Bob Green on radio's future
If ever there was a man who articulated the Keener magic, it's Bob Green. As an announcer, producer and program director during much of WKNR's run, he lived and breathed the concepts of "Intelligenct Flexibility" and Stationality that Keener helped pioneer. In this Op Ed piece, Bob again strikes to the heart of the issues that confront broadcasters. - Curator
How much value should we put in trying to emulate the ideas and packaging of a successful medium from another millennium? Even striving to go beyond mere emulation and conjure up fresh new ways to communicate... there are obvious considerations we must address, the most important of which are iPods, XM, Sirius, Internet and a gazillion other technologies we have yet to put in place.
But that only speaks to the shakiness of terrestrial radio's position. Sure, there've been predictions of impending doom before...AM, FM, TV, stereo etc., so why not accept the current scare as yet another predicament we can overcome? Because the way we communicate has drastically changed.
De-regulation happened...spawning the great legion of "broadcasters" and "programmers" who completely forgot that radio was SHOW BUSINESS! Beyond the bean counter's inability to understand why top stations had garnered such big and loyal audiences, when they DID think about programming they strove for "perfection" without passion! The genius who came up with the clock that emulated European radio in the 50s (back then Radio Luxembourg ran ALL the commercials in a block between :45 and the top of the hour) made sure the sound was correctly perceived as "clutter" and the reality was that Joe's Jeweler ( 7th spot in that 8 spot stop set) found that somehow radio wasn't working for him. Good job genius, and all the other copy cat geniuses out there in Clear Channel country. Never fear, after intense study your fearless leaders have made the amazing discovery that fewer numbers of "better' commercials will be more in line with what the listeners want. Give Mr. Mays and his staff a pat on the back.
But back to the point at hand... "the way we communicate has drastically changed". Whether you think radio's miscues drove potential listeners to seek other forms of entertainment or that new venues have emerged all by themselves and people have taken to them.. it doesn't really matter! The fact is it's not 1965 anymore...or 19 anything. The in-person chats, the phone conversations you used to have with your friends are now e-mails. We are a society of ever increasing passive communication. There were universal truths that applied to communicating on the radio that ,perhaps ,for the first time since Jack Benny made way for the Make Believe Ballroom, MAY have lost their validity! YET (I'm "flip-flopping" here) in the way material is PRESENTED, I believe there still ARE survivors in the Universal Truth stable...things that our aforementioned geniuses either forgot or never knew.
Commercials. Do they REALLY play more commercials in an hour now than we did at WKNR in 1966? No! Playlists. Are the playlists on your favorite (or evidently least favorite ) oldies stations really more restrictive than the Keener music guide? I think not. The newly enlightened geniuses who now proclaim that playlists should be extended to infinity (no pun here) remind me of Democrats who now figure they must appear to be more... Republican. Hits have ALWAYS been important. It's not just WHAT you play, it's what the listener PERCEIVES you as playing. Since Keener 13's signal graced the array of towers on I-94, LISTENERS have made it clear that they think playing all kinds of new hits by local bands and obscure oldies no one else plays is a swell idea! Does it mean that we didn't give a damn WHAT the listener wanted in 1966 because we went on our merry way with 31 songs? That was the reality. But by doing things to promote local groups and features that allowed us to stray, ever so occasionally, from our restrictive hit list and then PROPERLY PROMOTING it... we painted the picture just the way we wanted it to be perceived.. The method of "proper promotion" is one of those universal truths our geniuses should have known and didn't. SAY YOU'RE GOING TO DO IT! SAY YOU'RE DOING IT! SAY YOU DID IT! Duh! A long stop set will not only be more palatable if you announce "a NEW song by beloved local band Nino & the Nosejobs coming up in 90 seconds" but something that's a DEPARTURE from My Girl or "Good times & great oldies" ...even ONCE every 4 hours, will begin to alter the negative perception that the geniuses seem so intent on preserving. There's a place for predictability, as there is a place for unpredictability. A well planned surprise is rarely ho hum.
This is like a sales blurb for buying the concept of radio as your own personal show biz friend or companion...on terrestrial, Satellite, Internet or whatever your weapon of choice. Scott Westerman has shown how to do it right in these keener podcasts. The overall ingredient that made radio work was a feeling of personal CONNECTION. It's obvious by seeing the plethora of new electronics that people are literally "connected" but in the end...we have to ask the question... do people really need that companion anymore?
How much value should we put in trying to emulate the ideas and packaging of a successful medium from another millennium? Even striving to go beyond mere emulation and conjure up fresh new ways to communicate... there are obvious considerations we must address, the most important of which are iPods, XM, Sirius, Internet and a gazillion other technologies we have yet to put in place.
But that only speaks to the shakiness of terrestrial radio's position. Sure, there've been predictions of impending doom before...AM, FM, TV, stereo etc., so why not accept the current scare as yet another predicament we can overcome? Because the way we communicate has drastically changed.
De-regulation happened...spawning the great legion of "broadcasters" and "programmers" who completely forgot that radio was SHOW BUSINESS! Beyond the bean counter's inability to understand why top stations had garnered such big and loyal audiences, when they DID think about programming they strove for "perfection" without passion! The genius who came up with the clock that emulated European radio in the 50s (back then Radio Luxembourg ran ALL the commercials in a block between :45 and the top of the hour) made sure the sound was correctly perceived as "clutter" and the reality was that Joe's Jeweler ( 7th spot in that 8 spot stop set) found that somehow radio wasn't working for him. Good job genius, and all the other copy cat geniuses out there in Clear Channel country. Never fear, after intense study your fearless leaders have made the amazing discovery that fewer numbers of "better' commercials will be more in line with what the listeners want. Give Mr. Mays and his staff a pat on the back.
But back to the point at hand... "the way we communicate has drastically changed". Whether you think radio's miscues drove potential listeners to seek other forms of entertainment or that new venues have emerged all by themselves and people have taken to them.. it doesn't really matter! The fact is it's not 1965 anymore...or 19 anything. The in-person chats, the phone conversations you used to have with your friends are now e-mails. We are a society of ever increasing passive communication. There were universal truths that applied to communicating on the radio that ,perhaps ,for the first time since Jack Benny made way for the Make Believe Ballroom, MAY have lost their validity! YET (I'm "flip-flopping" here) in the way material is PRESENTED, I believe there still ARE survivors in the Universal Truth stable...things that our aforementioned geniuses either forgot or never knew.
Commercials. Do they REALLY play more commercials in an hour now than we did at WKNR in 1966? No! Playlists. Are the playlists on your favorite (or evidently least favorite ) oldies stations really more restrictive than the Keener music guide? I think not. The newly enlightened geniuses who now proclaim that playlists should be extended to infinity (no pun here) remind me of Democrats who now figure they must appear to be more... Republican. Hits have ALWAYS been important. It's not just WHAT you play, it's what the listener PERCEIVES you as playing. Since Keener 13's signal graced the array of towers on I-94, LISTENERS have made it clear that they think playing all kinds of new hits by local bands and obscure oldies no one else plays is a swell idea! Does it mean that we didn't give a damn WHAT the listener wanted in 1966 because we went on our merry way with 31 songs? That was the reality. But by doing things to promote local groups and features that allowed us to stray, ever so occasionally, from our restrictive hit list and then PROPERLY PROMOTING it... we painted the picture just the way we wanted it to be perceived.. The method of "proper promotion" is one of those universal truths our geniuses should have known and didn't. SAY YOU'RE GOING TO DO IT! SAY YOU'RE DOING IT! SAY YOU DID IT! Duh! A long stop set will not only be more palatable if you announce "a NEW song by beloved local band Nino & the Nosejobs coming up in 90 seconds" but something that's a DEPARTURE from My Girl or "Good times & great oldies" ...even ONCE every 4 hours, will begin to alter the negative perception that the geniuses seem so intent on preserving. There's a place for predictability, as there is a place for unpredictability. A well planned surprise is rarely ho hum.
This is like a sales blurb for buying the concept of radio as your own personal show biz friend or companion...on terrestrial, Satellite, Internet or whatever your weapon of choice. Scott Westerman has shown how to do it right in these keener podcasts. The overall ingredient that made radio work was a feeling of personal CONNECTION. It's obvious by seeing the plethora of new electronics that people are literally "connected" but in the end...we have to ask the question... do people really need that companion anymore?
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