IT’S THE ECONOMY Two leaders from the online radio ad world gave a strongly positive outlook for the media’s ad future in talking recently to Inside Radio. Despite a struggling economy, they say, online ad sales should stay strong. TargetSpot CEO Doug Perlson and Katz Net Radio Sales President Jennifer Lane shared their optimism, saying that with increased accountability and a shift in ad buyer’s budgets (like General Motors, for example) towards more digital dollars, the outlook is good. Lane also told Inside Radio that stations who drive users to their sites are simply creating and strengthening a new ad opportunity.

WASHINGTON POST’S #1 MOST DISRUPTIVE TECH COMBO: CELL PHONES + WIRELESS NET The Washington Post has ranked the top 10 “most disruptive” combinations of new technology. “It’s typically when two or more technologies converge that the real changes start to happen,” reads the article (here). “MP3 + Napster” made the list, as did “Broadband + Wireless Networks.” But the combination of handheld wireless devices and wireless Internet is “forcing monopolistic wireless companies to open up their networks to new devices and services,” according to the article. Quoted in the article, Kurt Scherf, vice president and principal analyst for Parks Associates, says, “We’ll begin to see mass-market adoption and form factors diversify to include embedded portable devices such as portable media players and game consoles.”

ENTERCOM JUMPS ABOARD MULTIMEDIA AD PLATFORM Entercom stations can now deliver local ads — including video, text and e-mail — ads to website visitors and e-mail recipients through a platform called AdMission. According to a report from Radio Ink, ads can be “targeted within a local network or distributed across the larger AdMission ad network.” The roll out will come in two parts, the first for auto dealers and the second focusing on real estate ads. Says Entercome SVP/Digital Sandy Smallens about the program: “They bring the dealers’ inventory to life and help complete the marketing cycle as our on-air spots drive visitors to our websites.”

CBS TV DELIVERING LOCAL CONTENT VIA WIDGETS CBS Television has created the the CBS Local Ad Network, which will syndicate local news “widgets” across a network of localized blogs, social networking services, and local media sites. The widgets will feature local headlines, images, and video and story links from CBS stations. The system is designed to allow advertisers to reach local audiences while maintaining the CBS branding and delivering high-quality content. Sites that carry the widgets, naturally, earn a share of the advertising billing. MediaPost reports (here), the network has already been launched in Boston, Dallas/Fort Worth, San Francisco, Denver and Chicago. The rollout is expected to continue over the next several weeks and also includes the CBS-owned stations in New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Miami, Sacramento, Pittsburgh and Baltimore.

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