The stories of AI adoption come from companies of all regions and markets large and small.
But just because there’s a mandate to use AI doesn’t mean it’s going to be successful. This month Goldman Sachs announced that AI is overhyped and too expensive and Chevron’s CIO proclaimed he didn’t think AI would save the company money or make employees more productive.
AI-uptake is the strongest when time-strapped employees can see how it will make their work better, faster, and stronger (apologies to Daft Punk). Station staffs aren’t getting bigger, but AI tools can make stations seem like they have a backroom busting with creatives — copywriters, designers, transcribers, voice actors, and even videographers.
In the interview below with Randy Hawke from Midwest Family in Madison, he shares how his team is using AI to create world-class content for his stations that’s great for the programming departments AND the sales department.
RANDY HAWKE, VP Programming, Mid-West Family
As you will read in this interview, Randy Hawke brings his infectious creativity and energy with him wherever he goes. This rock radio veteran has had stints at stations small and large and now is not only VP of Programming for Mid-West Family but also heads heritage rockers WJJO-Madison and the syndicated show Hard Drive. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity – Chris
CB: What’s going on with AI at Mid-West Family?
RH: I really love it for thought starters when copywriting, especially when you try to figure out an angle for a promo. For instance, we just did a golf outing called the Your Fly Is Open. It’s been called that for 20 years, but we needed an original take. We went into ChatGPT and looked for double-entendres for golf, hit the button, and got like 30 of them. Now, you’ve got the seeds to start writing things, whereas before there were literally four people in a room with a whiteboard writing down golf jokes — or you’re sitting at your computer, grinding ideas in your head, trying to think of things yourself.
I still believe in writing the final product myself, because sometimes it’s just too “AI.” For example, once I was trying to write a promo for a Harley-Davidson Fashion show for our country station. There was going to be free food there.
ChatGPT’s spits out that it’s, “A complimentary food buffet curated specifically to enhance your experience.” I’m thinking, “Ummm, no, it’s like some meatballs.”
But for thought starters it’s really a time-saver. ChatGPT can do in a minute-and-a-half what used to take forty-five minutes.
CB: Did the staff take to it quickly?
RH: Absolutely. My staff loves to use it for email subject lines. We’ll get fifteen examples and mix and match to get the ideal one. That’s why I like calling AI a “tool” and not the “answer.” You still need to have people make the decision.
I have two employees that use AI the most, and I send the rest of my team to them for training and tips on prompt-writing.
CB: If I remember, you’re using AI to create cartoon images too.
RH: If you go to 931jamz.com, there’s a ton of AI-generated images and graphics. On that station we also used it to create sales assets. My web graphics guy created avatars of listener personas – a lot of times multiple images for the exact same person. The images show how our listeners can be both a concert goer AND an accountant.
CB: Sometimes it’s really hard to break the stereotype that the guy in a T-shirt in the mosh pit at night is the manager at the credit union the next morning.
RH: Exactly. And 93.1 Jamz is a rhythmic top 40 station with an incredibly diverse audience. The use of AI imagery helps us better communicate to clients who our listeners are than the images from stock photo sites can.
CB: How do you see your cluster’s use of AI changing as AI evolves?
RH: It will continue to be a valuable tool for us, especially as we move more and more towards multi-platform consumption. We have people that create incredible pieces of content. Let’s say they do an artist interview. It can now become multi-platform. AI can help us edit that video and turn it into a blog post. AI can then help us turn it into social posts. If all of that was done manually, we probably wouldn’t have time to do it all.
I believe if we can use AI to lean into what we do, it will only help us be better at our core competencies, which is being the leading lifestyle brand that creates great audio.
NEW AI CREATIONS
NBC Enlists Google Gemini For Enhanced Olympics Coverage
Not only will the AI-enhanced Al Michaels be providing custom Olympics updates on Peacock for users, the network announced that through a sponsorship with Google, viewers will be able to get additional information and views of sporting events from Google Gemini. The AI engine will provide AI Overviews, Explain-the-Game segments, and 3D visualizations. Talk about product integration! Details
EA Uses AI to Animate Players for College Football 25
What do you do when you have 11,000 football players whose likenesses need to be animated in three-months? You use AI to get ‘er done. The college football video game has six-times more players than its pro football counterpart Madden, and Electronic Arts only had three months to get the job done, since college rosters for fall aren’t set until the prior spring. EA used each player’s headshot and let AI create each player’s full-body doppelgänger in just seconds — fast enough to complete the project for last Friday’s release. Details
Not-Fully-Baked Alexa Premium Could Be Released This Month
According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, the Alexa division has been losing $5 billion/year, and the pressure is on to turn that around with a premium tier ASAP. Unfortunately, sources say that the premium subscription isn’t anywhere near being the “the world’s best personal assistant,” especially with free versions of ChatGPT and MetaAI now in the marketplace. Parents with kids in time-out and home bakers need not fear, Alexa’s original functionality of setting timers and playing radio stations will remain free.
AI Video Shows Stars Hanging With Their Younger Selves
This video was posted on Reddit and has everyone from TSwift to Eddie Murphy. See it here.
Originally published by Jacobs Media
