The Media Drop

A couple days ago, Jeff Jarvis was buggin’ about advertisements that Infinity-owned WFAN was putting up all over the tri-state area for the “Imus in the Morning” program. I’ve seen these billboards as far away as Independence Township, out near Buttzville, NJ, and in the same city that I live in outside of NYC. Jeff’s qualm here (other than the fact that he thinks Imus is a “half-dead cowpoke”) is that Viacom did nothing to defend Howard Stern on First Amendment issues, and is putting up Imus as “the posterboy for the First Amendment.”

I couldn’t disagree more. It’s an advertising campaign, for one thing. In no way is Viacom “defending” Imus against those who might disagree with what he’s saying. They’re taking advantage of the fact that even though David Lee Roth & Co. are going to take Stern’s slot(s) in the morning show timeframe, they might as well attempt to appeal to people who aren’t going to buy Sirius Satellite Radio service, and cover the bases completely. It’s not like everyone who listens to Stern will convert to Imus, nor will they to Adam Carolla or Roth.

Additionally, this is a WFAN advertisement, not a 20-page Infinity buy. WFAN doesn’t have to run every single ad, I’m sure, through some sort of Infinity wheelhouse for approval - it’s still in the top two or three billing stations in the damn country, after all. So, I say it again, it’s an advertising/marketing ploy, not a corporate stand. Whether or not you want to call it Infinity’s (or terrestrial radio’s) white flag, that’s up to you. I call it smart marketing - or at least a kickstand.