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News From Audio Graphics:
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Media War: Newspapers and Radio |
It didn't take long for San Diego Tribune's AmplifySD Radio (and also its SignOn Radio) to go from a trumpeted idea to "...the disastrous online radio experiment that is now winding down." To paraphrase that famous NASA saying: San Diego, we have a problem!
According to Editor & Publisher, the newspaper industry bible, "The San Diego Union-Tribune has reportedly ousted three of its top Internet executives, including those involved in the Web site's online radio efforts." First hints about trouble appeared at the San Diego Weekly Reader in April, over 4 weeks ago.
I'm not sure what was time-lined for dates to evaluate success when this newspaper radio station concept was announced. But, if it was to make this work within the time frame of being trumpeted to taps, anyone that OK'd the deal should be shown the door.
In September 2007, a story appeared at Audio Graphics titled "Radio, Meet Your New Local Competition." Although it was about FOX Interactive Media and FOX O&O’s launching a few local music websites, it mentioned AmplyfySD Radio, along with this comment: "Radio - local radio, online - is the logical step for any local newspaper. Newspapers understand the internet (publishing), they understand what constitutes local content, and they know what the radio industry has been ignoring over the past decade (local music)."
Far from being a death bell for newspapers that want to run their own internet radio stations, the rise and fall of San Diego Tribune's efforts should be read as a first itineration. Other papers will launch internet radio stations. I'll suggest that Randy Michaels is going to be all over this in the next few months with the Tribune Company properties. Randy loves to poke competitors in the eye, and this would be a great way to use both fingers for the Mays brothers and maybe a slap to the face of their father, Lowry. (Why does it seem the Three Stooges analogy fits the Mays family so comfortably?)
For anyone missing how Michaels poked and got a response from Southern California Broadcasters Association's Mary Beth Garber, read John Gorman's article "Radio: You got screwed!"
Poking competitors is what Randy does best. When he was putting together Jacor (which became the Clear Channel empire), it happened in every market he entered. Most pokies would respond, off emotion, like Ms. Garbor. The smart ones didn't respond, except to produce a better product, which kept Michaels tweaking more. It really is a game for him.
Over the next few days as radio industry trades begin heralding the failure of AmplifySD Radio and SignOn Radio, don't get too caught up in thinking newspapers can't create radio. That's not the case. Radio today is simply not that hard to produce at the quality being shown by the radio industry.
Newspapers will end up doing what the radio industry is choosing to ignore. The moment will come when newspapers realize that a radio program doesn't have to be an hour, half-hour, or four hours long. Radio programs need only be as long as it takes to get a point across - and that "point" can be about music, news, community info, nightlife, etc.
String these programs together and you have a viable radio station, online, produced by any organization that has the human resources to keep it going.
Look at your city's radio industry groups and at its newspaper(s). Which do you think has the best chance for building diversity in content?
San Diego may be showing us that a newspaper isn't ready to do its own internet radio station; or, it just may be showing us how not do a newspaper radio station.
I think it's the latter.
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