iHeartradio-Firings-Bankrupt-Media-Future-Bob Davis Podcast 893

iHeartradio-Firings-Bankrupt-Media-Future-Bob Davis Podcast 893

Radio Talk

I don’t always talk about radio in my podcasts these days. However when something most noteworthy happens, I do. Learn more in iHeartradio-Firings-Bankrupt-Media-Future-Bob Davis Podcast 893.

Displacements Or Firings?

Recently the biggest radio company in the United States unexpectedly announced it was firing over a thousand employees. Especially relevant is the fact that the company used such obtuse language in its press releases, it confused news writers and listeners.

You Got A Future?

Moreover this event has kicked off a lot of discussions about the ‘future of radio‘ in this country. In addition suddenly all my friends and clients are asking me to comment.

Not much

First of all, radio doesn’t have much of a future. At least not as we have known it. I’ll tell you why in iHeartradio-Firings-Bankrupt-Media-Future-Bob Davis Podcast 893 and in a recent podcast I did about the history of top forty radio. You can find it here.

Content Creators Struggle Too

Furthermore all not rosy in the digital media world either.

It’s All About Revenue

While it seems like everyone who has ever worked in the radio business has an opinion about how iHeart ‘screwed up’, the bottom line is revenue. An industry that scaled to a certain point based on the old business model, simply can’t support that scale anymore.

Digital Marketing

In contrast various forms of digital marketing are all the rage, sucking all the revenue from ‘traditional’ forms of advertising as well as media production. Digital platforms are producing huge numbers while we haven’t quite figured out how to monetize individual content creators very well yet.

Disruptive Technologies Rule

Finally we’re living through an extraordinary moment in history. Due to disruptive technologies we’ve seen more traditional businesses destroyed and whole industries laid to waste. Broadcast radio and television are just two of them.

Tower of Babel

Even more, considering the tower of babel that is American Corporate Business Speak, I wonder how well other industries and businesses are actually doing.

On The Beach

In conclusion it’s tough to lose your job no matter what you do. Because of the realities in radio these days, I am afraid there will be many more people on the beach.

Sponsored by Reliafund Payment Processors

iHeartradio-Firings-Bankrupt-Media-Future-Bob Davis Podcast 893

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 34:30 — 79.0MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

 

 

Jussie Smolett-Fyre Fest-Burning Man-Lies-Reality-Bob Davis Podcast 808

Jussie Smolett-Fyre Fest-Burning Man-Lies-Reality-Bob Davis Podcast 808

These days they don’t teach kids how to tell what’s real and what is not. Adults don’t know how either. Consequently it’s hard to tell what’s reality and what’s a lie. We’ll talk about it in Jussie Smolett-Fyre Fest-Burning Man-Lies-Reality-Bob Davis Podcast 808.

Jussie Smollett

Most noteworthy is  the latest rush to judgement without critical analysis. The story of Jussie Smollett, actor and musician. Smollett received lots of support from the Speaker of The House of the US Congress and many other prominent democrats after he claimed to be the victim of a racially motivated attack. Growing evidence suggests Smollett’s story of what happened on the night of January 29th 2019 might not be credible.

FYRE Fest

Then there is FYRE Fest. Probably the most successful social media scam in history, FYRE Fest is the subject of two competing documentaries. Especially relevant are questions of credibility for both documentaries. What really happened with FYRE Fest? We may never know.

Are You Cool Enough For Burning Man?

My favorite punching bag is Burning Man. Promoted as a haven for artistic and personal freedom, it is anything but. In reality, Burning Man is a dictatorship. People are told how to act and what they can photograph. Tickets are almost impossible to get unless you’re Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk. Or you can gain the favor of so called local ‘burners’. Are you cool enough for Burning Man?

I’ll pass.

Fly Geyser Off Limits

Meanwhile the ‘non profit’ Burning Man organization purchased the Fly Ranch, home to the incredible Fly Geyser. Regular people used to visit the geyser. Not anymore. Burning Man owns it. You can’t see this wonder of the world unless you pay equality advocates at Burning Man.

Russia Today

Finally there is Russia Today or RT. Long known as a propaganda wing of Russia, people are dismayed to find them being deleted from the social media platform everyone loves to hate; FaceBook. Did we forget what the word ‘propaganda’ means?

FoxxConn and Festivals Lies and Damn Lies

In conclusion it doesn’t matter if it’s some silly festival or a Foxxconn plant in Wisconsin. Influentials only pretend to be ‘authentic’ and ‘truthful’.

I guess Grandpa was right. You can’t believe everything you read.

Actually, you can’t believe anything.

Sponsored by Reliafund Payment Processors and Ryan Plumbing and Heating of Saint Paul

Jussie Smolett-Fyre Fest-Burning Man-Lies-Reality-Bob Davis Podcast 808

 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 32:16 — 73.9MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

 

 

 

Summer Binge TV Shows-Escape-Midnight Walk-Podcast 722

Summer Binge TV Shows-Escape-Midnight Walk-Podcast 722

Suddenly summer in the Upper Midwest. When the news keeps talking about the same stuff time for escape. These days that means binge watching. In Summer Binge TV Shows-Escape-Midnight Walk-Podcast 722.

Lots Of Great New Shows Means Peak TV

Hundreds of drama and comedy shows will be produced for networks like HBO, ShowTime, Hulu, AMC, Netflix and others in 2018. They call it ‘Peak TV‘. I love nothing more than sitting up all night, drinking coffee and binge watching my favorite shows. Every now and then I like to talk about the shows I am watching.

What’s more, I actually consider it part of my job!

The shows we binge watch say a lot about the national mood.

A Window Into America’s Subconscious

Especially relevant to this podcast is the idea I have that the content and tone of these shows has begun to change. Does this reflect a change in the national mood? Are these shows a window into America’s subconscious? We’ll talk about it on a midnight walk in Summer Binge TV Shows-Escape-Midnight Walk-Podcast 722.

New Shows

While the major networks are focused on adding remakes like Roseanne, Will and Grace and Murphy Brown, Netflix, HBO and others are cranking out great new dramas, comedies and documentaries. I can hardly keep up with Stranger Things, Black Mirror and more!

What Are You Binging On?

I’ve been binging on WestWorld, Homeland, Billions, and especially a new show on ShowTime called I’m Dying Up Here. Who hasn’t watched all the Breaking Bad shows again, or the more current Narcos? Plus documentaries like Evil Genius, and the new Elvis doc on HBO, Elvis The Searcher. Don’t even get me started on Game of Thrones!

Changing Mood

With the addition of new shows like The Deuce and I’m Dying Up Here, there’s a nostalgia for the American urban experience in the 1970’s. While older shows like The Walking Dead and Fear The Walking dead have started to seem stale, new shows strike a different tone. What’s more, I get the feeling the mood is changing. Maybe we just want to laugh.

Broadcast Fades To Black

As the ratings for cable channels and news shows that focus on the constant drone of the political back and forth these days, when the weather changes, who doesn’t want to escape?

Shows like WestWorld focus on anxiety about robotics and artificial intelligence, in Billions, it seems like they’re all villains. If you think some of these plots are farfetched, consider the fact that House of Cards pales in contrast to the actual craziness in today’s Washington DC.

Delicious!

What are you binging on and what do you think about it. Let me know at thebobdavispodcasts@gmail.com, after you check out Summer Binge TV Shows-Escape-Midnight Walk-Podcast 722.

Sponsored by Ryan Plumbing Of Saint Paul and Reliafund Payment Processors

Summer Binge TV Shows-Escape-Midnight Walk-Podcast 722

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 38:30 — 88.1MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS