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It is no secret that traditional media entities are facing difficult times. But iHeartMedia CEO Bob Pittman believes there is a recipe for success in the future.
While appearing on The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle on MSNBC last week, Pittman was asked about radio’s resilience in the face of “economic headwinds” that many in the industry are facing. Pittman shared that radio’s strengths include being a strong and trusted companion, which is something television or social media doesn’t provide.
However, he believes the industry needs to do a better job of telling its story, while also potentially changing the way it operates in some opinion spaces.
“All of us in the media business, we really do have to look at data. We really have to stop listening to our narratives which aren’t based on data, because we’re not going to help people understand each other,” Pittman said.
“If I think there’s one issue we have in this country — put your political beliefs aside — is we’ve got to learn to be able to talk to each other and let somebody say something we don’t agree with and don’t like. And we don’t vilify, we just go, ‘Well, you and I disagree’, or ‘You’re crazy, but I love you.’ That’s the way it used to be. We could have civil discourse and we can build society. I just think that’s the issue we have to work on. We got to work on it every minute we get.”
When asked if he thought that was currently being attempted, the iHeartMedia CEO said he did.
“I think most Americans today absolutely want that. You see that in all the research that people are tired of fighting just can we all like, agree? Can we just be civil? The problem is if you stir people up, you get a better rating. How do we have an economic model so it’s something other than ‘I gotta rile people up to get a rating so I can make money’?”
