A
Look into the Future: A Summary of Some MPC 38 Presentations
by
Howard Cornelsen and the editor of Music Notes
 Gunther
Schuller stressed the need to keep “intelligent, broadly engaging programming”
on the airwaves in his keynote address to the conference. He reminded programmers
that “we [in public radio] are an oasis surrounded by a vast desert of
commercial, profit-motivated networks and conglomerates who would just
as soon see most of us give up and quietly go away.” He stressed the concept
that we, as a people, are defined by our art, culture, and creativity,
but that the driving forces in today’s market are at odds with this concept.
The media have been turned into a cultural wasteland by becoming a profit-driven
industry.
Schuller conceded that there
are still some commercial stations, mostly in major metropolitan areas,
that are programming creatively; however, the media in general, including
public radio, are driven by bottom-line consultants and advisors, resulting
in easy, safe, non-risk-taking programming.
Although the future is unpredictable,
Schuller feels optimistic that the people we hear from are outweighed by
the people we don’t; and it is those quiet people who support public broadcasting
financially and emotionally. These are people who like to be challenged
by adventurous programming that could never be considered background. “Keep
the faith,” he said. “Our country needs leadership, not followers . . .
it really needs you.”
 Stephen
Salyer feels that public radio is facing far more serious competition than
any of us yet realize. For example, satellite-delivered Sirius Radio will
have 50 music channels hosted and programmed by radio people. This speaks
to two problems, that of increased competition in programming and that
of well-funded new groups having the money to hire away public radio producers
and programmers. As more media channels combine, our income will be eroded.
Public radio needs a reorientation of mission and strategy to avoid being
hurt by these new threats.
Examples of good uses of
a station’s web site cited by Salyer: The station should offer music that
it doesn’t want on its air but knows its listeners might like to hear;
a book reviewed on “Marketplace” should be available on the station’s web
site, rather than sending the listener off to amazon.com.
A station’s biggest asset
is not its content, since that will be becoming ubiquitous, but its audience.
The station must associate its brand with that audience at every level.
 Skip
Pizzi also sees new competition coming for public radio. There are many
types of internet content providers; broadband access is rapidly becoming
available for the home; mobile satellite radio is around the corner, as
are wireless internet terrestrial and LEOSat (Low Earth Orbital satellite)
connections. Not all of the new ventures will be successful, but they all
offer differing threats. Certainly, having 150 channels available is one
thing; how many a user may actually program a button to receive is another.
But once a person starts paying a subscription for a radio channel, that
person may feel much less inclined to send money to a station asking for
his support.
Pizzi feels we should consider
four categories of future audiences: local on air, local on line, national
on air, and global on line. There will be both convergent home media users
and convergent mobile users. On air the programming should lean more toward
local content that can’t be duplicated by national services.
On line connections must
be solidified by promotional functions. Here we have not only one-way webcasting,
but also two-way contacts, giving us immediate feedback; and we should
not overlook the possibility of multiple data streams in webcasting.
On-demand audio, an off-air
archive, and “tell-me-more” items should be considered. Additional text,
graphics, and links should be added: in general, more information on the
station’s own web site under its own brand should be available to keep
people from needing to go elsewhere. Information on the composer, the piece,
the performer, the disc, the period would all be worthwhile additions for
music.
Pizzi went on to recommend
on-line fundraising. On line is a good place to solicit underwriters and
to accept user contributions. It’s also a good place for premium fulfillment,
supplying the order directly to the provider. It’s an excellent place to
promote station events and for scheduling volunteers. Radio is only the
form, not the function of our business. Pizzi recommends leveraging the
on-air and on-line synergies, cross-promoting, cross-selling—even developing
the web site as a portal.
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