by Katherine Hills, Marcos Taboas, Travanti Waller, Bethany Whitley
The radio station “KFOG” upset its traditional fan-base. Why? They deviated from their highly successful classic rock formula and began to meander from the 70s and 80s to include the 90s and top 40. It eliminated the Saturday “10 at 10” show that had a large following, in exchange for more contemporary programming. The aforementioned happened after the hiring of the new program director, Dennis Constantine. This would be an example of what happens when consolidation occurs, Cumulus purchased Citadel. The ramifications have been made clear.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/10/16/PK061LDQVD.DTL
October 20, 2011
Jason Barr, and Chris Briggs are the hosts of I have no clue what the call letters are radio, but I do know that this report came from St. Catherine’s, Ontario. The duo had a bit of the morning that included their station’s Ford F-150, it was going to be given to a contestant as a reward for carrying out a prank which lasted for over to hours.
The goal? The goal was to invite strangers throughout the city to get into the F-150 and they had to remain seated for a grand total of 97 seconds. Something tells me that the 97 has something to do with their FM frequency, am I brilliant or what? No? Oh, ok. Anyhow, the 52 year old Pat Legault was terrified so she–yes, she, her name is Pat– called the police after she had encountered the contestants in ski masks. No wonder people were horrified, ski masks are pretty much villain uniforms. “What do I do now?”, she thought in a panic. She took to the phone and notified the authorities, the authorities cuffed everyone until they got a story, and dismissed any charges. Although they didn’t appreciate the gag of inciting pandemonium, they didn’t feel that it was a serious offense.
Read the entire story:
http://www.torontosun.com/2011/10/19/radio-host-handcuffed-after-hoax
College radio is a training ground for people interested in radio and also a great space for new bands to come into the mainstream. In more recent times bands like Muse and the Artic Monkeys owe their success and following to the college stations that gave them the airplay. In tough economic times every institution is looking to cut budgets and one main target has been these college stations. The article I attached below shows an initiative these stations organized to combat this budget cutting and show the importance college radio still has.
This article discusses how radio is still the preferred medium for folks to get their music. I think an interesting point is the integration that we will see with mobile devices and cars. Currently they seem to be separate entities but why can’t you be listening to your radio on your I (insert device here) and have that same radio station come up on your car. As internet radio becomes more pervasive in cars I think you will see more of these features arrive and keep converging.
http://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/97920/survey-says-radio-is-still-king-of-music-listening?ref=mail_recap
Today, the flag is at half-staff. One of radio’s Rock Pioneers, Dennis “Crash” Collins, lost his fight to Prostate Cancer. He left this Earth at the ripe age of 68. He was born in Nashville Tennessee, but moved to Houston as a Teenager. From there, he became a sensational disc jockey during the Rock Radio era at KLOL-FM. He was responsible for the nationwide publicity of acts like ZZ Top, this led to their meteoric rise as a rock band. They aren’t the only ones who owe Crash Collins their thanks, the list goes on. We salute you, “Crash in your Dash…”
http://www.chron.com/news/houston-deaths/article/Former-KLOL-DJ-Crash-Collins-dies-2255751.php
http://blogs.houstonpress.com/rocks/2011/11/rip_crash_collins_rock_disc_jo.php
November 10, 2011
One of satellites radio’s greatest challenges is trying to turn a profit. After a decade of being in the red, SiriusXM has had to find alternative methods of making revenue. Their main cost aside from on air staff and the infrastructure for the station is the royalties they pay for their music. Currently most go through a company called SoundExhnage which serves as a middle man between the station and the label. SiriusXM is trying to bypass them and go directly to the label in order to save some money. Check out the article below to see how Royalty Payment houses are not happy about this move to bypass their business.
November 11, 2011
Howard Stern is one of radio’s biggest personalities in its modern age. He has constantly been pushing the envelope in terms of his shows content and the results have been outstanding throughout his career. He has been sought after by many stations but currently is very happy with his position as top dog in SiriusXM satellites services. Interestingly this article below reports he may be making a leap onto TV, something he has ventured in the past by streaming his show. This time it would be as judge for America’s got talent and the deal they are discussing would be around the $15 million dollar range, guess you can make a living of this radio thing.
Clear Channel is the most powerful organization involved in radio right now since it has amassed a militia of radio stations throughout the country. Sadly, this dominance has not resulted in profits since recent reports show that the company is operating in $21 billion deficit. No worries though, Clear Channels chief financial officer said the company is in great place to handle this situation. How a company in such a big hole is in a good place is beyond my understanding. The only people worse off are the thousands Clear Channel has let got over the past months.
http://news.radio-online.com/cgi-bin/rol.exe/headline_id=n23426
November 27, 2001
Pandora Media Inc. looks to continue building relationships with Car manufacturers to stream its online radio services in new vehicles as they see a slight gain in profits at the end of the third quarter…
November 29, 2011
Sometimes we forget in life how precious it is to be able to work and enjoy our lives. Ron Smith, longtime DJ for WBAL has been fighting a terminal form of cancer and has now stopped his chemo therapies after seeing the results were not working. He plans to remain on air for as long as he can. Truly an inspirational story.
http://www.rbr.com/radio/wbal-s-ron-smith-to-stop-chemo-remain-on-air.html
December 4, 2011
Even through our tough economic times radio is still proving it can be profitable. Over the third quarter radio brought in over $4.5 billion dollars and this number expects to grow over the next quarter.
http://www.rbr.com/radio/radio-rides-digital-gains-into-the-black.html
December 4, 2011
We have to thank Liberty Media for us still having satellite radio, since they have put in over $530 million dollars in SiriusXM since 2009. They have over 40% of the company as well and are looking to increase this.