One year ago, Paragon posted a white paper called the “New Radio Model,” which is founded on hyper-local content and multiplatform distribution.  At the time, it seemed overdue and in fact a no brainer that this was the route that broadcast radio must take to compete moving forward.  Then we embarked on a six-month New Radio Model blog series in partnership with the financial experts at BIA/Kelsey.  Last month, I moderated a panel at the National Association of Broadcasters Convention in Las Vegas called “The New Radio Model:  Tool Kit & Case Studies.”  This week, the New Radio Model took center stage at the Digital Strategies Conference hosted by BIA/Kelsey.

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Recently a person whose job it is to ramp up a radio station’s digital activities was lamenting the internal challenges to complete his mission.  Yes, his corporate office has mandated expansion of digital platforms and revenues, and yes, his local station needs to grow these revenues quickly.  But, as the person whose role it is to “make it happen” locally, he can see that the organization is not structured or operated to allow this to happen.  This is the type of disconnect at radio’s operational level that we hope to re-connect with the New Radio Model. (Read More)

“Here’s an idea:  Before you follow the advice of a radio researcher again, maybe someone should check their iPod first to make sure they know music and what they’re talking about.”

Uninvited, and provided just as we were about to load off the ski left chair, this advice was blurted out by an unknown man who endured two radio geeks (me being one) talking about radio programming on the ride up.

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You’ve heard about zombie banks and some of you have an affinity for movies about zombies, but have you noticed the zombie radio stations right in front of our ears?  In talking with a group owner recently, he estimated that 40 of the top 50 group owners are either in receivership/bankruptcy/default or on the doorstep of officially being declared bankrupt.  That means about half of U.S. radio stations are in some form of financial default. 

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Will the elephant in the room please stand up?  Everyone seems to agree that being “local” is a lynchpin of broadcast radio’s future, yet when I listen to radio stations around the country, very few of them actually fulfill that position.  Paragon is a proponent of the New Radio Model, which is founded on a combination of hyper-local content and multiplatform distribution that also includes non-traditional revenue streams (not just on air and digital streams, but live events, too).  Hyper-local content is just the ante to get into the game, but unfortunately, many stations are so financially constrained they have yet to pay the ante and are anything but locally relevant.  Some stations, on the other hand, are definitely in the game and doing a great job at carving out new local territory to own. (Read More)