I♥RADIO

It's mixed news for terrestrial radio, certainly mixed for non-Clear Channel Radio properties. CCR recently announced their “iheartradio” iPhone application has hit one million downloads (there’s a beta version for Blackberry users currently being offered as a freebie, the apps usage is growing an average of 13% per week). iheartradio delivers 750+ radio stations to your cell phone or desktop, you can think of it as a nationwide AM/FM tuner. The application also offers videos, live performances, ringtones, song lyrics, etc. etc. Great news if you’re a local Clear Channel Radio programmer now considering your “nationwide” potential audience – bad news for anyone who believes that over the air radio will exist as is five, ten, fifteen years down the road.

Obviously, radio must move the internet, the same way that TV, cable, etc. must. However, iheartradio is great example of radio leapfrogging the web and getting to the distribution channel that really matters… digital mobile phones. To be fair, iheartradio.com is a website delivering content to PCS, it’s not an application dedicated entirely to the portability marketplace. Does it matter how the app is delivered? Local radio just went hand-held, affordable, and nationwide – it’s a new broadcasting model for 2009 (if I were Mel Karmazin, I’d probably start working overtime on that XM/Sirius satellite radio iPhone app).

All things considered, is iheartradio good news or bad news for terrestrial radio? Portability is nothing new to radio, but local stations delivered nationwide to cell phones is very fresh. Is iheartradio a catalyst for local radio programmers to reinvest in personality radio, is the app signaling an imminent doom for the music utility radio station? Local radio on cell phones sounds like more audience fragmentation, is there any silver lining on the horizon? Anyone with an iPhone or Blackberry can walk around with DC101 in their pocket… how cool is that?

Chime in…

http://www.iheartmusic.com/main.html

Twitter and second graders

Many of us in CSU-Pueblo's Mass Communications Department & Center for New Media are probably tired of the Twitter topic following our panel discussion at today's conference of the Society for the Interdisciplinary Study of Social Imagery, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to share this Twitter tidbit.

Some second graders in Maine are using Twitter to communicate with pen-pals and to learn about grammar, spelling, math, online security and digital citizenship.

Do you think these students are too young to be exposed to Twitter -- or is it never too early to start educating children on social (and other) uses of technology?

What's Next for Newspapers?

The future for print newspapers is not looking good as the recent demise of the Rocky Mountain News reminds us. While no one wants journalism to disappear, it is clear that ink squirted on wood pulp has run its course and we need to look at viable alternatives. The problem is, the obvious alternatives are not looking very viable. Sure, we can report and publish the news online--but so far subscription and advertising revenue streams have been unable to support these efforts.

So what are the options. Here are a few ideas that I've heard recently. 1) Switch from commercial to non-profit and ask wealthy patrons to endow the organization to cover operating expenses. Universities use this model and many believe that there are well-to-do benefactors who would hate to see newspapers disappear. 2) Increase subscription prices and sell papers/newsletters to those who value news and can afford to pay a premium price. 3) Charge a small fee per news story (similar to an iTunes model) for content. Even music fans are starting to "pony up" even though free downloads are often just a few clicks away. 4) Allow readers to "contribute" a small fee to websites where they find content of value. This approach is being promoted by companies like Kachingle, a micro-payment service that hopes that people will voluntarily give if given the opportunity. 5) Get in line for a government bailout. Some would argue that newspaper are too important to let them fail.

It's clear that some of these alternatives have more promise than others. It's also likely that the final solution may be some combination of the above, or something else entirely. There are some journalists whose jobs depend on figuring it out, and the sooner the better. To find out what they're up to, check out the I Want My Rocky website, or the San Franciso Post Chronicle wiki. At the Rocky website journalists who are out of work are continuing to publish stories as they try to figure out their future. At the SFC wiki, journalists who may soon be out of a job are trying to be proactive as they face the future. In both cases there is much at stake and little time to waste.

Personal Reputation: What is Chris Brown's these days?

The reputation of a product or service helps determine whether target audiences will purchase or use it. The same goes for individuals. Famous people, such as entertainers, sports celebrities, or elected officials, are their own brands and have an accompanying reputation perceived by the public. Generally speaking, in our society, "good" reputations are consider preferrable to "bad" reputations. Then again, some celebs intentionally promote "bad boy' reputes because they think it makes them more famous. Case in point: Chris Brown, an entertainer with a "good boy" reputation is accused of domestic assault on his equally famous "good girl" girlfriend, Rihanna.
Apparently they are reconciling as this post is being written. Some questions to ponder: how will this domestic incident impact Chris Brown's reputation? If Rihanna returns to Chris, how does it impact her reputation? Are there sports or entertainment celebrities whose careers have actually thrived on a "bad boy" or "bad girl" anti-social reputation? Can you become famous and successful for challenging what is perceived to be decent and good in society? And if you can, what does that say about our society? Or about the entertainment or sports celebrity industries?

Factoid of the Day: Radio Legend Gone

Besides the Rocky Mountain News, the media industry witnessed another tragic loss this weekend. A radio superstar who had more listeners than anyone in radio history died on February 28th at the age of 90. Few of you will recognize his name, but your grandparents probably would. He was Paul Harvey, and his signature tag line was, "and now, the rest of the story."