Americans think Michael Jackson's death is getting too much coverage, says new HCD Research study

Michael_jackson_default_scaled

63% of respondents in a national study say Jackson’s death is being over-covered, compared to the media attention given to Farah Fawcett’s death, which occurred about the same time. HCD surveyed 1,850 people on Wednesday, July 1, using its MediaCurves website. Interestingly, 80% of the respondents also say they're engaged in the Michael Jackson story when exposed to it by the media. Read the HCD study here. Radio seems to be picking up the same vibe, according to Mediabase. Its followup report on airplay says that airplay “remains strong”, a week after the entertainer’s death. “Billie Jean” is still the most-played MJ song. But the Mediabase numbers for total spins are definitely down from Friday, June 26, the first day after Jackson’s death. Here’s the tally, day by day: Wednesday, June 24 – 511. Thursday – 15,551. Friday – 34,371. Saturday – 17,153. Sunday – 11,851. Monday – 4,166. Tuesday, 2,531. Wednesday – 2,060. Mediabase says even so – “a full week later, airplay is still more than four times what it was prior to Jackson’s passing.”

Hot Topics

On the Mic

"Just call it radio," Pandora says

 
Pandora_search_scaled

"Just call it radio." So, I was told, said Pandora's Tim Westergren recently while in the midst of a conference call discussing strategies for Internet radio or online radio or streaming radio or IP radio or whatever it is that comes to your devices via the internet and sounds pretty doing it. Radio, Internet radio, it's all the same thing, argued Tim. And he's not wrong, but he's also not quite right. Full Story

Ross on Radio

Ross On Radio #5 – June 30, 2009

 
Img_billie-jean_search_scaled

Did you miss the Ross On Radio dedicated to Michael Jackson? Also in this issue were readers responses to the most unlistenable PSAs heard on web-only stopsets of your favorite station streams. Full Story

The Strategy Session

Looking for Love? Just Follow "The Script"

 
Script_search_scaled

Guest writer Megan Portorreal is back this month, with another music review from the perspective of a listener. This month, she introduces us to "The Script." Full Story

Sales & Management

How should we judge a commercial?

 
Mercuryawards_search_scaled

As you may or may not know, there has been a controversy regarding this year's Mercury Awards. Tom Taylor of "Taylor on Radio" asked a thought provoking question of his readers. He asked, "Should the Radio Mercurys be about ROI, and not just creativity?" I sent the following reply to his request: Full Story

RI at a Glance