I'm just back from a quick trip to Chicago for the Third Coast Audio Festival. I've lost track of how many of these I've attended (the first was 2005), but this time felt very different.
It was enormous, with nearly 750 people attending. This is a very good thing for radio, especially because there are so many newcomers and we can always use a fresh injection of talent.
Perhaps because of this, TCF did something new on the first night called Late Night Provocations -- a series of challenges to us as producers, put forth by prominent people in radio and podcasting. I'm still thinking of Julie Shapiro's nudge to be original and especially Jay Allison's exhortation to stay true to mission and be odd.
And then there's the big question for journalists -- what now? This was the number one topic of conversation, but rather than come away depressed, I feel encouraged by the passion and intelligence that radio people are bringing to the problem. Now we put our heads down and work.