On his radio show this past Friday, Rush Limbaugh was asked if he would be following Howard Stern, among others, to satellite radio. His response was that the Democratic Party would probably pay him handsomely, buy him a new house, car, boat, whatever to get him to switch to satellite, because the subscriber base for satellite is so small, relatively speaking, that every person who owns a satellite radio system could tune in to his show and it would still pale in comparison to the numbers he regularly draws and the potential audience reach on traditional format radio, so no, he is not leaving any time soon. Of course this is true. He is a mouthpiece that influences so many people, for better or worse, in their thinking as he is an effective speaker who presents himself as an authority on most all topics he addresses, and dresses down all counterpoints with such braggadocio that you almost have to believe him. (Except for the time he said all non-smokers should thank smokers, because their cigarette taxes are bankrolling many of our social services, and never mind the so-called ill effects of "second-hand smoke", a baseless scare tactic drummed up by the "drive-by media", which is a topic I will address in the near future.)
He also said it's content that people care about, not the technology. If you have good content, people will listen, regardless of whether they have to get it from an "old" medium. Les Moonves, president and CEO of CBS said the same thing on an episode of The Charlie Rose Show that same night (though the interview was recorded the week Katie Couric started anchoring her nightly news program). He said when Viacom and CBS split, he and the CBS brand were given the radio and outdoor advertising divisions, which neither side particularly wanted, as they were seen as old hat and not financially viable. Well, today, according to Moonves, CBS outdoor advertisting [billboards] is the most successful of all the divisions between the two companies since the split. And CBS radio accounts for some 20% of revenue for the company. It's about content, not technology. The 'technology' of terrestrial radio and billboards are not new at all, and yet CBS and Limbaugh, have found ways to stay relevant by committing to focus on content, which is what people really want, rather than throwing their efforts being gimmicks and technological wizardry, which quickly burn out your audience, as they will see through the flimsy facade.
Hollywood, I'm looking in your direction. Many of the greatest, longest-running, most popular TV shows ever, Cosby, Seinfeld, M.A.S.H., Taxi, I Love Lucy, The Simpsons, All In The Family, Friends, everything HBO makes, etc make/made their money with shows about regular [or at least regular enough] people dealing with life, without the help of a special effects team.
(As there are exceptions to every rule, I will note the success of Star Trek and the CSI's can be attributed, at least in part to being fancy, though they too rely on characters and content as much as, if not more than, technological whiz-bang)
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