Re: The NAB

[mwaters@wesleyan.edu (Martin J. Waters)]

>Donna Halper wrote:
<snip>
<but nobody
>seems to have an answer for what to do
<snip>

        The answer is simple and yet at the same time extremely unlikely to
be implemented by Congress: Reimpose severe group ownership limits, with a
few years to get down to the limits. Thousands of stations would come on
the market. It would be the Filene's Basement of broadcast station sales. I
could probably afford two <g>.

>and I cannot believe it is a good
>thing that stations are airing commercial clusters of 7 or 8 spots in a row
>to service their debt.
<snip>

        This phenomenon is curious. Why do advertisers put up with it? I
keep figuring the market will correct itself on this one--that stations
will do a lot more selling to advertisers on the basis of, "We won't bury
your spot in a cluster of eight, guaranteed." There may be little
competition left within radio, but there's plenty of competition for the ad
dollars from other media. If I heard my spot as the sixth in a cluster, I'd
take another look at buying local cable TV breaks and the other relatively
low-priced options available to local advertisers.

>And time spent listening declines even more

        With this trend and the possible spread of direct-satellite radio,
along with an economic recession at some point, and the tremendous demand
for revenue from the mega-owers to pay the debt and their stockholders, one
possibility is that the financial bottom will fall out of the whole
business of mega-groups, IMO. Another possibility is that the industry will
respond to its problems, declining listenership being number one, by making
changes that will be effective.

>and I
>spent money I don't really have to go to Seattle and plead for the future
>of my industry.  And I wonder if anybody heard me.........

        Some people heard you. And you did the right thing. How about
writing an op-ed for some publication based on your remarks there? Having
spoken at a national forum helps give you credibility to try to sell it to
someone, IMO. One of the journalism reviews--American Journalism
Review/formerly Washington Journalism Review, I think--has a regular
feature called "the business of broadcasting." Maybe that magazine would be
interested.

        Best,

Marty Waters

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