In a time when technology is changing at a breakneck speed, industries are working to understand how those changes will impact the way they operate. And when that industry is focused on communications, the need to plan ahead becomes even more imperative.
Radio industry leaders have been adapting to the shifting technological horizon since the advent of the internet more than 30 years ago, but changes like the growth of podcasting, the development of artificial intelligence, and even changes in car manufacturing are all creating new urgency.
Embracing digital
In the past decade or so, companies like Woodward Community Media — the sister company of Insight Publications — have developed a more strategic look at how they use digital platforms, says Kelly Radandt, market manager.
“Our initial plan was to kind of be wherever the listener needs us to be — whether that’s all the different platforms and social media, podcasts, apps, everything,” Radandt says. But Woodward has learned it needs to do what makes the most sense for each brand with a common end goal in mind.
“One of the things that radio does really well is build community,” says Kaytie Kelly, Woodward digital director. “Now, we have the capability of building community and growing our community in more than one place.”
In 2023, Woodward Community Media’s cluster of six radio stations — as well as its streaming-only station known as Deep Cuts, which was launched in April 2023 — saw more than 25 million digital touchpoints across various platforms including websites, streams, social media channels, and email clubs, Kelly says.
One of the things that radio does really well is build community. Now, we have the capability of building community and growing our community in more than one place.
— Kaytie Kelly, digital director, Woodward Community Media
Additionally, from 2022 to 2023 Woodward witnessed an average 8% increase in streaming via its website across its six stations and Deep Cuts, and those streaming listeners are tuning in longer.
Making the most of digital opportunities means understanding which social media platforms are preferred by listening audiences. An example is that X (formerly Twitter) doesn’t appeal much to the 95.9 KISS-FM audience, “but it works incredibly well for the (Appleton Sports Radio) SCORE audience,” Kelly says. So Woodward has doubled down on using X for SCORE and instead focused on other spaces like Instagram or Facebook for KISS, “where our audience truly does live,” she says.
But it’s always a moving target, especially with new platforms continually introduced. And it’s not as easy as repurposing on-air shows and popping those onto social media, because that’s not what users of the platform are seeking, says B.J. DeGroot, talk brand manager for Woodward.
Regardless of where content is posted, the aim is to draw listeners back to the website because it’s the property that the company owns and controls. “Facebook can take away whatever they wanted, Twitter (X) can block an account, and we don’t have access to that — we can control what we put on the website and use social media to amplify that,” DeGroot says.
Podcasting
Podcasting, also, is “kind of a hot topic within the industry,” DeGroot says. “I think when we originally jumped in we thought, let’s just take what we have on air and make a podcast.” DeGroot says Woodward quickly realized that it’s a different form, with a narrower focus. But it works for certain audiences.
From a business perspective, Woodward focuses more on its audio‑on‑demand, but it has turned to the medium to reach certain audiences, such as through the NEW Manufacturing Insights podcast hosted by Insight on Manufacturing editor Kate Bruns and Northeast Wisconsin Manufacturing Alliance executive director Ann Franz.
“A podcast is very niche, and that’s exactly what they’re hitting — there’s not a ton out there from a manufacturing side,” DeGroot says.
While podcasting has grown in popularity, “radio remains extremely popular and dominates platforms like Sirius XM, podcasts and other streaming services,” says Michelle Vetterkind, president and CEO of the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association.
An Edison Research “Share of Ear” report in Q2 of 2023 shows that 36% of time spent listening to audio sources went to AM/FM radio, both over-the-air and streaming.
What’s more, radio is local. “Unlike podcasts and Sirius XM, radio stations are based right here in our communities and are staffed by those who live in the communities the stations serve,” Vetterkind says.
That plays directly into radio’s ability to give back to communities and to be a stabilizing voice in a time when “misinformation and disinformation runs rampant online and on the Big Tech platforms,” Vetterkind says. “Radio continues to deliver local, trusted and free information to the communities it serves, just as it has done for decades.”
AM radio in every vehicle
That ability to transmit needed information has become the center of debate as major auto manufacturers eliminate AM radio from new vehicles, partially to save money and in some cases because it’s not compatible with electric vehicles. “For companies like ours that own great big AM radio stations across the country, that news is a little bit scary for us,” says Jason Hillery, operations manager of Midwest Communications in Green Bay. “But at the same time, we know that Congress overall is working on the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act.”
The bill, which has bipartisan support, has passed the House and as of April was awaiting vote by the Senate.
“Policymakers across the political spectrum understand the importance of AM radio, both in times of emergency and for the diverse populations AM serves,” Vetterkind says. “These lawmakers understand that when disaster strikes, and cell/broadband fails, AM radio is there to deliver critical lifesaving information.”
While AM listenership is diminishing — mainly popular with people of Gen-X age and older — Vetterkind says 82 million Americans tune into AM radio each month, including a lot of listeners within Latino and Asian audiences.
And the reach of AM is extremely valuable especially in times of emergency, Hillery says. “Some of those signals cover entire states or large portions of them,” he says. “In the event of some sort of an emergency scenario, AM radio gets out far — much, much farther than FM.”
In the past decade or so, radio companies like Midwest and Woodward have connected AM and FM stations so that AM content is available on FM stations, and streaming has added another level of listenership, Hillery says. For example, WTAQ news talk station Green Bay has full AM and FM signals, “but our streaming numbers are also astronomical,” Hillery says. “So I think we’ve been taking a lot of steps here in this particular company over the last decade or more, saying, ‘Hey, is AM listenership dwindling in some areas?’ Yeah, absolutely. But at the same time, adding that FM signal certainly helps the cause.”
The use of artificial intelligence
The use of artificial intelligence, or AI, will impact the industry. For one, there’s artificially generated music. “Do you have to police the songs when they come in now from various sources? It’s like, OK, is this really a real Drake song?” Hillery says. “You’ve also got radio companies kind of dabbling with this idea that we’re going to have AI radio hosts.”
In 2023, a Portland radio station debuted an AI host based on the voice of a real host — and it sounded a lot like the original.
“I think certainly to an extent, a lot of people in our building were like, ‘Hey, is this going to be a thing? Are we actually going to go this route?’ And the answer is no,” Hillery says. “I think, can you do it? Yeah. Is it easy? Sure. Is it cost effective? Yeah, but you can’t really replace that one-on-one connection.”
Woodward’s KISS-FM once tried out an AI voice segment on Katie Schurk and Nick Vitrano’s morning show, but it didn’t go over well, Radandt says. The company uses a third-party AI weather tool that continually updates the WHBY website. But beyond that, Woodward is simply keeping a close watch.
“I think there’s no way to escape it — we’re going to have to figure out ways to adapt it into our world,” Kelly says. It may be used to help streamline processes and make things more efficient and effective. “But I don’t think it’s going to replace the personal touch that you get from an organization that’s so focused on building a community.”
For the near future, Hillery sees multi-platform radio usage continuing to explode, particularly in an election year. “For us, being on the FM dial is still wildly important,” he says. “The majority of the listening still happens in the car, but the thing that we have found is that as radios in the home have gone away, smart speakers have replaced that.”
As long as radio offers a great product on FM, “it’s going to feed into those other platforms that we’re taking part in as well,” Hillery says. “And as long as we continue to promote them well and give people a good experience … I think we’re going to weather that storm just fine.”
Unlike podcasts and Sirius XM, radio stations are based right here in our communities and are staffed by those who live in the communities the stations serve.
— Michelle Vetterkind, president and CEO, Wisconsin Broadcasters Association
