The Wires (Oct 10, 2007)

(read more - Hartford Courant) From Kevin Hunt -- HD Radio still has a lot to prove, starting with its relevancy. Will people turn off their satellite radios, pause their iPods or fold shut their MP3-loaded cellphones to flip on a newly digitized AM/FM radio? Uh, not so far. Despite more radio stations' shifting to the new digital technology licensed by Ibiquity Digital Corp. (ibiquity.com), HD Radio is still in the Perez Hilton stage: loved by some, unknown or unwanted by most

(read more - Forbes) From Brian Wingfield -- Forbes lists The Worst Jobs for the 21st Century -- An endangered species: journalists. Radio announcers will have a tough time, too. Station consolidation, advances in technology and a barren landscape for new radio stations will contribute to a 5% reduction in employment for announcers by the middle of the next decade. Even satellite radio doesn't seem immune from the changes. The two major companies, XM and Sirius--which now have plans to merge--have regularly operated in the red.

Hear 2.0: From Mark Ramsey -- Here's what Arbitron tells me: For Spring 2007, 6,746 stations reported to Arbitron that they stream. Of the 14,829 FCC-licensed AM and FM stations on file, that’s 45.5%. Now obviously the streaming proportions rise as the market size rises. But are you as alarmed as I am that so few radio stations actually have an online stake in their future?

Inside Music Media: From Jerry Del Colliano -- Interestingly, most of my students did their mid-term papers on the problems of the music industry or the potential of interactive media. One addresses the decline of the radio industry. I thought you’d like to know what one student, Agatha Karmelita, said in addressing the radio industry. Let’s say she’s a consultant and the price is right

Radio and Records reports that Black Journalists Group Seeks To Halt Imus Return. The National Association of Black Journalists wants to derail the return of Don Imus to the airwaves before his train leaves the station and has called out to all media to drop any discussions with the 65-year-old talk host that would give him “a forum to continue his history of racial insults.’

The Wires (Oct 9, 2007)

Christian Science Monitor: On February 17, 2009, it could snow all across America. Not outside, but in living rooms, on TV sets. That's the date when broadcasters will switch to digital transmission, rendering millions of standard analog TVs useless. Consumers can avoid this whiteout, but only if they're prepared. And there's the challenge: How to inform the roughly 20 million households relying exclusively on analog sets that pull in their reception for free, through rabbit ears or a rooftop antenna. Analog TVs that receive cable or satellite will not be affected

Inside Music Media: From Jerry Del Colliano -- In the formative days of radio, preachers used to tell their flocks to put their hands on the radio before they asked them to put their hands in their wallets for donations. In radio, nothing changes. Now the forces that bring you “yesterday’s technology today” – HD Radio – are doing the same thing

The Rabbitt Report: From Jimmy Rabbitt -- This week in Rock n' Roll History -- “Never My Love” rose to its peak position of #2 on the Billboard chart this week in 1967. The Association’s recording was the first of several versions to become a hit, followed by The 5th Dimension in 1971 and Blue Swede in 1974. The song is listed as the second most played song in the 20th century, by the BMI music publishing group, with over 7 million plays. “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” was tops with over 8 million plays of versions by The Righteous Brothers, Hall and Oates, Dionne Warwick and others

Hear 2.0: From Mark Ramsey -- Streaming Internet Radio in your Car. This is what I call "geekcasting." It's an awful lot of technical trouble to go through to hear streaming radio in your car, but it's yet another sign of a trend which is inevitable: Mobile Internet audio competing for time with your terrestrial radio station

Imus Returns: Don Imus expected to take over mornings at WABC/New York beginning December 1, as Citadel CEO Suleman says Imus has "paid the price for what he did

Radio Ink: Peer-To-Peer Defendant Plans To Appeal. BRAINERD, MN -- October 8, 2007: Jammie Thomas, who was ordered by a jury to pay $220,000 in damages to seven RIAA member labels after being ruled liable for copyright infringement via the KaZaa peer-to-peer network, says she plans to appeal.

Happy Hare: WCBS-FM scored a coup by resurrecting classic radio in the New York Market . Bravo! Dan Mason, programmers, and jocks. Now -- while we are at it, lets move on to the next generation of radio. where the hand of man has never set foot. The term “Boomer Radio” is being swept up, so may I suggest a name that says it all? It’s “The Gold Rush” “Rush” as in Euphoria. The original Gold Rush created a euphoric rush across the western prairies despite hostile Indians, brackish water and hellish heat till the 49’ers reached California and began panning frantically…for Gold!!! Actually, if there were a golden song hit in the old west, literally with a bullet, in those days, I heartily suggest playing it even today, not in heavy rotation but, occasionally “framing” it, as you programmers term it. Why not open the Pandora’s Music Box and play everything in it. There’s gold in that there box. Shame just to leave it there. Over the years, during which they were mercilessly dissed by marketers, Boomers’ tastes broadened. They had to. No one was playing Oldies. Now, Boomers will listen to most anything. Consider “Oh Brother Where Art Thou?” Try to figure that one out for any reason other than that it was a fun CD.