Talkers New Media Wrap Up

I attended the Talkers Magazine New Media conference last weekend (Talkers magazine is the trade rag of the talk radio industry). To be honest I wasn't expecting much. The last talk radio conference I attended was Radio and Records (R.I.P.) Talk Radio Seminar out in LA in March and it was like going to a wake. So with low expectations I flew to NYC on Friday afternoon.

I must admit I was pleasantly surprised. Turnout was really strong. The energy in the room great. The industry finally is starting to understand that they are not in the radio business, they're in the media business with a focus on audio, and if they lock their future to terrestrial broadcasters then they'll sink with them.

This is the third time I attended this conference and the change in attitude over that time is quite marked. At Talkers 07 no one even began to understand what we were talking about or why we were there. At Talkers 08 there was a malaise that pervaded everything, everyone clearly knew the game had to change, they just had no idea what that meant. At Talkers 09 the path forward was clear. The internet and mobile are the future of talk media.

Everything always takes longer than you think it will.