Clear Channel reforça na net

«No one thinks radio is going away. But neither is radio any longer just a box with one dial for on-off and volume and another dial for tuning. "Radio" today can come through a subscription satellite service, a multichannel HD unit, a cell phone, a computer and who knows where else. What has changed very little is content. People still want music, talk, news. So the radio companies that offer this content in the most popular places are the ones apt to have the longest, happiest, most lucrative lives. That's why Clear Channel New York has hired Zena Burns to the new position of online program director. On the corporate flow chart, that puts her on the level with program directors Jim Ryan of WLTW (106.7 FM), Bob Buchman of WAXQ (104.3 FM), Sharon Dastur of WHTZ (100.3 FM), Helen Little of WWPR (105.1 FM) and Rob Miller of WALK (97.5 FM) and WKTU (103.5 FM). "Her position indicates the importance this company places on what she'll be doing," says Tom Poleman, senior vice president of programming and marketing for Clear Channel New York. "She'll be on a par with all our other PDs."

«"Just having Zena here in this position will, I think, make our traditional program directors think a little more about the Web element," says Poleman. "Zena can help with ways to implement ideas in that area, and she'll also be developing ideas of her own." Right now, most radio fans still listen in the regular way. But as the Internet generation grows up, more are already turning to the Web for listening to and communicating with radio stations. That's why companies like Clear Channel are shifting their resources from traditional promotional areas like street vans toward Web sites and other new media that can make broader and often more interactive contact available all the time.

"One of the things that drew me to Clear Channel is that they're committed to online," says Burns. "This is going to be huge and they want to be ready." Since Burns will be working with all six Clear Channel stations, she will have content from the whole cluster available for Web packaging and delivery. That could mean merging some content - say, interviews or photos - for Web purposes. But she says each station's individuality will be maintained. "Each Clear Channel station has a very distinct listenership and brand identity," she says. "That will all be retained." The traditional radio listener, says Poleman, won't notice anything different. But after Burns' operation gets up and running - she starts Dec. 4 - he says online users will see dramatic changes. "The thing about Zena is that she's excellent at the art of blending content with new media applications," he says. "It's still all about content. This is just about presenting content in different ways." "To kids growing up today, the Internet is an appendage," says Burns. "They grew up with it like the last generation grew up with TV. Clear Channel is simply acknowledging that."

fonte: «Clear Channel weaves Web into its plans, New York Daily News , 15/11,06, DAVID HINCKLEY