More Conventional Wisdom

Friday morning, I walked into another talk radio conference and I was instantly transported to 2015. And 2010. And 2000. And 1995. Same people every year. Same topics. Same everything, a little grayer every year.

It is hardly news that the median age of traditional talk radio is a little on the old side. And it's not a secret that the industry hasn't really made an effort to reach Millennials or any other younger demographics. Or that it's not changing. Or that the general tone of talk radio conventions runs to circling the wagons and insisting all is well. I know this, and I go anyway, because someone has to.

And because I care. I do. I want talk radio to embrace new ideas and new talent. I believe that there's a place for talk radio in the future, even if radios themselves are supplanted by phones and voice controlled devices and brain chip implants. But there's a difference between that and the idea that talk radio is, as one speaker said, still "vibrant" or growing. Problems don't go away just because you refuse to acknowledge them.

Okay, then, how would I change things? You wanna pay me to consult you? No? Then... fine, I'll just give you some general observations:

-There's practically no acknowledgement of the concept of "entertainment." There's been talk about politics and free speech and, oh, I don't know, it kind of turns into a low droning sound after a while. But this is one branch of show business that forgets the "show" part. (And as I wrote this, Darryl Parks commented on that very thing on Facebook. He is so right.)

-Young doesn't mean just age. It doesn't mean age at all. It's a sensibility. There ARE a few -- just a few -- people under the age of 60 here, but even they reside in a Boomer-and-older world. Anybody here familiar with youth culture? I doubt that I could get a good debate going here on the merits of Harry Styles' solo album. Nobody here is likely to have formed an opinion about "13 Reasons Why"; fewer would have seen it. Then again, talk radio has allowed a few generations' worth of culture go by unnoticed.

-They are different animals in many respects, but podcasts, streaming, and video are where spoken word programming is going. The competition, especially coming from the public radio and related categories, approaches things very differently from how talk radio does it. Time to address that, both by embracing other forms of media and by creating content that reflects the changing expectations of the audience.

-No conference should ever be without Wi-Fi. Good thing I brought my own hotspot. (Okay, this has nothing to do with talk radio, but whatever.)

There, that's my own talk radio conference. No travel necessary, no panels, no missing Wi-Fi, no registration fee... in fact, no conference at all. Just constructive criticism for free. Although if you want to send me the money you saved, I'm good with that.

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I'll be on the east coast for the next week, so apologies if topics and other things show up at odd hours. I'll adjust to Eastern Time by the time I have to go back west.

Perry Michael Simon
Vice President/Editor, News-Talk-Sports and Podcast
AllAccess.com
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