Conclave 44 Thursday: Looking At The Present And Future Of Radio

Today In MPLS

CONCLAVE 44's first full day of sessions brought a full house of radio pros and aspiring broadcasters to the DELTA HOTEL MINNEAPOLIS NORTHEAST on THURSDAY (6/20).

Asked Them Almost Anything

After the opening presentation of the BMI Founders Award to COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY student BEKAH MULBERG, a group of prominent radio pros -- ENTERCOM/PHILADELPHIA VP/Programming SHELLY EASTON, BEASLEY EVP/Strategy & Innovation BUZZ KNIGHT, COX MEDIA GROUP VP/Audience and Content Development TIM CLARKE, and consultant VALERIE GELLER (substituting for the absent former GREATER MEDIA Chairman/CEO PETER SMYTH) -- kicked off the session schedule with an "Ask Me Almost Anything" panel moderated by iHEARTMEDIA EVP/Programming TONY COLES geared towards the conference's mission of learning. The topics included the panelists' morning routines, evolving duties for talent as platforms change, how to become a true influencer, how to advance to management, embracing change, and attracting Millennials to careers in radio.

The Power Of Local

iHEARTMEDIA's JON ZELLNER moderated a panel on local programming with a pair of prominent free agents, ROB ROBERTS and CHARESE FRUGE (the latter now focusing on voiceover work), plus iHEARTMEDIA's MICHAEL SAUNDERS and BONNEVILLE/SALT LAKE CITY's SUE KELLEY, and the session got right into ROBERTS' recent winding-down of the Hot AC format at CUMULUS' WRQX (MIX 107.3)/WASHINGTON as the sale to EMF neared. ROBERTS discussed the differences between his approach and sister WPLJ/NEW YORK's approach (MIX waited until closer to the end date to address the situation on the air, but borrowed some of PLJ's promo ideas along the way). "Controlled chaos" was SAUNDERS' suggestion for compelling local content, including putting local celebrities on the air for air shifts; KELLEY lauded her team's efforts in developing events and special programming, while FRUGE advised to focus on communicating with talent ("focus on your talent, they are driving your radio station") and stressing the station's brand and social media/digital presence, the latter point stressed by ROBERTS as well.

ROBERTS also suggested using PPM tactics even in diary markets, because knowing the PPM is, he noted, necessary when trying to move up to work in a larger market and telling a prospective employer "well, I'm willing to learn" makes an applicant a second choice. As for voice tracked and syndicated shows, FRUGE said that local stations need to communicate with the talent to feed them important local information, giving the example of a show from INDIANAPOLIS airing in HOUSTON that needed to be pressed on promoting HOUSTON's annual rodeo, which out-of-towners may not be aware is a major event to HOUSTON listeners.

Put Me In, Coach

A panel on talent coaching moderated by HUBBARD Top 40 WKRQ (Q102)/CINCINNATI morning co-host JEFF THOMAS featured talent coaches STEVE REYNOLDS and ANGELA PERELLI, URBAN ONE's COLBY COLB TYNER, and HUBBARD/CINCINNATI OM PATTI MARSHALL. The coaches discussed developing strategies for shows and stations, keeping focus, the value of getting the audience to care about and trust the talent, defining "coachable" versus "uncoachable" talent (REYNOLDS noted that every talent would judge themselves "coachable" but that he observes their attitude, aptitude, and work ethic to determine how coachable they are), getting talent to be open to new ideas (REYNOLDS joked, "threaten to fire them!," while PERELLI suggested a carrot-stick approach, telling them that it could help them rise to a larger market), dealing with drama, airchecking, and reinforcing.

The Envelope, Please

CONCLAVE Radio Awards winners included:

• Station of the Year, Major Market: HUBBARD Classic Rock WDRV (THE DRIVE)/CHICAGO
• Station of the Year, Large Market: BONNEVILLE AC KSFI (FM100.3)/SALT LAKE CITY
• Station of the Year, Medium Market: BEASLEY Top 40 WXKB (B103.9)/FORT MYERS
• Station of the Year, Small Market: BLISS COMMUNICATIONS/SOUTHERN WISCONSIN BROADCASTING News-Talk WCLO-A-W224DE/JANESVILLE, WI
• Iconic Station of the Year: ENTERCOM Classic Hits WCBS-F/NEW YORK

Before this year's ROCKWELL AWARD presentation, the organization presented ALL ACCESS founder JOEL DENVER with a trophy to replace the one he lost in the MALIBU fire last year.

FRED JACOBS presented the ROCKWELL AWARD to his brother, JACOBS MEDIA and jacAPPS' PAUL JACOBS, noting that "nobody has sat through more sales meetings at radio stations than PAUL, and he has the scars to prove it," and lauding PAUL for being behind the companies' creative and sales efforts ("the fulcrum, the heart and soul, the framework of the company").  "You've picked the right guy, CONCLAVE, once again," FRED proclaimed. PAUL's acceptance speech started with the warning that "the worst thing you can do is to hand a microphone to a sales guy," and he joked that he would prefer that the lifetime achievement award be a "halftime achievement award," then offered his appreciation for several people in the industry (including DENVER) and told a pair of stories from his sales career, prefacing both of them by joking "you don't want to hear me tell you this story," wrapping up with a list of things he said he'd learned in his career.

The Dickey Bros. Talk Past, Present, Future

MODERN LUXURY Chairman LEW DICKEY and his brother, ORA MEDIA CEO JOHN DICKEY, sat down with JERRY DEL COLLIANO for a talk about strategies for the future of the industry, starting off with DEL COLLIANO asking the brothers what they thought they did right and what they did wrong at CUMULUS; LEW DICKEY recounted the building of the company from a small-market operator to a major market company, in competition for acquisitions, with the competition driving up the prices and the resultant need to cut jobs leading to "pain." He said that the company could have remained a small-market company "and nobody would ever have heard of us," but growing into a larger company had the "unintended consequences" of leading the operation into trouble. JOHN DICKEY cited the effects of the 1996 Communications Act, recessions, and the ascension of the smartphone as reasons for the industry's troubles and the growth of digital, acknowledging that mistakes were made but not offering specifics.

When DEL COLLIANO raised the issue of the people whose careers were affected by the industry's downtown, LEW DICKEY admitted that operating a 100-market radio group would have been better if not centralized, but contended that centralization offered "basic controls" to improve operations in smaller markets. But JOHN DICKEY insisted that "this business isn't going away tomorrow," noting that "they still print Yellow Books," but admitted that business is declining and investors are going to look for a return and the companies will "have to learn to operate differently." He added that the industry will need to learn how to compete with digital, including geotargeting advertising to get more value for advertisers.

The conversation turned to reaching younger listeners who are not using radio, with the industry challenged by changing technology usage and cultural touchstones and tastes. LEW DICKEY called for the industry to enter a "serious investment cycle," putting money into new format and programming options, investing in producers, writers, and both audio and video content. "Radio needs to innovate its model," he said, contending that the industry needs to do so to create additional revenue streams. "What you're talking about," DEL COLLIANO responded, "is total revolution."

"The product as it stands today," LEW DICKEY said, "will appear less relevant three years from today."

Now We Know Our ABCs

The JACOBS brothers returned to offer a presentation styled as "Radio A to Z," covering in alphabetical order several issues affecting the radio industry, from artificial intelligence to zealots (radio's P1s), covering topics like hiring new entrants, on-demand programming, storytelling. smart speakers, podcasting, the challenge of getting younger generations to use radio, and others along the way.

NIELSEN's SCOTT MUSGRAVE followed with a presentation on streaming measurement and growth among different music formats, and how to use streaming figures for song selection in programming music stations.

That On-Demand Thing

The conference's podcasting panel, moderated by AMPLIFI MEDIA's STEVE GOLDSTEIN, included former FREE BEER AND HOT WINGS SHOW cast member and CUMULUS Sports WBBL/GRAND RAPIDS morning host ERIC ZANE, who is now podcasting;  HUBBARD/TWIN CITIES VP/Regional Manager DAN SEEMAN, discussing the conversion of Sports KSTP-A (1500 ESPN)/ST. PAUL-MINNEAPOLIS into a "digital first" Sports content production entity, SKOR NORTH; and iHEARTMEDIA Top 40 KDWB/MINNEAPOLIS morning co-host FALEN BONSETT, who hosts the podcast "HEARTBROKEN."

SEEMAN noted that the AM station, which airs some of the digital content, has value to advertisers still buying radio and for listeners who continue to look for their content on linear radio; he also discussed the slow build of female-oriented lifestyle Talk KTMY (myTALK 107.1) to become a top-3 station in its target demographics. BONSETT explained the genesis of the podcast as an extension of KDWB and from the breakup of her marriage, prompting her to create a show last AUGUST to let those also going through heartbreak tell their stories (and now drawing stories from listeners across the country). ZANE cited podcasting as a Plan B for which he prepared before he lost his job in WBBL's format change and while he waited out a six month noncompete, and noted that he has been able to monetize the podcast through merchandising and live events as well as paywalled additional content ("it's how we eat around the house now").

SEEMAN said that a study SKOR NORTH did for JOE SOUCHERAY's "GARAGE LOGIC" podcast (formerly a long-running radio show, now podcast-only) showed that 70% of listeners said they would patronize the show's sponsors, which SEEMAN termed "NASCAR-like" in fan loyalty.  He also discussed the "gut-wrenching" decision to move SOUCHERAY's show from broadcast to podcasting and said that the show is attracting a larger, younger, and more female audience than it did on AM radio. (Read more about the development of SKOR NORTH in this week's News-Talk-Sports "10 Questions With..." the station's afternoon co-host and Director of Content and Distribution PHIL MACKEY.) Meanwhile, ZANE said he is eager to add radio back into his mix to supplement podcasting, a combination he termed "unbeatable." ZANE said his show is doing 15,000-20,000 downloads a week; SEEMAN said that SOUCHERAY is seeing downloads of 10,000-15,000 per day, five days a week. And the panel cited the value of sticking to a regular schedule (BONSETT noting that she is consistent with her posting) and networking with other podcasts.

GOLDSTEIN followed the podcasting panel with a presentation on smart speaker strategies for radio. "This may be a significant moment in change" for content distribution, he contended, showing how the world has moved from point-and-click to touch to voice command. "Voice removes friction," GOLDSTEIN pointed out, adding a reference to a COMSCORE assertion that half of all searches will be conducted by voice command by 2020.

Closing the day's sessions, SOCAST's ERIC EISEN, still glowing from the TORONTO RAPTORS' NBA championship, moderated a panel on the importance of social media to radio, featuring BONNEVILLE AC KOIT-Classic Rock KUFX (KFOX)/SAN FRANCISCO PD BRIAN FIGULA (smarting from the WARRIORS' loss), ENTERCOM Top 40 WBBM-F (B96)/CHICAGO night host JULIA LEPIDI, ENTERCOM/ST. LOUIS OM/PD CAT THOMAS (representing the STANLEY CUP champion city), and iHEARTMEDIA Mgr., Social Media & Engagement CHELSEA MEMET.

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