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The Thanksgiving holiday break levels the playing field. Food is the great equalizer. The sounds of parades and football on the TV make us feel comfortable for a day. If I have time for a self-indulging movie moment, it will be hearing John Candy in Planes, Trains & Automobiles say, “I didn’t introduce myself. Del Griffith. American Light and Fixture, Sales Director, shower curtain ring division.”
Internally, I make a list of things for which I’m thankful. This year, I expanded the list to What Radio Should Be Thankful For in 2024. Of course, it wouldn’t be a radio column without an attempt at alliteration (For and 24).
- Taylor Swift:
Radio is a reactionary medium. It thrives when culture creates trends or movements to endorse or oppose. One of the best gifts came from Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. It started in 2023 and continues through next month.
Radio stations stepped up to create promotions and marketing targeted at the most passionate audience in pop music culture. On-air promotions got creative. Stations used scarce marketing dollars to promote their brand and the tour. Mainstream AC, Country, Hot AC, Top 40, and News/Talk stations could all participate in this promotion.
The competition between stations was good for the audience and, ultimately, good for radio. Few celebrities could’ve created this type of moment.
2. The Traffic Department:
To the outsider, traffic is perceived as automobile traffic reporters. The radio insiders know this department as the people who traffic the commercials and promos. I use the word department with emphasis because clusters have downsized and regionalized this position in the last 15 years.
However, it remains one of the most underrated positions in a radio station. There was a time when a stop set had competitive client separation parameters. This meant a commercial break couldn’t have more than one car dealership in the stop set.
As the advertising options became more fragmented in the digital age, those rules were relaxed. Now, we take your business and air it as long as the payment clears. Technology aids the process of scheduling the spots. However, radio needs human oversight to go beyond the boring and predictable algorithm scheduling of Digital Service Providers (DSPs). Great Traffic Managers and Sales Managers put their eyes on the logs. Thank these people before the year ends.
3. Chief Engineers:
When I got into this beautiful business, the FCC was deregulating and changing the license rules for operators and engineers. My first engineer had the required First Class license to work on a radio station transmitter. The license nickname was First Phone.
Throughout the years and various markets, I asked the Chief Engineer in the first meeting, “Do you have your First Phone?” The veterans smiled at me. The younger engineers pulled out their smartphones and said, “No, this is my fifth phone.”
We’re nothing without a signal to transmit content. We’re nothing without a stream to transmit content. We’re nothing without an IT department to traffic communication and content.
Thank you, engineers. You’ll always be a First Phone to me.
4. AI. It looks like the man’s name, Al, but it’s the initials for Artificial Intelligence:
This one will be met with skepticism. However, if AI can save time and allow us to focus on creating better content for the audience and better sales propositions to get in front of clients, then it’s a positive innovation.
Does it make us nervous? You bet. But most of life’s unknown scenarios create anxious reactions. Medicine, sports, relationships, employment, schools, and, of course, technology. However, more problems are realized when we ignore the unfamiliar. Thanks, AI, for pushing us out onto the field and forcing us to play another quarter.
5. KSYM San Antonio:
This is a late entry. A story appeared last week in my feed about this college station’s 25th Annual ALT2Hunger concert benefitting St. Peter-St. Joseph Children’s Home in San Antonio. The Adult Album Alternative station is the campus radio station of San Antonio College and has been on the air since 1966.
When you think about the turnover of a student-run radio station, it’s impressive that a promotion to raise money for charity continues 25 years later.
Every college training and inspiring students to learn the art and craft of broadcasting and content creation deserves a Thanksgiving high-five from every commercial station in the community served by those stations.
6. Intel, for laying off more than 15,000 people this summer:
This one is filled with some cynicism. The recent wave of radio company personnel layoffs has the industry feeling discouraged, critical, angry and sad. All of those feelings are heard and justified. However, we’re not the only industry reacting to recent trends and realigning to future expectations.
Companies like Intel, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, TikTok, and Tesla had sizable layoffs in 2024. This doesn’t explain or forgive how Radio got into this position, and it doesn’t make the severance and job searching any easier to accept. But it does add some perspective as to how the technology and entertainment categories are being affected.
7. The Living:
Living is the best antonym I could find for ghosts. I’m thankful to those who replied to the job-searching candidate in 2024 and didn’t ghost those people. The emails, DMs, and voicemails will occupy more space in the new year. Let’s all dedicate ourselves to replying to those who need recognition and acceptance. It might be one of us someday.
8. Sales:
It takes a certain personality type to be positive and rebound when faced with defeat and rejection daily. However, today’s sales reps must be trained and competitive in broadcast, podcast, streaming, apps, and event advertising models for clients. Your world is noisy. But the good ones like it that way. Thanks for showing up to those networking events with the vision of closing a deal.
9. Non-Commercial Fundraisers:
If you’ve worked with an organization that keeps the power on and the staff employed because of on-air fundraisers, you have a different respect for the outcome. It’s crazy. I’m continually amazed at how these media brands motivate people to give to a FREE medium.
If I don’t pay Netflix this month, I won’t get to spend 30 minutes scrolling the app for something to watch before I give up and watch nothing.
However, I could listen to a non-comm station for five years without giving one dollar. Yet, some of these stations and networks have enjoyed a fruitful period of donations in recent years. Clearly, these stations and brands have something the audience wants to hear. The commercial stations can learn from the passion created by the non-commercial formats.
10. Radio:
Finally, I’m thankful for the noun, adjective and sometimes transitive verb, radio. No one says, “Hey, turn on the audio.” The audience isn’t repelled by the name. Why should we be?
As we retool and prepare for the 2025 battles, let’s be proud of the word used for nearly 105 years. Radio. It’s always been about what comes out of the speakers and devices.
Ron Harrell is a columnist for Barrett Media. He founded Harrell Media Group, specializing in radio and audio brand consultation, fractional management, and talent coaching. He has worked in every role on the Programming and Branding side during his career, becoming management and executive-focused in the post-Telecom Act era. Ron has held leadership roles for media groups such as ABC/Citadel, CBS Radio, Chancellor Media, Cumulus Media, Hope Media Group, Hubbard Broadcasting, and WAY Media.
Interested parties are invited to learn more about his company Harrell Media Group and reach out by email at Ron@HarrellMediaGroup.com.
