Where is TV? Like so much of our 21st-century world, it is constantly in motion –evolving, metamorphosing, mutating.  As Tom Goodwin, EVP, head of innovation at Zenith, a part of Publicis Media, succinctly described it in a March 2017 opinion piece on Digiday: “Twitter is now broadcasting live sports. Apple has a radio station; YouTube has 2,000 channels with more than a million subscribers;

Radio and music listeners and advertisers have more choices, which has led to industry consolidation and renewed efforts at the federal level to de-regulate ownership rules. A major consolidation announced during February 2017 was the proposed merger of Entercom and CBS Radio, which would make the combined company more competitive with #1 iHeartMedia. These consolidations will affect local markets

It’s long been a tradition and badge of honor among journalists to accept their role as the targets of the slings and arrows of the public, politicians and the business community. Journalists have willingly crashed the gates of propriety and power to reveal the facts we all deserve to know and to shine a light of truth on those who would mislead or use their position to exploit or to seek gain unfairly, unethically and/or illegally.

Local TV news is certainly not perfect. Complaints include too much focus on traffic accidents, fires, crime, etc. that affect too few citizens; not enough in-depth reporting on local government and issues; and over-dressed, over-manicured and over-coiffed announcers/personalities. Despite these and other shortcomings, a number of recent studies found that local TV news is trusted and believed more than all other news sources.

Many journalists, bloggers, scientists and futurists have described artificial intelligence and robotics as “The Third Industrial Revolution.” It may be more accurate to call it “The Everything Revolution,” because their use has already impacted many industries – and for decades. What AI and robotics are about to impact is virtually every other sector of society and everyone’s life.

US manufacturers allocate approximately $36 billion to $70 billion, annually, as co-op funds for which many (if not most) local SMBs, dealers, retailers and advertisers qualify to add to their advertising budgets. Some brains are obviously not so clear about the value and availability of co-op dollars, and how to use them, because approximately $14 billion to $35 billion are never used.

The media has been filled with stories about a so-called “retail apocalypse,” citing the large number of store closings, abandoned and eerily quiet shopping malls and the explosion of the Amazon phenomenon (and online shopping in general) as some of the primary reasons. It’s true that retail has been battered and bruised during the past years, especially 2017, but just as life must evolve to sustain itself, so must retail.

The future never waits for anyone or anything. It is eager and enthusiastic, even obsessed, with becoming the present. The future is an express train through history – and we’re all on board. The future never waits for anyone or anything. It is eager and enthusiastic, even obsessed, with becoming the present. The future is an express train through history – and we’re all on board.

In most movie and TV scripts, the last direction at the bottom of the last page is typically “fade to black.” Whether legacy (or linear or traditional) TV ever reaches that last page is still to be determined, but it isn’t happening anytime soon. The set is fully illuminated, the cameras are rolling and the actors are in position for another take, another scene – and the American public, as well viewers globally,

The competition is fierce for you and your station – and your prospects and clients. With consumer confidence very high, a strong economy and people’s personal financial situation continuing to improve rapidly, you have many opportunities during summer 2018 to make a big splash in your local market. Consumer confidence increased from 123.1 during December 2017 to 125.4 for January 2018, according to The Confidence Board Consumer Confidence

People and, therefore, consumers are complex creatures.  It’s even more the case today, as the world, in general, and the lives we live, specifically, bear little or no resemblance to the world and the lives of our childhood, whether we are Baby Boomers or Millennials. The rapid technological transformations we are experiencing today and those that will overwhelm and amaze us during the remainder

Part 1 of this two-part Special Report focused on the current data and insights on consumers’ behaviors, perceptions and attitudes. Brands and retailers can’t develop, implement and manage strategies and tactics to “reach, attract, capture and retain” consumers until they understand how consumers think about the buying process and the path they choose for each unique purchase journey.

Why does this Special Report from Media Group Online, Inc. use the word “enigma” to refer to direct mail? Advertisers and consumers’ continued use of the medium is a mystery, a puzzle, as it seems to be defying gravity. There are so many current conditions that should be pulling it to the ground with a resounding thud.

During the age of the Internet, gathering, reporting and delivering the news has become very competitive. Despite the increasing number of news sources, local TV news is still where more American adults seek information about the day’s events and the all-important weather forecast and sports headlines.

People in the Northern Hemisphere may celebrate June as the beginning of summer, but across the entire globe, it’s when Mary Meeker and her firm, Kleiner Perkins, publish their annual Internet Trends Report (with a little help from their friends). As has been the case for many years, the 2018 edition is book-length, at 294 pages. (See page 8 for a live link to the entire report.) It contains much more information and insights than can be shared in this month’s Special Report from Media Group Online, Inc.,