“Present your case,” says the Lord. “Bring forth your strong reasons,” says the King of Jacob. Isaiah 41:21

The topic of finding successful digital business models is an ongoing hot debate in the radio broadcast community.

Radio CEO Jeff Smulyan and media consultant Mark Ramsey took to the blogosphere to argue several sides of the issue.

The debate opened with Mark Ramsey’s post attacking the NAB’s “Radio Rocks My Phone” commercial created to generate enthusiasm for getting FM on all mobile phones.

Mark says consumers are not demanding FM-equipped mobile devices and trying to persuade them otherwise is misguided. The radio industry needs to see beyond its hundred-year history and develop new digital extensions that makes consumers want more.

Jeff Smulyan’s response is the first comment following Mark Ramsey’s post.

Jeff says streaming is too expensive and no one is making money at it. Consumers don’t see the value in making a broadly based communication medium a one-to-one medium. Mobile is the salvation of both over-the-air radio and television. Major wireless carriers are blocking free radio on phones so they sell music downloads. Congress should intervene.

In a follow-up, point by point rebuttal post, Mark says the argument isn’t about distribution, FM on cell phones. The main issue is relevance.

The debates have helped to clarify the need for Christian communicators to develop a cloud business strategy of their own.

Three keys to building a digital ecosystem

1. Overcoming obstacles in the transition to digital media is about the gospel first, not technology and monetization. Those things are very important, but people are searching the Web for hope, healing and spiritual solutions. The issue is, will Christian communicators be the dominant force in meeting their needs?

There have always been obstacles to the gospel and the challenges of moving to digital are not going to stop it.

2. Geo-relevant targeting is changing the face of local media. Increasingly, local churches and businesses are turning to Facebook, Google, Groupon and LivingSocial ads and promotional deals.  According to eMarketer, last year Facebook grossed $1.86 billion in advertising revenue. Of that, $1.12 billion (60%) was earned from small businesses in local markets.

Today advertising, tomorrow hyper local features like local news/information, local events, local goodwill endeavors, and local church services. What is more locally relevant than the gospel? Local Christian radio, churches and businesses are in the drivers seat to build local digital platforms around religious content. For now.

The opportunity is there for those involved in local Christian communication to establish a new digital “being” by joining hands with technology intermediaries to reach out to mobile users and everyone online.

3. Someone has said, “Create compelling content, and MAYBE the uprising will happen.” Good point. A successful transition can only happen with great content. Christian communicators have the world’s largest source of excellent Spirit inspired, community-created messages. However, there is more to consider on this point.

Unless the only thing you want people to do is hear a message, then response to the message must also be taken into account. That will take an optimized content delivery method, visitor behavior systems and conversion rate analytics.

What do Christian broadcasters want to happen when a visitor engages with the gospel: Receive Christ right now by faith through prayer? Recommit their lives to Jesus? Send comments? Ask questions? Meet local believers? Visit a local church? YES, all of the above!

Being social in digital outreach is not about being social through the content. It is about connecting people to Jesus and to one another.

There is a time for everything. General market broadcasters will continue to duke it out over their digital strategies. The time for getting out of the business model wars and getting on with business of spreading the gospel online is now, before the opportunity is lost.

Religious broadcasting in America is nearly 100 years old. With the globalization of communication, one media era is ending and another beginning. This is a legacy defining moment in the history of Christian media.

The core strengths of traditional terrestrial broadcasting, and mounting threats to its long-term survivability, have now been well documented.

For a number of years, media consultant Mark Ramsey and Internet marketing pioneer Seth Godin have been discussing the challenges and opportunities for broadcasters due to the changing media landscape.

Mark recently assembled his conversations with Seth into an updated article for a national broadcast convention.

Twelve points about the current state of traditional broadcasting emerged from my refections on their talks. For this analysis, I focused on six stable strengths and six serious threats for broadcasters.

Six strengths

1. Powerful legacy media assets
2. Inherent localness of the platform
3. Loyal audiences
4. Existing base of support from sponsors and partners
5. Access to content creators like ministries and record companies
6. Seasoned leadership and talent

Six threats

1. Declining value of broadcast licenses
2. Increasing intolerance of interruptive advertising
3. A flood of new competitors
4. Lack of widespread data management capabilities and audience data
5. Content creators, “artists,” going direct to new media
6. Failure to reinvent

In their discussions Mark and Seth also considered a number of opportunities created by the challenges.They shared ideas for leveraging broadcasting’s strengths into new media delivery systems and channels for individualized relationships with listeners and partners. You can review more of their tactical thinking in posts on Mark’s blog.

Seth’s conclusion? If broadcasters don’t start building now, “There’s zero chance you’re going to be able to do it in five years,” he said.

The moment

There’s a tension for Christian communicators. Globalization, driven by technology, is presenting monumental challenges. At the same time it is producing the greatest opportunity for Christian broadcasters since the church discovered radio, and sermons were carried over the air waves in 1923.

Daunting challenges can overwhelm and cause us to give up. They can also inspire us to overcome and, with God’s help, to press on toward His amazing future.

Christian communicators have been given what I believe is a God-given moment in time to, quite literally, build an entirely new platform for the gospel. A once in a lifetime opportunity to move toward a new future for Christian media; to create a new legacy.

The next generation of workers is ready, as I wrote about here, and as this email illustrates, recently arriving through my blog. Tina says, “I graduated from Taylor University and would like to pursue online ministry to support my family and serve.  What opportunities are there for a MSW who would love to go to graduate school and finish a Ph.D in ministry?”

So the wall was completed in fifty-two days. When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God. Nehemiah 6:15-16

The legacy

Rebuilding the industry by creating a new platform will be a massive undertaking requiring considerable resources and coordination. It won’t be easy. There are two basic ways to go about it. Build as individual organizations, doing what each thinks is best. Or, build together, a community digital media barn-raising, if you will.

Either approach may get the job done.

One is an opportunity to show the world an unprecedented level of unity and to complete the project in record time.

That approach would take churches, organizations, ministries, businesses and vendors in communities everywhere becoming true partners. It would mean setting individual agendas aside. It would bring the best and brightest minds together to share ideas. It would result in the building of a new media platform that honors our Lord and spreads the gospel person by person, neighborhood by neighborhood, nation by nation.

The chance to create a legacy for an entire industry comes along perhaps every one hundred years. This is a defining moment for Christian communicators.

Question: Do you know leaders who might be interested in having exploratory discussions around the idea of working together to build a new media platform in your community?

Many insiders of the broadcasting industry share a concern that digital media platforms are diminishing the reach and impact of traditional AM/FM radio.

For two years in a row, the Arbitron / Edison Radio Listening Reports say otherwise: The Infinite Dial 2008 and The Infinite Dial 2009.

“As has been shown in previous Arbitron and Edison reports, once again, we find that people who use digital platforms do NOT listen less to AM/FM radio.” (The Arbitron/Edison Radio Listening Report)

Despite the growth in alternative digital platforms (PC’s, mobile phones and MP3 players) two hundred-thirty-five million Americans tune in to commercial radio each week.

The average time spent listening per day to AM/FM radio is 2 hours, 48 minutes (unchanged from a year ago) compared with 2 hours, 45 minutes among those who use radio’s new digital platforms.

Ten years ago, most radio listening was done in the home or in the car. The digital age has changed that.  Broadcasters are adapting to the changes in technology; making access to radio now, virtually limitless.

The ability for radio to have an influence on people’s lives is intact as well. Former NAB President David Rehr cited a radio branding study the NAB conducted that showed, “radio remains relevant.” Ninety-two percent of Americans say radio plays an important part in their lives.

The NAB study also showed that nearly everyone still relies heavily on radio for information and entertainment.

This is good news for broadcasters, sponsors, advertisers and listeners.  It’s not meant to say that radio doesn’t face significant challenges.  It does.  There’s a great deal of uncertainty about the future.  What it says fairly conclusively is…digital technologies aren’t replacing radio, they’re unleashing it!

The religious broadcasting industry is uniquely positioned to take advantage of these opportunities. A look at three ways religious broadcasters might respond in next week’s post.