Here’s a look at what’s ahead for the remainder of 2011:

•  Radio revenue for the entire year – up or down?

•  Two digital competitors that will impact radio revenue in the next six months.

•  The next big radio acquisition by year’s end before investment money dries up.

•  More firings between now and December.  I’ll name them the unsafest radio groups to work for.

•  Digital is outperforming the sluggish economy so which radio groups will up their digital budgets.  I’ll name names and you may want to dust off your resumes.

•  I’m seeing Apple with a major announcement that will be worse for radio than even the iPod or iTunes store.  I’ll explain it all.

PLUS…  A clear look six months down the line for the radio industry.

This stuff is good and it’s accurate.

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Looks like fireworks this weekend in the lives of the Dickey family.

Their cherished $2 billion purchase of Citadel which was supposed to close in early September is laying an egg with investors and there are many questions now being asked.

Here are the pressing questions I will answer this morning:

• Why are investors refusing to buy Cumulus debt to finance the deal?

• Which banks look to get stuck with Cumulus debt and what are they doing about it?

• The chances that the Cumulus-Citadel deal doesn’t close as a result.

• Are there more Cumulus firings and commission cuts on the way if the banks refuse to buy Cumulus debt?

• What happens now to Lew Dickey’s plans to acquire more stations.

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You won’t get information like this anywhere else.

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Let’s cut to the quick.

With the Cumulus takeover of Citadel looming and ad business cooling off at the wrong time, radio groups are once again going to be in a firing mood.

Today I’ve got proven strategies from successful people that will make you indispensible exactly when you need it most.

I’ve broken this advice into two categories.  Take a peek.

Marketing and sales:

1.  Everyone loves an employee who can compel advertisers to pay full price.  No discounting.  No bundling.  That alone can defy the sluggish economy and raise income.  Makes you pretty indispensible.  Here’s all you need to know.

2.  What one thing could you do or teach someone you supervise to do that is better than being a super salesperson.  This has both radio revenue applications and benefits selling interactive media.  One critical thing that will make your company not want to let you go.

3.  If I told you a proven way that you could get paying advertisers to be more excited about radio than ever before, would you try it?  If you do, you will be responsible for an increase in business and your boss will know who it came from.

4.  Bet no radio company would fire the person who could take out Groupon in their local market.  Especially because you will be the reason all that Groupon money winds up on the air.

Programming:

1.  What is more valuable to a voice tracking crazed company than even cheap voice tracking itself?  This innovative approach alone may make you a survivor or even get you promoted.

2.  Do you think your owner would like to see a huge influx of fans listening to your radio station without spending a single cent or doing one promotion.  This is it.

3.  You could be the one who – once and for all – finds the perfect way to make social networking actually work for radio.  And monetize it, too.  You’ve never heard this great idea before.

Two critical areas – sales/marketing and programming.

PLUS …7 new and effective strategies to make it hard to do without you.

One of the benefits of membership is that I have your back.

Dig in to these ideas and make yourself indispensible.

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Cumulus Cincinnati Director of Sales Joe Wickman got fired over the phone with his kids present on Father’s Day.  (I’ve got the story for you).

The company with the mean genes run by Lew Dickey is now poised to pounce on thousands of Citadel employees sometime around Labor Day when the merger closes. 

Here’s what’s going to happen:

1.  For the first time, an idea of how massive the cutbacks will be.

2.  The Cumulus sales plan that is virtually impossible for even good salespeople to follow – the better for Cumulus to fire more people like, say, Citadel employees.

3.  Big Citadel billers are in big trouble. You’ll want to see this one coming and won’t want to be blindsided.

4.  Cockamamie pricing that drives salespeople nuts and leaves them vulnerable for dismissal.  This one is right out of the mouth of a Cumulus survivor.

5.  4:30 in the afternoon will become the most hated time of the day.  Here’s why.

6.  The sales routine will change radically and hamstring good account execs – coming soon to Citadel.

7.  A Cumulus trick to eliminate sales managers – be prepared.

8.  Creative commission cutting.  We know that Cumulus had cut sales commissions, but wait until you see how they can cut them even further. A Cumulus survivor outs his employer.

9.  The two people you don’t want to see arriving at your radio station.  Even the Grim Reaper would be more welcomed.  Here are the details.

10.  Getting fired just got more difficult –no severance until you do this – not a penny. 

PLUS …  Finally, a way to fight back.

Survive. 

Thrive. 

11 new business opportunities for people with radio skills – in detail, and ready to use.

One of the benefits of membership is that you’ll never get this straight scoop from a radio trade publication that sucks up to Lew Dickey nor will you see this career help in easy to implement employment opportunities made for radio people.

I’m looking out for you.  Here’s proof.

If you would like to read this story, have access to my entire archive (over 1,300 pieces) and get daily email delivery, click “read more” for your choices. 

He’s baack!

Wait until you hear the radical things Randy Michaels is planning that are going to shakeup the radio industry, get in its face and be disruptive to owners like CBS and Tribune – among others.

I’ve got the down low for you right here:

1.  The Michaels plan for his 3 new stations.  Don’t assume you know.  All bets are off now.

2.  The company Randy is modeling his new company after.  Very smart.

3.  What Randy’s new stations will sound like and a first hire that may be the key to any success he has.

4.  Where Randy is looking to buy even more stations – and when.  I’ll give you a pretty good time frame.

5.  John Gehron’s important role in the new company – or I should say important two roles in the new company.  I’ll explain.

6.  Who will Randy Michaels hire if he is going to blow up the formats on these 3 stations.  Will he blow the stations up? 

7.  When will all the fireworks start.  Michaels is not the noise you can’t ignore for nothing. 

But there’s more …

•  What about Emmis – are they headed out of radio and will they sell even more stations.

•  And how about CBS?  Until now CBS kept their all-news franchises on the AM band in both Chicago and New York.  They’re not going to sit there and do nothing.  Here’s one viable preemptive option for CBS.

•  How street fighter Michaels’ return to radio is a kick in the head to Lew Dickey who was about to become radio’s Big Kahuna now that Clear Channel seems to be abdicating.  How Randy’s stations in the former ABC markets Dickey is buying from Citadel may have Lew doing something with Twinkies other than eating them.  Here’s why.

Day after day, you get deadly honest and informative information here that you can’t get elsewhere.

No one owns me – I work for you.

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Radio station websites suck.

They don’t make much money.

And they don’t create more than 3% additional listenership for your on-air station – at best.

So pull the plug on your website.  And do this.

1.  A better way to use your radio station than hyping a website about yourself all day long.  Here it is.

2.  What to do with your station stream if you blow up your station website – as I am recommending.

3.  Staffing this great new idea without going broke and without making it a hobby.

4.  My 10-step plan to build your new station website. This is it.  First in, wins.

5.  3 vitally important sources of new revenue for the site.

6.  Attract fans and advertisers like never before.

But that’s not all.

Whether to sell radio and site ads together.  The one way you must never promote this new site – ever!  The changing role of Twitter and Facebook in your new efforts.  A sample estimate of how much money you can make in the first year.

One of the benefits of membership is that you’ll never read these 10 steps to rebooting a radio website anywhere else.

If you’ve been thinking of subscribing, today would be a great day!

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It’s pretty sad how the major radio groups are increasingly running with commercial-free hours on stations that actually depend on commercials for income.

Maybe you heard how Clear Channel upped the stakes again by expanding their commercial-free hours on some stations.

This is insane.

So I’ve got 9 better ideas for you to implement – guaranteed to work – because they are exactly opposite of the strategies stations are using without success:

Things like …

1.  Once and for all – what to do with “commercial-free” hours.  Run them or not. Debate over.  Do this.

2.  A powerful alternative to the same old ploy – and this one really works!  I’ve got the blueprint for you.

3.  Why listeners are so turned off by the very commercials radio stations have to run – and an easy fix that you’ll be glad you tried.  This is worth the entire article.

4.  The problem with stopsets.  Here’s the better idea that listeners will not only tolerate but will like.  That’s right – like!  The secret is out.

5.  The one thing a radio station cannot do without.  Hint: it’s not music, not personalities, not news, not traffic or weather, not contests.  I’ve actually had experience winning in major market radio with this one thing and I’ll tell you how to do it, too.  Proven.

6.   The absolute best way to find the new music that listeners these days are craving while we keep losing by playing the same old safe hits.  An effective alternative that works flawlessly with the hits.

7.  A streaming strategy – unlike any other – that will increase on-air ratings

8.  And, a mobile Internet strategy that actually increases on-air audiences big time.

9.  The must-have piece of the ratings puzzle without which your numbers will pale by comparison.

PLUS…  Safer ways to outsmart your competitors.

I’ll leave these strategies on my site for the next few hours for you.

Brainstorm with your team and go get ‘em!

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It is becoming apparent that audiences no longer want to listen to radio morning shows.

But I’ve got 12 ways not to be that radio station that loses its audience.

In fact, here’s what radio morning shows will (or should) sound like within the next 5 short years.

1.  The ideal morning show personality of the future.  This is who you want to hire from now on.

2.  How content will be presented – and it is far different than today.

3.  What will be the correct, new hours for morning drive?  You’ll never guess.

4.  How many commercials per hour in the morning show of the future.  I’ll give you the number for within 5 years and within 10 years.  And you can hold me to it. 

5.  What is the smartest way for radio stations to help advertisers make better commercials and – are you ready – forbid them from running these commercials on any other radio station?  Competitive advantage to you!

6.  Rates will either be 3 times higher or 3 times lower than today.  I’ll tell you which one and why.

7.  The fatal danger ahead for music stations.  And steps you can take even now to avoid it.

8.  How to handle on-air content online.  Most stations are blowing this one, but you don’t have to.

9.  The 9 words that will make up your mission statement for morning shows of the future.  Make a big sign out it – you’ll find great motivation and direction in these words.

10.  What do you do with your digital strategy?  Do this and you’ll be rolling in dough within the next few years.

11.  How to get listeners to tell others to “turn the radio on”.  When was the last time you heard anyone say that?  Here’s how.

PLUS… The 5 radio groups that are most likely to act on this advice.  If your name is not on this list, you’re going down when morning shows get hit by clouds, Internet-enabled auto head units and consumer multitasking.

This early-warning report also has 7 ways to get started adapting radio morning shows for the future right now.

If you would like to read this story, have access to my entire archive (over 1,200 pieces) and get daily email delivery, click “read more” for your choices. 

Starting today as TV guy Bill Hoffman replaces radio guy Bob Neil, Cox Radio is firmly under a new management structure and is headed in a totally different direction for operating their group of stations.

Cox is top heavy with qualified radio executives to replace Neil. 

What’s up?  Why?

And is today’s move the end of a great run for Cox? 

I’ve answered these important questions in this article:

1.  The big change that everyone seems to be missing about what Cox has planned for the future of its radio division.  

2.  The experimental – and risky – new management approach that is anti everything that Bob Neil has done in his 25 years at Cox Radio.   It’s major and radical.

3.  The three managerial structures for running a radio company in the years ahead.  Are any of them going to work at a critical time like this for the radio industry.  Which one does Cox now fit into?

4.  The shrinking list of radio companies that have the best management structure to operate effectively going forward.  

5.  Which two radio groups are on the ledge – they could go either way.  The identity of one of the two will probably shock you.

6.  Which of the 3 management structures is most deadly to radio – and yes, there are several substantial companies in real trouble.

PLUS… the prospects for Cox, CBS, Entercom, Saga, Townsquare, Cumulus/Citadel, Clear Channel, Bonneville, Emmis, Hubbard and Beasley.

The latest intelligence on what Cox’s new changes mean to the radio division and which groups are also morphing their management structures.

If you would like to read this story, have access to my entire archive (over 1,200 pieces) and get daily email delivery, click “read more” for your choices.