Fort Wayne Site of the Day

Media Monday continues with yet another station I worked at on the air. 1999 was the year. Click on Pic.

Fort Wayne Site of the Day

I worked here a long time ago on the air and have friends who work here now. Click on Pic.

Fort Wayne Site of the Day

Go up the radio dial as Media Monday continues. Click on Pic.

Fort Wayne Site of the Day

As Media Monday continues on this site, we move from the part of the FM dial that the F.C.C. has reserved for non-profit organizations to the rest of the FM bandwidth starting with 92 and above.

I have worked for some of these radio stations, currently work for some of these stations and/or have former co-workers who work for some of these stations.

Today's station used to be known as Music 92.3 and I did afternoons on the air for about 6 months, before they flipped to an All 70's Music Station, as the first version of the Fort. The stayed on board doing mornings for about 6 months.

Click on Pic to visit them now.

What Women REALLY Want in the Bedroom

At least those between the ages of 46 and 64.

These are the Boomers, and according to Mediapost:

I Want My HGTV

What do sex, independence, tech savviness and HGTV have in common? All scored big in our new survey on mature consumer behavior and decision-making, as it relates to purchasing personal technology and consumer electronics.

Among the findings, Boomers report more independent purchase behavior than previous generations, many mature consumers self-identify as being tech-savvy, and Boomer women report the important role technology plays in their lives.

Several compelling lifestyle findings have emerged, among them:

• A TV in the bedroom is more important than regular sex for Boomer women: Women's interest in sex is linked to and parallels their feelings about their relationship. Sex was ranked more important to men regardless of how they ranked their feelings of closeness toward their partner. In response to the question, "What would you not be willing to give up?," both Boomer and Generation Ike female respondents said it was "television in the bedroom" versus the males' top response that it was "sex on a regular basis."

This finding comes on the heels of a new report by vibrantnation.com, challenging the stereotypes of sex and the older woman, and showing women taking control of their sexual lives. Arianna Huffington has said, "Sleep is the new sex," and has asserted, "Simply getting more sleep was the one thing that could improve the status of all women in [America]." Just last week, in a joint report by The New York Times and the "Today" show, we learned that 25% of couples sleep in separate bedrooms or beds; the National Association of Home Builders expects that by 2015 60% of custom homes will have dual master bedrooms. It seems like the sexual revolution has run headlong into "I Love Lucy."

• • Boomers report more independent purchase behavior: Boomers within a couple/spousal relationship report more independent purchase behavior, which is much different from mature consumers of the past -- the Ike and WWII generational cohorts. The more independent acting (with separate bank and retirement accounts) the Boomer partners are, the more money they spend without consulting each other. This is notable in product categories such as electronics.

Ten years ago, when we were targeting the WWII cohort for financial services products and housing, we talked to couples as a unit, frequently talking to the male head of household with a nod to the wife's influence. Part of this shift is due to the financial power of Boomer women. They have something their foremothers didn't have -- access to education, opportunities and careers. The balance of household power has shifted.

These results help us understand whether couples are really shopping for big-ticket items together or acting as individual consumers, particularly in categories traditionally considered male-dominated such as gaming and electronics. Consider that not that long ago, a family purchased a desktop computer to be shared by a household. Now individual family members control their own decisions regarding smartphones, laptops and tablet computers.

Markets must recognize the opportunity they may be missing by not speaking to women, or by assuming "household behavior" versus individual spending.

Our survey report, "Mature Consumer Behavior and Purchase Decisions on Consumer Electronics and Personal Technology Products," is available for download at the blog, Boomers in the Wild.

Lori Bitter is president of Continuum Crew, an integrated communications firm focused on engaging mature consumers, which she launched following the closure of JWT BOOM, a leading mature market advertising and marketing company.

Fort Wayne Site-of-the-Day

Yes, I know this guy... Click on Pic...

Staying Connected

When I was growing up, as a child of the 60's and teen of the 70's, we had fewer options for communication and entertainment.

Fort Wayne had 3, then 4 TV stations. Today over 70% of our market subscribes to some form of cable or cable like service.

I still remember my home phone number, 483-3818 which my parents had for over 20 years, then for some reason changed it.

Every member of my family and step family have their own personal phone numbers now due to the cellphone revolution.

I usually don't text, it is a pain without a qwerty keyboard on my phone. And I don't have a smartphone yet, no need for one, because I use my laptop for my internet connections.

I am on Facebook and have a MySpace account and LinkedIn Profile, a few blogs, a couple of email accounts and use Twitter daily.

How do I keep track of all of these? Mostly through email. I have alerts sent to my email from all these other online sources. So why do I have these online sources? Because it is not about me, it is about how the people I want to stay in touch with, want to stay in touch.

A couple days ago, I got a message from a client via Facebook. I had an inquiry for services via Linked In. And it works.

Last week I met about 50 new people face to face who are on Twitter and when I added them to people I follow, most of them did the same. Which resulted in my taking the next step in organizing my Twitter activity with Twitter Lists.

Is all of this connectivity to much? Sometimes I wonder. Like this weekend at church. There was a young family sitting in the pew in front of us. The Dad had a Bluetooth earpiece stuck in his right ear, that kept flashing. Next to him, his 4 year old son and 8 year old daughter both had cellphones that they were looking at during the service. I watched the Mom, and she acted as if this was all normal.

What's normal these days depends on who you are I suppose, what about you?

Fort Wayne Site-of-the-Day

Media Monday features the paper I used to deliver as a kid growing up in Fort Wayne. Click here to go there.

Fort Wayne Site-of-the-Day

Media Monday continues with one of my stations that recently updated their website design. Click here to go there.

Fort Wayne Site-of-the-Day

For the next few weeks, I'm going to do a Monday Media site of the day. Click here to go there.

Video Time: The Real Slumdog Millionaire

We live in such a world wide economy. Outsourcing tech jobs and phone support to places like India became so commonplace that we got used to hearing an Indian accent on the other end of the phone.

However, India now teaches people to speak English without an Indian accent.

Last year a friend contracted to have a website built with a man in England who outsourced the actual work to a woman in India.

Then last month the movie Slumdog Millionaire won big at the Oscars which has re-ignited interest in what is going on in India.

CBS recently did a story that made it to youtube:

When The Newscasters Make the News

I'm not sure that MSNBC should be doing this,
MSNBC Drops Olbermann, Matthews as News Anchors

By Howard Kurtz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, September 8, 2008; C01

MSNBC is removing Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews as the anchors of live political events, bowing to growing criticism that they are too opinionated to be seen as neutral in the heat of the presidential campaign.

David Gregory, the NBC newsman and White House correspondent who also hosts a program on MSNBC, will take over during such events as this fall's presidential and vice presidential debates and election night.

The move, confirmed by spokesmen for both networks, follows increasingly loud complaints about Olbermann's anchor role at the Democratic and Republican conventions. Olbermann, who regularly assails President Bush and GOP nominee John McCain on his "Countdown" program, was effusive in praising the acceptance speech of Democratic nominee Barack Obama. He drew flak Thursday when the Republicans played a video that included a tribute to the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks, saying that if the networks had done that, "we would be rightly eviscerated at all quarters, perhaps by the Republican Party itself, for exploiting the memories of the dead, and perhaps even for trying to evoke that pain again. If you reacted to that videotape the way I did, I apologize."

Matthews, who has criticized politicians in both parties, drew less criticism for his convention role but became a divisive figure during the primaries when he described how he was inspired by Obama's speeches and made disparaging remarks about Hillary Clinton, for which he later apologized.

In May, MSNBC President Phil Griffin said in an interview that during live events Olbermann and Matthews "put on different hats. I think the audience gets it. . . . I see zero problem."

But NBC News journalists, who often appear on the cable channel, did see a problem, arguing behind the scenes that MSNBC's move to the left -- which includes a new show, debuting tonight, for Air America radio host Rachel Maddow -- was tarnishing their reputation for fairness. Tom Brokaw, the interim host of "Meet the Press," said that at times Olbermann and Matthews went too far.

Olbermann and Matthews will remain as analysts during major political events, and officials at both networks, who declined to be identified discussing personnel moves, said Olbermann had initiated the discussions to clarify his role. They said Olbermann's influence at MSNBC would in no way be diminished and that the shift would enable him and Matthews to offer more candid analysis during live coverage. Olbermann confirmed yesterday he had initiated the discussions.

"Phil and I have debated this set-up since late winter/early spring (with me saying, 'Are you sure this flies?' and him saying, 'Yes, but let's judge it event by event') and I think we both reached the same point during the RNC," Olbermann said by e-mail.

Olbermann was involved in several on-air incidents during the conventions that drew unwanted attention. He told morning host Joe Scarborough, a former Republican congressman, to "get a shovel" as Scarborough was defending the McCain campaign. And when GOP strategist Mike Murphy was debating Matthews, Olbermann could be heard saying, "Let's wrap him up."

These and other clashes fueled a sense that conservative voices are less than welcome at MSNBC as it has tried to position itself as a left-wing alternative to Fox News Channel. Olbermann disputes this view, calling the incidents "overblown." Still, the network canceled Tucker Carlson's show in March and has diminished his role. And Dan Abrams, the veteran NBC legal analyst and former MSNBC general manager, had his program dropped last month to make room for Maddow, an Olbermann protege.

MSNBC's more liberal outlook has boosted its ratings, though it remains the third-place cable news channel. But both parties began castigating its coverage last spring. Steve Schmidt, McCain's top strategist, called the network "an organ of the Democratic National Committee," and Clinton campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe said Matthews was "in the tank" for Obama.

Thursday Lunch at The Summit Club

As the VP of Communications for the Advertising Federation of Fort Wayne, I want to make sure you found out about this Thursdays Lunch meeting. If you are involved in advertising, marketing, media, or want to find out if you qualify to be a member and you are in the Fort Wayne area, we'd love to see you, (and the view from the Summit Club is fantastic too!)

To view this email as a web page, go here.

GET ACTIVE WITH AD FED THURSDAY Get Active With Ad Fed is our First Meeting for all members and prospective members for the new year. SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT This Just In.... Join us as we welcome American Advertising Federation District 6 Governer-Elect Allison Robbins as she shares details on the upcoming Fall Conference, and answers your questions on the Addy's and other topics. Plus We Are Growing & Need Your Input On: Mentoring Students & Young Professionals Recognizing the work, achievements & creativity being done in Fort Wayne (Addy's & Awards) Improving our Impact on the Advertising & Marketing Community DETAILS: Buffet Luncheon 11:30a-1p ThisThursday August 21 @ The Summit Club 110 West Berry, Ft. Wayne Bring Your Ideas, Energy, Questions & Lunch Money (Special price only $15) RSVP at www.AdFedFortWayne.org (click here) or call 469-3907 Today Please. Also Save the Date for our September 18th Ad Fed Lunch

August 21

Mark your calendar. I'll have details later this week.

Meet Tom Brokaw

NBC announced (from Wired.com):

NBC Plays It Safe By Tapping Brokaw for "Meet The Press"

In a bid for stability over reinvention NBC has tapped former nightly news anchor Tom Brokaw to take over hosting duties for "Meet the Press," the Sunday public affairs program whose long-time moderator, Tim Russert, died unexpectedly 10 days ago.

NBC said Brokaw would moderate MTP through the 2008 presidential election.

The choice of gravitas over an attempt to attract another -- or at least an additional -- demographic is significant because NBC has an unusually deep bench of seasoned on-air political interviewers and commentators who ply their chair-bound trade nightly on MSNBC -- unlike any of the other networks, who do not have cable counterparts.

MSNBC's cable stars include Chris Matthews (who also hosts a Sunday political talk show on the Washington NBC affiliate) and Keith Olbermann -- both of whom have seen their prominence rise dramatically in the past year or so with opinionated and intense coverage of the presidential primaries.

Olbermann especially has caught fire with periodic "Special Comments" in which he eviscerates President Bush -- and which are staples on YouTube -- and by being the lead anchor on key primary result nights, along with Matthews.

There are other lights on the ascent as well: NBC White House Correspondent David Gregory is the newest addition to the hour-long political talk format, with "Race to the White House," and correspondent David Shuster is a frequent fill-in host on the MSNBC political bloc who also contributes reporting and commentary to all shows in the evening lineup.

Nobody was seen publicly vying for the job, which would have been the height of unseemliness. But MSNBC strongly denied a New York Post report that Matthews "seemed to be plotting" to get Russert's job and that Olbermann threatened to quit if he didn't get it. On his "Countdown" program Olbermann expressed his own disgust at the newspaper report, printed on the day of Russert's memorial and added that he wasn't remotely qualified to fill Russert's shoes.

And yet ... it is precisely these sorts of unexpected tragedies that create the opportunity for a paradigm shift, so the choice of Brokaw has to be seen, if not dull, as ... safe.

Brokaw, a former "Today" Show host, was NBC's network news anchor from 1981 until 2004, when he retired at age 64. He's been a special correspondent for the network since then, a reliable appearance on major political nights and a best-selling author: "The Greatest Generation" coined a phrase and sparked a new interest in the World War II.

We wish Brokaw well and hope he can survive the speculation -- which begins now -- about who will replace him after Nov. 4.

And, we're hoping this won't turn into another Bob-Scheiffer-for-Katie-Couric-deal. For our view of things, see above.

Life BEFORE the Internet

Let's see, there was radio and TV which were mostly 1 way communication, newspapers and magazines too (except for the hand selected letters to the editors.)

Here in Fort Wayne, there was also a semi-regular fax sent to the media outlets by a guy who goes by the name Rich Reynolds. His publication moved over to the internet and he still posts items to his website and various blogs. This self proclaimed media critic has perhaps lost some of his punch due to the growth of bloggers and the fact that anyone with a little time can publish (or post) their thoughts on nearly any matter they carry about.

But, here's a salute to Rich and his current incarnation of Fort Wayne Mediawatch...