Our Latest Industry Blogs

The world of media and entertainment continues to get more crowded and competitive, forcing brands not to just excel this quarter but differentiate themselves with smart and savvy strategies and tactics. While radio broadcasters may be feeling the heat from digital distribution, the need for emphasizing the industry’s unique differences has never been greater. Even independently owned radio stations can learn a thing or two from major media behemoths, including Netflix, a brand leader that continues to innovate and blaze new trails. In a word, TUDUM!

DeepSeek, a two-year-old Chinese AI startup, has shaken up the tech world with the launch of R1, an AI model that reportedly operates with 95-97% fewer resources than its competitors. After surging to the top of the Apple App Store this week, its impact is forcing a major rethink of what it actually takes to…

At the end of a momentous week, we look back at Monday’s epic news in the AI sector, the release of a new AI innovation from a Chinese company. DeepSeek took the tech world by storm, triggering a one-day crash of market leader Nvidia. And it raised questions about how easily this sector could be disrupted. Just like radio. We turned to our AI maven, Chris Brunt, for clarity and perspective. Today’s guest blog post provides some “AIsplainin'” but it raises questions about where media and technology are going – and how we can future-proof our assets. Buckle up!

Media personalities often live conflicted lives – loved and adored, but also insecure and guarded. Today’s #TBT is about a “brush with fame” encounter I had back in 2018 with Jeopardy’s iconic host, Alex Trebek. At the time, Trebek was undergoing a life-shattering experience – a stage 4 pancreatic cancer diagnosis and an unprecedented outpouring of emotion from his fans. There are lessons here for media personalities, including those behind the mic on the radio. It’s about appreciating what you have, something we can all afford to experience.

AI and humanity. If that sounds oxymoronic to you, you’re not alone. Many are concerned Artificial Intelligence will leave creativity, empathy, and warmth on the cutting room floor. But, in fact, most companies displaying their AI wares at CES this year went out of their way to explain the role humanity plays in this fast-moving technology. I’ve got it all packaged for you, along with an introduction to one of the most powerful execs at Spotify charged with “picking the hits.”

Want to get a good radio debate going? Just bring up the true value of “local” topic and watch the fun. But when it comes to local WEATHER, there is no debate. That’s because most people place great value on weather information that covers where they live and work. Recently a broadcaster heard that message loud and clear when they fired their entire team of 100 meteorologists across their group of television changes. They started a whole different type of storm. Radio can most definitely learn a lesson or two from this corporate debacle.

Programming a radio station has never been a simple task, made more challenging by today’s environment where staff and budgets are at a premium. Right now, Barrett Media is in the process of handing out awards to the best program directors in America, a worthy endeavor. Problem is, IMHO they have missed the best one. He’s the subject of today’s post.

The biggest non-political AI news of the week was yet another big announcement from OpenAI. “Operator” is an AI agent that can read things off the web and preform multi-step tasks autonomously — think buying groceries, purchasing tickets (if it can get around the CAPTCHA), or booking travel. Operator is available now to users in OpenAI’s super-premium $200/month…

One of our CES tour attendees referred to the event like drinking out of a tech firehose, an apt description of the experience – especially for first-timers. As we continue to learn, it is an essential skill for CEOs in the media business to acquire a passable Tech IQ. The alternative could be dire, for both executives and their companies. Earlier this month, a long-time corporate chieftain lost his coveted job in a high-profile company because the release of their new app turned out to be a debacle. I’ll tell you that story and why a “continuing education” in technology for CEOs isn’t just a good idea. It’s a prerequisite.

Broadcast radio is often criticized for its quantity of commercials, especially during the medium’s modern era where music stations almost universally only run two (long) stopsets per hour. But it’s the QUALITY of radio ads – especially locally – that have made radio more vulnerable to other ad platforms. At CES 2025, we saw AI models focused on producing quality commercials efficiently and effectively. Maybe the bots can help radio solve what has become a chronic problem and a glaring deficit.