What is the greatest challenge to urban radio in the coming years?
ZJ: I believe that radio as an industry will figure out the next several steps we’re about to go through, and the ad community and Wall Street will follow suit. In that process, urban radio runs the risk of catching the same cold that its general-market counterparts have caught, and it doesn’t deserve the germs. Urban radio is growing exponentially, even in the 1-, 2-, 3-percent market growth sector that radio finds itself in. We’re experiencing double-digit growth, but because the sector is perceived to be less sexy than the new media, or behind the curve of innovation, the most innovative format out there is being penalized unduly. If you look at what is coming out of urban radio today, it really is no longer considered a niche.
