Holding Pattern

How can we sum up the year in News-Talk Sports radio and podcasting? One word comes to mind:

Meh.

Or disappointing. Or undistinguished. Or however you'd describe what feels like a holding pattern at best and increasing marginalization at worst -- I'm not prepared to call it irrelevancy. But in a year that amounted to the weirdest, most jaw-droppingly remarkable in decades, right up there with 1968, the fact that talk radio wasn't really thought of as a major factor in anything is terribly disappointing. So were the ratings, which went up but really aren't what they should be -- while others point to the 6+ numbers and pop champagne corks, I'll look at demos under 55 and wonder why, when everyone was intensely interested in exactly the stuff for which talk radio is known and has always been the go-to medium, most stations' increases were modest at best and some managed to lose ground.

In other words, your lunch was eaten by social media. Your exclusive domain isn't exclusive anymore. And when the winning candidate barely spent any money on radio and TV advertising, that doesn't bode well for your future every-four-years spike.

But that's not the most disappointing thing about talk radio, or, for that matter, podcasting this year. What disappointed me is that there were no breakout hits, no new talent exploding onto the scene, no national "gotta hear this," especially in broadcast radio. Remember all the lip service given to radio developing new talent, how they'd be scouting podcasts and working with young hosts and don't worry about the lack of a farm system? What's everyone waiting for? Some groups even have executives charged with finding and developing talent, but are we going to get more single-named liner-card readers for voice tracking music formats or are we going to get the next generation of talk hosts? The big names in national talk 20 years ago are the big names of today, and there are no heirs apparent. Again. I was hopeful we'd see movement on that front, but it seems like everything's moving in the opposite direction.

It's better on the podcasting side, but we're still waiting for another breakthrough. "Serial" was followed by some successful shows that aren't nearly as successful as "Serial." There were a few solid debuts this year -- Apple's Best of 2016 Podcasts list is strong, and I particularly liked "Heavyweight," "Pardon My Take," and "2 Dope Queens," and, if you liked "Serial," you should check out "In the Dark" -- and some others developed into consistently good performers ("The Dollop" is hitting its stride, for one), but, again, no "Serial," nothing that transcended the medium and drew newcomers to the form. The explosion of 2015 and the enthusiasm that started this year ended with... well, we're still waiting for the format to reach the 75% that aren't in the fold. There's growth, but after "Serial," I was hoping for something more explosive than what we got this year. Maybe it's coming. Certainly, the show quality and the talent are there; maybe in 2017, we'll solve the discoverability/curation and monetization issues.

But we're pretty much at the same point at the end of the year that we were last December, and we should be seeing more growth across the board, in listenership and in revenue. If we're here after we were handed a golden opportunity with the campaign, it means that, as an industry, we dropped the ball. What we do after we pick up that ball and start running again will define 2017 for us, and here's what I hope we'll do: Stop paying lip service to talent development and finally launch the next wave of stars. That's way, way overdue. And continue extending content onto every possible platform. Radio stations should be generating more digital-exclusive content. (By "radio stations," I mean EVERY station.) Podcasters and radio stations should be looking to do video as well as audio when appropriate for the content.

Oh, and, as I discussed in multiple recent columns, we need to reassess the approach to talk radio (and podcasting, incidentally) in light of how social media has taken over the role of virtual town square/water cooler/soapbox. It is not enough to offer a topic and the phone number and take calls on the air anymore -- who under the age of AARP eligibility makes actual phone calls anymore? It is not enough to rely on what got us here anymore. It requires huge personalities and production and stuff you cannot get in 140 characters or on your Facebook timeline. Your desired audience is spending the time they used to devote to you on those things now. You should be there, but you should also be giving them what they CAN'T get there.

And for podcasters, I'd advise you to look at what's working and realize that the days of a couple of people sitting around a recorder talkin' 'bout stuff is no longer enough. There are still a million of those, and they seem increasingly self-indulgent -- because we can, not because we should -- when the more successful shows have production values, compelling hosts, good guests, and, most importantly, a point, a reason for existence. If this sounds discouraging to the DIY enthusiasts who grew the medium, it's not intended to be. Think of it as a challenge. As I tell talk radio people, it's supposed to be a "show," with all the secondary meaning that word carries. Make it entertaining. Give people a reason to listen to YOUR conversation instead of someone else's. If you're planning a podcast about, say, coin collecting, make yours the one that people choose because it sounds better, because it's more fun, because it's a better SHOW. You know, I've written about the glut of podcasts by sheer number recently, and cutting through that noise to grow an audience is difficult, but making your podcast a real show goes a long way towards your goal.

There are your instructions for 2017, talk radio and podcast people. Social media may have taken over part of the conversation, but there's still a lot of room for spoken-word entertainment and a major opening for people with unique talent and something to say. Let's make this coming year the one in which we get things growing fast again. It can be done.

=============================

We may be coming to the end of the year, but All Access News-Talk-Sports' Talk Topics will still be churning out show prep topics you won't find anywhere else for another week (schedule below), and it's all available by clicking here, and you should also follow the Talk Topics Twitter feed at @talktopics with every story individually linked to the appropriate item. And there's the Podcasting section at AllAccess.com/podcasts.

You can follow my personal Twitter account at @pmsimon, and my Instagram account (same handle, @pmsimon) as well. And you can find me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pmsimon, and at pmsimon.com.

=============================

This is the last column for 2016; the next edition will come after New Year's. Talk Topics will update regularly through next Wednesday, when I will have to take on other duties for the rest of the week. After that, I'll be off duty until December 28th, although I'll be adding Talk Topics from time to time, so keep checking in. And I'll be out covering International CES in Las Vegas January 3-5, so while the topics may not be as frequently updated, you'll see my coverage in Net News.

Personally, 2016 was an interesting year. We got the podcasting section up, I left Nerdist Industries after six hit seasons, and I got working on some other projects I'll tell you about when I can. One of them involves this here site, and because of it, you may be seeing a lot more of me, more than you might prefer, to be honest with you. I know the effect I have on you. But you can keep up with all of that by following me on Twitter @pmsimon, where I'm always in danger of blurting out things I should be keeping quiet. Anyway, I hope you get everything you desire this holiday season, Merry Christmas/Happy Hanukkah/Happy Kwanzaa, and I'll get back with you in a few weeks....

Perry Michael Simon
Vice President/Editor, News-Talk-Sports
AllAccess.com
psimon@allaccess.com
www.facebook.com/pmsimon
Twitter @pmsimon
Instagram @pmsimon