WWWN has less than 2,000 listeners at any given time – in 47^th place overall with a 0.2 rating 25-54. 

How could something so bold turn out to sound so old.

Considering the rush lately for owners to move AM brands to FM the Michaels fizzle is worrisome.

I’ve got the fixes for Merlin’s Media’s all-news debacle right here – and it’s still not too late. 

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1.  There can only be one person in charge and at Merlin you have this.

2.  How Randy’s news operations in New York and Chicago actually sound older than its CBS competitors.  But here’s the fix.

3.  What’s wrong with the formatics?  They’re spending money like crazy but not paying attention to a handful of things that could ignite the stations. 

4.  Why the joke is on Merlin after tricking WBBM into simulcasting on FM, which makes ironically them even stronger.  I’ll pinpoint the ways.

5.  Why doing NPR on steroids would have worked better.  Not too late.

6.  The Doomsday scenario – what if all-news doesn’t work.  Then, what?

The answers begin here.

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Cumulus is in the process of cutting $50 million in expenses by the end of the year or sooner  – a promise made to lenders who financed the Citadel acquisition.

Ten victims got fired in Dallas alone this week.  I’ve got the details you won’t read anywhere else.

Cumulus is telling employees one thing and then doing what they always do.

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1.  The 5-part plan to cut $50 million in expenses by the end of the year or sooner.

2.  The new market management setup Cumulus will be emulating from another consolidator.  The plan and who that consolidator is.

3.  I’ve got the line on whether any markets are exempt from the $50 million firing spree.

4.  What the heck is Mike McVay up to?  The onetime consultant is drinking the Kumulus Kool Aid but if you examine his recent public statements, you’ve figured out another piece of the puzzle.  I’ve got it for you right here.

5.  They’re going after Citadel employees only, right? 

6.  What Cumulus will do next after $50 million is cut from their expenses.

The answers begin here.

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Now that everyone is trying to rush their AM brands to FM, this happens.

The first inkling of how the spoken word formats that resided almost exclusively on AM will work on FM.

This is a big stakes game but new intelligence is indicating that the strategy is not as simple as it looks and the outcome not guaranteed by any means.

1.  In light of the first ratings, will AM formats work on FM?

2.  Knowing what we now know, what will be the eventual fate of Merlin’s CBS news competitors in New York and Chicago.

3.  Who is likely to lose the most audience and who will gain – but wait, suddenly there is another competitor lurking.

4.  What now happens to all that top billing money on big AM branded stations? 

PLUS … Why this entire migration to FM is ill conceived and what you can gain from their mistakes.

You won’t read this anywhere else.

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We all know that radio is undergoing major changes again but now, there are new rules that can guide you into the digital future.

1.  From now on the new relationship between on-air and online – and to be blunt, no one has it right yet.  But you will be off to a great start.

2.  Changes in the way on-air content winds up online.  This one is major. And you’ll be ahead of the game.

3.  Why any successful radio station will have at least 2 morning shows from now on.  That’s right – two morning shows.

4.  The new rules for distributing content on-the-air and digitally and they are not the same.

5.  There is a new way to expand time spent listening, which has dropped 6% over the past three years – but it has nothing to do with programming to The People Meter. In fact, it’s the exact opposite.  I’ll explain.

6.  Music radio will have to change its mission as Pandora, Spotify and other monthly music services continue to steal audience.  Here is radio’s best shot.

7.  The critical new approach to selling on-air and online together.  It’s not intuitive but this approach works best.

8.  New rules about staffing a radio station.  Cutbacks are not going to stop, we all know that but these three positions cannot be eliminated as radio changes.  Do you know what they are?

9.  The most important position in turning around a radio station is – what?  From now on, it is this person.

I’ve been happy to make these “promos” available to thousands of people every day for the past year – kind of a one-year test drive.

Now if you want to continue receiving Inside Music Media every day, today would be a great day to unlock a significant story and stay on the distribution list.

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We are entering a new era in radio.

First consolidation. 

Then, contraction. 

Now denial.

1.  Unbelievable new research that shows 12-24 year old listening is actually growing.  It is?

2.  How Arbitron collaborates with the industry they measure (and take fees from) to paint the sky blue.

3.  The 9 biggest problems facing the radio industry – here’s one, failure to invest a single penny in the separate digital content that media buyers are demanding.  There are 8 others you’ll want to know.

4.  Four positive steps to make radio better right now without going broke.

5.  The end of the Hogan, Dickey and Suleman era means radio has just now entered the next stage.  Want to know what it is?

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How to bulletproof yourself from what’s coming in 2013

• What media buyers will be demanding, not requesting

• How station budgets will have to be reconfigured – like it or not.

• The right way to do digital – and it’s not the way radio stations are doing it now.

• The mistakes stations are making on-air while fiddling with online.  Here’s the fix.

• The year radio will cease to exist as we know it – but here’s an insurance policy you can take out.

• The most important strategic decision every radio station must get right

• The folly of social networking radio-style and what works infinitely better.

Even investors will have to start looking at an exit strategy if they don’t do these critical things.

If you’ve been thinking about subscribing, you’ll get a lot of take-home pay when you start today.

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In one corner, Arbitron wishing it never exited the digital measurement business.

In the other, Triton Digital dominating the business Arbitron abandoned and now wants back.

• What do you have when you cross the People Meter with streaming measurement – Arbitron’s grand new plan •  How Triton is shooting holes in Arbitron’s concept •  Why media buyers are being left out •  How increasingly powerful streamers think audience measurement should change • The dirty politics of audience measurement that has nothing to do with the actual audience

And this big prediction:  What could inevitably happen when Arbitron and Triton beat each other up.  You read it first here.

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Here’s the rest of the story – as Paul Harvey used to say – about the hypocrisy that was passed off as a pep rally at the just concluded NAB Radio Show: 

•  Who the certified new “rock star” of radio is – and it’s not Randy Michaels or the usual suspects.

•  Guess who is taking credit for this:  “We stopped the performance royalty bill in its tracks.” Stop laughing!!! And no one called him out on it for the b.s. it really is – until now.

•  Radio claims 6.1 trillion listener hours – so Pandora, please sit down and go away.  The latest industry executive with his head up his math.

•  Turn your bullshit meter on – quick, who said this:  “We don’t see digital as the savior.”  You guessed it – the industry’s number one digital broadcaster.  Maybe you won’t notice.

•  Who is the last person you would invite to speak about the future of radio – that’s the first person the NAB invited.

•  Who is this attendee talking about:  “The guys I talked to are like zombies...a lot of glazed /dazed looks.  Like abused children waiting for the next set of foster parents.”  

•  What unlikely radio exec was described as “the belle of the ball” at this year’s show?

Many of the radio trades suck up to the very people who are hurting our industry the most.  This is where you get the straight story.  Today’s a great time to get started.

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• What’s planned for over the weekend at the former Citadel stations • The new center of the universe for Citadel starting Monday • Lew’s consigliore’s • The most drastic action ahead that will happen like lightning • The sales set up – not exactly Cox • The new programming option that comes with the merger • New market managers thought to be in waiting on the outskirts of some markets.

Plus the big question:

• Is Cumulus finished expanding for now • Can Lew Dickey get the money to grow given the trouble he had financing the Citadel merger • What are the timelines – sooner or later • Who needs to be concerned

You won’t read this anywhere else.

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Forget iHeartRadio.

Clear Channel is actually running a program I call iHateRadio.

This is a special update on why all of a sudden Clear Channel is so enamored of streaming music services even at the expense of its 800 stations.

A comparison of what they are willing to do for this new business that they are not willing to do for their bread and butter radio business.

And why.

If you want to see the future of Clear Channel, here it is.

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Okay, now we have a glut of FM music and talk stations.

Migrating AM brands to FM is only part of the crisis.

1.  Something is wrong with the way owners are rapidly closing down AM and shifting the stations to FM.  See if you don’t agree.

2.  The 4 tricks of consolidators that are being accepted as positive for radio when these strategies are not only killing off stations but the FM band with it – I’ll expose their losing strategies here. 

3.  There is something even bigger than an AM/FM simulcast and only greedy owners could embrace this loser.  It’s all laid out in the article.

4.  Here’s what owners should be doing, but won’t.  More useful ideas that actually won’t break the bank and would be a lot better than consolidating formats.

5.  Radio is all about gaming The People Meter and don’t kid yourself, the four ways to oblivion – I mean, the four ways to consolidate radio formats today is designed to win at ratings even if the ratings are wrong.

The FM glut.

What a great day to start a subscription and access these intelligence reports

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Radio owners are beginning to put their aged AM formats into assisted living – on FM.

The AM-ization of FM is underway and the big groups would have you believe that moving popular AM brands to an FM simulcast needs to be done to save the format.

That, too.

This article gets into the real reasons:

1.  Why the big rush all of a sudden to give up on FM formats and move AM formats – often targeted to younger demographics – to FM. 

2.  The hidden reason broadcasters are moving to FM with such urgency and it isn’t what they’ve been saying in the press.

3.  What about AM brands that aren’t strong enough to move to FM?  Move them or let them die.  We’ll tell you what the owners are thinking.

4.  What happens if an owner doesn’t have enough FM stations to take an AM station into a simulcast.  Or if they don’t want to drop a valued FM format.  Here’s the workaround you’ll be seeing more of.

5.  When will this urgent simulcast movement end or at least slowdown.

6.  What’s to become of the AM band with all its best formats also on FM.

Here’s a special report.

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John Hogan dropped a bomb on his employees yesterday but it was not exactly the one they expected.

It was an act of extreme insensitivity.

What’s worse is what was not said.

Cuts.

Insecurity.

And pay.

A special report begins here – now.

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You won’t believe this – or maybe you will.

Cumulus is pulling salespeople off of selling radio to sell print in a directory that is designed to make up for the shortfall in local radio ads sales.

Huh!

Read it and weep.

1.  Mandatory print selling at Cumulus  – here’s why.

2.  Why print – why not digital.  Get it directly from the horses – well, the horses mouth.

3.  A description of the product radio salespeople are being told to sell.  No ifs, ands or buts.  

4.  No word on commissions – if any.  And no bonuses.  At least in a memo from a top Cumulus exec.

5.  Would you want to sell these ad categories?  Cumulus sales people don’t either.  I’ll sample a few for you.

6.  How Cumulus wants their radio sales force to generate print leads.

7.  And last but not least – how many print ads each salesperson will be required to sell.

You can bet you won’t get this story anywhere else.

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Radio groups are living in a fantasy world thanks to The People Meter (PPM).

It is much more forgiving than the old diary methodology.  They can manipulate it easier.

1.  How PPM rules make it easier to win quarter hour listening.  And how stations take advantage of it.

2.  Richard Harker had the best ever explanation of the insane new People Meter rules on quarter hour listening.  Here it is.

3.  The real reason greedy radio companies are only too happy to give up running commercials for hours, days or even one day a week.

4.  How radio ratings are so influenced by people who never even listen to the station that is getting credit for their listening.

5.  The sanitized format hour.  How it wins ratings and is losing fans.

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