Half Effort, No Result

Sell the helicopter. Close up shop at Airwatch. The traffic report is dead.

That's what a new report claims. It simply says younger audiences, like myself, don't want to hear them anymore. Must have something to do with the fact Americans are giving up driving, forever riding unicycles to their destinations instead.

The report says:

"The region's top-rated pop station, KIIS-FM, recently dropped afternoon traffic reports after AMP-FM, a new Top 40 station received higher ratings without traffic updates."

Probably since most people in their 20s are unemployed, still live with mom and dad, and don't have a driver's license. But that's beside the point.

Radio is once again listening to the worst possible place: A consultant who can promise them a quick way to reduce capital expenses:

"Metro Traffic, a division of Westwood One Inc., began consolidating its 60 traffic reporting operations around the nation last year to just 13. "

GPS, cell phones, and in-car Wi-Fi mean fewer people needing to listen to the radio, they say. But that's okay. "Airwatch has a growing service providing traffic updates directly to navigational units in vehicles."

Let me level with you as a 25 year old: A white flag ain't a great business plan.

I am more than willing to shift permanently away from radio for news and traffic information if that's the industry's desire. But let me warn you, once I and my fellow Gen Y'ers break our radio habit, we will never come back.

Translation: Your business will be dead. Over. Gone. Sell the spectrum (like you did the helicopter) and go into the Wi-Fi business.

May I propose a contrary option: Expand traffic reports into explanations of the problem, rather than raw data. My Garmin can tell me there is "a crash southbound I-15 at 90th South." Only a radio station can tell me that "a Walmart truck swerved to avoid a stalled car and tipped over just before the Sandy construction zone, blocking the three left lanes." A traffic jam is much more bearable if a listener knows why they have to wait.

That requires hiring people who can call U.H.P., talk with listeners on the phone, and (ideally) fly overhead and look. GPS will never replace that.

The decision is yours. Invest in your product now and keep the business alive awhile, or wave the white flag now. Don't worry. We Gen Y'ers will one day be happy to chop up the FM spectrum for cheap internet access.