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10 Questions with ... Charlie Harger
October 27, 2009
Have an opinion? Add your comment below. -
BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
- Workaholic. Three career paths, parallel.
- RADIO: Started at Live 95 FM in Centralia, WA as overnight jock. Now FT social media director and news anchor for KOMO Newsradio, and FT voicetrack jock for out-of-market station.
- INTERNET: Microsoft/Windows Media, in charge of signing up radio stations to stream online in late ‘90’s, couple streaming startups, back to Microsoft to host podcasts, now a principal at a social media startup.
- COLLEGE: Instructor of radio and new/social media at Green River Community College since 2001, working with college stations KGRG AM/FM.
1. You've been way ahead of the curve in your involvement in new media and, for one, podcasts. At this stage, do you see podcasting becoming a viable business, as opposed to being a hobby or a promising but as-yet-unfulfilled proposition? If it's not there yet, when will it be?
Not yet, but the baby is 9 months along and is going to pop out any minute now. I think podcasts are an essential part of business for businesses trying to do social media... and they provide great value.
Standalone podcasts are almost ready for primetime, and Adam Carolla is going to lead the way. Seriously. He’s familiarizing a large audience with the concept, and his deal with CBS this month (wherein CBS Radio stations promote his podcast on-air, and handle some sales components) is going to get even more listeners. Combine that with a lot of radio professionals who are looking for work right now, and you have the ingredients for a big success.
I find myself listening to streaming radio and podcasts a LOT on my iPhone lately. I enjoy listening to stations like 1010 WINS while driving down the streets of Seattle. I suspect a lot of people are going to enjoy it in the not-so-distant future.
2. You teach broadcasting and new media to college students; do you perceive, as some critics charge, that younger people don't place the same value on radio as older listeners? What DO they think of radio these days?
My impression is that they have a lot more choices today than they did even five years ago. That doesn't mean they don't like radio, it's just that radio has to do a lot more to cut through the competition.
The quicker radio can become platform-neutral (expanding the brand online) the better.
But instead of me answering, they can speak for themselves:
3. In the same vein, as someone who's worked on the new media side and in broadcasting, what do you think radio will be like in ten years? Will it be the same, will the delivery mechanism be different, who will be working in it?
I tell my students It’s going to be an innovative decade. There will still be a sizable market for over-the-air radio. However, IP (wireless internet in the car and home) radio and on-demand radio (podcasts)are going to be a reality. Think about this: what’s to stop a large company like Google from putting together an online radio station that approximates the sound of your station. They could take local information from blogs and wire copy. They could put together a ton of these "local" stations, broadcast out of the Silicon Valley, and do it at a fraction of the cost of a traditional radio ownership group.
People are going to be "voting" a lot more on the music they’re hearing on your station. Listeners will be your best advocates - you do a good broadcast, and they’ll immediately let all of their friends on their social network know.
I happen to think there will be a lot of opportunity for young people entering the industry, and vets who keep on top of changing technology and embrace it are going to be just fine. The platform may be different (an iPhone instead of a radio, for example), but the need for good content will always be there.
4. What, in your opinion, should radio stations be doing with social media? What are the key things they can or should be doing right away with Twitter, Facebook, and the like?
You need to understand the societal shift happening right now. Young people (your future P1's) are very distrustful of anything they hear on traditional media. They don’t want the "voice of God" broadcaster telling them what music they HAVE to listen to. They don’t trust traditional media to tell them the truth.
They want a conversation. They want to know they are being heard. They don’t want you to take yourself too seriously, as the ultimate authority. By engaging your listeners online and showing them a peek behind the curtain, showing them actual human beings work at your station, you’re moving in the right direction.
5. About what are you most passionate these days?
I am very interested in watching traditional media companies try to figure out the future of the industry. Working in old media and new media, I truly feel we’re about to enter a new golden age of broadcasting.
6. You've interviewed a lot of people for KOMO; who's been the best guest so far? (And, if you're willing to spill it, who's been the worst?)
Best: I interviewed Barack Obama last year when he was running for president, and he called me "brutha." That’s something I know I won’t forget.
Worst: One of the Phelps daughters from the Westboro Baptist Church.
7. Who are your mentors and inspirations in the business?
I work with a great group of people over at KOMO Radio, I’ve learned so much from them over the past seven years. Bob Rivers at KZOK got me my first gig at Microsoft 12 years ago, and has continued to be very kind to me. Bobby Hart at KRXY drilled into my head "tight, bright, timely and topical" over a decade ago, and he’s a delight to work with. But I owe most of my success to Tom Evans Krause, whom I met as a student broadcaster at Green River Community College. A lot of industry vets owe Tom. He’s got as sharp of an ear for broadcasting as anyone, and it’s a real honor to be a colleague of his now.
8. What do you do for fun?
In addition to my *ack* four jobs, I also have a 16-month-old daughter, and a very understanding wife. So it’s family time for me. I am also a homebrewer, and could make you a tasty bottle of beer.
9. Fill in the blank: I can't make it through the day without _______________.
Sorry to be so predictable: internet.
10. What's the best advice you've ever gotten? The worst?
The best and worst advice is as follows: "It’s only live radio."
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