Radio's Falling Sky - Eric Rhoads

I39m here to report that the sky is not falling After three intensive days with the world39s leading experts on digital media and advertising I39m here to report that all is well in radio Like a burning beam of argon focused on a single point of steel these experts employed in the single task of pondering radio39s present and future have concluded that radio is not dyingYou knew it all alongWhen great minds are locked in a room and asked to create a singular focus the outcome in usually one of great gloom or real optimism and few if any at this week39s Radio Ink Convergence felt radio39s sky is falling That sense of optimism came even from those who would benefit from radio39s demise or who would benefit from having us believe our future is dimYou knew it all alongBut maybe a slight seed of doubt had entered your frontal cortex and begun to slowly grow as you wondered if by chance radio IS dying Game face on you39ve projected the belief that the threats of our demise were unfounded But deep inside the seed remained quotMaybe there is something to this but who has time to be concerned with these thingsquotA car runs a light and is heading straight for you at 60 miles per hour You believe for a split second that it isn39t really happening You utter a microsecond prayer hoping to survive When the car misses you by a fraction of an inch you exhale with relief eyes closed grateful your prayers were answered this time You vow to change But your confidence soon returns and nothing changes until the next time you39re given a second chanceRadio39s second chance is before you at this moment Experts predict radio39s future with optimism but they also believe you stand at a crossroads Turn to the left and face rocks climbs deep wading and uncertainty Turn to the right and there39s a straight clear path ahead with the status quoThose who are building alternative radio platforms and who hope to take it all away from you are counting on you to turn to the right They are counting your raw confidence and your steadfast belief in our current way of radio life on your believing that the status quo is the right way and that things will somehow work out Will radio cling to its past Or will radio be willing to take the road less followed where selfinitiated challenges lieI39m reinvigoratedI believe more than ever that radio has a bright future and that it is in a solid secure position to achieve incredibly lucrative new heights But I39m also more convinced than ever that radio39s sole mission at this moment is to become entwined with digital media platforms like two twisted strands of DNAIt39s not possible to articulate the depth of data that drew me to this conclusion Our visiting radio siblings entered the conference like dry land and left saturated like the Mississippi Delta after the levy was blown They don39t know what hit them they cannot articulate everything they have learned the rush of data has flooded their brains but they return to their posts empowered to make changes be based on newly acquired instincts And they are convinced beyond doubt that action is what will keep the sky from falling and that inaction the status quo is what will make it fall They know the choice they must makeOur future can be bright But as one speaker commented quotThis generation of radio managers will need to die off before true change can occur in radio They are too deeply entrenched in their ways of thinking to move to the same level as those in the new world of media and by then it will be too latequotDon39t let it happen Our sky won39t fall if we take that left turn now if we shift our thinking and become an integrated digitalradio industry Advertisers don39t just think this digital media thing is cool they are walking away from any media that cannot offer deep digital integration It39s undeniableLike you I39d rather cling to the ways I know It39s easier for a while But the approaching freight train39s horn is blasting as it39s trying to get you off the track I guarantee that39s clear to the majority of people who attended this conference Though some entered determined to prove these theories wrong and left with the same attitude most are determined to start down that road less followedWhich road will you chooseThere are no words to describe the Convergence experience this year our best yet I believe I do want to express thanks to the many speakers and to the soldout room of people who took time away from their busy lives to open their minds to new possibilities You are the true rebels misfits and revolutionaries Thank youAlso thank you to the following sponsors who paved the way to make this conference possible Please support them They believe in radio and the possibilities that lie before usAbacast Broadcast Electronics Dotfm GreenOwl Mobile iBiquity Digital Corp Intertech Media Jacobs Media MediaSpan Online NAB Presslaff Interactive Revenue Progreps Rovi SESAC TargetSpot Triton DigitalB Eric Rhoads is CEO of Streamline Publishing Inc Rhoads writes regular columns for his publications and is an active blogger in the radio and art industries including Radio Ink Tank Artist Marketing and Blue Chip Gallery Marketing He is an active speaker consultant and advocate in the radio art and technology industries and he sits on a number of advisory boards Eric can be reached at ericRadioInkcomRead all Ericamp8217s MediaBizBloggers commentaries at Ink Tank with B Eric RhoadsCheck us out on Facebook at MediaBizBloggerscomFollow our Twitter updates MediaBizBloggerMediaBizBloggers is an openthought leadership blog platform for media marketing and advertising professionals companies and organizations To contribute contact Jackmediadvisorygroupcom The opinions expressed in MediaBizBloggerscom are not those of Media Advisory Group its employees or other MediaBizBloggerscom contributors Media Advisory Group accepts no responsibility for the views of MediaBizBloggers authors

Click to Make Your 2025 Contribution to Support the MediaVillage Education Foundation

Radio's Falling Sky - Eric Rhoads

Author

Publish date

Channel

Archived in

B. Eric Rhoads

Empowering Women in Media: Insights from Industry Leaders (Video) - By E.B. Moss

More Videos:

Click to Make Your 2025 Contribution to Support the MediaVillage Education Foundation

Radio's Falling Sky - Eric Rhoads

Enjoying This Commentary? There's More to Love

B. Eric Rhoads

Empowering Women in Media: Insights from Industry Leaders (Video) - By E.B. Moss

The payment was successful

Cookies