Inside Music MediaJerry Del Colliano

NBC’s embattled News President Deborah Turness acted swiftly only days after she appointed an internal committee to investigate Brian William’s lying.

Williams is suspended for six months without pay – that’s half of his $10 million annual pay.

Lester Holt fills in.

Not Matt Lauer.

Not Savannah Guthrie or any other NBC News “star”.

At this point, NBC did the right thing. If the evening news ratings sag, they have to suck it up. No matter, it looks like Brian Williams will return a humbled man.

In America, we have at least two views.

That everyone deserves a second chance.

And, once you lie, your credibility will always be in doubt.

It’s a sad sequence of events for the likable and capable Williams but he brought it on himself as we all do when we let our egos transcend our responsibility.

Almost like magic, over at Comedy Central, Jon Stewart revealed he is “retiring” after 20 years doing a show in which, ironically, he is more trustworthy than the real newsman, Williams.

Jon Stewart on NBC Nightly News would be a bold stroke for Turness if she is in the mood for disruption. Stewart has said that when he was approached as a possible replacement for David Gregory on Meet The Press, he wouldn’t want a job where they hired him for doing something other than what brought his success.

So within days – the comedian is more honest than the serious newsman and those of us in the media business need to get a grip.

Television is so over.

Network ratings are declining, demographics are getting older. TV has been disrupted by the likes of Netflix and friends for an on-demand generation.

Radio has the same problem.

In an industry where iHeart thinks it is important to get into Power 106’s billing just to hurt them, we fail to understand what it is going to take to move forward.

All together now – young audiences crave one thing above everything else in their lives and they expect this from their media.

Authenticity.

And radio right now is about as fake as it gets – as irrelevant as it has ever been as carpetbaggers suck the last breath out of local personalities and community-oriented radio stations.

Change before you have to change.

There could be an entire seminar on this winning approach.

How local is local enough?

How to do great radio in the reality of today’s declining revenues.

What surprising things can be cut and what cannot because obviously most stations are getting this one wrong.

How do you compete in markets where money losing large competitors are driving down ad rates? You may be doing a lot of things right, but debt-ridden consolidators are increasingly dumbing down the medium.

Some of the best operators – the smaller, independent groups – have reimagined their stations for the digital age. Some even threw out the old rules and disrupted their radio stations. We need to study stations that grow audience and increase revenue – many do, but not enough. And these owners have a different mindset.

No station brings in significant digital revenue, which begs the question why are we continuing to do the same old things that don’t work?

Stronger digital means developing a separate stream of revenue from digital projects that can pay off not an extension of what is on the air.

Like short-form video.

Not cameras aimed at morning show personalities.

Not air talent forced to make content the way they do at Townsquare.

A separate digital track that compliments and never hurts what’s on the air.

Imagine the revenue that can be derived from stronger stations that throw out the old rules and attract new audiences and strong digital profits from the number one thing money demos crave – short-form video.

I can hardly wait to share this new intelligence with you.

My March 18^th Philly conference is focusing on 7 critical things that will help make you a better broadcaster and an innovative, shrewd digital entrepreneur.

1. Specific ways to balance the need for numerous commercials with good principles of radio programming and to disrupt the way we do radio before our digital competitors do it.
2. Methods to master digital as a second stream of revenue alongside broadcasting.       Things like replacing your website with something better, eliminating podcasts and make money with storytelling and a cost-effective easy way to put your brand on every smartphone in your market without having to stream your station – just to mention a few.
3. The nuts and bolts of starting your station’s own social media network independent of Facebook, Twitter and the next flash in the pan. From there, how to grow your fan base.
4. A well-defined strategy to change the sound and on-air approach of your radio station for the digital age one coordinate at a time. You won’t want this to get in the hands of a competitor, for sure.
5. What you need to know about starting your own radio station video business – one that will be unlike anything you have ever seen, will not need salespeople to unlock the revenue potential and that will more than make up for any on-air advertising shortfalls you may run into this year. I’ll show you video examples and reveal winning game plans. And it can all be recorded economically and professionally on an iPhone 6!
6. From my work as a USC professor in the area of generational media: the critical Millennial checklist. The latest updated research about what the next generation must have in order to listen to radio in the digital age. This is what I use as my business bible and after all, I started a subscription pay site that nobody said would work on the Internet.  Thousands of subscribers later, I can thank following this all-important Millennial checklist. What they want from you. On-air content you are not giving them that they would love.  A never before aired “contest” that would enthrall them and breed loyalty.
7. The best ways to deal with short-attention spans – so short, that most music listeners under the age of 35 now do not listen all the way through any song. Since music radio formats are based on the assumption that if they play the right songs, audiences will listen – this changes everything. Advances in the way we present music. Desired ways to introduce more music discovery.

This event will not be available by stream or video – only live and in person for the 6^th year in a row.

I can’t wait to share my enthusiasm and knowledge with you in Philly March 18^th.

Join the radio executives and entrepreneurs who have already reserved their seats.

Reserve a seat

Inquire about group rates

For nearby hotel information or questions, contact Cheryl @ cldel@earthlink.net or call (480) 998-9898.

Breakfast, lunch and all breaks included. Starting time: 8am. Ends 4pm.