death of radio” as listeners are “lobotomized” by radio formats. (See more on media in Croatia here)
“A different kind of music has always been at the core of Radio 101,” said Mr. Berdais in a separate interview with tportal.hr (March 17). “Listeners recognize that we are one of the few radio stations that surprised them with songs they haven’t heard in a long time.” The station survived bankruptcy a couple of years ago.
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