Pirated Radio

"Tune into the power of radio," writes Betsy Goldberg in Tactics, the Public Relations Society of America's newsletter. "Radio enables you to better target your audience and skip TV's high production costs." Her list of radio PR tools includes audio news releases ("These 60-second stories feature your message, narration and a sound bite from your client or supportive third party ... distributed to thousands of stations through networks such as the Associated Press"), interviews on airlines' in-flight audio ("a solid way to reach a business-oriented, higher-income audience. There are no surprises, because you script the questions"), and public service announcements (limited to nonprofits, "but nonprofits often need corporate partners"). Goldberg also touts "the potential of satellite radio." The two major satellite radio companies, with more than 5 million subscribers, "produce little original news or talk programming," she notes.