Headlines

This was a stand-alone event for 101.1 ESPN in Peoria. The station held a one-day radiothon last week and raised $10,000 for the Peoria Area Food Bank.

With nearly 80,000 commercials airing on radio stations across the country, the United States Social Security Administration was the number one advertiser on radio last week, according to Media Monitors.

(By Buzz Knight) Once we return to some form of normalcy look for companies of all types to place greater importance on using data along with their brightest strategic thinkers to inform how they can plan for every conceivable scenario in the future.

Both Robert Feder in Chicago and The St. Louis Post-Dispatch are reporting big layoffs at Hubbard stations in those cities. In St. Louis, 26-year sports talker Bernie Miklasz was one of 20 let go. All of the layoffs are being blamed on the coronavirus situation.

Steve Goldstein, Amplifi Media, pulls no punches with some frank perspective on radio, podcasting, and how both have handled the pandemic crisis in our latest coronavirus update hosted by Radio Ink Publisher Deborah Parenti. He also offers some smart speaker listening tips every radio station needs to consider to better compete on that platform. LISTEN

This Thursday, Beasley Media Group stations in Fayetteville, Augusta and Charlotte will host a free 30-minute webinar to help restaurant owners and managers directly impacted by the pandemic.

(By Randy Lane) I value my decades-long friendship and creative partnerships with Bert Weiss of The Bert Show and Kevin Rolston of The KVJ Show (Kevin, Virginia & Jason). During this time of unprecedented change, true innovators like Bert and Kevin step up to the task.

(By Bob McCurdy) Last week I referenced a study that focused on radio’s audience retention during commercial breaks. We’ve all run into advertisers who claim that whenever a commercial break comes on, the listener immediately changes the station. This latest study’s results corroborate previous research on the subject.

RAB’s next Open for Business live-video will feature Borrell CEO Gordon Borrell and President Jim Brown who will unveil a new presentation called Crisis Marketing: Are you Ready for the Grand Reopening? Details HERE.

(By Loyd Ford) This week I was on a conference call with a radio group and the book “Positioning:  The Battle for Your Mind” by Al Ries and Jack Trout was discussed. I realized quickly that most of the people on the call hadn’t read the book.