The Infinite Dial

A lot of people have lost their jobs in radio; undoubtedly, more will. The thought here is that by "trimming the fat" radio can reengineer itself and move forward by concentrating on its strengths in a more efficient manner.

This might work, but only if the employees you didn't cut are, in fact, up to the enormous challenges ahead, and possess the skill sets required to succeed and create lasting strategic value in a world of ubiquitous on-demand content, commoditized music and endless personalization options. If that isn't the case, then all radio has done is exacerbate the problem. If your station is not winning in your market--both online and offline--then replacing a full staff of employees with a skeleton crew of the same employees will not only not get you there, it will hasten your demise.

This blog has been, since its inception, about constructive dialog and solutions. With that in mind, here are the five people your station needs to find the money to hire, not fire, if you are going to survive the next three years:

1. A community manager--someone who will regularly post to message boards, moderate comments, write your blog, post to Twitter and maintain your Facebook page. You need to create text content online and engage with your listeners where they want to engage. You may find this person already exists at your station--but not where you think.

2. A "minister of localism." If you aren't going to switch to the all-Ryan Seacrest format, your best bet is to be a dominant local player. That means doing a lot more than you are doing now to add local content to your website, be on top of local stories and issues, and be the arbiter of taste for the best in local events, cuisine and activities. You probably don't have this person now. Broadcasters probably think that the localism issue has died down--but those broadcasters need to examine the amount of local content they really offer: chances are, it's less than 1% of their content, and chances are even that is predominately traffic and weather. The FCC may or may not resurrect its dormant localism proceedings, but even if they don't, stations that are caught in the middle of big national brands on one end and dominant, locally connected brands on the other will probably just go dark.

3. A Downloadable Media Czar. Podcasting isn't going away--sure, it may change its name, and it may not look now like we thought it would 3 years ago, but time-shifted, snack-sized content isn't going anywhere. Your station needs a talented person in the role of developing and selling downloadable media in your market--developing original content (since most of you probably run music stations, this is an area you'd best attend to pretty quickly), packaging solutions and working with potential sponsors to achieve mutual goals. The goal of an effective downloadable media campaign is not reach and frequency, it's action. So why not ask potential local sponsors in your market what kinds of programs they'd like you to create? Chances are, they know their customers better than you do--so if you can help them craft a downloadable media strategy that appeals to their niche and drive more post-listen action and sales, you'll turn this area into a profit center right quick.

4. A talented web designer, at least one per cluster. Res ipsa loquitur.

5. Someone who can sell all of the above. This may be someone you have, it may be someone you don't--and it may have been someone you already let go. What got you here won't get you there--and the language, contacts, knowledge and skills required for successful digital media sales are not the same ones that broadcast sellers have. Sure, people buy from people, and people don't fire their friends--but radio needs to open new doors with today's digital media buyers, and that is going to require new blood, not merely bloodletting.