Category Archives: Learfield

Webcast from Nebraska State Fair

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Today our farm network did a live webcast from the Nebraska State Fair. It was a 90 minute panel discussion on technology in agriculture and it was great radio. Except I’m pretty sure it wasn’t on the radio. Just our website. In fact, the last eight or ten ag events we’ve covered have not even been put up on our satellite channel and offered to our affiliated radio stations. We’d love it it they would air these long-form programs but program directors are less and less willing to air more than a short ag report in the middle of the day. And I’m not sure they’re wrong.

Are we (the network) wrong to produce this programming? We’re pretty sure Nebraska corn farmers are interested in anything having to do with ethanol. But if you’re the program director of a radio station in the middle of Nebraska, you ask yourself what percentage of my listeners want to listen to someone talk about corn for an hour. Wouldn’t our listeners rather hear some good country music?

Probably. But, as a former small-town program director, I’m convinced there is a “cool factor” at work here, too. It just isn’t cool to air all that farm stuff. Country music is cool. And everybody likes country music, the people in town and the people on the farm. It’s the safe call.

This is where we encounter the long tail of ag programming. While there may be only a few hundred people that care about the future of ethanol in Nebraska, they care very much. And it’s getting harder and harder for them to find in-depth, real-time programming on their local radio station. Enter the web with streaming audio and podcasts all the rest. You want an hour on sugar beets in southern Indiana? No problem, click here.

Radio stations could have it both ways. Put the longer, in-depth programming on their web site and promote same on the air. But radio station owners do not perceive the need. And they no logner have the staff to do much of anything “extra.” At the same time, their listeners are just a Google search away from that they want. And they don’t care too much about where they get it.

Once upon a time, the only place a farmer in Ogallala could get farm news and prices was on his local radio station. Advertisers who wanted to sell stuff to those farmers only had to advertise on that station. It was the natural order of things. The good old days.

Steve Spurrier Podcast

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New South Carolina Head Football Coach Steve Spurrier has the highest SEC winning percentage in history. And he is –I am told by those that know– something of rock star among big-name football coaches. Our company produces the Gamecock football broadcasts and the weekly call-in show, featuring Spurrier and the the play-by-play guy. Tomorrow night is the first show and in addition to airing on a bunch of SC radio stations…and streaming at Yahoo! Broadcast… we’ve set up a podcast feed. There has been almost zero publicity on this but I’ve got a feeling fans will find this quickly. Thursday nights from 7:05 – 8:00 p.m. EDT

Office walls memo

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The official memo hit my in-box today. If I read it correctly, there will be no un-approved “stuff” on the walls of our offices. No John Wayne or Elvis life-size cardboard cutouts. No B. B. King posters. Nothing. Just plain, white (or beige) walls. I understand why this is necessary but can’t help feeling that something has been lost.

New office

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You might have noticed some construction in my office-cam photos. Big remodel underway at Learfield Intergalactic with lots of office reshuffle and this blogger is leaving his home of 15 years (something like that) and moving to a different office on the other side of the building. They’re letting me keep an office (only a little smaller) because I’ve been with the company for 21 years. And I appreciate the gesture. I’ll be closer to the IT Gods and that’s a good thing. Still have a window and a better view. Soon as we get moved in get the cam going going, we’ll point it that way.

Update: Photo above was taken nearly 20 years ago in the old Learfield offices located on McCarty Street here in Jefferson City. We wore suits and ties back then.

Moving Day

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To a new office that isn’t vacant yet. I’ve spent a comfy and cozy 16 (17?) years in this office but the wrecking ball is swinging my way. On June 4th I will have been standing in the Learfield for 21 years. When I started we were all packed into this nice old house and most of us shared office space. Where did the time go?

Popcorn Memo

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After an iorn-clad promise of anonymity, we were given permission to share this memo one of our readers recently received:

“A reminder that Pop Corn is banned from the micro wave ovens in this building. The reason is simple – it catches fire, sets of the smoke alarm, and we evacuate the building into the street – out into the snow for 20 minutes while the fire service responds to the automated alert. THAT IS WHY THERE IS NO POP CORN IN THE VENDING MACHINES. And I can count at least 4 pop corn evacuations over three years.

The fire alarm came within a hairs breath of going off early this afternoon during one such incident. All the micro waves are now brightly marked with yellow tape with NO POPCORN. Despite that, a few minutes ago, someone just made some pop corn in a so marked micro wave. So please – no more pop corn. And you will be held to account if you evacuate this building and that will not be a pleasant experience. If you see someone trying to pop some – don’t call me – tell them to stop immediately and then call me.

If this plea doesn’t work I will simply remove all the micro waves except those in the caf area and turn a camera on those ones so they can be monitored. One way or the other the pop corn will be stopped.”

I hate nit pick on a topic of this gravity but how close is “a hairs breath?”