Author: donday

The media world is rapidly changing, and Boise viewers, readers and listeners are getting a front row seat.

Just ten years ago, the big players in local media were Gannett (Idaho Statesman), Clear Channel (radio cluster), Citadel (radio cluster), Journal Broadcast Group (KIVI and radio cluster), Belo (KTVB) and Fisher (KBCI – now KBOI).

Now, with the announcement that KIVI, KNIN and Journal’s four Boise radio stations will be folded into EW Scripps, we’ve seen a complete rollover of the distant corporate owners for the Boise airwaves and newspaper. (There is one caveat – Gannett exited the market in 2005 when it sold the Statesman to Knight Ridder, and came back with the purchase of KTVB late last year).

The Journal sale (a merger in technicality, but the Scripps family will be in charge) cleaves the company’s newspapers from its television and radio assets. It follows a path first implemented by Belo oddly enough – and sets up the new newspaper group as a debt-free company which gives them room to experiment without cash flow issues. Television stations earn some of the best margins in business and can easily help service legacy debt (in the case of Scripps & Journal, much of that debt is from legacy pension obligations).

Do Boise viewers and listeners really see a difference in quality or presentation? Perhaps. Small things like new graphics for TV newscasts and group contests for radio stations can be a benefit. Overall it can boil down to how much a corporate owner is willing to invest in a market like Boise. KIVI & KNIN will likely benefit from Scripps which is known as one of the better television station operators.

On the radio front, Scripps does not currently own any radio stations, so the company will be even more heavily weighted toward the television space. It’s not hard to see that Scripps will take some inquiry on buying those stations, but what it’s strategy will be – hold or sell – is anyone’s guess.

Don Day is the Digital Sales & Product Manager for KTVB and wrote & edited IdahoRadioNews.com for five years. He also tweets a lot

KKGL/96.9 The Eagle used to be one of the Boise market’s top-rated radio stations. Its mix of syndicated show Bob & Tom and classic rock from the 70s and 80s scored top marks with adult men – and even many women.

But along the way, the station faltered. It cut back, retrenched and saw its ratings fade like a pair of stone-washed jeans. Wave upon wave of corporate consolidation seemed to diminish the station even further as it passed from Citadel to Cumulus.

Ratings were so bad that during the 2012 fall ratings period, the station got beat in the morning drive by Mix 106 — among adult men. Mike & Kate are a popular show to be sure, but drop-kicking the Eagle among men with a very female-driven show was nearly unthinkable just a few years ago. (Back in 2008 I noted how the station was the dominant number one).

These days, the station still clings to Bob & Tom. It also features longtime Boise radio vet Scott Cruise. But oddly, Cruise appears on the Eagle and sister station Nash FM at the same time. Not much of a trick in the day of pre-recorded radio, but perhaps a sad sign of corporate consolidation.

In recent months, changes have come to the airwaves of The Eagle. New afternoon host “Forrest” arrived, followed shortly thereafter by a new after-7 talent.

Perhaps those seem like mundane changes. But station management appears to be adding “sex and drugs” to the rock & roll.

In May, the station posted this teaser:

The image linked to a larger, um… fuller image.

When the new jock “Lindsey Marie” debuted, she got the requisite bio on the station’s website, written in first-person voice. The first line, stretched across the top in large font uses a word many find increasingly repugnant:

Hi. I’m Lyndsey. I have a mild case of social retardation, but luckily, I also have a microphone so it all gets captured for you 7p-Midnight

Everyone from the Special Olympics to Michelle Malkin to the state of Michigan have spoken out against the word. Maybe it isn’t a hot button for you personally – but it is for many.

Beyond objectification of women and disregard for those with mental disabilities, the station is in full-on “drugs are cool, man” mode in advance of a Cheech & Chong concert this summer.

The aforementioned afternoon jock Forrest posted this photo to Twitter this week:

Here are the “tobacco pipes” my boss won’t let me give away for @cheechandchong at @RevCenterIdaho pic.twitter.com/fBdYVE6pI1

— Forrest (@rabidforrest) July 8, 2014

With a sign touting the station’s relationship with Boise State in the background and an extra “tobacco pipe” in the foreground, the announcer makes it appear he’s taking a bong hit while in the middle of his shift. One local rival snarked “my guy would be fired for posting a public photo like this.” When I ruminated on Twitter that maybe a blog post was due, Forrest seemed to think that was a great idea, giving his stamp of approval with a retweet:

Bong pics & using the R word – @969kkgl‘s new “hey we’re hip & edgy” tactic? Might be time for a blog post. #idahoradionews

— Don Day (@DonLDay) July 10, 2014

These are just a few disparate items but they seem to add up to a strategy shift: let’s appeal to men’s more primal instincts. Sex. Drugs. Careless language.

It’s a tactic that works in many markets across the country. But is Boise one of them? The area is stocked with conservatives, and I find even the self-identified liberals are generally pretty moderate in many ways. Maybe the audience will grow, but will blue chip advertisers want spots next to the drugs and the sex?

Time, and the constant pressure of the Nielsen ratings book, will tell.

UPDATE: Forrest pulled the tweet and corresponding image from Twitter. But he left a similar shot in Instagram:

Forrest also un-re-tweeted the tweets and basically seemed to retrench.

Also, the out-of-market night talent, Lyndsey from Atlanta, dialed me up on Twitter with a response:

@LyndseyOnAir It's not really about you… and that's not really what I said.

— Don Day (@DonLDay) July 11, 2014

@LyndseyOnAir Sure. It's an analysis – it's either the right strategy or it's not. The listeners ultimately make that call. #MeNoCare

— Don Day (@DonLDay) July 11, 2014

Don Day is the Digital Sales & Product Manager for KTVB, and wrote & edited the now-defunct IdahoRadioNews.com for five years.

Here’s a math equation for you, let me know if you think I’m confused:

$5 is more expensive than $9.

Got it? You hand me five dollars, and it will cost you more than if you hand me nine Mr. Washingtons.

No?

Let me explain.

Many providers of digital advertisements will charge you somewhere between $5 and $9 per thousand ads to show your local display ad. These ads work – fantastically. You capture an audience that is focused, and in a place to act (often sitting at their desk at work or at home).

But where are those ad impressions going to show? Are they going to show at all?

Here’s a tip: always make sure you require that your ad be shown above the fold. While that newspaper term is a little old-fashioned – it captures a simple concept: you want your ad to show on the top part of a website – not below the “fold” or scroll line. Why? Because chances are your ad isn’t going to be seen. Some sites will run three, four – even five ads in the right column – stacked up, or spread out from the top to the bottom. The only ad unit that is guaranteed to be seen is the top one.

So back to the math.

Let’s say Website A charges you $9 per thousand ads – but guarantees the message will run “ATF” or above the fold. That means that the vast majority of your impressions will be seen by a human being.

Website B will cut you a heck of a deal – just $5 per thousand ads. But they carry three ad units in the right hand column of their site – and only 1/3rd of your ads will show above the fold. That means your $5 worth of ads is only guaranteed to be seen by human eyes 333 times.

Website A – $9 for 1,000 impressions.
Website B – $5 for 333 impressions.

Simple math shows that you are really paying $15 to get 1,000 guaranteed impressions.

Now, some of those below the fold ad units will be seen – but on the home and landing pages, the vast majority of users don’t scroll very much. Also, once a user takes an action like scrolling, they are less likely to see your ad message.

If you’re a local advertiser looking to make your dollar go as far as you can – either buy sites that only place your ads above the fold, or require that site to run your ads above the fold.

(Disclosure: Don Day is the digital sales & product manager for KTVB.COM).