A Look At Radio Today And Tomorrow…

Friday, September, 12, 2008 by Mel Phillips.

(Weekend Edition) 

Here’s my take on radio today - it’s still a viable medium - fading but viable.  There are still enough available ratings to reach for and revenue to reap.  Today’s radio is still the best way to hear new music and the best local source for entertainment be it music, news-talk or sports.  A new national poll conducted for American Media Services (AMS) by OmniTel backs that up with their findings.  The poll results show that 64% of American adults listen to radio at least once a day.  In-car listening was 80% as soon as drivers started their engines and how about this percentage - 73% of respondents listen to radio the same or more than they did 5 years ago.  Impressive, isn’t it?  Now let’s look at the poll results which determine where radio is headed in a future that may not be that far away…

Internet radio listening is up 16% in just 6 months - from 23% to 39%.  In the future 48% of listeners surveyed expect to listen to radio over the Internet, up 38% from just 6 months ago.  When respondents were asked if they were interested in having an Internet connection in their current or next car, 37% said ‘yes’.  And there were some surprises in the study too…

Nearly half of Americans (47%) said it doesn’t matter to them whether their radio program is originating locally.  Only 28% said it mattered a lot.  Now that is a surprising and staggering result.  I would have thought those percentages would be reversed.  That result is shocking!  Here’s another surprise: about half (51%) say they usually stay tuned to their favorite music station when commercial breaks come on.  Only 7% turn off the radio and 38% change the station.  What could the remaining 4% possibly be doing???

Anything from 750 to 1,000 is generally regarded as a sizable audience study and the AMS sample was 1,005 American adults.  The telephone (ya gotta love the old Hooper methodology) survey was conducted during the weekend of September 5-7, 2008.  The survey is considered accurate within plus or minus 3 percentage points…      

10 Timeline Memories:  

1. 1814] Jose can you see: Francis Scott Key writes the ‘Star-Spangled Banner’, a poem originally called ‘Defense of Fort McHenry’. Key had witnessed the British bombardment of the Maryland fort during the War of 1812 (9/14). The song would became our national anthem on March 3, 1931…
2. 1901] “Happy Trails”: President William McKinley dies of gunshot wounds inflicted by an assassin. McKinley is succeeded by 42-year old Theodore Roosevelt (9/14)…1982] Monaco’s Princess Grace a.k.a. Grace Kelly dies from injuries suffered when her car plunges off a mountain road one day earlier. The Princess was 52 (9/14)…1992] Actor Anthony Perkins succumbs to complications from AIDS at 60 (9/12)…1996] Rapper Tupac Shakur dies 6 days after being shot in a drive-by shooting. Tupac was 25 (9/13)…1998] Former Alabama Governor George C. Wallace is a victim of Parkinson’s disease at 79 (9/13)…2003] The legendary Johnny Cash dies of complications from diabetes at 71 (9/12)…
3. 1953] Wedding Bells: Jacqueline Bouvier and Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy walk down the aisle at Hammersmith Farm in Newport (RI) (9/12)…
4. 1954] Premiered on this date: “Lassie“ comes to the rescue each week for 17 years on CBS-TV and then in syndication (9/12)…1959] “Bonanza“debuts on NBC-TV (9/12). The Ponderosa rocks until January, 1973…1966] “Family Affair“ debuts on CBS-TV and will run until September, 1971 (9/12)…1966] “The Monkees“ debuts on NBC-TV and runs for two years before airing reruns (9/12)…1990] “Law & Order” debuts on NBC-TV (9/13). It’s still on…1993] “Late Night With Conan O’Brien“ debuts on NBC-TV (9/13). Next year (2009) Conan replaces Jay Leno on “The Tonight Show”…
5. 1960] Paying for what you’re playing: The FCC adopts payola rules a.k.a. ‘The Alan Freed Rules’. Freed and other disc jockeys were accused and in some cases fined and jailed for payola in the late 50s (9/13)…
6. 1964] Oh Shea can you see?: The first football game is played at Shea Stadium with the Jets beating Denver 30-6 (9/12)…
7. 1968] Record-breaking: Tigers pitcher Denny McLain becomes the first pitcher to win 30 games in 34 years (9/14). Denny finishes the season at 31-6. His career stats: 131-91…
8. 1970] Marathon man: The first NYC Marathon is won by Freeport (LI) firefighter Gary Muhrcke (9/13). Only 175 runners compete with 55 finishing. That race consisted of 4 laps around Central Park with no TV coverage or prizes. The race now covers all 5 boroughs and the number of runners could fill Shea Stadium. The race is now run the first weekend in November…
9. 1994] Strike Three - you’re out: Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig cancels the rest of the 1994 season after a strike continues after 34 days (9/14). No World Series will be played in 1994…
10. 2001] Ground Zero: Limited commercial flights are restored for the first time since the 911 attacks (9/13)…Secretary of State Colin Powell names Osama bin Laden the prime suspect in the terrorist attacks of 911 (9/13)…Using a bullhorn, President George W. Bush tells those gathered at Ground Zero that we will get even for the attacks. On the same day, the FBI releases the names of the 19 suspected terrorists (9/14)…

Music Memories:

• 1960] Number One on this date: “The Twist“ - Chubby Checker (9/14). This is the only release to top the charts on two separate occasions. It will also go to number one in 1962…1962] “Sherry“ - Four Seasons (9/13)…1970] “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough“ - Diana Ross (9/14). This was her first solo chart topper…1974] “I Shot The Sheriff“ - Eric Clapton (9/14)…
• 1964] Beantown Beatlemania: The Beatles sell out the Boston Garden on their first visit to Boston (9/12)…
• 1965] Released on this date: “Yesterday“ - Beatles (9/13)…1970] “Fire And Rain“ - James Taylor (9/12)…
• 1966] Gold Standard: “Yellow Submarine“ - Beatles (9/12)…

Commentary:

October 7th marks the 20th anniversary of WNBC Radio going dark. On Friday, October 3rd WNBC Radio alumni will gather at the watering hole Hurley’s at 232 W. 48th Street to toast the occasion. It’s dutch treat and we’ll have a room in the back to drink, eat and reminisce about one of America’s legendary radio stations. All former WNBC Radio employees are invited to attend, starting at 6 p.m. I hope to see you there. Any questions should be directed to WNBC Radio alum Janice Penino at japenino@hotmail.com …

“Happy Birthday…happy birthday”:

(9/12) Jennifer Hudson (27), Yao (Yo) Ming (28), Amy Yasbeck (46), Rachel Ward (51), Gerry (America) Beckley (56), Maria Muldaur (65), Linda Gray (68), George Jones (77) and “Our Gang’s” Dickie Moore (83)…(9/13) Daisuke Matsuzaka (28), Stella McCartney (37), Zak Starkey (43), Jean Smart (57), Peter Cetera (64), Jacqueline Bisset (64), BS&T lead singer David Clayton-Thomas (67), Fred Silverman (71) and Barbara Bain (77)…(9/14) Amy Winehouse (25), Jon“Bowser” Bauman (61), Joey Heatherton (64), Larry Brown (68) and Jerry Coleman (84)…

Timeline Countdown: 10 days until autumn in New York, 16 days until the end of the regular MLB season and 18 days until the playoffs…

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