Success follows those adept at preserving the substance of the past by clothing it in the forms of the future.
Dee Hock
Founder and CEO, Visa International
All those opinions on the future of traditional media are dizzying: newspapers are old news; television has no vision; radio--well, few talk of radio.
Maybe that is because radio is a part of our past that will continue to be a part of our future. But even radio isn't immune to the dramatic changes in the media scene.
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There are just about as many radio listeners as any time in modern history.
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There are just fewer radio advertisers than any time in modern history.
Even still, radio powers consumer awareness and consumption of the events, the services and the products America purchases.
Sure, online venues (social media, blogs, micro-blogs, search engines, email marketing--to name a few) are growing new viewers and increasing time spent with media. But new media seem to be getting their minutes from television viewing and magazine/newspaper reading. Radio is staying steady.
Today, radio is a great place to be...perhaps because, for the last few decades, we have been building communities centered around the things our audiences like. That's why building online communities is easier for radio leaders than just about any other medium. Online may be the form of the future, but radio is the substance of the past.
The future isn't what it used to be.
Yogi Berra
Former Catcher and Manager, New York Yankees
