Page 18 - HC B2B Spring 2020

THE CHANGING FACE OF MEDIA
ANGELA TERRY
Montana Radio Company
RADIO
Radio is often seen as an old-school medium, but Montana Radio Company continues to evolve its audio product to meet the demand of its listeners. Since its first broadcast in Novem- ber 2011, family-owned and operated Montana Radio Company has expanded to nine stations and has amassed more than 65,000 listeners each week.
Angela and Kevin Terry own Montana Radio Company along with Tyler Miller. Just as their business has expanded so have their platforms, like broadcasts available through Alexa-en- abled devices. And with social media, they’re able to react in real-time to follower feedback. “We openly ask for feedback,” says Terry. “ It allows us to know what motivates people and
NEWSPAPERS
Second to word of mouth, newspapers are seen as the first and oldest medium of journalism. In a digital and globalized world, newspapers have been quick to evolve with the trend to not only stay relevant, but to keep their read-
ers informed.
The Independent Record considers itself to be a digital-first newspaper, publishing many of its stories online before they appear in print. IR Publisher Anita Fasbender says the organization has made significant investments to better serve the newspaper’s growing digital audience by hiring a team of digital editors and training staff on the best ways to present their stories digitally.
TELEVISION
Television broadcast news was always well positioned for the digital age, but in 2020, it’s about making sure that the story reaches the right audience at the right time. Heath Heggem is the general manager for KRTV and KTGF in Great Falls and KXLH and KTVH Helena as part of the Montana Television Network.
“We are more dedicated to digital than ever before,” says Heggem. “We have been in
a ‘continuous news cycle’ for years. (View- ers and readers) depend on us to update
helps keep them engaged in the community. We want to do more of those things that we’re doing right.”
She says that they’re well aware of the share of ear that music streaming platforms like Spotify and Pandora take up. But Terry says they will never be able to tie Helena together like their stations do by showcasing local musicians
on air and at sponsored events and offering advertising spots that reach the ideal customer for local business.
“We’re keeping everything we do communi- ty-focused and relevant,” she says. “As people change their habits, we’ll evolve with them.”
“In the past, our readers came directly to us to get their news in a neatly bundled paper package,” says Fasbender. “In today’s digital world, our audience has become much more fragmented, which means we have to be pro- active about putting our product where people will see it.”
As fewer people access IR stories through its homepage, Fasbender says they now treat ev- ery page like a homepage, linking out to other relevant content to keep readers onsite. Social media, push alerts, emails and digital newslet- ters have all become a part of their news cycle to reach readers where they are at a given time.
throughout the day, especially in the current environment. However, that said, our news broadcasts remain the most popular choice for news consumption.”
While broadcast remains king for now, Heg- gem says that increasing their reporters are evolving into multimedia journalists who are expected to be present on air, online and on social media. “It’s easy to say we’re a TV sta- tion, (but) we are much more,” he says.
By Lizzy Anderson
ANITA FASBENDER
Independent Record
HEATH HEGGEM
Montana Television Network
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Business to Business Connection | SPRING 2020