NAB/RAB Virtual Radio Show Wraps Up Today

Final Day

The final day of the NAB and RAB's virtual RADIOSHOW 2020 included appearances by DAVE RAMSEY opening the proceedings and a panel of major market talent closing things out.

Registration for the virtual event totaled 2,143 registrants, compared to the average annual in-person attendance of 2,000 in recent years. NAB Pres./CEO GORDON SMITH said, “Although we regret not being able to meet in person, this week’s RADIO SHOW digital experience provided a welcome opportunity to connect and gain valuable insight on how to prevail during this difficult time and move forward as an industry. Thank you to all who participated and contributed to the RADIO SHOW’s success.”

RAB Pres./CEO ERICA FARBER added, “The RADIO SHOW is an industry favorite and having the opportunity to gather virtually and connect with broadcasters, advertisers, thought leaders and partners this week has been tremendously valuable. The good news is all RADIO SHOW content will continue to be made available for on-demand viewing should anyone want to re-watch a specific session or may have missed any of the sessions or presentations.”

RAMSEY's keynote recounted the challenges of 2020, and how his company's leadership philosophies, leaders, and teams were tested (and some "were proven to be bad"), resulting in changes to improve the operation. Comparing how the company reacted to the pandemic, he likened the process to how buffalo instinctively run into, rather than away from, storms, taking on the challenge to confront the facts and adjusting to the "reality of the economic disaster around COVID and COVID suppression." He said that his company did not have to lay off anyone and advertising revenues are up for 2020.

As for advice, RAMSEY stressed making principle-based decisions and communication, saying, "You have to overcommunicate the truth, even if it's bad." He noted that some businesses -- plexiglass, hand sanitizer, home improvement, car and boat sales -- actually increased sales in the pandemic and became good categories for ad sales, helping offset troubles for other radio clients.

After a brief presentation of stories about how radio dealt with the pandemic and provided community service by vCREATIVE's JINNY LADERER, a panel moderated by NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BROADCASTERS LEADERSHIP FOUNDATION Pres. MICHELLE DUKE looked at the radio industry's position on diversity and inclusion, with GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY professor MARCIA CHATELAIN opening the session by calling for accountability and cultivation of an inclusive culture. Building an inclusive environment, TOWNSQUARE MEDIA SVP/Human Resources ALYSSA GOLDBERG said, requires a buy-in from management and not just an HR initiative. HUBBARD News WTOP/WASHINGTON SVP/GM JOEL OXLEY added that the buy-in also has to be happening at the market level and not just at the corporate level, and needs to be adequately funded, even in the pandemic recession. "This is not (just) something to be checked off a list," OXLEY said. "It has to be part of your DNA."

As for the challenge of keeping the momentum going, NPR Chief Diversity Officer KEITH WOODS said that the problem arises when diversity and inclusion are treated as projects rather than a permanent part of the business; he also noted that the plans should not only be about hiring and retaining a workforce but needs to address content as well. And CHATELAIN, noting that initiatives like those being proposed today have happened in the past without being brought to fruition, likened businesses' failures in that regard to "planting seeds without watering them."

The show closed with an interactive panel with syndicated hosts JEFF "WOODY" FIFE, J-SI CHAVEZ, DEDE MCGUIRE, and BERT WEISS, BEASLEY Sports WBZ-F (98.5 THE SPORTS HUB)/BOSTON morning co-host RICH SHERTENLIEB, and HUBBARD AC WTMX/CHICAGO morning host ERIC FERGUSON, moderated by DON ANTHONY.

The panel discussed working remotely (FERGUSON and WOODY noting that, unlike most other shows, they have been doing their shows from the studio with few exceptions since the beginning of the pandemic; SHERTENLIEB, with a wife in a high-risk category, said he will likely be broadcasting from home until a vaccine is available); finding a rhythm while working remotely; the value (or, to WEISS, lack of same) of celebrity interviews; promotion during the pandemic; and talking about sports during the pandemic lull (SHERTENLIEB pointing to the avalanche of sports news that came out -- "four months of chaos" -- during the period when all sports were shut down). Sounding a note of concern, WEISS pointed to radio having been reliant on being the place listeners go for music and suggested that the industry needs to re-emphasize personality after a long period of talent being told to "get in and get out of the music" quickly.

« see more Net News