• Aprill Brandon •
• Originally published August 14, 2008 at 12:05 a.m., updated August 14, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

First it was supposed to be television. Then it was going to be video.

In 2008, is it going to be technology that finally kills the radio star?

With new technologies like iPods, satellite radio and online streaming music becoming more common, talk of traditional terrestrial radio biting the dust has been running rampant in recent years. Questions of whether the industry can survive the storm of new audio gadgets have some saying the death of radio is imminent.

Twenty-two-year-old Scott Beldon of Victoria is one of those people. At home and work, he listens to iTunes or Internet radio and when he’s on the go, his iPod is always by his side.

“With radio, you always had to put up with commercials and songs you didn’t like. But that’s not the case anymore,” he said. “In today’s world, the radio has become outdated.”

But don’t jump the gun just yet, those in the radio industry are saying.

On a national scale, the radio industry has seen its sales revenue and audience share drop. However, it’s still a big, successful business by many measures, said Radio World Newspaper editor-in-chief Paul McLane.

“I believe radio will survive. I’m a believer in the long term resilience of radio, but I don’t think it will survive if it doesn’t continue to adapt,” he said.

He added that the industry is going through something of an identity crisis right now and those in the industry are asking themselves what does it mean in 2008 to be a radio station.

“There’s this sense that a lot of people have come to the conclusion that radio is doomed and there isn’t anything you do about it. I don’t agree with that at all,” he said. “I think a lot of very savvy radio managers are thinking about how we can reinvent what we do and how we can become content providers to this new generation of American consumers.”

Locally, the outlook is even brighter, with terrestrial radio thriving in Victoria. Jeff Lyon, vice president and general manager at GAP Broadcasting, said recent technology hasn’t had an effect on this market yet.

“Actually this is one of the best years we’ve had. Business is up 25 percent from last year,” he said. “Markets of this size tend to be more local, responding to things that matter to our listening public and that local content makes a difference.”

GAP Broadcasting owns local stations KIXS 108 FM, KLUB 106.9 FM and KQVT 92.3 FM, which are consistently three of the highest rated stations in the area, Lyon said. Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., KIXS alone pulls in about a 20 percent share of the market. The station’s morning show has tripled its audience from last year and they have plans to draw in more listeners with a new and improved Web site that has live streaming audio, which is set to launch in September.

If radio is going to survive, radio stations need to keep up with the latest technology and to use it to their advantage, said Joe Bob Burris, KIXS music and program manager.

“Radio is going to thrive and it is thriving but you have to stay ahead. Right now we are moving more toward the Internet side of things because we feel the Web is going to become a larger part of the radio experience,” he said.

At Victoria Radio Works, which owns five stations in Victoria, business is also booming. A big part of their success is also localism, said Russell Fowler, program director for KBAR 100.9 FM.

“Localism sets you apart from new technology and entertainment. On his morning show on KVIC 95.1, Joe Friar talks about what happened to him at the grocery store or when he picked up his kid from school,” he said. “That’s local and relatable and something that someone doing a podcast on the east coast can’t do.”

Burris agreed that while new audio technology is great, it won’t ever fully replace radio. “Most people aren’t going to pay a subscription fee for satellite radio when they can hear the same music for free,” he said. “Not to mention, no one has ever won $10,000 listening to an iPod.”

But that doesn’t mean traditional terrestrial radio is out of the woods just yet. McLane said some radio companies have abandoned true localism and haven’t paid enough attention to the quality of their content.

“Localism is an important idea and it’s the underpinning of the industry. But many people have gotten too far away from this idea and need to figure out how to do it again,” he said. “It’s a fascinating time in media right now but it’s a tough one. I don’t think worries are overblown but I wouldn’t write off radio just yet.”

• AM/FM radio’s competition:

  iPod: A portable media player in which you can download music and other media from your computer.

  Satellite or subscription radio: A digital radio signal that is broadcast by a satellite and covers a much wider geographical ...

• SHOW ALL »

AM/FM radio’s competition:

iPod: A portable media player in which you can download music and other media from your computer.

Satellite or subscription radio: A digital radio signal that is broadcast by a satellite and covers a much wider geographical range than terrestrial radio signals.

Internet radio: An audio broadcasting service transmitted via the Internet.

www.Pandora.com: an Internet radio service in which users enter a song or artist that they enjoy. The service then responds by playing selections that are musically similar.

Podcast: A digital recording of a radio broadcast or similar program available on the Internet that can also be downloaded to a personal audio player.

iTunes: A computer application used for buying, playing and organizing digital music and video files.

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