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Strategic Radio Solutions, a strategic marketing firm specializing in media, announced the transition of their brand name to Strategic Solutions Research.

(by Paul Weyland) Broadcast stations bring me into their markets to visit with their local direct clients. Many of those meetings turn out great. I’m able to give a local direct decision-maker long-term marketing and advertising strategies. They appreciate the advice and usually start spending much more money than they were previously with the station.

I’ll make this one short. If you haven’t heard the news, here’s what I tell clients now. Social media is important. Absolutely. However, it is micro. That doesn’t mean it isn’t important. It’s personal.

In a recent release, media man Mark Ramsey made a number of astute observations about radio -- observations that deserve greater dissemination and, even more, serious consideration.

A post on Taz' Facebook page stated he passed away surrounded by Sharon and his children. "We read your beautiful posts to him to let him know that he was leaving this world surrounded by much love, friendship, and admiration. He was a fortunate man to have you all in his life. A funeral vigil will be held this Wednesday at 7pm; mass will held Thursday at 10:30am. Both will take place at the Franciscan Renewal Center in Paradise Valley, Arizona."

That's according to the latest Nielsen "State of The Media" report released Thursday. According to Nielsen, radio now reaches more Americans every week than any other platform, and that includes nearly every demo. Who says young adults are no longer listening to the radio? Nielsen says 93% of adult consumers over the age of 18 use radio on a weekly basis. Let's take a closer look at the numbers.

Since 1989, the Conclave has presented The Rockwell Award -- an annual lifetime achievement award -- to an individual of unquestioned accomplishment in the radio industry. And once again the Conclave is putting the voting for the individual to receive this honor in the hands of the industry.

It's taken awhile, partly because this was a very big deal being done in a very rough buying market. The $264 Million deal was first announced in early August of 2015 and today it's official. Larry Wilson's Alpha Media has closed on all 116 Digity stations in 26 markets. At the time the deal was announced the Digity properties were believed to have approximately $73 million in annual sales, according to BIA/Kelsey. Among the markets Wilson will now have a footprint are: West Palm Beach; San Jose; the suburbs of Dallas and Chicago; Greenville-New Bern, NC; Myrtle Beach, SC; Lincoln, NE; and Mankato, MN.

This has to be considered good news for the industry, especially in light of the strong Q4 Entercom reported and with a very competitive political battle underway for President. As always, the critics will point to iHeart's $20 billion in debt, and that's obviously fair, but an up quarter is an up quarter. iHeartMedia CFO Richard Bressler said he is very excited about the progress the company made in 2015.

Not only did COO Richard Bressler and Senior VP and Treasurer Brian Coleman sound confident iHeart would be able to tackle its debt issue, CRT Capital Group analyst Lance Vitanza did as well. Vitanza, who covers the company, told the San Antonio Express-News that iHeart's numbers showed real strength. "They were much better than I expected. I was pleased with the progress from the operating and liquidity standpoint.” Vitanza said the company should not have trouble meeting its debt obligations.