Media Info Bureau

What's a "deal killer"? How can you avoid them? To help best answer these questions, Garvey Schubert Barer communications attorney Erwin Krasnow and DEFCom Advisors CEO Doug Ferber created a new limited series of podcasts based on a 2017 Media Information Bureau column on this very subject. RBR+TVBR Editor-in-Chief is the host, and the guests are the operating partners of Community Broadcasters.

Mick Mulvaney, for those of you who don't follow Washington politics, is the current head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. He's said a thing or two about lobbyists. Why should this matter to radio and/or TV station owners? This column from Media Information Bureau featured columnist Ken Benner explains it all. It could make your lawyers testy.

We've read about the #MeToo movement. But, did you know there's also a #SeeHer movement, led by the Association of National Advertisers (ANA)? The people behind #SeeHer teamed up with TiVo for a research study on ads that feature women. What does it find? Positive portrayals matter.

AM and FM station owners are giddy over the opportunities that smart speakers bring for increased listening in the home. Now, data from Edison Research's just-released "The Infinite Dial: Heavy Radio Listeners" finds that one in five of broadcast radio's biggest users already own such a device.

"Many agree that Facebook needs to make some changes," Bloomberg View columnist Michael Strain wrote in an April 20 column. Four days later, the digital and social media giant started to make some changes, at least on Capitol Hill. It put a former FCC head in a lead D.C. role. Will this make "fixing Facebook" any easier? What does that mean for radio and TV?

The following column from Media Information Bureau featured writer Ken Benner has been requested by at least three licensees over the past few weeks. Why? "This is apparently due to the recent requirement to place public files online." As a public service to broadcast radio and TV stations across the U.S., Benner is pleased to provide his "Handout Sheet No. 34." It could just save you hundreds of dollars in potential forfeitures, with checks made payable to the FCC.

Recording artists Brant Menswar and Jim Trick recently conducted a survey to determine the ways people want to make change in their lives and the biggest obstacles stopping them. The results are in, and they could help you as a manager while also aiding you in reaching your own personal achievement goals.

Is it possible to fix a motivation problem with a sales rep? The Answer: "Sometimes," says expert sales coach Barrett Riddleberger. This depends on several factors, which Riddleberger discusses in this video podcast presented by RBR+TVBR's Media Information Bureau.

Republican FCC Commissioner Michael O'Rielly's push to heavily modify or erase the agency's "KidVid" regulations is largely fueled by his belief that the rules are outdated, with children largely consuming Video on Demand (VOD) choices, over-the-top (OTT) sources and cable TV channels that offer kids' programming 24/7. Nowhere is it being argued that children are tuning out TV, although broadcast TV ratings during "KidVid" hours are a far cry from years past. In fact, new research from U.K.-based Futuresource Consulting suggests that watching the big screen remains the activity that children dedicate the most time to.

The CMO Council today released a report that investigates how some of the nation's top marketers and advertising decision-makers are calling for more transparency. Titled "Engage at Every Stage: An Investigation of Video Activation," this study finds that inaccurate, questionable and false digital media reporting measures have already caused 21% of marketers to pull back on advertising spend. Additionally, the study finds that media spend in this area will be very much linked to reporting accuracy. Is this another opportunity for radio and TV to strike back at digital and social media?

"I must be the happiest, passionate and most peaceful person in radio today ... and I don’t even work inside a radio station." Those are the words of Kelly Orchard, who spent 20 years operating family-owned radio stations and is today a licensed psychotherapist and alternative FCC compliance specialist. In this exclusive column, Orchard diffuses the ticking time bomb of "living with the daily pressure most broadcasters experience." There's a way to get rid of that negativity. Here are her suggestions for how to achieve that goal.

It's been suggested by the head of the BBC that "the smartphone generation is our biggest challenge." RBR+TVBR Editor-in-Chief Adam R Jacobson has a one-word response to the Beeb: Bullocks. In his view, radio and TV can continue to win by "doubling down on your biggest asset." What would that be?

At the end of 2013, more than 60% of the U.S. population owned a smartphone. The latest research showed that many of them are actively researching local businesses on the fly. That led Martin Kristiseter, today a senior VP at Marketron Digital, to pen a Media Information Bureau column that concludes Radio, whose audiences are predominantly local, can play a huge role in leveraging mobile to help local retail. In turn, mobile, which is far-reaching, can boost local radio. We revisit Kristiseter's column more than four years later, as his advice still holds true today.

For one hour on Wednesday CMO Inc. founder Peter Horst and Jebbit president and co-founder Jonathan Lacoste made some predictions and "bold claims" in the wake of a marketing and advertising world controversy surrounding Facebook, third-party data use, and dollar allocation from brand managers. Our Editor-in-Chief tuned out halfway through, upon realizing that, in his view, ads on Instragram are a complete waste of money and that radio was a much better ROI delivery vehicle. Do you agree? Read on.

Boy, is Media Information Bureau featured columnist Ken Benner cantankerous today. Is he sizzling from the Tucson heat, or because of his continued frustration with Washington politics and its impact on not only the FCC but your stations' bank account? Yeah ... it would be the latter, as he suggests the FCC modernize its rules by ditching its Public File rules altogether. Say what? Read on and see if you agree.