Radio – A Constant in a Changing World
By Maury Tobin
Unless you’re visiting an ashram, you probably know that the Caps won the Stanley Cup last week after Vegas sports theater was met by a blitzkrieg of fans watching the win on big-screens in D.C. streets.
The next day I was interviewed by Brian Reusch, station manager of the radio outlet WCCI. Brian knows I am a longtime Caps follower and would be happy to give my take on the victory. (You can listen to the interview here.)
WCCI is based in the Quad Cities, Ill., market but its signal covers other parts of Illinois and regions of Iowa and Wisconsin. As a proprietor of securing radio publicity for clients through Radio Media Tours (RMTs), I have been placing guests on WCCI for nearly 20 years.
After working on political campaigns, I started Tobin Communications, Inc. (TCI) in 1996 and radio was my bailiwick.
Since then, our company has expanded its services because we recognize that our clients have both traditional and newer public relations (PR) needs. During this time, I have read, listened to, and studied those opining on the decline of radio, and I’ve concluded that this medium is still an American darling.
According to recently released Nielsen statistics “radio reaches 93% of adult Americans (18+) each week, some 228.5 million consumers, more than those watching television (216.5 million), using an app or accessing the web on a smartphone (203.8 million) or watching video on a smartphone (127.6 million).”
Social media and cable news are not panaceas. Radio is a solid contender in shaping issues and narratives. We continually see that radio remains a constant voice as people commute to work, sit in airports, cook dinner, exercise, take their kids to soccer practice, and tap into news and conversations about a soup of topics.
America is a country on the move. Devices like smartphones help the public and thought-leaders access and mold information and entertainment whenever they want.
TCI has found that in the summer RMTs sometimes run up against less interference and competition. PR campaigns, especially those partly rooted in media outreach, can present a fresh perspective.
Additionally, they reinforce that forging relationships with newsmakers is vital and everything can’t be condensed to a post that will make Twitter aflutter.
Learn more about Radio Media Tours.