To:  Richard Wagoner
Re:  Daily Breeze article on 9/25/09, "Bad Move for AM station?"
 
Newspapers  have really changed.  Once, the "facts" in newspaper stories were just that, facts.  Now they appear to be unsupported opinion, that fly in the face of facts. Your story on 9/25/2009 in the Daily Breeze (Bad Moves for AM station) is the perfect example. 
 
Let's start with a couple of real facts.
 
You ask "What's killing radio?"  The answer is, nothing.
 
But you wouldn't know that from reading your article or countless others that are based on the personal assumptions of newswriters rather than real facts.
 
Radio isn't dead.  Thanks to its unique content and new technological platforms, it's thriving and growing.  There are millions of teens in Los Angeles and all over the country who listen to radio every day. The latest Arbitron* ratings show that 95.6% of teens in Los Angeles listen to radio every week.  Nielsen** recently surveyed 51 markets in the U.S. and found that 90% of teens in those market spent over 16 hours a week listening to radio.
 
You claim that "The iPod revolution" is "killing" radio.  Let's try some real facts here,too. Check with  numerous syndicated research companies, including Arbitron, Scarborough, The Media Audit and Nielsen, just to name a few.  As Arbitron shows, more people in Los Angeles are listening to radio now than ever before (see attached chart).  The newest RADAR 102*** national radio ratings show that 235 million people age 12+ listen to radio every week, for more than 2.5 hours each day.
 
Why? Because no 'Player' has the ability to connect with an audience like radio.
 
Remember, too, that every car has a radio, every computer can stream local radio, and now, as you noted, now iPods and (for years, actually, it's just the HD that's new to them) Zunes can do so, too.  That makes them all radios.  More people own radios than own cell phones, let alone iPods or MP3 players.
 
As for your lament that the laws of physics prevent you from hearing AM radio on your iPod -- that's not a fact either.  Try an app called "ooTunes" that allows for live streaming of 12,000 stations, including AMs, via TalkRadioOne.com. 
 
So, let's be honest.  Nothing is killing Radio.  But something sure is killing factual newspaper reporting.
 
Mary Beth Garber
President
Southern California Broadcasters Association
 
*Arbitron PPM Los Angeles Metro Ratings, June-July 2009, Monday - Sunday, 5A - mid, P12-17
**Nielsen aggregate ratings for 51 markets,  March-April 2009, Monday - Sunday, 6A-Mid, P12-17
***RADAR 102, September 2009, Monday - Sunday, 6A - Mid, P12+

Mary Beth Garber's response to Richard Wagoner

Richard Wagoner's article in Daily Breeze, September 25, 2009

Consumer's Media Choice Chart