The spread of COVID 19 has created unprecedented challenges for radio broadcasters. The situation is evolving rapidly and it can be hard to keep up. Our goal is for these pages to serve as an easy to use carefully curated resource for ideas, examples and best practices to help guide your station through the current crisis.
If you have suggestions for other information that would be helpful, please let us know.
Radio and COVID-19 Research
To better understand radio’s role in the coronavirus crisis, we surveyed radio listeners. See the results:
Programming Ideas
- Jacobs Media's COVID-19 Checklist for Broadcasters
- Interactive Programming Ideas for Radio Stations During the Pandemic
- 10 Ways Radio Stations Can Help Their Communities During the Coronavirus Pandemic
- Programming Ideas for Mothers Day and May 2020
Programming Examples
- COVID-19 Radio Imaging Productions Examples
- WRIF's Zoom Backgrounds
- Beasley Boston's Operation: Gift Card
- KISW's Essential Workers Weekend
- WMMR's Preston & Steve Puzzle
- Recreating Movie Scenes
Digital Tips
- Is Your Radio Station Keeping Up With Its Weekly Web Meetings During The Pandemic?
- A Picture Says 1000 Words. What Do The Pictures on Your Radio Station's Website Say?
- How Your Radio Station Can Host a Virtual Happy Hour
- How to Use Your Radio Station's Blog to Spotlight Local Businesses and Artists During the Pandemic
- Now Is a Good Time to Review Your Radio Station's Social Media Policy
- How to Rewrite Your Radio Station's “Advertise With Us” Webpage for the Pandemic
- 9 Factors to Consider When Livestreaming Video to Social Media
- A Quick and Dirty Way to Make Animated Livestreaming Video Bumpers
- Livestreaming Options for Radio Air Talent: Zoom vs. BeLive vs. StreamYard
- 8 Ways Your Radio Station Can Encourage Streaming During the COVID-19 Pandemic
- Rethinking Radio Website Design in the Age of Coronavirus
- Radio Stations Can Use These Video Streaming Services During the Pandemic (And After It)
- Digital “Don'ts” for Radio in the Age of Coronavirus
- Your Radio Station Needs a Digital Succession Plan
- Digital Tools to Help Your Radio Station's Staff Work Remotely
For the Unemployed
- Add Yourself to Our Directory of Radio Talent for Hire
- Apply for an Emergency Grant from the Broadcasters Foundation of America
The COVID-19 Landscape
- Sales of Instruments and Music Gear Are Soaring. Will Quarantine Spark a Renaissance? (Rolling Stone 4/24/20)
- America's ‘new normal' will be anything but ordinary (CNN 4/17/20)
- Live Concerts Won’t Return Until “Fall 2021 at the Earliest,” Health Expert Warns (Consequence of Sound 4/13/20)
- Allstate CEO: Driving is way down due to coronavirus and ‘we don’t know’ if trend will last (CNBC 4/7/20)
- (The Washington Post 4/4/20)
- (4/3/20)
- (BBC News 3/25/20)
JacoBlog on COVID-19
- Best Of JacoBLOG: What Will Radio Look Like Post-COVID-19? (12/29/20)
- During A Pandemic And A Recession, Take Care Of Your Core (6/18/20)
- The “Re-Opening” And The Fear Factor (6/9/20)
- Have You Checked Your Station's Culture Lately? (6/8/20)
- To Recover From the Pandemic, Radio Must Get Serious About Lead Generation (5/29/20)
- Sign, Sign, Everywhere A (Lawn) Sign (5/28/20)
- WTF? No, It's WFH (Update) (5/26/20)
- Let's Do A S.W.O.T. Analysis For Radio (That Focuses On The “S”) (5/21/20)
- Is Radio Ready For The “Grand Re-Opening?” (5/20/20)
- What We Need Is “Zoom” With A View (5/19/20)
- Will Public Radio Be The Big Winner During The COVID-19 Outbreak? (5/18/20)
- Are You Skilling Up In Your Down Time? (5/15/20)
- Thanks To COVID19, It's The Rise Of The “Comfort Seekers” (5/13/20)
- Who's Leading The Digital Transformation In Your Radio Company? (5/11/20)
- The Word Of The Year For 2020 Will Be… (5/8/20)