I thank a good friend for this lightbulb moment. As he concluded these 66 words, it became clear why the radio industry is slow to adopt what others are diving into:

"The people running radio are close to retiring. At this late stage of their careers, what is it they have to gain by placing their retirement's security blanket in jeopardy - introducing something new? They won't benefit when the change is fully integrated. So why start? Their objective is to continue with lip service until they cash-out. Then, it's somebody else's problem."

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I'm not sure anything told to me over the past six years has had as great an impact as what my friend uttered. I now understand why former RAB Pres/CEO Gary Fries was lauded, instead of condemned, for continuously giving radio false hope with words like this: "New media is going to be part of the environment of the future, and we need to figure out how we are going to integrate with new media." (April, 2006) In 2005 he said: "The Radio industry is very actively and aggressively pursuing new technologies, formats, and platforms which will drive the business as we move forward into the second half of 2005 and into 2006." (Read more here.)

Anybody see anything with substance develop between then and now? In your opinion, how much deeper has radio waded into the new media pool since 2005?

Despite the predictions of how far the radio industry will go, we've only seen half-hearted social media strategies, similar attempts at implementing current web site design and navigation, a strikingly poor attempt at using email to solidify audience relationships, no movement in defining what an advertiser is buying, and online programming that's designed for over-the-air.

Gary Fries retired not long after his string of oh-so-positive comments. The rhetoric from his replacement has been similar. So has the degree of movement.

We're now watching fiscal reports for Q1 2011 that indicate increases in radio's internet revenue, with low single-digit improvement on the broadcast side. But according to Borrell Associates, Benchmarking Local Online Media: 2010 Revenue Survey, radio garnered only 2.1% of local online advertising (click graph above).

Meanwhile, as our elder execs wait for "local" to return, as they temper expectations, retirment is not that far off. And it appears this quote from the Borrell Report isn't on their list of priority topics to address: "The majority of radio station clusters receive less than one-half of one percent of all locally spent advertising in their markets."

For the mid-30 and early 40-year-old manager, it has to be frustrating. It's a "what do I do now?" moment, especially since the radio industry management system morphed into centralized control.

We all know buyers are reaching out to ad sellers who deliver accountability. We also see the audiences experimenting more with a myriad of media delivery, lowering radio TSL in the process.

The answer to "what now" leads only one way, with one word: educate.

Educate yourself in new media ways. Start to explore the analytical (and spreadsheet) end of advertising because that is where buyers are heading. Uncover new methods for communicating through a variety of media platforms. Social networks are ok, but fresh online audio programs are being noticed by people who look (and their numbers are growing).

Most important is to look behind the walls of those people who are close to retirement - the ones who will be gone in a few years.

Take action, now, with an education process I've put together that gently introduces you to the options. (Request this here.)

Your other choice is to wait and play catch-up, just as (I now understand) it was planned from the start.

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