FROM THE PUBLISHER | STEVEN D. MILLS | ON THE DIAL
There are people in broadcasting whose names appear in the history books, people whose ideas change the direction of an industry, and a very special few who recognize greatness in others before the rest of the world has figured out what they’re looking at. Fred Jacobs belongs in all three categories. After 43 years at the helm of Jacobs Media, one of the most influential consulting and research organizations in American broadcasting, Fred is preparing to step down as President at the end of 2026. His brother, Paul Jacobs, will succeed him, while Fred becomes Chairman and remains involved in selected areas of the company. But for me, this announcement is considerably more personal than another executive transition, because Fred and Paul Jacobs believed in something I was building when almost nobody else did.
And sometimes, that kind of belief changes the trajectory of a person’s life.
I know it changed mine.
Forty Three Years of Changing the Way Radio Thinks
When Fred Jacobs founded Jacobs Media in 1983, radio was an entirely different business.
There was no Spotify.
No streaming revolution.
No podcasting industry.
No artificial intelligence threatening to turn every radio station into a computer with a transmitter attached.
There were radio personalities, programmers, music research, fierce competition and an industry trying to understand what audiences wanted.
Fred saw opportunities others hadn’t fully recognized.
His work helped establish Classic Rock as a commercially significant radio format, demonstrating that music from earlier generations could become the foundation of a powerful contemporary brand.
That contribution alone would have secured him a meaningful place in broadcasting history.
But Fred didn’t stop there.
As technology transformed the industry, Jacobs Media evolved from a traditional consulting organization into a leading voice in research, digital strategy and audience behavior.
The company’s annual Techsurveys have helped broadcasters understand how listeners interact with streaming, smartphones, connected vehicles, podcasts and emerging technologies.
And perhaps most importantly, Fred never seemed particularly interested in telling radio executives only what they wanted to hear.
He was willing to ask the uncomfortable questions.
Where are the listeners going?
Why are they leaving?
What are we doing wrong?
And what happens if the industry refuses to change?
Fred Jacobs didn’t spend 43 years protecting the way radio used to work. He spent those years helping the industry understand how it could continue working tomorrow.
That’s leadership.
But Let Me Tell You Why This Man Has a Special Place in My Heart
I want to step away from the traditional industry story for a moment.
Because when I read that Fred was stepping down as President, my mind didn’t immediately go to the consulting contracts, the research studies or the countless conferences where his name has been featured.
My mind went back to a time when I was trying to build something different in radio.
Something that wasn’t necessarily understood by everyone around me.
Something that required people to look beyond traditional broadcasting and recognize the possibilities of online radio.
And frankly, there weren’t many people willing to do that.
I had ideas.
I had ambition.
I believed that online radio could serve audiences in ways traditional broadcasting wasn’t always prepared to embrace.
And alongside my colleague Dick Stadlen, I helped create a format called Survivor Radio.
We weren’t simply trying to duplicate another radio station on the internet.
We were trying to build something with its own identity, its own audience and its own purpose.
But anyone who has ever tried to introduce something new to the broadcasting industry knows how difficult that can be.
Sometimes the biggest obstacle isn’t the technology.
It’s convincing people that your idea deserves to exist.
And that’s where Fred Jacobs, Paul Jacobs and Mike Stern entered the picture.
They Believed When Others Didn’t
In 2015, Fred Jacobs, Paul Jacobs and Mike Stern recognized Survivor Radio with an award honoring our online radio presence.
I have never forgotten that moment.
And I never will.
Because that recognition represented something far more important to me than a trophy, a certificate or another line on a résumé.
It meant that people whose opinions I respected deeply had looked at something Dick Stadlen and I created and decided it mattered.
They saw value in our work.
They recognized our presence.
They understood that innovation wasn’t limited to the biggest broadcasting corporations or the most familiar formats.
And they gave us something every creator needs at some point in life.
Validation.
Not empty praise.
Not a polite pat on the back.
Recognition from people who knew the industry and understood the possibilities of what we were building.
You have to understand something about me.
I’ve worked in radio for a long time. I’ve experienced wonderful successes, difficult setbacks, extraordinary opportunities and moments when I wondered whether some of my ideas were simply too far ahead of what the industry was willing to embrace.
But I never stopped believing in the power of the medium.
And neither did those gentlemen.
Fred, Paul and Mike didn’t have to recognize Survivor Radio. They chose to.
That distinction means everything.
Because when somebody with influence reaches back and encourages someone trying to create something different, they may never fully understand how much that encouragement means.
Fred, I hope you understand it now.
You helped me believe that the work Dick and I were doing had a place in this industry.
And I will always be grateful.
This Is What Real Industry Leadership Looks Like
I wish more people in broadcasting understood this.
Leadership isn’t simply about occupying an executive office.
It isn’t about the size of your company, the number of stations you consult or how many people attend your conference presentations.
Sometimes leadership is recognizing an idea that doesn’t fit neatly into the industry’s existing categories.
Sometimes it’s encouraging somebody who doesn’t have the largest budget or the most powerful corporate connections.
Sometimes it’s telling a creator, through your actions, that what they’re doing deserves attention.
Fred Jacobs has spent decades helping radio companies understand their audiences.
But I believe part of his legacy should also include the people he encouraged along the way.
People like me.
People who were trying to innovate.
People who believed there was room for something different.
People who simply needed somebody respected to say, in effect, that the work was worth recognizing.
The greatest industry leaders don’t just build successful businesses. They help other people believe they can build something too.
And that’s what makes this transition emotional for me.
Now Paul Jacobs Takes the Presidency
Beginning in 2027, Paul Jacobs will assume the presidency of Jacobs Media.
And I couldn’t be happier that the company’s next chapter will remain in the hands of someone who has already contributed so much to its success.
Paul has played a significant role in Jacobs Media’s development, particularly in digital strategy, business innovation and the expansion of the company’s capabilities beyond traditional radio consulting.
His work has included leadership associated with jacapps, the mobile application business that helped broadcasters expand their presence into smartphones and digital platforms.
In many ways, Paul has been helping prepare Jacobs Media for the future for years.
Now he will lead it.
And Fred isn’t disappearing.
He will become Chairman, remaining involved in selected consulting, research and speaking activities.
That’s an important distinction.
This isn’t the industry saying goodbye to Fred Jacobs.
It’s Jacobs Media preparing for another chapter.
And I suspect Fred will still have plenty to say about where radio is headed.
Let’s be serious.
Does anybody actually believe Fred Jacobs is going to stop having opinions about broadcasting?
The man has spent 43 years telling radio where it needs to go.
You don’t just turn that off with a retirement announcement.
Somewhere, a program director is probably already nervous about Fred’s next blog post.
Radio Needs More Fred Jacobs and Fewer Closed Doors
Here is where I want to challenge the industry.
How many extraordinary ideas have we ignored because they didn’t come from the right company?
How many creative broadcasters have we overlooked because they didn’t have a familiar corporate title?
How many independent radio entrepreneurs have spent years building something meaningful while waiting for somebody with influence to take them seriously?
And how many of those ideas might have changed broadcasting if someone had simply given them an opportunity?
I know what it feels like to be on that side of the equation.
That’s why I haven’t forgotten what the Jacobs brothers and Mike Stern did for Survivor Radio.
They didn’t have to open that door.
But they did.
And perhaps that’s one of the most important lessons Fred Jacobs leaves for the next generation of radio executives.
If you want to discover the future of broadcasting, stop looking exclusively inside the same corporate boardrooms.
Look at the independent creators.
Look at the digital entrepreneurs.
Look at the broadcasters building new formats with limited resources and enormous determination.
Look at the people who don’t always have the connections but have something worth hearing.
Because somewhere out there is another idea that deserves a chance.
And somewhere out there is another person who needs somebody like Fred Jacobs to believe in them.
Fred I Have One Question for You
After 43 years, what do you consider your greatest accomplishment?
Is it helping develop Classic Rock?
Is it building Jacobs Media into a respected industry organization?
Is it the research that helped radio understand digital disruption?
Is it the countless executives and programmers you’ve advised?
Or could it be something that doesn’t always show up in a company biography?
The people you encouraged.
The ideas you recognized.
The careers you helped shape.
The innovators who kept going because someone like you saw something in their work.
I would love to hear your answer.
And Paul, as you prepare to take over, I have a question for you too.
How will Jacobs Media continue identifying and encouraging the next generation of independent radio innovators?
Because the industry needs that kind of leadership now more than ever.
From One Broadcaster to Another Thank You
Fred, I’ve had the privilege of meeting and working with many remarkable people throughout my broadcasting career.
Some gave me opportunities.
Some taught me lessons.
Some challenged me.
And some believed in me when that belief meant more than they could possibly know.
You, Paul and Mike Stern belong in that last category.
The recognition you gave Survivor Radio in 2015 remains one of those moments I will always treasure.
Not because it made me famous.
Not because it made me wealthy.
But because it reminded me that people who truly understand broadcasting can recognize innovation wherever they find it.
And because it validated something Dick Stadlin and I had worked to create.
I will never forget that.
As President and Publisher of On The Dial, I have an opportunity today to return a small measure of that recognition.
So let me say it publicly.
Fred Jacobs, thank you for 43 years of leadership. Thank you for challenging this industry. Thank you for recognizing creativity. And thank you for believing in me when so few others did.
Congratulations on this new chapter.
Paul, congratulations on becoming President.
And Mike Stern, thank you for being part of a moment in my life that still means so much.
I hope all three of you understand the impact you’ve had on people throughout this industry.
Because sometimes the most meaningful legacy isn’t the company you built.
It’s the people who are still building because you believed in them.
Fred Jacobs helped shape the sound of radio for more than four decades. But for this broadcaster, his greatest contribution was something much more personal.
He listened when others wouldn’t.
And I will always be grateful to that dude.
— Steven D. Mills
President and Publisher, On The Dial
On The Dial covers breaking radio industry news, including layoffs, programming changes, talent moves, and broadcast trends across the United States.
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