Tuesday, April 15, 2008

"Excess on occasion is exhilarating. It prevents moderation from acquiring the deadening effect of a habit." W. Somerset Maugham

"Success is the point of self-deception. Failure is the point of self-knowledge." Graham Greene

"To feel most beautifully alive means to be reading something beautiful, ready always to apprehend in the flow of language the sudden flash of poetry." Gaston Bachelard

Today's image: Morning mist by Steve Lacy. Great shot. Thanks for sharing.

Buzz: AOL
will buy Sphere, it's official. Kudos to Martin Remy, Steve Nieker and the entire Sphere gang. Tim Robbins - 1) Erase all diversity 2) Stay focused on sex scandals 3) Find more racially divisive news...salacious entertainment not information...Imagine a world of broadcasting where the American people are encouraged to reject despair and distrust and when they turn their TVs and radios off at night and go to sleep they possess strength and unity and compassion for those they disagree with. NAB Keynote (audio)

Bonus: The Filter (now in private beta)

Congrats & cheers: John Battelle's Federated Media Publishing closes a $50 mil round.

A bunch of radio stuff...



Update: NAB bows radio initiative - Radio Heard Here. Related - Radio 2020 and radiocreativeland. At least the first tribe of wireless can rest easy knowing the NAB spent the time and money (even engaged an attorney) to officially file a trademark application for "Radio Heard Here." While perhaps among the first thoughts upon hearing about this creative tag line might well be "WOW, I sure hope that very cool slogan is protected to the full extent of applicable federal law" the use of the TM mark at this point does seem a wee bit premature. Two more early thoughts. First, will this Radio Heard Here campaign indeed be as powerful, effective as the Goodby Silverstein & Partners "Got Milk" campaign Jeff Haley has compared it to? (Have they our Michael Bay at the ready? Some clever Toma Leche messaging?). Second, without any disrespect whatsoever to Messrs Rehr, Haley and Ferrara, where are the women in the leadership of this initiative? Where are the young turks? These three middle-aged white guys and the initiative would benefit greatly from diversity.

Update 2: The new Arbitron - Edison Media Research findings - the annual update of their ongoing study The Infinite Dial - Radio's New Digital Platforms. Detail on the latest data set here.

The beat goes on: RBR chief Jim Carnegie gives a reader who "cannot be identified by name" the use of his hall to opine on Why HD Radio may never make it.

All of these items merit thought and discussion. My comments on each in the days ahead.


3 comments:

Dan Kelley said...

I'm disappointed that RBR would give an anonymous poster a forum.

Criticism by those hiding behind a cloak of secrecy is cowardly, plain and simple. And without identification, the receiver has no clue as to any agendas, hidden or otherwise.

Anonymous said...

David,

I always look forward to your posts and was pleased to see the coverage of "Radio Heard Here". For the record, while the leaders of the NAB, RAB and HD Radio Alliance led this initiative, there were many, many others involved at every stage. You ask 'where were the women and young Turks?' Numerous women like Michelle Lehman at the NAB deserve a great deal of credit for tirelessly championing the need to support radio. And the term "Young Turks" could describe most of the creative team. Also, there were more than 20 long-time radio industry veterans whose input helped shape the work. Keep your eyes open for many more creative developments as this campaign moves forward.

David Martin said...

Kelly, thank you very much for your insight. We'll keep our eyes (and ears) open for the creative. All the best,