Over the weekend, I had the privilege of taking part in a panel discussion at my alma mater, the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. Several of us, from around the country, tackled challenging questions about the future of media. At the end of the three hour forum, there seemed to be unity on three points:

-The content the audience likes best will win
-Media will continue to change, significantly, in the coming years
-It’s impossible to predict the future because what seems like the future today won’t be tomorrow

I believe that social media platforms provide an opportunity to traditional media outlets to play to their strengths and recapture some of what made them great. Via blogs and networking sites, two-way communication enables local outlets, in particular, to create personal connections with their audiences. Just like radio stations such as CKLW in Detroit 1960s and 1970s led listeners to call them with news tips, local outlets today can generate those types of touchpoints via Twitter. Just like FM stations, like WRIF in Detroit in the 70s and 80s, motivated thousands of listeners to essentially deface their second most expensive assets – by placing bumper stickers on their cars – Facebook can allow listeners and viewers to declare themselves as “fans.” But none of that is possible without local personalities engaging audiences.

Others on the panels brought up important points, such as:

-Facebook risks losing audience because “Farmville” updates and the like cause clutter and interrupt the experience users are seeking. It’s important for pros to keep their eyes open for “The Next Facebook.”
-Other national brands could harness the power of local radio, and share costs with station owners, following the lead of Disney and ESPN
-Radio stations are still profitable. But, they have cut local programming (often to the bone) to maintain the margins owners have enjoyed in the past as well as pay the debt incurred during the buying binges of the 1990s and 2000s
-Newspapers have seen their audiences go to their Web sites, but risk losing them because, through cost-cutting, many have skimped on multimedia content, something today’s consumer craves

These professional discussions are helpful to those who attend and those who participate because every time they take place, they are merely snapshots. Reconvene this group in 90 days, you’ll hear something different. That’s the world of communications we live in today and that’s why we strive to stay ahead of the trends.

This entry was posted on Monday, March 8th, 2010 at 3:22 pm by Matt Friedman and is filed under Matt Friedman, Social media, communications, media, radio. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.