I recently asked a prominent activist investor — someone who regularly demands from the public companies he targets various forms of boardroom change — what he would demand from a financially troubled radio network that needs to broaden its audience and make more money.
His answer: He would issue an ultimatum that the CEO and management team no longer produce polarizing content because it alienates many of those all-important listeners.
Meanwhile, if you have an employee who is telling management how current programming is turning off those consumers, don’t ever think about shooting the proverbial messenger.
Listen to him; maybe even give him a raise.
I’m withholding the activist investor’s name because he has enough problems on his hands to get in the middle of the unfolding crap show involving National Public Radio.
Suffice to say, the network, once known for its reliably wonkish takes on culture, politics and business, is doing just the opposite.
Here is the worst part- as NPR dies, it will take much of classical music and jazz with it. I do think there is a place for high culture in life, and that it should be publicly funded. Commercial stations cant play classical music because they cant cram commercials into a 50 minute symphony. Jazz is Americas treasure- one of our greatest gifts to the world. Somebody needs to do it. That being said, it galls me that the only place yu can hear classical music and jazz on the dial is so very very left wing.
NPR needs to be defunded. Where are you when you want to hear a symphony or jazz ? Do you only have an AM/FM radio ? You have a computer that can stream all the music you want. You have a cell phone that can stream all the music you want.
Why do I want to pay ( using my tax dollars ) to a station that I dont listen to.
So there should be no arts funding at all? even for the great arts? Yes, I am taking the wildly unpopular view that some art is better than othe art. Shakespeare should be made available to everyone. People should be able to hear classical music for free. It is better than crap pop music. But in your world, only that which makes money is good. Fine- than porn and filth it is all the time, becuase people are scum and only want porn and filth if left to their own devices. How am I to say that Shakespeare is better then rap?
Then get a record player, buy your own music and enjoy whatever you like at your own expense, not ours.