Tuesday morning, 9:59am.
Just finished the morning show. Verlie Suggs joined me 6-7:30am and we talked a lot about Griffith police pushing charges on high school athletes for a fight during a basketball game. Tectonic shift. Criminals on the court, felons on the field? Lots of calls. Thanks for that.
I did get a comment for this blog. Here it is from Jason.
Jason05/25/2015 9:17am
perhaps if you ever responded to any comment, be it here, on social media, or through email, you might find a purpose.
..... point well taken, Jason. I'll think about it. Perhaps I just don't fully want to be a part of the ongoing, never-ending flood of blah that drips all day on Facebook and twitter. I don't get it. I do a show for four hours a day and then I'm kind of weary of the constant back and forth, the tug of war. When I'm done, I'm done. And I get the feeling that I gotta change that.
What comes to me is the question of why radio isn't Facebook or Twitter? No shit. As I've mentioned before, I went to the Radio Convergence conference last year (this year's conference takes place this week, and I'm not going). And what I heard was a guy tell me out by the pool - "I've been coming to this conference for 15 years and we still haven't figured out digital." He means that radio guys and gals are still lost when it comes to being an integral part of daily lives.
We do what I call "pedestal" radio.
Pedestal radio is a vertical relationship. Me host, you listener. Me talk, you listen. You call, me decide who gets on and how long. Me get paid, you don't. We put the radio show on a pedestal and everyone else sits on a blanket around it.
Facebook and twitter, on the other hand, are like this mosh pit in front of Sid Vicious. Anything goes. Or you can go sit in the garden out back and have a peaceful soiree with other admirers of fine linen. In a weird way, everyone's equal on Facebook and twitter but not in radio. Me host, you listener. Me post on website, you observe. Somehow we gotta change the vertical relationship in radio to a more horizontal relationship of Facebook, Twitter and social media in general. I don't know how but somehow radio's gotta be more like Facebook and twitter, at least in terms of the equality of the relationship.
I know that I'm not explaining "pedestal radio" all that well. But over time maybe I can. Another problem with radio is that it's mostly by appointment. Shows are on at certain times, and even podcasts get posted at certain times. Facebook and Twitter really don't have appointments, except maybe concert announcements and such. It's anything goes at any time. And that's crucial. Waiting in line at the dentist? Check your Facebook and interact with a high school buddy hiking the Himalayas. Radio has no place in that communication line.
How to attack the inherent weaknesses in "appointment radio?" Again, I don't have a solution. Not yet. But I think about it a lot. What if my show didn't necessarily have an exact time to come on? Or, more directly, what if I came on the air at random times? Why not? It's my wife's station and to be direct, we make most of our money during my show in the morning. Almost all of it. So what harm would it do if I just turned on the mic at any time of the day?
In line at Jewel - start talking in to my phone and have it go straight on the air.
Having a couple cold ones at a rooftop charity fundraiser on a Friday afternoon - go straight on the air, maybe during a top of the hour break or a short interruption to a network program.
There's an idea in here that is half-baked, I know. But I get the feeling that if we turn the thinking upside down, then maybe we in radio can be more part of people's lives. No shit.
Pedestal radio - Me talk, you listen.
Appointment radio - Me talk at five, you listen at five.
Where does radio have any role in a world in which you can pick up your phone and start interacting with people all over the world in an instant, get up-to-the-second news, learn gossip, look at photos, watch videos, even listen to audio? Somehow, for radio, there's got to be a better way. I'm sure of it.
So there, Jason. I hope that's a response to your comment about me never responding. You are right. I know it. And I'm looking for a solution that somehow involves that 400-foot tower out back of Smith Chevrolet.
Just finished the morning show. Verlie Suggs joined me 6-7:30am and we talked a lot about Griffith police pushing charges on high school athletes for a fight during a basketball game. Tectonic shift. Criminals on the court, felons on the field? Lots of calls. Thanks for that.
I did get a comment for this blog. Here it is from Jason.
Jason05/25/2015 9:17am
perhaps if you ever responded to any comment, be it here, on social media, or through email, you might find a purpose.
..... point well taken, Jason. I'll think about it. Perhaps I just don't fully want to be a part of the ongoing, never-ending flood of blah that drips all day on Facebook and twitter. I don't get it. I do a show for four hours a day and then I'm kind of weary of the constant back and forth, the tug of war. When I'm done, I'm done. And I get the feeling that I gotta change that.
What comes to me is the question of why radio isn't Facebook or Twitter? No shit. As I've mentioned before, I went to the Radio Convergence conference last year (this year's conference takes place this week, and I'm not going). And what I heard was a guy tell me out by the pool - "I've been coming to this conference for 15 years and we still haven't figured out digital." He means that radio guys and gals are still lost when it comes to being an integral part of daily lives.
We do what I call "pedestal" radio.
Pedestal radio is a vertical relationship. Me host, you listener. Me talk, you listen. You call, me decide who gets on and how long. Me get paid, you don't. We put the radio show on a pedestal and everyone else sits on a blanket around it.
Facebook and twitter, on the other hand, are like this mosh pit in front of Sid Vicious. Anything goes. Or you can go sit in the garden out back and have a peaceful soiree with other admirers of fine linen. In a weird way, everyone's equal on Facebook and twitter but not in radio. Me host, you listener. Me post on website, you observe. Somehow we gotta change the vertical relationship in radio to a more horizontal relationship of Facebook, Twitter and social media in general. I don't know how but somehow radio's gotta be more like Facebook and twitter, at least in terms of the equality of the relationship.
I know that I'm not explaining "pedestal radio" all that well. But over time maybe I can. Another problem with radio is that it's mostly by appointment. Shows are on at certain times, and even podcasts get posted at certain times. Facebook and Twitter really don't have appointments, except maybe concert announcements and such. It's anything goes at any time. And that's crucial. Waiting in line at the dentist? Check your Facebook and interact with a high school buddy hiking the Himalayas. Radio has no place in that communication line.
How to attack the inherent weaknesses in "appointment radio?" Again, I don't have a solution. Not yet. But I think about it a lot. What if my show didn't necessarily have an exact time to come on? Or, more directly, what if I came on the air at random times? Why not? It's my wife's station and to be direct, we make most of our money during my show in the morning. Almost all of it. So what harm would it do if I just turned on the mic at any time of the day?
In line at Jewel - start talking in to my phone and have it go straight on the air.
Having a couple cold ones at a rooftop charity fundraiser on a Friday afternoon - go straight on the air, maybe during a top of the hour break or a short interruption to a network program.
There's an idea in here that is half-baked, I know. But I get the feeling that if we turn the thinking upside down, then maybe we in radio can be more part of people's lives. No shit.
Pedestal radio - Me talk, you listen.
Appointment radio - Me talk at five, you listen at five.
Where does radio have any role in a world in which you can pick up your phone and start interacting with people all over the world in an instant, get up-to-the-second news, learn gossip, look at photos, watch videos, even listen to audio? Somehow, for radio, there's got to be a better way. I'm sure of it.
So there, Jason. I hope that's a response to your comment about me never responding. You are right. I know it. And I'm looking for a solution that somehow involves that 400-foot tower out back of Smith Chevrolet.
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