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In today’s fast-paced world we struggle with information overload on a daily basis. It’s hard to keep up with the constant bombardment of tweets, texts, instant messages, Facebook news feeds and Foursquare check-ins, let alone perform the duties of our every day careers. We go home for the evening and struggle to keep up with the laundry, the kids, our favorite television dramas.  When was the last time you just sat? Sat on the couch without a Smartphone in your hand, without the TV blaring in the background?  Relaxed on the front porch with an ice cold cherry coke? Sat around with the family because Grand Old Opry was coming on?  The late 1920’s?  Gathered by the fireplace to listen to the president talk about the state of our beautiful country?  Probably the 1930’s.  Probably never, because you weren’t born yet during the time of FDR’s infamous fireside chats.  Then again, neither was I.  Ah…simpler times.   The happier times???

Most of us probably don’t have time to stop during the insane multitasking we’ve mastered, to make the connection between our “extreme connectivity,” and our happiness, between our overwhelming need to know who’s booted off American Idol this week or our undeniable urge to know that the BAU caught the latest serial killer on Criminal Minds before it was too late and our true contentment.  It’s just what we do.  It’s who we are.  It’s who we’ve become.

A  study in the U.K. by the Radio Advertising Bureau found that listening to the radio makes people happier than watching TV or surfing the Internet.  One thousand people participated in the study, ironically, using their Smartphones, to answer questions about their media usage and their emotional responses  throughout the day.  On average, when consuming radio, happiness and energy scores increased by 100%.

Surprising? Think about it this way.  The study looks at radio as kind of a “lifestyle support system.” How many of us listen to music when we exercise? Most of us have our favorite morning show we listen to on our way to work.  We couldn’t have so much fun dancing without music.  Well, you could, but you’d kind of look weird and people would probably stare.  What is that one song that just pumps you up, gets you ready to just…go?  Most of us have one.  Music stirs emotions, brings back memories and helps to generate new ones.  We listen to music to make us feel good, unless we were just broken up with, or our pet turtle just died, so it is no surprise happiness increases.  I mean sure, one could find enjoyment out of watching You Tube videos.  Like that ugly little cat barking like a dog, or the latest ten-year-old pop star, but then we come across the one with the big giant pimple being popped on that guy’s back.  And then we check our online banking.   I myself get lost in the drama of those Desperate Housewives, but then my dryer buzzes and its back to my own “desperate” reality.
Maybe it’s that we don’t even realize the huge part radio or music plays in our lives.  According to Arbitron, radio consumption is increasing at a rapid pace.  There are 242 million Americans who listen to the radio each week.  Do you listen to the radio during your morning and afternoon commutes? Do you prefer to listen to Bob Uecker on the radio over watching the Brew Crew on TV? Online radio usage has doubled every year since 2001. Consumers are increasingly streaming online radio stations at work. Radio is embracing our constant connectivity. Stations are using social media and smart phone technology to interact with their listener bases.  They’re using Facebook and Twitter as a way to interact with their fans, and those fans are following.  Radio stations are continuing to launch mobile versions as well.

A recent article published on MediaLifeMagazine.com, notes that in the past six months, a handful of radio stations around the country, including popular online radio Pandora, have been launching comedy only formats. The results look promising. Not surprising after seeing the results of the Radio Advertising Bureau study. Comedy on the radio dates back to early radio’s roots. It was about as prevalent as sitcoms on TV. Many of the early comedic sitcom stars got their starts on radio. And if listening to the radio increases happiness, why not add in a little laughter. Perhaps we’ll see more comedic formats in the future.

Sure, radio doesn’t get the buzz other mediums get.  But then again, it’s not shiny and it surely isn’t new.  Lucas Favner, reporter for the Huffington Post, suggests in his article regarding the study, that perhaps the future of media lies in a retreat to the past.  I think what he is pretty much saying, is that radio rules. Don’t get me wrong.  I think TV and Internet are great.  I love them both.  I NEED them both.  I’m guess what I’m saying, is radio is proven to make us happy, and I know that some days, for instance days like today, I could use a 100% happiness increase more than others.   Maybe I’ll try this retreat to the past, literally.  Maybe I’ll go sit on my patio and just listen to the radio…after I update my Facebook status to let all my friends know, and figure out what to name my patio on Foursquare so I can check in. I’m so going to be mayor.

As a media buyer, I love buying TV.  It might be my favorite medium. Partially because I love the research and the numbers that come along with it,and partially because I am an avid TV watcher. I have my fall-back favorites like Grey’s Anatomy and  How I Met Your Mother.  Like many of us, from time to time, I’ll tune into those guilty pleasures, those train wrecks like the Housewives series or The Jersey Shore. I’m also a big fan of news magazine shows like Dateline and 48 Hours Mystery.  I’m sad when I sleep through CBS Sunday morning with Charles Osgood. I’m not ashamed to admit I like iCarly and I’ve tried a couple of recipes from 30 Minute Meals.

But enough about me…

I love when the seasons change and new shows emerge, almost as much as when seasons change and my favorite shows return!  (Wait, that was about me again!)

Here we find ourselves again on the cusp of returning television favorites and new and exciting mid-season pilots.  Thankfully, the re-runs and holiday specials are over. Most of the old favorites have already returned, but if you still feel like something is missing, here are some upcoming shows that may quench your TV thirst, feed your TV hunger, trick you TV trigger…

Mr. Sunshine

Premieres 2/9/11, on ABC

This new comedy stars Matthew Perry (Friends,) and Allison Janney (The West Wing.) Mr. Sunshine follows Perry, as a self-involved manager of a sports arena is San Diego, as he enters a mid-life crisis when he turn 40, while he deals with the day to day demands of his job and bizarre requests from his boss.

Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior

Premieres 2/16 on CBS

A spinoff of  CBS’s hit Criminal Minds, this new crime drama stars Forrest Whitaker as Unit Chief Sam Cooper who head a team of rebel profilers who don’t always like to follow the rules. Viewers were introduced to this team in Season 5.

Harry’s Law

Premieres 1/17 on NBC

This upcoming legal drama created by Emmy award winner David E. Kelley, stars Kathy Bates who plays Harriet Korn, a recently fired patent lawyer and her team as they start a new law firm in an abandon shoe store.

Flying Wild Alaska

Premieres 1/14 on Discovery

This new reality series follows the Twetos, the unconventional family that operates the family-run airline Era Alaska, through the harsh Alaskan terrain and weather as they transport necessities to residents in the most remote areas in the region.

I know I am not the only TV freak out there.  What are your favorite TV shows? Are you mostly a network watcher? Cable? Do you Hulu? Please, do share.

My blog this week isn’t about media or advertising.  It’s not about ratings or ad spending. I’m taking a moment.

In the elevator this morning, where people often comment about the weather, someone mentioned how much they hated winter in Wisconsin.  It got me thinking about the love hate relationship I have with winter in Wisconsin, and the more I thought about it, the more that needle turned toward love. It’s the time of year when the weather turns cold.  The wind is biting.  The air is dry and crisp, stinging your face and chapping your lips.  Noses are runny and even when it’s sunny, the city seems dirtier.  Holiday specials and door buster sales have us all running to the malls and shopping centers for that perfect gift.  Parking lots seem further away from the store entrances, but we make the journey to the door through the pelting sleet and gusting winds anyway, just to see that smile on our loved one’s faces as they unwrap the gift that can’t be found anywhere.  Local radio stations start playing holiday music earlier and earlier every year; some groan at the thought of Rudolph before Thanksgiving.  Regular scheduled programming becomes re-runs from last season and classic holiday specials fill the schedule. Who can resist Charlie Brown?  There is something about that tune that brings us all back to the age of seven, wishing we had a dog named Snoopy, watching those lovable kids in our footy pajamas and sipping hot chocolate with marshmallows.  It seems like it snows everyday and sometimes the heavy white fluff becomes more of a burden than beauty. Alarm clocks are set earlier, so the driveway gets shoveled before work, and the city snow plow comes by anyway and piles another foot at the end. Traffic moves two miles an hour. Its dark on your way to work and dark on your way home from work. The heating bill hasn’t been this high all year.  Still, there is something about winter; the first snow fall, cuddling because you love and because you’re cold. Thankfulness, happiness, heartwarming stories and classic memories that bring us all together in a way not even summer can.

Between the hustle and the bustle of the holidays, take the time to appreciate an untouched snowfall upon moonlit branches. Put aside the pressures at work, the pressures of life and remember being a child.  The excitement you had when you woke up on the first snow day of the season. Remember playing outside all morning and coming in for a grilled cheese sandwich and a steaming hot bowl of tomato soup. It will never taste better than it did at that moment, your cheeks still rosy and cold, socks wet with snow that somehow made it in your boots.  Be thankful for all you have and not dwell on all you are without. Help someone in need.  Put a quarter in the bucket. Continue old traditions and create new memories. Give lots of hugs.  Smile.  Note the beauty of winter like Robert Frost. Feel beyond the cold. You don’t have to be religious to see the true majesty in this time of year. Maybe you’ll even grow to love winter in Wisconsin like I do.

Photo Credit: Aya Rosen

So the election is over and the nasty political ads have ceased. We were warned this was going to be a tough time to get our clients on the air due to the politicians and other political groups buying up the inventory. And it didn’t just seem like there were more negative political ads this year. There actually were. Political advertisements hit a record high in October, even more than in 2008, a presidential election year. Nielsen has estimated that 1.48 million political ads aired on television last month, and if you’re like me, you find them irritating, annoying and sometimes even laughable. For many it creates an instant disconnect with the candidate. There is a widely held public opinion that political advertising is more negative and unethical than ever. While I don’t know if this is true, I do know politicians have been attacking each other and slinging mud since the beginning. According ThisNation.com, a recent bi-partisan study done by the Project on Campaign Conduct found that 59% of people think politicians twist the truth, 39% of people think  politicians deliberately lie and 87% are concerned with the level of personal attacks in today’s campaign commercials. Eighty-seven percent!

Another survey conducted by Rasmussen Reports concluded that of those polled, 58% said they might even vote for the other candidate because of the negative ad.  If I were running for office, I certainly wouldn’t want my criticism of the opponent turning my voters away. According to ThisNation.com, there are many conflicting studies on the effect of negative political advertisements.  Some suggest that negative political ads turn voters away and that politicians who run more negative ads are more likely to lose. Some studies have suggested the opposite.

So let me ask you this, if negative political advertising works so well, why don’t we see more of it with competing products? Imagine a mother spreading Jif brand peanut butter on a slice of bread.  She draws a heart in it with the knife to signify her love for her child. Then out of nowhere, a magic wand appears and the bread is gone with a poof of smoke. The announcer says , “The CEO of Jif practices witchcraft. Spread the fun not witchcraft, eat Skippy.” Or Imagine a mother making lunch for her daughter. She grabs a jar of Skippy peanut butter from the counter. It has a skull and cross bones on it.  She suddenly drops it and on her face is a terrified, shocked look.  The announcer says, “Sure the CFO of Skippy saved one child from a burning building last year, but he is killing all of our children with dangerous levels of bpa in his newly manufactured jars. Choose the children. Choosy mom’s choose Jif.”  Ridiculous, right? This tells me nothing about the quality of peanuts used in each brand, the freshness or the creamy taste. We don’t see more of it because it is tacky, it makes us look unintelligent and we eventually become the characters in the movie Idiocracy, that’s why.

I don’t care if Candidate A smoked a joint or two in college! I want to know what he’s going to do about the unemployment crisis. And Candidate A, I don’t want to hear you twist the truths of Candidate B to make them seem like a liar, I want to know if you plan on raising my taxes.  There are bigger issues here.

Are these negative political ads causing confusion amongst voters? Could some voters be voting straight party just because they simply don’t know anymore what the candidates stand for?

More importantly, have I been eating Skippy all these years when I should be eating JIF???

If any of you read the tabloids regularly like I do, you already know that Courteney Cox and David Arquette are on the outs after 11 years of marriage. Apparently they separated months ago but remain close friends.  I find this not to be surprising at all considering the failure rate of Hollywood marriages. What I do find interesting concerns overnight tv ratings for Cox’s ABC sitcom Cougar Town. According to an article in Media Life Magazine, after news broke of the Cox/Arquette split this week, the show averaged a 3.2 adults 18-49 rating.  This was up 7 percent from last week’s 3.0 rating. Could Cox’s publicized drama have actually given the show a lift?  I wouldn’t go as far to say the two purposefully spread rumors of a split to boost the shows tv ratings. I wouldn’t go as far to say Arquette went out publically with another woman to help boost Cox’s popularity either. Does celebrity tragedy help boost television ratings? What do you think?

In comparison, the 20/20 special that ran last night on the rescue of the Chilean miners averaged a 1.8 adults 18-49 rating.  Does America care more about popular celebrity romances than the tragedy suffered by the Chilean miners and their families? These poor minors were trapped underground for 65 days. They had to follow a strict regimen of diet and exercise just to survive. I wonder what the overnight ratings would be like if the Chilean miners were celebrities?  I’m going to be honest.  I didn’t watch the special.  I watched Cougar Town. But before you’re all ashamed to know me, I saw a little on the rescue on the nightly news and read about it this morning on the Internet. I’m so happy they were finally rescued and can go home to their families.