The participants discussed the shift in advertising revenue from traditional radio to the Internet citing statistics which indicated that, in 2007, for the first time in history, Internet ad revenue surpassed radio ad revenue and that that trend continues. The point was made that the slow economy is something that cannot be overlooked as a challenge to all as ad spending is down across the board. All of this impacts the ability of small businesses to gain access to capital. However, even with the challenges faced by radio, weekly radio listenership still dominates across all forms of media. This led to an exploration of the unique value that radio offers to the public. It is positioned to best serve local markets as well as national interests, e.g., Census 2010 and voter education.
In that vein, the roundtable participants turned to a lively exploration of creative strategies and innovative business models that could take advantage of the new technologies. There was a demonstration of some of the capabilities and applications that currently exist today, such as online radio, and discussion of some of the collaborations that may result in a happy marriage between the traditional broadcast of radio and broadband. The goal for all of us is to ensure that minority radio adapts new methods of delivering content, expands across a multimedia platform, and thrives in this digital age of communications.
We are looking forward to continuing what has proven to be a very productive conversation.
When will we deal with the monopoly of talk radio? Is it true that 91 percent of talk radio is conservative? I believe that the Fairness Doctrine was an important law and since it was repealed a monopoly has been built.
I know that law will never be reinstated, but we need to at least have some accountability in place when national and then local hosts incite hatred, cherry pick facts and spread misinformation to support a Corporate agenda.
Free speech is one thing, but an honest, accurate and responsible media is also very important for a democracy to thrive.
I live near Charlotte, NC and the prominent talk channel shuts out debate or opposition viewpoints constantly. There is no option for an honest,fact based local dialogue. As a woman, would I be considered as a minority and have an opportunity to broadcast in my area? If so, I would like to know how to go about that. Thanks