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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowWinter storms that crippled parts of the Midwest recently prompted Emmis Communications Corp. CEO Jeff Smulyan to again call on cell phone manufacturers to install radio receivers in their units.
If cell phones had FM receivers, Smulyan argued, radio stations could have served an even wider audience searching for updates on the weather, road conditions and school closings.
Smulyan used a note he received from Bud Walters, president of regional radio station operator Cromwell Group, to further support his argument. One of Tennessee-based Cromwell’s stations is in Owensboro, Ky., where much of the city lost power and had no landline or cellular telephone service after the storm.
Cell phones would not have been useless if they had FM radios built in, Walters said.
“As we look for ways to revitalize our industry, we note once again how important our medium is in times of crisis,” Smulyan wrote in an open letter to the radio industry. “Radio is where people turn to when they need information.”
Smulyan continues to push for the installation of radio receivers in cell phones and described conversations with federal officials and cell phone providers as “promising.” Several European cell phone makers already provide the service.
Faced with severe competition from satellite radio and MP3 players, traditional radio stations are searching for additional ways to remain competitive, particularly in a challenging economy that’s hurting advertising revenue.
In January, radio giant Clear Channel Communications Inc. implemented a massive restructuring plan that aims to cut $400 million in company costs, including the elimination of 1,500 jobs nationwide.
In November, Emmis cut 29 full-time and 6 part-time positions, or 4 percent of its work force. The company also trimmed the salaries of corporate-level workers earning more than $50,000 by 3 percent.
The Indianapolis media company lost $125.6 million in its fiscal third quarter ended Nov. 30, compared to a loss of only $2.1 million in the same quarter a year earlier.
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