Over the course of the last few months, things have been hectic. As you have undoubtedly noticed, my writing here has dropped significantly. If it’s any consolation, my writing has dropped at RedState, as well.
An Apology
So I want to start by apologizing for that. This newsletter is growing slowly, and it seems like every couple of days I’m picking up a new follower here and a new subscriber there. I am thrilled that about 35 percent or so of you are opening the daily podcast and giving it a bit of a listen. It means a lot.
30-35 percent is about what I expected when I started this Substack. A few folks in the news industry that I’ve talked to tend to think 35-40 percent is the ceiling for most newsletters. If I’m getting between 30-35 percent, I’m happy.
But I do feel as though I owe you all an apology. You didn’t sign up just for a podcast and the occasional writing. You signed up for news and commentary in both formats (I believe), and it is my intention to provide that.
An Update
There is a reason why I’ve been, well, neglecting Substack. Back in January, there was a staff shake-up where I work and I found myself assuming the role of Brand Manager (program director, if you will) for not just KPEL, but also our sports station and a smaller AM talk station.
Throughout January, February, and March, I was fixing a lot of problems that had arisen - problems that seemed to have been given rubber bands and band-aids in the past but desperately needed more.
Sometime in March, most of those problems appeared resolved, and things slowed down, but I was still running three stations. On top of that, we launched a new show on KPEL featuring Lafayette’s former Mayor-President, and I am doing some production work for him and Moon Griffon, who is our statewide syndicated show host.
As of April 1, I was officially hired to do the job I had assumed for the three stations. The workload is far more intense than I had previously, but I truly do love radio and the radio business can I am probably the happiest I’ve ever been professionally.
A month later, I am still busy, but things are leveling out a bit. I am excited for what is coming. I hope those of you in the Lafayette area will enjoy it as much as I am, but I really do think that what we’re planning is going to elevate an excellent news/talk station.
The Future of Radio
Which brings me to the topic of the evening - the future of radio. Particularly talk radio.
Increasingly, talk radio is getting very diverse. It’s still largely conservative, but it’s becoming diverse. Part of it is access. It used to be that people who worked their way into the radio business eventually got elevated enough to have a show.
That formula changed a bit when Rush Limbaugh elbowed his way into talk radio and changed the game forever, but with the coming of the digital age came even more access for those who did not come up through the normal career paths. Blogging and podcasting created strong national audiences for people with a lot of opinions, and that became the basis for radio companies picking out who their next talent might be.
But radio has perhaps become too diverse for the next generation of multiple national hosts. The old Limbaugh slot of 12-3 pm (ET) is a battleground between a lot of regional and national hosts, while some of the staples in other dayparts (Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, etc.) are holding on. But the age of growing national shows may be close to over.
Increasingly, people are interested in local and state news, because it is much closer to them. They are also interested in national news and commentary explaining how such topics directly affect them. The era of broad, non-local commentary is ending soon, and much sooner than people might think.
That’s not to say national talk will die. My suspicion is that the audience’s needs will change. Audiences are increasingly turning to commentators who connect to them and explain things to them, and they are turning away from those who are pure bomb throwers.
If you pay attention to news/talk stations around the country, those in medium and larger markets are finding more and more local talent to fill the dayparts. They are turning away from syndicated national programs and choosing to run them at night or early in the morning. Subsequently, those of us whose jobs include paying attention to such trends are eyeing our own schedules and trying to figure out how to make such ideas work.
Radio started as a local media. It is very likely going to return to local media - particularly in the news/talk world. I don’t know yet what it means for national folks, but I’m not sure we’ll get another generation of those folks (at least, in the traditional sense).
Accurate take on radio, a format I love, and agree the formula is local focus and perspective filter on larger news and events.