Musings for the Week of July 19th

Musing while watching the afternoon thunderstorms roll into and toward the NM HQ office….and wondering..



…how a person wakes up one morning and says…”gee, let me hide 18 monkeys under my clothes and head to the airport to fly out of here..” and then is amazed when stopped at a Mexican airport security checkpoint…swear…true story….and not a morning show stunt…we think…Les Nessman investigating….


Terrific dinner with Cumulus execs John Dickey (more energy than me I swear), Jan Jeffries and Gary Klein….what a terrific night of idea sharing and a little visit to the way back machine to my days in the record biz….


One of the longest running confabs, The Conclave, headed by old friend Tom Kay keeps chugging along…and attendance in a tough environment up 60%...greats panels and great learning…and..


….a revealed rift amongst broadcasters about the PRA…Bonneville and Saga heads differ in opinion…I’ve said it for a long time…if radio wasn’t so important to the record companies success why spend a gazillion dollars chasing airplay with promotion departments?...


…yep, gotta have it….the MODU phone…way small and way cool….phone, text and 2 gig of memory….soon in the states and the next generation of radio listeners will be early adopters…take a peek at www.modumobile.com  


..lots of notes regarding the Broadcasters Foundation and how to help….membership is $150 annually and donations of any amount are always welcome…info had by contacting President Jim Thompson at jim@thebfoa.org


…recent lunch with former Citadel Media prez Jim Robinson…it’s a monthly get-together that I always look forward to…always great food and always great idea sharing….JRo’s agent to the stars business is growing (agent to Rick Dees and others!) and he also has a great program that can save stations/groups a load of dough on utility bills….more info shoot me an email at tj@tjlambert.net


Premiere’s Julie Talbott has never, EVER failed to return a call or answer an email within a day…well earned respect amongst affiliates and peers…thanks for the call and the chat Jules!


…the buzz is all abuzz about hyper-local….ESPN does a great job with their local sites in NY, LA, DFW, Boston and Philly…..whenever I think of hyper-local I always think of Cromwell Group and their Pres Bud Walters….great owner who cares about his people and the communities that they serve….localism makes money too…Bud is ahead year-to-year….and has been even in a tough economy…


….call me a proud and biased family member but my brother’s company has to be in the mention for “best companies to work for”…brother Art and longtime friend/partner Ron treat their people very well with training, benefits, incentives and more….Art’s son Dean does the day to day….great vibe in the office…great culture…..check them out at www.lexjet.com (btw…he keeps my younger brother Gene way busy…a good thing!)


…how many of you had your hopes pinned on picking Louis Oosthuizen to win The Open?


..of the many magical things in this world one has to be the hummingbird…we have plenty here at NM HQ…there is nothing more awesome than having one park a foot from your eyes….

...lessons learned department....once did a profile interview...felt great during the interview but didn't get a chance to review before publishing....ALWAYS get agreement for that review process...was talking about a veery high level meeting and who was there and what we accomplished...said "and (this guy) had a hand in it as well" meaning of course that meeting...well the guy told everyone in the world that I was a shit since he had a major part in the overall project...and he did...never told me his feelings but ended up disparaging me later to CEO of our group....always get a review agreement...in retrospect I probably would've changed that answer a bit.....


Have a terrific week and many thanks for the great feedback…----tjl