I have had a break from the weekly blog posts over the Christmas and New Year period. I had a post scheduled for this week, which had to be retimed for next week- all will become clear when it’s published- that sounds all very clandestine but honestly, it’s pretty simple.
At last minute I had a spare week, and nothing planned. It’s a bit like having a sudden show dropped on you at the last minute when you are a presenter. I decided that rather than just elongate the break still further, I’d drop in a few thoughts which hadn’t formed into anything worthy of a longer blog post.
1. Regulators should regulate. Companies should comply. This thought has been buzzing around my head after listening to an excellent podcast which made a very good point- the number one priority and purpose of a company is to make a profit. They are geared up for it, designed for it, and that is their central mission. Yes, I’m sure some companies have a worthy sense of good, wanting to do the “right thing” for the customer, the public at large or the human race. Fundamentally though, given a choice between loss or bankruptcy or making profit, they would choose profit. Board directors have an obligation to do so.
In that world, the costly obligations which are placed on companies by a regulator or licence or contract etc, need to be upheld, since a company by design, will always be trying, and willing to cut those costly things if they could.
2. Evolution in media is baked in and it’s silly to stand on the beach trying to stop the tide. I’ve posted before that the model of radio, commercial radio in particular, was first made in the early 1970s. Here in 2024 no other business would operate on the rules of engagement from 5o years ago.
3. If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it. It’s a line often quoted when things change and it has a particular irritant for me. Only those in the middle of the change or rather the orchestrators of it, are aware of all the facts and the circumstance to make the judgment about whether something is broken or not. All radio people have an innate ability to make something which is bad, seem good most of the time. We can all roll it in glitter. I remember a few times when making changes, people saying that phrase- “if it ain’t broken…”, and were surprised every time to discover just how broken it really was.
None of these thoughts are fleshed out in a form that would require a full post, and so they are more thought starters. I will no doubt come back to them in the coming months and weeks. Normal service will be resumed next week with a more fully formed post.
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