J
Jul
Guest
What does the future look like for the conservative talk stations across the country now that Trump is President-Elect? Is this a good or bad thing for the stations and will the ratings go up or down?
-
Get involved.
We want your input!
Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.
After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.
After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/
Thanks in advance and have fun!
RadioDiscussions Administrators
The debate will get interesting as the Republican Congress battles with a so-called Republican President, who is used to having the power of the purse, and the ability to do whatever he wants. The Constitution doesn't allow for that. Trump is about to get a lesson in civics. I'm expecting a lot of heated battles over foreign policy, immigration, jobs, the tax code, the border wall and even such simple things as infrastructure. All of those decisions have to be made with Congress.
Last edited:
"and the ability to do whatever he wants."
There certainly has been no precedent of a prior president (current) doing what he wants....or making his own rules without Congress! The Democrats had better NOT take some of the "advice" given out today, by Michael Moore (interesting read), to get even and block and obstruct Trump and the Republicans on everything and at every turn. That will backfire. If they do that, then the Dems are toast in four years. Trump better reach across the aisle FIRST and let everyone on both sides know he is not going to continue the same tactics that do not advance the ball and serve only one party over one nation. I think he knows he has to accomplish some very big moves that include both sides within the first 30 days. That will set the tone and if the Democrats are reluctant to be team players, he will castrate them in the public media like never before. I also fully expect that you will see some interesting new radio/TV ownership rules. I would not want to be a virtual monopoly in this country in 2017. The lessons you speak of will not be just for Trump.
There certainly has been no precedent of a prior president (current) doing what he wants....or making his own rules without Congress! The Democrats had better NOT take some of the "advice" given out today, by Michael Moore (interesting read), to get even and block and obstruct Trump and the Republicans on everything and at every turn. That will backfire. If they do that, then the Dems are toast in four years. Trump better reach across the aisle FIRST and let everyone on both sides know he is not going to continue the same tactics that do not advance the ball and serve only one party over one nation. I think he knows he has to accomplish some very big moves that include both sides within the first 30 days. That will set the tone and if the Democrats are reluctant to be team players, he will castrate them in the public media like never before. I also fully expect that you will see some interesting new radio/TV ownership rules. I would not want to be a virtual monopoly in this country in 2017. The lessons you speak of will not be just for Trump.
Last edited:
L Chanon Gade
Frequent Participant
This is a question that can be answered with a couple of other questions:
-Will the election results cure the aging demos problem: No.
-Will the election results cure the toxicity many of these shows have for advertisers: No.
LCG
-Will the election results cure the aging demos problem: No.
-Will the election results cure the toxicity many of these shows have for advertisers: No.
LCG
And all of that makes for quite a long period of interesting talk. It does not even have to be partisan, just focused on the changing agenda of the President and all the things we know he wants to change/do/eliminate.
The change in administrations might lead to more interest in politics in the short term which could lead to more people tuning in. In the intermediate and long term, I'm not sure it changes much though. The talk will go on, but the variety of media platforms and flat ad revenue will remain challenges.
Y2kTheNewOldies
Walk of Fame Participant
The one consistent thing we know is that we DON'T know what he's going to do.
I wonder if the radio ad (buyers) world will suddenly see the relevance of the demographics they have let go to TV and other avenues. There have been some interesting studies that show that reaching the "new" younger demos is about as tough (and as costly) as the "older" demos because of their buying habits being drastically different from those five to ten years older. What this election shows is that the decision power (and majority of the wealth) is still more active than they/we are given credit. Thoughts/debate on this welcome. I get the conventional wisdom. The truth, though, as I have said from my vantage point, done right (it is tough) - them old people will buy stuff. If radio cannot justify it's costs for the younger demo in the next five years, there is a serious age narrowcasting financial problem ahead. That one scares me.
No doubt. I have to think that he will remember the big corporations coverage. This could be interesting to watch and see if regulations change to put stations back in the hands of smaller companies/owners to get more diverse opinions/news coverage. If you had been castrated 24/7, even if it was justified and you could take the power away from the top ten broadcasting giants that tore you a new one every day, would you not try to do something? Especially in the name of "the silent majority" that was tired of all of the "lies, false reports and negative commentary?"
The one thing we've learned from the infinite dial is that more voices don't mean more diverse opinions. It means more people saying the same things.
Also, you can't put the toothpaste back in the tube. Forcing radio into the hands of smaller companies by regulation will simply make radio smaller and less important in a world where all other unregulated media is allowed to get bigger. No one is forcing or regulating Pandora into the hands of smaller companies.
Working for a mom and pop in a sea of stock owned radio groups, I can say the innovative ideas come from the bigger entities who are hard pressed to expand their reach and monetize their investments. They have the backing and the ability to grow new ideas. The mom and pop station plays it very safe. After all, they can't sustain a loss because the station is all they have. The only innovative ideas come when they realize nothing is working and they must go outside the box in hopes something might work. In some cases the mom and pop comes up with the idea but it is the group owner that carries the idea to fruition because they have the luxury of other stations to carry the weight.
From my viewpoint, the best opportunity for a more diverse radio dial comes through the group owners versus the mom and pop. Will radio get more diverse? I think so, it is a constantly changing medium and staying on top of that evolution means having new ideas that can give you the competitive advantage.
Now, for conservative talk radio, I don't think whoever wins matters too much. There is always content available. There will be opposition to Republican plans like there will be opposition to Democrat plans. Both make good subject matter.
From my viewpoint, the best opportunity for a more diverse radio dial comes through the group owners versus the mom and pop. Will radio get more diverse? I think so, it is a constantly changing medium and staying on top of that evolution means having new ideas that can give you the competitive advantage.
Now, for conservative talk radio, I don't think whoever wins matters too much. There is always content available. There will be opposition to Republican plans like there will be opposition to Democrat plans. Both make good subject matter.
My experience was that working for a mom & pop was like working for a dictatorship. It was all run by one guy, and that's where everything came from. Bigger companies find they have to delegate power. The one guy can't do everything. That leads to more diverse opinions. Certainly a bigger company employs more people, so you get more opinions in the decision-making process.
No.
Radio "buyers" at agencies simply follow the direction of their clients whose marketing departments specify the target demographics of a campaign.
You are misinterpreted the complexity of getting a message to Millennials with the openness to new products, brands and services. The major reason 55 and older gets essentially no money in radio is that older consumers generally require more ad impressions to tip a buying decision, making it more costly to make a sale. Those are two different issues: difficulty in delivering a message vs. resistance to acting on a message.
In elections, every person eligible to vote has the same weight. In radio, about the only people who are taken into consideration are those who fall between 18 and 54 years of age.
It does not matter how much money seniors may have. They are recognized as being more cautious and slower in making buying decisions that involve changing brands, trying new products and altering life-long habits and preferences. That makes it necessary to spend more to get seniors to actually buy something, and often that added expense erases the profit on the sale.
I don't disagree with whatcha are thinking here, BigA. I do think that the media has come out very poorly on their content and ethics and did not think they would be having to explain themselves to the White House with a male running it. There is a price to pay and that price may come from one of Trump's more emotional sides vs. business. I can't predict it or don't want to start hype, but I do think there is going to have to be a come to Jesus meeting on this and how the media flat out bullied and distorted this election. Maybe it does not matter after the election.
First of all, I don't see "the media" as one thing. It's not. Second, I don't see how they "bullied" or "distorted" anything. They reported the information they had. It was wrong. When they saw it was wrong, they reported the revised information. That's the right thing to do. Had an organization reported that Clinton was the winner, then you'd be right. But they never did, and what they reported obviously never changed or even influenced the opinions of the voters.
There will be no investigation into the media's reporting, unless the new administration repeals the First Amendment. A few years ago, the Democrats talked about investigating conservative talk radio, and that was nipped in the bud pretty quick.
Thanks for the LARGE PRINT, David. I know what you are saying is correct and "the way it is." Does this election seem to prove the adage that we may be old, but we ain't dead and more money get's spent past 40 years old? (Thanks for saying 54 years of age is still valid. By the skin of my teeth.)
Good, fair comments here. I think some of you know my "love" for dictator-owned mom and pops that skew OLD. It's tough, but not as tough as trying to swim in a sea of 100kw young formats and revenue. David, do you or anyone else, see something positive that could show the power of a format skewed to an older, but loyal local format and get some more ad money from non-local agencies? One good thing - market #44 is about to jump to the upper 30's market, so that ain't a bad thing. Keep them tourists moving in.
Good, fair comments here. I think some of you know my "love" for dictator-owned mom and pops that skew OLD. It's tough, but not as tough as trying to swim in a sea of 100kw young formats and revenue. David, do you or anyone else, see something positive that could show the power of a format skewed to an older, but loyal local format and get some more ad money from non-local agencies? One good thing - market #44 is about to jump to the upper 30's market, so that ain't a bad thing. Keep them tourists moving in.
Stations that skew old can be moneymakers, but they are generally in smaller, often unrated, markets.
WLNG is a great example. It is in the far East End of Long Island. Although it is in a rated market, New York City and its embedded Long Island market, it is in an isolated far corner of it and ratings don't matter.
WLNG plays an eclectic oldies blend, and if you break it out in the Long Island market, a big majority of the listeners are over 55. But of a dozen signals out there, WLNG is the top biller.
In most rated markets, doing 55+ formats only in special situations such as the gold based AM, WMTR, in Morristown, NJ at the other end of the NYC market in an area where there is enough local business to sustain a station catering to older demos. But it is hard to come up with a list of many such stations... because in most cases, they don't work or are a money-losing sister station to an FM or two.
Y2kTheNewOldies
Walk of Fame Participant
http://news.radio-online.com/cgi-bin/rol.exe/headline_id=n33538
It will be interesting how this play out Laura Ingraham is under consideration for Press Secretary.
It will be interesting how this play out Laura Ingraham is under consideration for Press Secretary.
The thing to remember is the radio and television host is presenting a well-tuned persona that is designed to attract an audience for the advertiser to get the results. Because the person is one way on the air, there may be a bit of 'acting' involved to create that personality. One station I worked, we were to speak to a 35 year old female. We were coached on this regularly. There are things my real personality would say that were not said and my slant was to speak the mind of a 35 year old female...not sure I pulled it off too well being a 28 year old guy at the time. I'm not a 'cocky' guy in real life but I played one on radio at one point per my program director's instructions. I state this because so many believe the on air persona is the person's true personality. Granted, it's really difficult to pull off something exactly opposite of your true personality, so usually the on air version has elements of reality involved. News anchors, for example, are merely reading what the producer or news director approved whether they want to or not, not to say they might argue with the producer or news director.
- Status