The Media Archives - Public Relations, Advertising & Social Media

Don’t be different in radio

Posted on July 13, 2017 by Brian Lee

car stereo

I find it interesting how radio stations seemingly change formats frequently (compared to other forms of media). Looking at my car’s presets, I realize I have some redundancy.

Here’s how this happened in Madison, Wis.:

In 2012, Entercom-owned 105.1 FM (WMHX) changed from playing everything (in the Jack FM mold) to a mix of Top 40 and adult contemporary. However, over the past year, 105.1 seems to play more and more Top 40. In Madison, iHeart-owned 104.1 FM (WZEE) plays Top 40.
In 2016, iHeart-owned 92.1 FM (WXXM) changed from being progressive talk to “Rewind” (60s, 70s and 80s). In Madison, Entercom-owned 94.9 FM (WOLX) plays those decades of music, although less and less music from the 60s.

So to recap, Entercom ditched one format to copy an iHeart format, and then iHeart ditched one format to copy an Entercom format.

More interesting points:

Entercom stations boast about playing 10 songs in a row. The iHeart-owned 92.1 FM ups that by playing 20 songs in a row (though unfortunately, the commercial breaks also are twice as long).
Last month, former 104.1 FM DJ Aaron Rogers joined Entercom (in Kansas City), and his morning show airs on 94.9 FM. The station also is running promos to attract listeners by mentioning that Aaron “made the switch (from 104.1).”

Unlike in normal business, in the radio world, trying to be the exact same as your competitors apparently is the preferred approach.

Like many public relations practitioners, I’m frustrated by people in an organization who leak information (confidential or otherwise). However, journalists’ lack of computer security makes leaks even worse.

According to a ScienceDaily article, journalists aren’t doing enough to safeguard the info they obtain: “Despite heightened awareness of surveillance tactics and privacy breaches, existing computer security tools aren’t meeting the needs of journalists working with sensitive material.”

Media outlets are constant targets of hackers, according to Computer Business Review. This could mean leaked info that a journalist intended to only partially report on could still be published in its entirety due to hackers.

That’s another reason to stop leaks in an organization.

Pluto brings NASA to headlines

Posted on July 17, 2015 by Brian Lee

A mission that has taken more than nine years brought NASA to headlines across the globe this week for the first time in a long time.

The New Horizons Spacecraft achieved the first ever flyby of Pluto and sent photographic evidence back to Earth. This long mission will continue on until the spacecraft runs out of power around the year 2030. We can only imagine the other spectacular images the spacecraft will send to us during the remainder of its mission.

This headlining mission is a great example of how long the placing process of media coverage can take. Although NASA had the luxury of creating their own timeline, getting your story published involves patience, persistence and perfect timing. If you’re wanting to place a story, press release or guest blog post, be willing to dig deep, think hard and be mindful. Good things come to those who wait.