Live ad reads on radio are nothing new. Why do some think they are?

I nearly fell off my chair when the headline from Ad Age (one of our competitors) hit my email: "Radio Industry Welcomes Return of Live Reads." What?? When did live reads ever go away? Live reads have been a staple of the radio business from day one. As far as I can tell, nothing has changed that, not even the death of Paul Harvey. Any good radio personality worth his/her salt does live reads. And, as the article reminds us, advertisers are willing to pay a premium to capitalize on the relationship strong personalities have with their audience. What troubles me is not that the Ad Age writer got suckered by some PR firm, but that the radio industry feels compelled to re-position live reads as something new. Guess times really are that desperate. 

—Posted by Katy Bachman