"Trade show proves radio's in very serious trouble"

By: Art Vuolo

Today, I am back home from a whirlwind tour through the largest trade
show in the country. If you ever wondered where Simon & Garfunkel got
the inspiration for their hit song "At The Zoo," I can assure you it
was probably at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. I have
been attending this event for nearly 30 years, but this one was
different on a number of levels.

After consulting with several attendees, I came away with a few
observations. There were far too many people. It attracted over
140,000 people. The worst part was that (seemingly) nobody cares.
People are so into their own world with all of their technological
gadgets that they are oblivious to those around them. If you've ever
been in a store wondering when someone would ask if they could help
you, or felt you knew more about the product than they did, you will
know what I mean.

For someone like myself, with a profound love and passion for radio,
the 2008 CES proved once again that our beloved medium is in very
serious trouble. Interestingly, the satellite radio folks, who at one
time maintained some of the largest, costliest and most elaborate
displays in the North Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center, were
nearly non-existent last week.

Sirius was buried in a car stereo display with just a handful of
representatives, and XM was relinquished to small corners of the
Delphi and Audiovox booths manned by personnel unable to answer any
questions beyond the most basic. It was very disappointing.

We are living in a visual era, and radio is finding itself needing to
market more heavily and make far better use of their most visible
asset, their Web site. Webcasts, podcasts and other means for radio
stations to make themselves available to the listener on their
schedule is quickly becoming the norm.

It was a 40-minute search to find the iBiquity booth with the latest
innovations for HD Radio. After speaking with company president Robert
J. Struble, he shared my feeling that unless local stations start
putting some thought and financial backing into programming content
that people actually care about, HD Radio could be facing an up-hill
road ahead. Technically, it's great but what comes out of the speaker
needs work.

The announcement from Ford Motor Co. that they will start supporting
HD was welcomed news for the iBiquity camp, but since most major radio
companies are slashing budgets and cutting highpriced talent on their
primary frequency, how can we expect they'll support those "hidden"
secondary channels?

Troy-based Delphi, despite local downsizing, still maintained an
impressive display, but the emphasis was more on services like On-Star
and XM verses how good their AM/FM audio systems, in new General
Motors Corp. cars, actually are.

Many of you know that I produce a great deal of video about and for
radio stations, and the big buzz in video, was the announcement that
major support from the film industry seems to be in favor of the Blu-
Ray DVD High-Definition format. CBS Radio news recently said "Remember
Beta vs. VHS? Well, déjà vu, except this time it's blue (as in Blu-
Ray) vs. HDDVD." The mantra at the CES seems to be," if it's six
months to a year old, it's ready for the antique fair or the garage
sale." This is why so many of you are afraid to make major purchases
in electronics goods.

What is in store for radio? Well, according to some experts, your
favorite stations may be coming to you -- in the not so distant future
-- via your cell phone. In fact, the number of services cell phones
will soon deliver is downright scary. Personally, I just wish I could
have fewer dropped calls. Tony Novia, a longtime radio programmer and
format editor for industry trade Radio & Records is pumped about the
cell phone applications. In upcoming weeks, I will have more for you
about this new concept.

The big electronics show for this year is history, but as new things
develop, I will attempt to stay on top of the news. But right now, my
feet still hurt and my legs are sore. Each year, I keep hoping more
radio people would attend so they can see and hear what lies between
their tower and your ears. I ran into a few, including all-news WWJ-AM
(950) auto reporter Jeff Gilbert.

On the local scene, one of the big stories is the appointment of Tom
Bigby as the new operations manager of sports WXYT-FM (97.1) and AM
(1270). Oddly enough Bigby was a DJ at WXYZ in their music days back
in the 1970s. He was most recently program director at Philadelphia's
sports powerhouse WIP-AM (610). Another odd twist, WIP originated the
on-air chicken wing eating contest, that "Deminski & Doyle" made
famous on 97.1 FM during the WKRK days. Where might all this lead?

It leads me to the end of my first column of 2008. How lucky for me to
have it on the 13th.

* * * * * * * *

Art Vuolo has published the Radio Guide for more than 30 years and
runs Vuolovideo.com. Contact him at .

Reprinted from the Sunday Oakland Press, January 13, 2008

Posted by Mike Austerman on January 13, 2008 11:46 AM | Permalink

http://www.michiguide.com/archives/2...ios_in_ve.html

On Jan 13, 12:45*pm, IBOCcrock wrote:
"Trade show proves radio's in very serious trouble"

By: Art Vuolo

Today, I am back home from a whirlwind tour through the largest trade
show in the country. If you ever wondered where Simon & Garfunkel got
the inspiration for their hit song "At The Zoo," I can assure you it
was probably at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. I have
been attending this event for nearly 30 years, but this one was
different on a number of levels.

After consulting with several attendees, I came away with a few
observations. There were far too many people. It attracted over
140,000 people. The worst part was that (seemingly) nobody cares.
People are so into their own world with all of their technological
gadgets that they are oblivious to those around them. If you've ever
been in a store wondering when someone would ask if they could help
you, or felt you knew more about the product than they did, you will
know what I mean.

For someone like myself, with a profound love and passion for radio,
the 2008 CES proved once again that our beloved medium is in very
serious trouble. Interestingly, the satellite radio folks, who at one
time maintained some of the largest, costliest and most elaborate
displays in the North Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center, were
nearly non-existent last week.

Sirius was buried in a car stereo display with just a handful of
representatives, and XM was relinquished to small corners of the
Delphi and Audiovox booths manned by personnel unable to answer any
questions beyond the most basic. It was very disappointing.

We are living in a visual era, and radio is finding itself needing to
market more heavily and make far better use of their most visible
asset, their Web site. Webcasts, podcasts and other means for radio
stations to make themselves available to the listener on their
schedule is quickly becoming the norm.

It was a 40-minute search to find the iBiquity booth with the latest
innovations for HD Radio. After speaking with company president Robert
J. Struble, he shared my feeling that unless local stations start
putting some thought and financial backing into programming content
that people actually care about, HD Radio could be facing an up-hill
road ahead. Technically, it's great but what comes out of the speaker
needs work.

The announcement from Ford Motor Co. that they will start supporting
HD was welcomed news for the iBiquity camp, but since most major radio
companies are slashing budgets and cutting highpriced talent on their
primary frequency, how can we expect they'll support those "hidden"
secondary channels?

Troy-based Delphi, despite local downsizing, still maintained an
impressive display, but the emphasis was more on services like On-Star
and XM verses how good their AM/FM audio systems, in new General
Motors Corp. cars, actually are.

Many of you know that I produce a great deal of video about and for
radio stations, and the big buzz in video, was the announcement that
major support from the film industry seems to be in favor of the Blu-
Ray DVD High-Definition format. CBS Radio news recently said "Remember
Beta vs. VHS? Well, déjà vu, except this time it's blue (as in Blu-
Ray) vs. HDDVD." The mantra at the CES seems to be," if it's six
months to a year old, it's ready for the antique fair or the garage
sale." This is why so many of you are afraid to make major purchases
in electronics goods.

What is in store for radio? Well, according to some experts, your
favorite stations may be coming to you -- in the not so distant future
-- via your cell phone. In fact, the number of services cell phones
will soon deliver is downright scary. Personally, I just wish I could
have fewer dropped calls. Tony Novia, a longtime radio programmer and
format editor for industry trade Radio & Records is pumped about the
cell phone applications. In upcoming weeks, I will have more for you
about this new concept.

The big electronics show for this year is history, but as new things
develop, I will attempt to stay on top of the news. But right now, my
feet still hurt and my legs are sore. Each year, I keep hoping more
radio people would attend so they can see and hear what lies between
their tower and your ears. I ran into a few, including all-news WWJ-AM
(950) auto reporter Jeff Gilbert.

On the local scene, one of the big stories is the appointment of Tom
Bigby as the new operations manager of sports WXYT-FM (97.1) and AM
(1270). Oddly enough Bigby was a DJ at WXYZ in their music days back
in the 1970s. He was most recently program director at Philadelphia's
sports powerhouse WIP-AM (610). Another odd twist, WIP originated the
on-air chicken wing eating contest, that "Deminski & Doyle" made
famous on 97.1 FM during the WKRK days. Where might all this lead?

It leads me to the end of my first column of 2008. How lucky for me to
have it on the 13th.

* * * * * * * *

Art Vuolo has published the Radio Guide for more than 30 years and
runs Vuolovideo.com. Contact him at .

Reprinted from the Sunday Oakland Press, January 13, 2008

Posted by Mike Austerman on January 13, 2008 11:46 AM | Permalink

- http://www.michiguide.com/archives/2...roves_radios_i...

Dang - I B OC'Deed and Half-Crock,

You actually posted something interesting {by accident ;-}

However after reading the same article
my Subject Line would have been :
CES 2008 Proves Radio Ain't Dead Yet !
- In Serious Trouble May Be... But Dead 'No'

still listening to my 'free' over-the-air radio ~ RHF