Among the many highlights of last month’s R&R Convention was a series of lively general sessions. Along with a no-holds-barred discussion of the “Jack”-style Adult Hits format that’s spreading like wildfire, the three-day gathering featured a panel of outspoken, envelope-pushing air talent discussing how to stay edgy without landing in hot water and an impressive group of industry insiders offering blunt critiques of new music breaking across various genres. These popular sessions proved that there’s a lot going on in the radio and recording industries.
   A standing-room-only crowd turned out to hear experts on the “Play anything” Adult Hits format — which operates across the country under names like “Jack,” “Bob” and “Dave” — talk about why the controversial format is resonating with listeners.
   Paragon Media CEO Mike Henry, whose company launched the first Jack station, CKKS in Vancouver, British Columbia, believes the format’s early success is indicative of a sea change for radio. “We knew within a few days that we’d hit a major vein,” he said of the first Jack launch. He feels that, despite the absence of jocks, the format — if done correctly — can give stations a unique identity. “There is personality to the station,” he said. “It just doesn’t come from people; it comes from writing and imaging.”
   In fact, Henry believes the only way the format can work with air talents is if the station has a top morning show. “If you have the biggest morning show with the widest music, you have a huge radio station,” he said. But he added that he knows of only two stations airing the format that also have high-profile morn-ing shows.
Infinity VP/Jack Programming Kurt Johnson, on the hot seat over his company’s decision to flip heritage Oldies station WCBS/New York to Jack, defended the move and even made light of Steven Van Zandt’s criticism during the Jacobs Media Summit, when Little Steven likened the flip of WCBS to exchanging the Statue of Liberty for a blow-up doll.
   Facing questioning from moderator Steve Goldstein, Johnson said he had someone who could help him explain the move, then went offstage — only to return with a well-endowed blow-up doll.
   Getting serious, Johnson said that, despite the controversy, dropping the Oldies format from WCBS was the right move. “This was not about blowing up the Oldies format,” Johnson said. “It just wasn’t the audience we wanted to reach at that time. I hate to make it as simple as that, but it really is just as simple as that.” He noted that Infinity still has vital Oldies stations in its stable.
   Meanwhile, Federated Media COO Tony Richardson said the emergence of the Adult Hits format has forced the industry to reconsider airing tight, heavily researched playlists and has reignited radio’s creative streak. “We’ve been trying to make a science out of something that is supposed to be an art,” he said.
McVay Media President Mike McVay split the difference between the format’s detractors and its fans, saying that while he believes Adult Hits’ emergence is good for radio, he questions its long-term potential.
   “Up and down the dial, we have made radio boring,” McVay said. “There is room for one of these in every market, and it’s making radio exciting again because people are being forced to compete with it.” He added, however, “Some of this is about creating the illusion of variety. Really, it’s just oldies-based AC. It’s a tactic, not a format.”
   McVay also questioned the practice of running the stations jockless. “Personalities do create variety,” he said. “At some point we’ll have to ask, ‘Where does it go from here?’”
Entertaining On The Edge
   Airing an edgy morning show in this ultra-decent, post-Janet Jackson era has presented challenges to owners and jocks alike. The art of operating on the edge — and where that murky edge is located — was the topic at the “Extreme Talent: Entertaining on the Edge” session, which featured Clear Channel Regional VP Kevin Metheny, WXTM/Cleveland morning talent Rover, WWDC/Washington morning talent Elliot Segal and moderator Don Anthony of Talentmasters.
The FCC is often blamed for creating today’s more oppressive atmosphere for radio programming, but when asked if there is such a thing as “the tyranny of the FCC,” the panelists said no. “I think the FCC is a necessary evil,” Segal said. “Although the last thing I want from the FCC is a list of what I can and can’t do.”
Rover’s complaint was that the FCC shows “a lack of consistency,” while Metheny opined, “There has been much confusion in the media and with elected officials as the social pendulum of morality swung in one direction, exaggerated by the election cycle and put on steroids by the masterful use of the issue by the conservative arm of the Republican party.”
   Metheny added, however, that a swinging pendulum, by its very nature, “will inevitably swing back, as long as we ride out the storm.”
The panelists said they don’t expect a lot of their radio colleagues to defect to satellite radio, though Howard Stern will do so next year. “Opie & Anthony had no choice,” Segal said, referring to the former WNEW/New York hosts who were fired after airing a description of a couple having sex in New York’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral. “Except for Howard, not a lot of people have chosen to go to satellite. Of those who did, most of them couldn’t get a job — or a job they liked — in terrestrial radio.”
   Metheny, who worked with Stern years ago at WNBC/New York, said, “What works for Howard is not about being dirty, it’s about being defiant. When he gets to Sirius, we’ll see how interesting his show is with unabated, ubiquitous f-bombs dropping.”
   To young talent looking to work on the edge, Segal said, “Work smart and be creative. Everything you do must be done for a reason, not just to shock. I make a point of studying my audience so I don’t do something just for shock value. Make sure everything you do is defensible and well-thought-out.”
   Rover added, “Be careful, and be smart. Don’t think you’re untouchable. The talent pool has shrunk so much that now more than ever, we need an infusion of good young talent.”
   Segal and Rover agreed that, despite congressional efforts to pass laws that would hold air talent liable for indecency violations, the onus should fall on the stations. “They know our act,” Rover said. “This is what they hired us to do, and they knew what they were getting.”
   When asked what he’d say if he could speak to an FCC commissioner, Rover said, “Let economics drive this debate. If a show is so raunchy that no one will listen to it and no one will advertise on it, leave it alone. It will just dry up and blow away on its own.”
Know-It-Alls Speak Out
   Representatives from every corner of the radio and record industries were on hand for the R&R Convention’s “Rate-a-Record” lunch, where Yahoo! Music users’ ratings of songs were combined with ratings from the crowd. Audience data was collected by way of voting devices furnished by Broadcast Architecture.
   On the panel were Radio One COO Mary Catherine Sneed, Gray Communications President/CEO Tony Gray, Gorman Media President John Gorman, Warner Bros. Records Sr. VP/Promotion Tom Biery, Bowling For Soup singer Jaret Reddick and Sanctuary Management’s Rick Calley.
   Of the 10 songs rated, the panelists were most fond of Pretty Ricky’s “Your Body,” Megan McCauley’s “Die for You” and Jay Williams’ “We.” They were widely split on Gorillaz’s “Feel Good Inc.” — which was the crowd’s favorite by far.
Gray said “Die for You” was “the closest thing [he’d] heard to a hit” during the session and said he believes Rhythmic stations will embrace “Your Body.” On the other end of the spectrum, Sneed said it would take “a programmer with balls” to add “Feel Good Inc.,” while Gorman complained that the song, “was all over the place.” In fact, commenting on the song’s drastic changes in tone, Reddick joked, “I like it when artists try to cram 17 songs into one. That’s a really good idea.”
   A Dell DJ MP3 player was reserved for the panelist whose responses most closely matched those of the Yahoo users, so Reddick unabashedly tried to tailor his votes to match the Yahoo opinions in an effort to win the player for a friend in the audience. For example, though he reacted tepidly to the Gorillaz song, he rated it highly.
   The tactic worked, as he and Sanctuary Management’s Rick Calley tied for the win. Four lucky audience members were also awarded Dell DJs.
Arbitron’s Tips For Success
   Despite the gathering’s active late-night social scene, hearty conventiongoers turned out for a 9am session on June 25 to hear Arbitron VP/Programming Services & Development Gary Marince share 10 tips stations can use to improve their ratings.
First, Marince urged stations to decide whether they want to drive cume or time spent listening, and, from there, create a plan to accomplish the goal. He also encouraged stations to develop specific objectives for increasing their audiences.
   “Increasing a station’s share is often merely implied — not mandated — at stations,” he said. “Get specific, whether it’s growing two-tenths of a point in the next book or increasing TSL by five minutes. And ask your talent for suggestions on how you can do it.”
   Marince also shared a few details of how Arbitron measures quarter-hour listening and told the crowd that understanding how his company arrives at its results is key to achieving ratings success.
   He also encouraged stations to create “appointment listening” by generating excitement around on-air events, like debuting new songs, and said air talent must always remember — especially at live appearances — that listeners want to feel like they’re making a connection with their favorite station personality.
“Insist that your talent say hello to fans and find out their names and where they’re from,” Marince said. “When air talent acknowledges people who come out to see them, it will move your station up from P6 to P1 for that listener.”

Additional reporting by Kevin Carter.