Everything's Fine

It occurred to me while listening to the panels at the Talk Show Boot Camp this week that what talk radio needs is a therapy session.

There was a significant amount of self-congratulation by radio people here about the talk and news formats' good ratings fortune in the last year, which is understandable if you're willing to credit the medium more than the election that provided the formats with a practically unprecedented amount of interest. All is well again, the thought went. See? We're relevant. There was even growth in 18-34, which some people were willing to ascribe to the young folk finding AM talk radio -- it can be done! -- although when I asked what the real numbers were, nobody had the answer. My comment was that 10 percent of nothing is still nothing, so it would be helpful to know what the percentage boost in that demographic (and, for that matter, 25-54) represents. For that, I think I instantly became the Official Wet Blanket of Radio. But I think it's a question that needs to be addressed.

Also good questions: How long will the boost last? If the numbers are still low for 18-34 but those listeners ARE listening to political talk, just not the political talk on the radio (hint: podcasts), what does that say about how broadcast radio is really performing? If talk radio used to appeal to 25-54 and is now a 55-plus thing, and the theory has always been that young people "age into the format" when they have to pay taxes and mortgages and perform other "adulting" duties, is that assumption still valid? So many questions, so few answers. You ask why I get cynical and irritated, there's your answer.

I understand the need for people in the business to tell each other, and themselves, that all is well. I understand the desire to rely on things like "93% reach!!!" and the attitude that if only (we had FM chips in cell phones) (we tell our story better) (insert other theories here), there'd be no problem and radio would be back on the old growth trajectory and we can all get to the open bar cocktail party faster. But ignoring looming -- forget looming, call them currently existing -- problems doesn't help solve them.

The obvious joke here is that talk radio needs to enter a 12-step program, the first step being admitting that it has a problem. But there is no 12-step for business (none of which I'm aware, at least). So what I'd love to see is something like this: Lock everyone in a room and tell them to kick around ideas to address the problems until they have some concept of how to proceed, as an industry or as individual companies or however it will work. Sit in a big circle, kick reporters (that would be me) out of the room, and trade your wildest ideas. I'm not talking collusion, I'm talking about a real, unstructured brainstorming session. And include people from every level, from CEOs and executives to talent, board ops, consultants. No idea too outlandish. Talent development, best use of various platforms, imaging and marketing and new spoken word formats, broadcast and digital, everything on the table.

The other option is that we can congratulate ourselves and be back at square one when the gift of a political firestorm goes away and listeners are looking for something other than what we're doing now. That day will come. It might be a good idea to start now. Or in 2003, but we're a little late for that.

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In the meantime, you still have to create good talk radio, or podcasts, and for that there's plenty of great material at All Access News-Talk-Sports' Talk Topics, available by simply clicking here, and while you're at it, please go ahead and follow the Talk Topics Twitter feed at @talktopics with every story individually linked to the appropriate item, too. And there's the Podcasting section at AllAccess.com/podcasts.

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If you made it to Talk Show Boot Camp in Atlanta this week, I hope you said hi -- and thanks to Don Anthony and Gabe Hobbs for another great event with so many of the format's A-listers here. Reminder: I'll also be at the NAB Show in April in Vegas, and, of course, on May 3rd through 5th, I'll be at All Access' own Worldwide Radio Summit, for which you can register here. And there'll be more, because conventions are what I do. See you somewhere.

Perry Michael Simon
Vice President/Editor, News-Talk-Sports
AllAccess.com
psimon@allaccess.com
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