Seeing things clearly (In the digital age)

In this digital age of high definition, I'm beginning to see things all too clearly. I'm just not sure that I like everything I see. The recent Canadian Music Week gave us reason to pause and take a look at a few timely issues in the communication (i.e. broadcast/ entertainment/ advertising) industry.

Firstly, on a positive note, I would like to announce a special award to J.J. Johnson (deserving winner of his ninth Programme Director of the Year award) for most entertaining business card. The months of the year are listed around the outside of the card. Each square is punched when J.J. makes it through another month. There is talk of making this sort of card Standard issue.

Even while all eyes (and ears) were turning toward to the Internet, Duff Roman's enthusiasm for the recently debuted digital technology was infectious. His employer, CHUM-FM, was sited as station of the year by the OAB for their work with new technologies. It is certainly in the broadcasters' interests to protect the value of their licenses while improving service to their listeners. At the same time, the throngs streaming toward the net's potential can't be ignored.

Duff argues that digital radio offers "point to multi-point" transmission while the net must currently be content with "point to point." Effectively, this means that the 1/4 hour audiences for net-based stations are limited, constrained by the servers' finite capabilities. In addition to improved sound quality, digital offers a number of practical new features. The visual in-car display can show song titles, advertiser information, maps, coupons, etc. Virtually all of the major manufacturers have developed digital radios.

A fly in the ointment is the fact that while Canada's agreed upon technology jives with that found in Europe, the U.S. is going in a different direction. Major U.S. broadcasters were concerned that our technology put all stations on an even playing field, costing some stations their current advantage. The options they were left with are technologically inferior. As such, the whole movement has stalled down south.

Digital vs. the Internet

Can the two technologies not only exist, but actually compliment each other? Stay tuned. During Canadian Music Week, the Net was everywhere. Everything short of the sandwiches came with a dot com or a dot net appendage.

It was generally agreed that few stations have taken commercial advantage of their web sites. Yet the potential is frustratingly obvious. For most stations, the Internet remains a vague entry on their promotion budget. The inherent advantage in having a radio station to promote a commercially vibrant web site remains virtually untapped. People were scurrying in all directions spewing discussions of streaming audio and downloadable MP3's. The visible tension arose from the fear that one might miss the discussion that helped make sense of this brave new world.

As usual, there were few surprises at the music industry's award ceremonies. The list of winning radio stations and retailers are certainly of the highest quality. Still, the self-serving manner of selection render the results a little less meaningful.

And then there were the Radio Marketing Bureau's Crystal Awards which have returned to replace the Impact Awards. The Impacts were notable because they were voted on by panels of consumers. The award winners were entertaining ads that actually worked. After being narrowed down to a list of finalists, this year's ads were given over to a small final judging panel. On this nine member panel were representatives of three agencies and one production house. While the winning ads were excellent, imagine our surprise when it was announced that all nine of the awards going to agency produced commercials went to submissions from these same four firms.

The ceremonies featured exciting live performances from the Jeff Healey Band and Natalie McMaster. Members of the somewhat jaded crowd became so enthused that they almost put down their drinks and applauded.

Lastly, on a related note, I was left pondering the power of special interest groups and their influence on broadcasters. Last month I wrote about YNN (Youth News Network), a closed circuit daily news programme running (in a test phase) in schools across Canada. In return for airing a limited number of tightly restricted ads in the supplied programming, YNN supplies each school with approximately $150,000 of computer and video equipment.

The man behind the programme, Rod MacDonald, has a sincere and unflinching commitment to education. Despite the fact that the programme, where active, has been approved by the Boards of Education (not to mention the participating principals and teachers), a small band of militant opponents have set out to cause trouble.

The principal of Mississauga's Meadowvale High School confirms that fact that, despite having an enrollment of over 1700 students, the opposition can be counted on one hand. Members of the Canadian Teachers Federation and the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation have intimidated advertisers and teachers, all while spreading misinformation. They bombard the press. In one shocking action, the CTF demanded that the Canadian Race Relations Foundation stop airing its anti-racism commercials in this programme for teens.

Despite the attempt of some self-interested parties to muddy the waters, things are getting clearer. I just wish I could see a way out.