This is the article I wrote for Al Peterson's special NAB publication which he released in Philly this week. It is a perspective on the future for radio.

There are two major factors that will continue to impact all forms of Talk radio. The first is the continuing emergence of new communication channels for consumers that will fuel even more fragmentation, or specialization, depending on whether you view it as a threat or an opportunity. The second is demand for content and that will only increase. Too often in our industry we get hung up on ‘broadcasting’ and playing by the ‘old school’ premises. Some of those premises continue to be valid fundamentals, while others
impede our ability to move into the future. If you’re living in a 1980s or 1990s radio mindset, you will most assuredly struggle.

We are no longer in the ‘broadcasting’ business, we’re all in the communications
business. We communicate entertainment, information, insight and perspective. Even more importantly, it’s the consumer who now has control. Our content becomes important to consumers when it is unique and has value for them. If we meet those two criteria we can be successful, but only if the content is available via
channels beyond the traditional over-the-air signal. Integrating multiple platforms for content that we produce gives the consumer the flexibility they want. One of the best examples of implementing this approach is ESPN Radio. They have done a remarkable job delivering content using multiple platforms to extend their reach.

Another by-product of current fragmentation and the increase in communication tools is that we must adapt new marketing vehicles. There are no more ‘broad’ reach vehicles. We have to be smart in using these new tools such as Twitter, text messaging Facebook, and others to reach pockets of potential listeners and draw them into the brand that we create. We must be creative, evolutionary and continually
striving to reinvent, or we will quickly follow in the path of the auto industry!