Media Info Bureau

And the prognosis is good!

On September 14 at the Radio Masters Sales Summit in Cincinnati, longtime radio sales and marketing trainer Jeffrey Hedquist will offer tips on how to create commercials for your client that are more effective and easier to produce. Ahead of the two-day event, which features an array of speakers focused strictly on sales, sales marketing, and sales management, we revisit Hedquist's thoughts on how to make an audio commercial bring greater ROI for the advertiser.

Last week, the FCC proposed changes to its rules governing children’s programming. "While the proposal is not as sexy as internet regulation, it is an important and overdue step toward updating the law to reflect the realities of the modern video marketplace," says Daniel Lyons, a visiting fellow at a D.C. think tank with lots of FCC sway.

A change of setting and the company of loved ones can shift your outlook. But, respected public relations professional and "Zoom expert" Rosemary Ravinal did not anticipate that her grandson, Mo, would provide a fresh perspective on storytelling during her visit.

It was early in 2010 when a husband and wife ownership team thought it would be a good idea to commemorate people they had worked with for many years. The Peels handed master control for what is today KTVH-12 in Helena, Mont., in the 1960s. Their idea was discussed with many. Today, we recall their legacy.

Five years ago I attended a media think tank hosted by the management of the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. The guest speaker was Bill Keller who was then the executive editor of the New York Times, a position from which he stepped down in 2011 to return to becoming a full time writer for the Times. The eruption of the financial crisis facing many papers across the nation was gaining full force at the time of Keller’s talk. The Boston Globe, which was then owned by the Times (Now owned by a group of Red Sox principals) was in particular financial stress as was the case at the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times and many smaller newspapers throughout the country. Draconian cutbacks were taking place in newspaper newsrooms, and those cutbacks and closings continue today. During the Q&A following Keller’s talk I asked if he felt a possible solution to maintaining strong print editorial departments was collaboration with television stations and local cable news channels in the local marketplace. Would the sharing of personnel allow for a bolstering of local news coverage and investigative reporting in both mediums?

Multicultural consumers comprise almost 40% of the total U.S. population, yet multicultural media investments make up only 5.2% of total advertising and marketing spending. That's according to PQ Media, which conducted a research study on behalf of an ANA group.

At the center of the dispute is STELAR’s compulsory license, which permits satellite providers to retransmit some broadcast signals at regulated prices without consent. Cutting to the chase, Phoenix Center's Chief Economist asks if broadcasters should charge whatever retransmission fee the market will bear.

"Fox’s early life as a new company has been nothing short of disappointing." Ouch. That's the assessment of the reborn Fox Corporation from Michael Nathanson, who laments that Fox has been hurt by multiple headwinds. As such, it has been able "to prove the superiority of their strategy and assets."

What gets in the way of excellence when you speak? As veteran public relations executive Rosemary Ravinal sees it, the barriers can be real or imagined, much like the mythological dragons that must be defeated or outwitted to achieve great power or gain good fortune.

As you read this, our Editor-in-Chief's mother-in-law is driving from South Florida to New York, as thousands of Snowbirds do each Spring. In years past, she could be tuning to a multitude of radio stations in between CDs. Today? Nope. This begs the question if Radio is missing out by not courting highway travelers, as it desires to be more local than ever.

Video consumption will continue to transition from traditional pay TV networks to streaming platforms in 2025, which will pressure linear TV networks in the U.S. That's a key finding from Seth Shafer, Senior Research Analyst at S&P Global Market Intelligence, offered in a 2025 Trends in Global Media report.

There are thousands of stories all around you. You simply need to understand what makes for good stories and how to use them for strategic communication, veteran public relations executive Rosemary Ravinal notes in this column.

Broadcasters were able to swim against the tide