Satellite radio..New tricks for old broadcast medium

[KiwiCoromandel]

Clay, the program director of the '70s channel at the satellite radio company, isn't alone in his fondness for his employer.

He sits at a table in XM's cafeteria with colleagues Pat Clarke, who oversees the '60s channel, and Kurt Gilchrist, the "Decades" channels senior program director, and the three trade war stories of their days in "terrestrial" radio (that is, the old-fashioned broadcast stations). They recall what they describe as short-sighted managers, corporate groupthink and obedience to ratings books.

That's something XM, as well as its competitor at Sirius, is trying to change. (Full disclosure: CNN has relationships with both XM and Sirius. This writer is an XM subscriber. See the discussion on why -- and what he thinks of the service.)

"I'm more excited now than I've ever been," says Steve Blatter, head of music programming for New York-based Sirius and a longtime radio veteran. "The vibe in the hallway is unlike what I've ever seen in entertainment."

more here........

http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/Music/07/20/radio/index.html