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Volume 10, Issue 1
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A New Interface for Radio
by Megan Heffernan
More than 90 percent of Americans listen to traditional radio, but these days they’re doing much more than merely listening. The newest craze in radio is … of all things, video? Stations from Tampa to Los Angeles are inviting listeners to log on to their respective websites to watch personalities live on the air. And nationwide, listeners are sending in homemade music videos or mini-movies to be featured on radio station websites. Mass communication has truly become just that—among the masses. For PR in particular, the implications of multi-directional consumer usage are paramount, as consumers actively choose their message, product, show or news, rather than a previous communication model where they passively accept messages.
Radio’s burgeoning interface is mirroring the visual and interactive offerings found on websites like MySpace and YouTube. The volume of these online communities is growing exponentially, where YouTube alone houses more than 100 million videos every day, with 65,000 videos uploaded daily. One such video exhibited John Edwards announcing his candidacy for the 2008 presidential election. Whether it was bigger news that John Edwards is running for president or that he announced his candidacy on YouTube before any other media outlet, radio reported the story in one form and another. Just log onto National Public Radio’s website to read about it, and then click on the ‘listen’ button to hear about it.
This cross-platform storytelling style suggests that video and radio are more complimentary than we may have thought. News stories consistently throw the listener to a follow-up website and, in turn, network and radio station websites post streaming video and audio of their broadcasts. As for listener and viewer feedback opportunities, blogs and streaming videos welcome thousands of online replies, just as radio host banter inspires call-in responses. The online forum meets the on-air forum with the common denominator: connecting people. Using video and radio alike, average listeners can seek out and weigh in on any topic, creating instant pundits everywhere.
With this global chat room buzzing from opinions and advice, how will public relations practitioners cut through the clutter? Duncan Wardle, vice president of global PR for Disney Parks, suggests communicators cease talking at people and begin talking with them by “leveraging the passion of brand advocates and viral communities to create buzz and convert new consumers on their behalf.”
In this age of customized media, people are unique representations of their TV, radio, and Internet ‘favorites’ button. Communicators must aim to have their message secure among that favorites list by way of social networking; and the more the merrier. A bigger group of people talking about something will be more influential than just one ‘expert’ trying to discuss it.
A new era of authenticity is approaching in communications with real people and real emotion doing the talking, with testimonials treated like currency. It is the PR industry’s challenge and opportunity to invite viewers and listeners into a fireside ‘chat room’ to discuss ideas, stories, experiences, and products, fashioning tomorrow’s ‘expert’ after a trusted best friend.
What Captures the Attention of Radio Listeners?
by Martha Sharan
The latest information from the 2005 Arbitron study, “How America Listens to Radio,” tells us that Monday through Friday, the majority of radio listeners start their day by turning the dial to a station that broadcasts news, talk or information. In fact, news-talk is the number one format with the largest share of listeners during morning drive from 6:00 to 10:00 a.m.
Who are these listeners? Findings show, 43 percent of the morning drive listeners hold college degrees and nearly two-thirds have household incomes of $50,000-plus. They enjoy driving luxury cars, buying the latest electronic gadgets, playing golf, snow skiing, going to the movies or the theater at least once a month, investing in money market accounts, and owning their own homes.
So, what kind of information are they tuning-in to hear? They want to hear new, compelling and substantive information. These listeners don’t want old, stale, repetitive information, but rather, material that is going to make an impression on their lives, a difference in their lives, and give them more control over their lives. They are looking for the latest facts that will keep them up-to-date, educated and entertained as they start their day.
As we pitch stories to reporters every day, we often get feedback on what their listeners consider important. The leading topics of interest include:
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Current Events – Listeners tune into breaking news, national and local happenings, such as elections, sporting events, natural disasters, and war. Tying into timely events makes for successful placement of news releases and interviews.
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Medical Breakthroughs – Listeners want to hear about treatments, procedures, epidemics, and new studies concerning diseases. Providing new information is essential, especially with annual events like Breast Cancer Awareness Month or Diabetes Awareness Month, to keep these topics fresh and radio stations interested. Stations want to keep promotion of specific pharmaceutical companies or the drugs they are developing to a minimum.
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Consumer Trends – Listeners want to get solid investment tips, warnings about scams, information on good deals and those to stay away from. Providing strong consumer focused information and advice, not pushing a particular product or company, is the key to success in getting your interview on the air.
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High-Tech Advances - Listeners are looking for knowledge and understanding of the latest technology and how it can improve their quality of life. Providing simple explanations in common everyday language is the best way to secure radio placements.
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“Water Cooler Conversation” – This is information that has a “wow” factor or is peppered with bits and pieces of trivia that can be prefaced by “Did you know?…” or “Did you hear?…” Everyone wants to be able to appear “witty,” so if you have a study or a survey with incredible or peculiar findings, it could be a hit, because it will make people stop and listen. And there’s nothing radio stations want more than a listener’s full attention.
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Call to Action – These are reports that result in listeners taking action because they are stirred by what they hear. Providing an interview that motivates listeners to call their legislators, sign a petition or round up support, gets stations excited as well.
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Celebrity Figures – These are authors, journalists, musicians, athletes, and TV/film actors. Hearing from “stars” about their careers, their personal lives, and their experiences is always fascinating. For those promoting TV shows, documentaries and non-profit events, having celebrities available for radio interviews can result in big ratings.
PR professionals should remember that radio stations are bombarded with hundreds of pitches each day. The successful media relations representatives are the ones who have asked themselves these important questions: Who is listening at this hour? And, why would they want to book this interview, this spokesperson or use this press release? Keeping these key points in mind can help make your next radio pitch a homerun!
Metro Source: Up Close
by Curtis H. Gill
The second largest radio network in the country is one that many people may not have heard of, even media relations professionals. Unlike Associated Press or CBS that brand themselves in all of their broadcast products, Metro Source provides reports and soundbites that appear to be produced in their affiliate’s studios, essentially becoming an extension of each affiliate station’s news department.
A division of Westwood One Communications, Metro Source is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, but operates satellite news affiliates in nearly sixty cities from New York to Colorado Springs. The company is an information service available to more than 2,200 subscribing affiliates via satellite delivery, providing broadcast-ready news copy and soundbites as well as feature and show prep material. Services include continuously updated and breaking news, weather, sports, business and entertainment information to affiliate stations.
A staff of news bureau chiefs, state correspondents, professional news writers and reporters generate the content. Stories produced by local news bureaus and state correspondents are shared with all Metro Source clients through the company's satellite delivery news system, making it the largest supplier of traffic, news, sports and weather programming to the broadcasting industry in the country. In fact, Metro is heard by more than 100 million adults throughout the U.S.
The unique aspect of Metro Source is that despite its size, the agency still operates on a local basis. Its statewide news staffs are looking not only for stories that are important nationally, but also for news that affects their particular state as well. Each bureau has a state correspondent who is charged with providing content for local listeners first and national listeners second.
News operations such as Associated Press, CNN, and NPR will normally only assign correspondents to the four or five largest markets and Washington, D.C. The broadened coverage offered by Metro Source provides an opportunity to target stories with local information that will fulfill the needs of the statewide correspondent, and with national information that will provide access to the largest radio audience in the country.
HD Radio’s Impact on the Radio Broadcast Industry
by Lynn Harris Medcalf
A recent survey of 50 randomly sampled stations in the top-50 markets conducted by News Generation, Inc. reveals that 56 percent of surveyed stations have a station in their family that currently broadcasts in HD. Further, more than half of stations believe that HD Radio will impact the radio broadcast industry.
Although HD Radio hasn’t yet rivaled satellite radio in its reach, its sound quality and increasing availability may mean a greater impact on traditional radio than satellite, largely because HD Radio is an extension of traditional, terrestrial radio.
While people assume that the “HD” refers to high definition as it does in “High Definition Television,” HD actually stand for hybrid digital, which means it’s transmitting both analog and digital signals at the same time. HD Radio has been chosen by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) as the standard for local area broadcast of digital signals in the U.S. because it works on the same frequencies allocated to FM and AM radio stations.
According to www.hddigitalradio.com, there are currently 605 broadcasting HD Radio formats in 68 markets throughout the nation. Of the 56 percent of the surveyed stations that are currently broadcasting in HD, 39.3 percent responded that they adopted the new technology because it offered a “higher sound quality” and 28.6 percent said it’s because HD is the “wave of the future.” Of the more than half that think HD Radio will impact the radio broadcast industry, 27.8 percent say the sound quality would especially impact AM radio.
Primarily used to provide “CD quality” music, HD Radio is the first step in digitizing the radio spectrum. While listeners don’t have to subscribe like they do to satellite radio, special receivers are needed to pick up HD stations. Eventually, it is expected that all radio broadcasts will be digital, although the FCC has not set a timeline for that migration.
Right now, since most HD broadcasts are focused on music, this new technology hasn’t yet impacted PR professionals pitching stories to news and talk programs. However, when the FCC outlines a timeline for all broadcasters to move to the HD platform, that’s when PR pros should really take note. There is great hope that this technology will allow easier tracking of stories through digitized search and retrieval, long a difficult process in radio.
The adoption of HD Radio isn’t the only big trend in the radio broadcast industry. When asked what the next wave in radio will be, 18 percent of the stations said “integrated radio systems” incorporating Bluetooth, wireless, HD Radio and Satellite Radio.
Benefits of Using a Radio Media Relations Service
by Susan Matthews Apgood
There are many public relations practitioners who pitch radio on a regular basis and do well in reaching the appropriate contacts and getting key hits. Anyone who pitches regularly knows that the more frequently you contact stations, the more likely you are to have key contacts that are current and relevant. Another way to keep your contacts current is to continually pitch a very specific beat or geographic area, keeping the number of stations manageable.
Those who understand the value of the medium but don’t pitch radio on a regular basis or want to pitch a large number of stations and networks, typically hire media relations service companies to reach target audiences. There are two main reasons to hire an outside company: established, credible relationships and saving time and money.
Since contacts are built on a daily basis, service companies have the advantage of knowing which stations to pitch at the appropriate time of day. Knowing which reporters cover ever changing beats, when reporters tend to be available to receive pitches, and interests of reporters based on past history, requires a great deal of work before the first pitch is made.
Some questions to ask your service provider to find out exactly what you are getting for your budget include:
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Do you purchase advertising time in conjunction with or in place of media relations outreach?
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How often is your database updated by a service such as Arbitron?
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Who makes up your media team and how often do you pitch stories to stations?
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How much follow up do you complete on each pitch?
While every company takes a different approach to the way they operate, it is important to pick the company that is closely aligned with the outcome that works for you and your clients.
At News Generation, we never purchase advertising time as all of the work we do is media relations work and we do not muddy the PR waters with the purchase of advertising because we are strong believers in the power of media relations and strong content to earn media hits. We update our radio data from Arbitron as often as it supplies it and supplement it with our proprietary data, which includes e-mail addresses and direct phone numbers of reporters, as well as background information specific to reporters. Our media team is made up of former reporters who understand what it is like to be on the other side of a pitch call.
Succinctness and brevity are important to pitch formulation, as is context, and we are focused on providing reporters with headline pitches and provide additional background with our supporting materials. Most of our services do provide 100% follow up on our pitches. Our philosophy is to not only place the story in the best way possible, we also strongly believe in following up to find out how our content was used, or more importantly, why a story was not used. Each project is a learning experience and as each outreach gets better, our clients are provided with the benefit of that feedback and with better outcomes as a result.
Tuning In newsletter is produced and distributed bi-annually. The goal of the newsletter is to educate clients on radio trends and industry tips, as well as highlight case studies and release survey information.
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