Radio: Now More Than Ever
• We’ve been fans of industry pro Michelle Santosuosso for many years. As a former major market program director, record industry executive and trade magazine editor, and current Professor of Practice at the Bandier Program, Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, Michelle has long been an intelligent observer (and sometimes outspoken critic) of the radio industry. Those unique skills were once again on full display last Friday when her passionate guest column, “Radio, Don’t Blow Your Chance To Matter Again” was published in Variety. As quoted from the column, “Corporate radio is missing its biggest opportunity in a generation right at this moment.”
As Michelle relates to RAMP, the column examines radio’s vital role in the face of the growing coronavirus pandemic, and was inspired by last week’s unfortunately timed termination of her friend Kevin Ryder, 30-year morning personality on Entercom’s World Famous KROQ/Los Angeles.
An excerpt from the piece reads, “In today’s turbulent New Reality, with literally no other distractions present, Radio has the ability to actually capitalize on being a source for something relevant, return to the focus of being exceedingly local, and even demonstrate compassion through the intimacy that only audio broadcast can provide, while filling a void. This culture-quaking moment is actually giving Radio the opportunity to rise to the occasion market to market, station by station, to SERVE YOUR LOCAL COMMUNITY.” You are invited to take a few valuable moments out of your broadcast day and absorb this timely and important content.
