The outdoor advertising industry is the only legacy media that's been emboldened by internet, continuing to grow while competing media shrink. Hosts Gordon & Corey explore the possibility that the outdoor advertising industry might leverage its digital signage to compete with the local news industry. They bring on outdoor industry consultant Kevin Gephart to pick his brains what's next for outdoor. Stay in the loop with all things Borrell when you join our Research Alert Lists. As always, th...
Jun 30, 2025•23 min•Ep. 146
SMBs are becoming more savvy about advertising. That leads Gordon & Corey to predict the rise of DIY platforms and the fliping of the longtime notion that local advertising is sold, not bought. While the prospect seems scary for publishers, business-transformation expert Kiran Paranjpe from Lineup systems offers a unique perspective on how they might actually benefit. In an interview with Gordon, he suggests local media companies should be the ones offering DIY.Stay in the loop with all thin...
Jun 16, 2025•24 min•Ep. 145
Two big things are about to ripple the $150 billion local advertising pond. But Corey & Gordon acknowledge completely ignoring them in their newly released annual missive on the state of local advertising. Was it an oversight, or is there something else behind the omission? The podcast features an interview with Allison Schiff, managing editor of AdExchanger, who offers her thoughts on the speed of one of the approaching comets.Stay in the loop with all things Borrell when you join our Resea...
May 23, 2025•21 min•Ep. 144
Jeff Warshaw doesn't plan to participate in radio's "race to the bottom." The CEO of Connoisseur Media just bought Alpha Media, expanding Connoisseur from 11 stations to 218. It's a move that bucks the industry trend to lay off people and cut budgets -- particularly because of what Warshaw says about his plans to hire and invest even more. In an interview, Jeff responds to Gordon's question, "Did you miss the news that radio is dying?"Stay in the loop with all things Borrell when you join our Re...
May 12, 2025•22 min•Ep. 143
Local broadcasters are pinning hopes on NextGenTV reviving their industry. But more than a decade after the first tests of ATSC 3.0 standards, consumer adoption remains stalled below 10%. Co-hosts Corey and Gordon see a maze of hurdles and take their skepticism to Madeleine Nolan, president of the ATSC: The Broadcast Standards Organization, seeking answers.Stay in the loop with all things Borrell when you join our Research Alert Lists. As always, thank you for listening. If you like the episode,...
Apr 28, 2025•26 min•Ep. 142
Eleven years old and profitable, Patch is reversing the trend of so-called news deserts. And it's using AI to supercharge its expansion efforts to tends of thousands of communities. This episode features an interview with Patch CEO Warren St. John, who describes how Patch has gone from delivering information for 1,900 sites to now offering information to 30,000 more.Stay in the loop with all things Borrell when you join our Research Alert Lists. As always, thank you for listening. If you like th...
Mar 25, 2025•26 min•Ep. 141
Have hypercharged opinions and rampant banner ads opened up an opportunity for online subscriptions? Recent reports by newspaper companies Gannett, Lee Enterprises, and The New York Times show increasing revenue from online consumers of news and information, and one New Zealand publisher is seeing remarkable success by scaling back ads, vastly improving the user experience and banning opinion columns. Corey & Gordon examine the issue and talk to Todd Scott, owner of New Zealand's National Bu...
Mar 03, 2025•26 min•Ep. 140
In this mythbusters-styled episode, the hosts focus on three oft-stated facts: Many legacy media companies are investing heavily in digital; the unprofitability of digital products is curtailing their sales; and their core strength is tied to large audiences of local consumers. Gordon & Corey are joined by longtime sales expert Jim Brown, who helps dredge up the facts. Stay in the loop with all things Borrell when you join our Research Alert Lists. As always, thank you for listening. If you ...
Feb 17, 2025•22 min•Ep. 139
Gordon & Corey see signs of Phoenix-style rebirth for a handful of media companies. These survivors have begun generating enough digital growth to completely offset declines in their legacy media businesses. The hosts identify three of them and focus on one -- KSL.com in Salt Lake City, operated by Deseret Digital Media. An interview with its key executive, Nate Hatch, reveals why the operation has been so successful. Stay in the loop with all things Borrell when you join our Research Alert ...
Feb 03, 2025•24 min•Ep. 138
With the ebbing of political ad dollars and cable retransmission fees, 2025 will likely be a lean year for TV broadcasters. In this episode, Gordon & Corey review the industry's woes, debate the survival strategies, and seek insights from the co-CEO of one of the nation's biggest local broadcasters, Gray Media.Stay in the loop with all things Borrell when you join our Research Alert Lists. As always, thank you for listening. If you like the episode, leave us a review! Want to join the conver...
Jan 20, 2025•30 min•Ep. 137
The hosts profess to know the secret to driving exponential growth in ad sales, but they've also witnessed an ugly problem associated with it: churn. The episode features an expert on the issue, who shares some scary numbers on that percentage of digital ad buyers that sign up, then disappear in short order.Stay in the loop with all things Borrell when you join our Research Alert Lists. As always, thank you for listening. If you like the episode, leave us a review! Want to join the conversation?...
Jan 06, 2025•16 min•Ep. 136
Corey & Gordon uncover surprises from a Q4 survey of local advertisers. They discuss what's hot for 2025, and ponder why one form of print media continues to defy gravity. They look at the good, bad, and just plain ugly -- including how advertisers rate their local ad-sales reps on overall marketing expertise and digital savvy. Spoiler alert: That's the "ugly" part of their discussion. Stay in the loop with all things Borrell when you join our Research Alert Lists. As always, thank you for l...
Dec 09, 2024•23 min•Ep. 135
The failure point for incumbent businesses faced with a disruptive technology comes when they interpret it as being supportive of their existing business. Yet that's exactly how most media companies view the Internet. In this episode, Corey & Gordon turn to an expert, Jim Cutler, who describes how today's swipe-happy world has made traditional media's content look like gabby fluff.Stay in the loop with all things Borrell when you join our Research Alert Lists. As always, thank you for listen...
Nov 25, 2024•25 min•Ep. 134
True to form, CTV and OTT advertising is a disruptive innovation that appeals more to a NEW set of would-be TV buyers -- smaller businesses. In this episode, media transformation expert Jim Wilson, who founded OTT platform Premion and is now president of Madhive, discusses what it takes to reach and serve businesses whose typical CTV buy is pretty small -- about $4,000. He also talks about his appointment to the board of Audacy, the radio company that has just emerged from bankruptcy. Stay in th...
Nov 11, 2024•22 min•Ep. 133
Newspapers are still vanishing at a rate of one every three days, but this year more papers have actually been snapped up by willing buyers. In this episode, Gordon & Corey explore what's attracted 28 different buyers to acquire more than 300 titles so far this year. The show features an interview with Sara April, president of media brokerage firm Dirks, Van Essen, and April.Stay in the loop with all things Borrell when you join our Research Alert Lists. As always, thank you for listening. I...
Oct 28, 2024•30 min•Ep. 132
Gordon & Corey explore how AI is unlocking the hidden gold for local broadcasters, newspaper publishers, and online publishers not only in archived content, but also in live news content. The show features an interview with an executive from AI software provider Veritone, who says she's getting about a dozen requests daily from researchers, political campaigns, people producing documentaries, and others looking for local news content.Stay in the loop with all things Borrell when you join our...
Oct 14, 2024•24 min•Ep. 131
Gordon & Corey talk with a 37-year-old software entrepreneur who's taken over a hyperlocal new site in Red Bank, NJ., with a goal of surving 100 years, just like the newspaper that preceeded it. His formula is an intriguing one that doesn't so much focus on local news as it does on helping local businesses, the core source of site revenue.Stay in the loop with all things Borrell when you join our Research Alert Lists. As always, thank you for listening. If you like the episode, leave us a re...
Sep 30, 2024•29 min•Ep. 130
Are we really in a final phase in which only a few local media companies will successfully make the digital transition? Gordon & Corey turn to advertising executive Shawn Riegsecker, who foresees the swift demise of two large and popular types of media but also sees a great deal of opportunities arising from it. "This is the moment," he says, "that this industry has been waiting for." Stay in the loop with all things Borrell when you join our Research Alert Lists. As always, thank you for li...
Sep 09, 2024•22 min•Ep. 129
While national podcasts are on fire, Hosts Corey & Gordon have been wondering when local podcasting might become "a thing." They turn to podcast guru Steve Goldstein of Amplifi Media. Fresh back from the Podcast Movement in D.C., Steve details new business models at the local level and opines about one that might actually yield significant revenue.Stay in the loop with all things Borrell when you join our Research Alert Lists. As always, thank you for listening. If you like the episode, leav...
Aug 26, 2024•28 min•Ep. 128
If digital marketing services are used by more than two-thirds of advertisers, why are so many media companies -- especially TV stations -- shunning them? Are they low-margin? Too messy to implement? The hosts dive into the stats and develop what they call the "chiclet theory." Stay in the loop with all things Borrell when you join our Research Alert Lists. As always, thank you for listening. If you like the episode, leave us a review! Want to join the conversation? Share your comments at borrel...
Aug 12, 2024•21 min•Ep. 127
With the summer of our discontent brewing, Corey & Gordon discuss the value of nonstop headlines to news media. Could local media rise like a phoenix? They ask a fan club member, retired media analyst and self-proclaimed iconoclast Terry Heaton, to weigh in. Brace yourself for Heaton's unvarnished take.Stay in the loop with all things Borrell when you join our Research Alert Lists. As always, thank you for listening. If you like the episode, leave us a review! Want to join the conversation? ...
Jul 29, 2024•24 min•Ep. 126
Gordon & Corey double-down on their prediction that local media companies are in their "final phase," with many destined to become the equivalent of small hobby shops. But they also see some rising like a phoenix. What's the secret? Here's a hint: The podcast features an interview with the dean of one of the nation's most prominent schools of mass communication.Stay in the loop with all things Borrell when you join our Research Alert Lists. As always, thank you for listening. If you like the...
Jul 15, 2024•32 min•Ep. 125
What's the preferred medium when it comes to business communications? What's the top choice of advertisers when purchasing ads? What do people readily give up as "currency" for accessing content, getting a discount coupoun, or entering a contest? Email! This episode focuses on why email is so pervasive and powerful, yet so overlooked by many in the business of marketing and advertising. Kurtis Barton, the executive in charge of strategy at Voice Media Group, agrees that an email address is valua...
Jun 24, 2024•26 min•Ep. 124
Gordon & Corey ruminate why radio people are so scrappy and seek answers from Mike Hulvey, the newly appointed CEO of the Radio Advertising Bureau. During the interview, Mike reveals a genetic secret that suggests he might be radio's natural-born superhero.Stay in the loop with all things Borrell when you join our Research Alert Lists. As always, thank you for listening. If you like the episode, leave us a review! Want to join the conversation? Share your comments at borrellassociates.com/po...
Jun 10, 2024•33 min•Ep. 123
Most media companies seem to be using internal committees to explore Generative AI. Beasley Media Group, however, is thinking differently, engaging an outside expert with a degree in AI from MIT. This episode features an interview with that expert, as well as the Gordon's and Corey's musings on which approach might yield better results.Stay in the loop with all things Borrell when you join our Research Alert Lists. As always, thank you for listening. If you like the episode, leave us a review! W...
May 28, 2024•30 min•Ep. 122
The mad rush to embrace Artificial Intelligence feels a lot like the mad rush to embrace the Internet two decades ago, with one exception: Nobody seems to be tackling AI by "hiring a guy." In this episode, Gordon & Corey talk to Ed Busby, head of strategy for one of the nation's largest TV companies, TEGNA, which has discovered AI genius within its ranks.Stay in the loop with all things Borrell when you join our Research Alert Lists. As always, thank you for listening. If you like the episod...
May 13, 2024•27 min•Ep. 121
Google may be the dominant search engine, but not within the ranks of GenZ. What are these 20-somethings using to look up products, telephone numbers, store hours, and event information? With Corey absent, Gordon turns the episode into a family affair by consulting his kids, a social media expert, and the ultimate authority – his wife.Stay in the loop with all things Borrell when you join our Research Alert Lists. As always, thank you for listening. If you like the episode, leave us a review! Wa...
Apr 29, 2024•23 min•Ep. 120
What will impresses advertisers these days? It's not your giant on-air or online audience. It's the size of your email list. In this episode, Corey & Gordon take a look at phenomenal progress some media companies have made in building up email relationships, and they suggest a lofty goal for those trying to prepare for the transition to 1st-party data sets. The show features an interview with email expert Creighton Green, co-founder of Audience.io.Stay in the loop with all things Borrell whe...
Apr 16, 2024•29 min•Ep. 119
In the spirit of not wanting to drink from a firehose, Gordon & Corey kick off a series of podcasts looking at the first steps being taken to incorporate Generative AI into company operations. They talk with the president of a small group of radio stations in the Midwest who was surprised at his staff's reaction when he gathered them to discuss his thoughts on AI.Stay in the loop with all things Borrell when you join our Research Alert Lists. As always, thank you for listening. If you like t...
Apr 01, 2024•26 min•Ep. 118
Could hyperlocal TV programming be the future of local television? Cox Media is headed in that direction, enjoying early success with its plan to expand television news coverage to dozens of neighborhoods surrounding North Atlanta and Charlotte, N.C. In this episode, Gordon & Corey discuss how 2024 is shaping up to be a breakout year for OTT, and how Cox's well-timed strategy to surround urban markets might be headed for a rollout in other markets. The show features an interview with Eric Ko...
Mar 18, 2024•29 min•Ep. 117
