Weekly Earful

I’ve worked by myself at home since 1995. At some points I have absolutely felt lonely and that I needed human interaction or some social capital. But most days I am absolutely fine working alone. I have my little doggie by my side, I have a team I interact with on Slack, I might visit a local café and work there, and I teach yoga. So, I get out in my local community quite often. And that works we...

College radio stations have always been a place for free speech, and freestyle radio programming. Way back when, we had community stations like that. Folks would come in and volunteer their time, play some great music, read some poetry or short stories, and even read news that they gathered themselves; and got their neighbors involved too. I was heartened to read in the Columbia Journalism Review...

Hold up there Cowboy! You may want to save money by using A.I., but listeners don’t like fake. Radio Ink reports a study by Sounds Profitable showed listeners tuned out when they suspected AI-generated content. Nearly half of those surveyed said they’d probably stop listening if the content was presented by AI voices. Just about 20% of those questioned said they’d check it out. And get this, peopl...

Have you ever heard the phrase “you have to spend money to make money”? When you bring fear into the equation, and sock away what you have, it cheapens what you do. Especially if you are starting a new endeavor. Of course you have to spend money. Nobody ever started a business without spending something. Even if you get a loan, you are paying it back, so you are spending that money, you are not ho...

Sometimes are egos get out of whack, but not the way you might imagine. We may allow others to strong-arm or step on us (like a doormat), because our egos are not strong enough. Ego, according to some explanations, depicts arrogance, someone thinking of themselves first and not being considerate of others. But in Eastern philosophy, the ego may also be seen as something that helps us get along in...

I can’t tell you how many friends and acquaintances have told me they’ve been looking for a new job for the last year or more. Some have college degrees, some don’t. I’m not even sure that’s the problem anymore as there’s just a very competitive job market right now. If you’ve got the amount of experience someone is looking for, I don't think slapping a college degree on your resume makes that muc...

It's always a shame. It has always amazed me when there are communication breakdowns in the communication business. I remember working in Montana at a group of stations and it seemed like there were daily occurrences of folks not talking to each other. I guess it can be easier not to speak, then try to get along with someone who you just can't seem to agree with. As the years and cities have gone...

It’s more than the unofficial end of summer, Labor Day honors the hard work and achievements of American workers, following in Canada's footsteps. Here in the states it started in the late 19th century, then turned into a federal holiday. Many Americans see it as the end of summer and celebrate as such -- with parties, parades and barbecues. At the height of the Industrial Revolution in the U.S. m...

...when news was news and not a bunch of political stories that jumbled our brains? I've spoken about it before, and I'll say it again, there's a need to dip in and out of the news which has become even more prevalent this year. Back in the days when I started writing news, it was different, political stories took a backseat to the rest of our daily news consumption. A new report says people are n...

We are still golden! A new survey from the RTNDA with the Newhouse School at Syracuse University reports more radio stations are producing local news. The study showed just over 70% of the stations surveyed were running local news, a 6% increase over last year. This is the second year in a row the survey showed an increase, especially with commercial stations. Over 75% of commercial stations run l...

People are still listening... The latest research shows good old fashioned terrestrial radio still has a major share of daily audio time. According to Edison Research’s latest “Share of Ear” study, traditional AM/FM radio, which includes online streaming, captured over 30% of all audio listening among those 13 years of age and older. That means radio was the single largest source of audio consumpt...

For the nearly six decades the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) has been around, they have educated, entertained and informed. The CPB covers PBS, NPR and stations nationwide, some of which may be the only radio stations in many far reaches of the country. But Congress voted to take the funding from the Corporation for good. Some of these stations may be gone forever now, let's forget Elm...

The viral story that just won’t die. In this era of nonstop news, it feels like there’s a major news story everyday, but what of the stories that continue on and on and on and on? They are beyond so-called “evergreen”, or the kind “that have legs”. They are the stories that we wake up and go to bed thinking about, like a new lover, you can’t wait to see. I once worked at a major news network as a...

Remote News Service introduces “Smart News”... because if you keep reading and listening or watching the same news over and over again, it can adversely affect your mental health. Studies show the practice can trigger more anxiety and stress, and lord knows we don’t need that. Each week we've been sending radio stations so-called evergreen stories , and we are continuing that, with a bend towards...

Amongst the burgers, hot dogs and partying like it's 1776, lest us not forget the meaning behind 4th of July. 🌭🍔 The legal separation of the thirteen colonies from Great Britain happened during the American Revolution a couple days before the 4th. That's when the Second Continental Congress voted for a resolution of independence to declare the US would be independent from Great Britain's rule. 🇬...

Maybe you’ve seen it by now? A viral video of Tucker Carlson going after US Senator Ted Cruz from Texas regarding the Iran/Israel conflict. You may or may not know who Carlson is, he started out as a writer, then commentator. He has appeared on various major media outlets, none of which are hosting this kind of fiery, dare I say ballsy interviewing. What we are seeing on mainstream cable (not loca...

It’s been several years that I’ve been self-employed, but over the last couple, it’s become more evident that I am mostly a manager of humans, and not a full-time journalist. It’s really fine. I’m incredibly grateful - because it’s taught me how to be flexible, non-judgmental of other’s pain or suffering, and allow things to roll off my back (most days 🫤). Is it ever okay to talk back, or email o...

I was so excited to read about a group of teens way out east on Long Island ("The End") who started their own newspaper . The Ditch Weekly is aimed at the crowd in Montauk, a funky, yet weirdly upscale community, where I would live in a New York minute. 📰 Without the help of their parents, and really any adult, this group of 15 year olds spent last summer building a brand, before heading off to H...

What's this you say? What does my future bring, what is the future of media, of radio, of television and of print? 📻 📺 🗞️ If you're to visit the many forums (is that even a thing anymore?), or groups or pages on social media, it's all doom and gloom, "radio is dead" or "consolidation killed the medium". It's like the old man yelling "you kids get off my lawn!". With years, comes change, with cha...

It’s not really the first day of summer, but for many it IS. Memorial Day is the last Monday of May every year and the green light for so many to light up the barbecue or get on the road for their first trip of the season. But another time-honored tradition (and the main reason for the holiday) is to visit the grave of a fallen soldier. After all it’s a federal holiday in the U.S. where we reflect...

All Hands-on Deck. That was the email I sent to some of our team last week when we had nearly a third of our anchors out. Some were pre-planned days off, and some had to be spontaneous because they were sick or having technical issues. Sometimes it’s really, really quiet and I hear nary a word. Other days, it’s calling, texting, sending Slack messages and chasing every last person down that I can....

I was invited to a panel on the dearth of local news operations in Canada and America. And, after talking to my fellow panelists ahead of the event, I found they were way ahead of the curve than the U.S., even though they said it was the other way around. I'm not even talking about radio and television studios per se', I'm talking about newspaper operations too. Canada is working to beef up local...

It all started with one lawyer, a member of an Indigenous tribe who was elected president of Mexico. Since the economy was battered because of infighting, the new president had to default on debt payments to Europeans which did not go over well. France, Britain and Spain sent forces to Veracruz, Mexico, demanding to be repaid, and Britain and Spain worked it out with Mexico and withdrew. But Franc...

A radio station in the Pacific Northwest did what many do, flipped their format. But when Inland Northwest Broadcasting moved from Hot AC to Classic Hits on 102.5 KRPL for Pullman, WA and the Moscow, Idaho markets, they did something unheard of, they promoted local businesses around the clock, for free. Yes, it can be difficult to get advertisers, but what if you did one better than “a dollar a ho...

One of my favorite things to do each day at work is to read the trades. I see a lot of people retiring after so many years in the business. And on LinkedIn, I see folks touting longevity in their positions too. But what happens in 5 -10 years? Will we still be seeing this exceptionalism, or will we see so-and-so retired because A.I. was cheaper or, they were burned out after being a utility person...