By Bob Davis
These days I introduce myself as a ‘Podcaster’. A podcast is a program of music or talk, made available in a digital format for download over the Internet.

You can find my podcasts by going on line, and going to www.thebobdavispodcasts.com, or you can find the Bob Davis Podcasts on iTunes by searching ‘the Bob Davis Podcasts’.

Under 40 years old? You know what a podcast is and how to get one. Between 45 and 54? You’re figuring it out. 65 and over? You will be amazed to discover hours of your favorite talk radio personalities available without interruption, in crystal clear better-than-FM digital sound.

40 percent of the population in the United States listens to digital media over the Internet. At least 25 percent of digital listening is to podcasts. These numbers will double in the next two years.

Podcasting is becoming the relevant media for news talk listeners. So much so, I call it ‘The New Talk’.

Why?

Traditional broadcast radio advertising faces fierce competition from social media and other forms of digital advertising. Given increased ad dollar competition and broadcast radio’s high debt-low margin business model, it is the end of an era for local broadcasting.

Tight margins and high debt mean round after round of layoffs and budget cuts at the local radio station. The end result? Quality local programming is disappearing from your radio dial.

The once vibrant News Talk format is increasingly relegated to weaker AM signals. Local News Talk Radio these days is a dumping ground for nationally syndicated shows and the commercials local stations have to clear for those syndicators.

Listeners keep telling radio researchers they don’t like all the commercials and station promos and that they want local shows focused on real issues. Unfortunately the radio companies aren’t listening to the listeners.

What’s more, risk averse radio companies are replacing News Talk with Sports Talk and pushing the remaining local hosts to spend more time talking about ‘lifestyle’ topics.

It’s time for something new.

Podcasts deal with complex and controversial issues too scary for traditional radio. Topics like foreign policy, congress, finance, economics, polling, and how local stadiums are funded.

You know, real news!

Podcasts can be devoted to fun topics too, like half hour “soundscapes” of summer with no talk at all, the real story of Bonnie and Clyde or a trip inside a political campaign on election night.

Crystal clear sound, means Podcasts will sound great on your headphones or on your car’s sound system.

The Bob Davis podcasts are produced specifically for the Internet. They are not replays of shows you’ve already heard on the radio.

Are you someone who believes the challenges facing this country are serious? Do you think those issues deserve a little more time in the media than the problems of a running back, or what hollywood star is topping TMZ?

Podcasting is for you.

Are you an advertiser looking for an affordable and smart buy that delivers a rifle-shot target audience of active news talk decision makers?

Podcasting is for you.

For advertisers, political organizations, working groups and candidates, podcasts are a new way to communicate

The digital media revolution is now in full swing. Podcasters are growing an exciting new medium that’s independent, creative and informative.

Tuning into digital media is easy for anyone with a smartphone. As smartphone technology advances, digital media’s growth will intensify until it becomes the standard.

Of course, broadcast radio is not going away, but it is fading. For people who want to join the real information revolution, and communicate with a new audience, podcasts are the new frontier.

In Podcasting, I am having the time of my life talking about issues relevant to the future of the country, engaging with listeners and telling the truth.

It’s so much fun and so real, I would have to say I have become a “Podcast Evangelist”.

Podcasts are the New Talk.

Welcome aboard.

(Bob Davis is a podcaster with decades of experience in major markets as a market researcher and analyst, program director, corporate manager, consultant, and air talent in rock, adult contemporary, top forty, and news talk formats. He now lives in a bunker at an undisclosed location, where he cranks out podcasts at 3 in the morning … and he LOVES it!) 

The Bob Davis  Podcasts are available at www.thebobdavispodcasts.com and iTunes, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.