The Radio Station The Radio Station offers a concise and insightful guide to all aspects of radio broadcasting, streaming, and podcasting. This book’s tenth edition continues its long tradition of guiding readers to a solid understanding of who does what, when, and why in a professionally managed station. This new edition explains what “radio” in America has been, where it is today, and where it is going, covering the basics of how programming is produced, financed, delivered, and promoted via terrestrial and satellite broadcasting, streaming, and podcasting. John Allen Hendricks and Bruce Mims examine radio and its future within a framework of existing and emerging technologies. The companion website is newly revised with content for instructors, including an instructors’ manual, lecture slides, and test questions. Students will discover an expanded library of audio interviews with leading industry professionals in addition to practice quizzes and links to additional resources. John Allen Hendricks (Ph.D., University of Southern Mississippi) has more than 20 years of experience as a media studies educator. He currently serves as Chairman of the Department of Mass Communication and holds the rank of Professor at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas, USA. Bruce Mims (Ph.D., University of Southern Mississippi) began his career as an electronic media educator in 1977. He currently holds the rank of Professor at Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, USA. The Radio Station Broadcasting, Podcasting, and Streaming Tenth Edition John Allen Hendricks Bruce Mims Tenth edition published 2018 by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 and by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2018 Taylor & Francis The right of John Allen Hendricks and Bruce Mims to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. First edition published by Focal Press 1986 Ninth edition published by Focal Press 2015 Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data A catalog record for this book has been requested ISBN: 978-1-138-21880-2 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-138-21881-9 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-21265-4 (ebk) Typeset in Giovanni and Franklin Gothic by Florence Production Ltd., Stoodleigh, Devon, UK Visit the companion website: www.routledge.com/cw/Hendricks Contents Foreword to the Tenth Edition—Erica Farber, Radio Advertising Bureau xi v About the Authors xiii Preface—Paul McLane, Radio World xv Acknowledgments xvii What’s New to This Edition of The Radio Station xxi CHAPTER 1 State of the Industry 1 Broadcasting 1 Is Radio Facing a Digital Cliff?—Larry Miller 7 Profits in the Air—The Business Model Evolves 9 What Do You Believe?—B. Eric Rhoads 10 Satellite Radio 14 The Connected Car 16 Four Visions of Radio’s Future—Jeffrey Wilkinson and August E. Grant 18 Mobile Music Services 20 The Impact of Mobile Listening on Radio—Glenda Shrader-Bos 21 Podcasting 22 The Astounding Growth of Podcasting—Jon Nastor 27 Streaming 29 When FM Met the Internet: The Way It Was, Is, and Will Be—Mike Englebrecht 37 HD Radio 40 Public Radio/Noncommercial Radio 43 On Public Radio—William Siemering 47 Radio Regulations and Government Oversight 49 Chapter Highlights 51 Suggested Further Reading 52 CHAPTER 2 Station Management 57 Nature of the Business 57 Small-Market Radio Management—Ken Sibley 58 The Manager as Chief Collaborator 60 What Makes a Manager? 62 The Manager’s Duties and Responsibilities 66 Radio Economics—August E. Grant and Jeffrey Wilkinson 68 The Manager and Industry Associations 70 The Qualities That Make a Station Manager—Norman Feuer 72 Managing the Cluster 73 Human Resources—Dick Oppenheimer 74 The Manager and the Profit Motive 76 vi CONTENTS What Makes a Successful Radio Manager?—Paul Fiddick 79 The Manager and the Community 80 The Manager and the Government 81 Ten Regulatory Issues Any Broadcast Station General Manager Needs to Consider—David Oxenford 81 The Manager and Unions 87 Chapter Highlights 88 Suggested Further Reading 89 CHAPTER 3 Music Programming and Consultancies 91 Program Formats 91 On Public Radio—Mike Janssen 106 The Programmer 107 The PD’s Duties and Responsibilities 109 Market-Based Programming Decision-Making—Mike McVay 111 Multitasking Program Directors and Their Need for Air-Personality Coaches— Lorna Ozmon 115 Programming a Cluster Operation 116 Day-by-Day Program Management at a Station Cluster—Brad Carson 117 Satellite Radio Programming 119 Elements of Programming 119 How a Song Hook Can “Hook” a Listener—Michael Pelaia 120 A Radio Station Isn’t Just a Radio Station Any More—Peter Stewart 124 The PD and the Audience 125 FOMO: The Fear of Missing Out—Leslie Whittle 126 The PD and the Music 127 Eight Things Broadcasters Should Know About Music Royalties—David Oxenford 129 Managing the Music Library 133 Advice to Programmers—Frank Bell 134 The PD and the FCC 134 The PD and Upper Management 136 Program Consultants and Syndicators 137 Program Suppliers 138 Syndicator Services 139 Producing The Bobby Bones Show—Ray Slater 140 Chapter Highlights 142 Suggested Further Reading 144 CHAPTER 4 Sales 147 Commercialization: A Retrospective 147 Outlook for Local Broadcast Radio’s Competitiveness—Rick Ducey 147 Selling Airtime 149 Becoming an Account Executive 151 The Sales Manager 155 Radio Sales Tools 156 Hispanic Radio: Bias in the Buying Process—David Gleason 161 Points of the Pitch 162 Levels of Sales 165 Profit Should Not be the Sole Reason We Are in Business—Wolf Korgyn 166 Spec Spots 167 Objectives of the Buy 168 Prospecting and List Building 170 Planning the Sales Day 171 Selling Personality—Jason Insalaco 171 CONTENTS vii Selling With and Without Numbers 172 Advertising Agencies 173 Rep Companies 174 New Revenue Sources: Websites, HD Radio, Streaming, Digital, and Podcasting 175 Podca$hing In—Jason Insalaco 181 Radio 2.0: Today’s Local Integrated Solution Provider—Weezie Kramer 183 Nontraditional Revenue 185 Trade-Outs 187 Traffic and Billing 187 What is Traffic? (No, We Mean the Other Traffic)—Larry Keene 189 Chapter Highlights 198 Suggested Further Reading 199 Appendix 4A: RAB Guide to Writing Great Radio Copy 201 Appendix 4B: Socast media: Why Mobile Apps Are Essential for Digital Success 208 Appendix 4C: Socast Media: How to Monetize On-Air Content Through the Web and Social Media 215 CHAPTER 5 News, Talk, and Sports 223 Introduction 223 Great Journalists Are Terrific Storytellers—Steve Jones 224 Local Radio News—Holland Cooke 227 The Newsroom 228 The All-News Station 230 What Makes a Successful News Radio Station?—Andy Ludlum 232 Traffic Reports 233 The Electronic Newsroom 234 Boston Herald Radio—Jay Williams, Jr. 237 The News Director 239 What Makes a Newsperson? 241 What it Takes to Work at the Boston Herald Corporation—Jeff Magram 245 Organizing the Newscast and Other Programming Elements 246 How Do You Create That Special Connection Between Station and Listener?— Tim Scheld 247 Wire Services—Audio and Internet 249 Radio Network News and Syndicator Services 251 News in Music Radio 254 News/Talk/Information 254 FM Talk 256 Radio Sportscasts and All-Sports Format 256 Station Websites, Podcasts, and Social Media 259 Turning the Titanic: One Man’s Tale of Digitizing Radio—Jeremy Sinon 260 Radio News/Information/Sports and the FCC 264 News Ethics 264 Chapter Highlights 267 Suggested Further Reading 268 CHAPTER 6 Research 271 Who Is Listening? 271 On Audience Research—Ed Cohen 272 The Ratings and Survey Services 273 Qualitative and Quantitative Data 276 From Paper to Electronic Measurement: The Portable People Meter 277 Developer Profile: Geoff Steadman 281 Audio and Radio Measurement—Radha Subramanyam 282 viii CONTENTS In-House Research Techniques 284 Music Research 285 Music Research—Carolyn Gilbert 286 Music Selection—Andrew Forsyth 288 Research Deficits 294 How Agencies Buy Radio 297 What a Research Company Does—Ted Bolton 297 The Future of Research in Radio 299 The Role of Research—Warren Kurtzman 299 Chapter Highlights 302 Suggested Further Reading 303 CHAPTER 7 Promotion 305 Promotions—Practical and Bizarre 305 How to Write a Social Media Policy for Your Radio Station—Seth Resler 309 The Promotion Director’s/Manager’s Job 311 Promotion Strategy—John Lund 314 Types of Promotions 317 What Are the Goals of Your Radio Station’s Website?—Seth Resler 323 Find a Parade and Join—Ed Shane 327 Promotions in the Digital Era 328 Sales Promotion 331 Budgeting Promotions 331 Promotions and the FCC 335 The FCC Has Written Good Contest Rules, Now You Should Too— Lauren Lynch Flick 335 Chapter Highlights 338 Suggested Further Reading 338 Appendix 7A: Assessing the Impact on Radio and Television Stations of the Federal Trade Commission’s Recently Revised Guidance on Endorsements and Testimonials 340 CHAPTER 8 Production 349 A Spot Retrospective 349 Formatted Spots 351 The Production Room 352 The Control Room 353 Audio Console 355 Considerations