NO ORGINALITY IN RADIO TODAY

My neighbor Ric Combs and I were chatting this morning and he knows I'm on a radio sabbatical. He said "The problem with radio today is there is no originality, everything is one format after another and all canned." Very insightful from a listener. If Rick hears this, more listeners have to feel the same way. How did we get from multiple flavors to vanilla being served? The more generic we continue to make radio, regardless of the format, the more we are driving away listeners, potential and accrued. It will get to the point if research returns when the economy rebounds, it should be a serious research probe question in perceptuals. I have said for years, creativity and passion is not a line item. It doesn't cost money to be passionate. Why can't we deliver a product that the people will wrap around and enjoy? Endless meaningless web site chatter and inane ramblings about nothing. Program director's have become slaves to the administrative process and the other half to the music industry. Talent had escalated to the lowest tier of creativity and prosperity. It seems radio continues to do enough just to get by, without invoking and kind of plan and platform to redeem it's self with the users. The worst part is radio management in most cases doesn't want to hear any of this. They are so focused on the acumen of business and revenue that it's killing the on air sound of radio stations. Every meeting about a 2010 budget should include something, I don't care if it's a paragraph, on how to return the programming posture of the station to the ranks the listeners deserve and the customers demand. I would be embarrassed to have to sell this dribble to clients. Later this morning I received this from one of my friends: "I had 4 count them 4 meetings between sales and staff and the common theme was OUR Clients want something that sells and sizzles. I wamted to say we don't do that anymore.. we are Radio Y2K... Please lets all go back and watch the Dan O'Day Videos of Boss Radio... reach back and study the masters like Orson Wells.. Find the Show Business in our hearts that got us into this Crazy Business in the first place when we would do it for all the CD's we could listen to free pizza and chicks...." Even the clients have figured this out, we are phoning it in!