Sirius Satellite Radio In Ford Cars/Trucks

Chuck Zimmerman June 6, 2005

I’m kind of serious (Sirius) about my music and my radio. I doubt I’m a normal kind of listener because I dial around on tradtional radio and satellite. I’ve tried the other one (XM) and am glad I chose Sirius. I just like their music line-up better I guess. I wrote to both companies asking if they’d work with me on creating a full time farm news & information channel. I only heard back from Sirius with a politely negative answer. The two satellite radio vendors are developing though and I see what they offer as an attractive alternative to farmers who are always on the go.

Let me know if you’re a satellite radio subscriber or post a comment. Do you like it? Would you like to hear farm news on it?

FORD MOTOR COMPANY AND SIRIUS SATELLITE RADIO EXTEND EXCLUSIVE RELATIONSHIP

– All Ford Brands Included
– Expanded Factory Installation Programs Expected
– Factory Installed Volumes Expected To Significantly Increase

NEW YORK and DETROIT, MI – June 6, 2005 – SIRIUS Satellite Radio (NASDAQ:
SIRI), and the Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F), today announced an agreement that extends SIRIUS’ exclusive relationship with Ford through September 2011, on certain terms and conditions. All Ford Motor Company brands in the U.S. — Ford, Lincoln Mercury, Land Rover, Jaguar, Volvo, Aston Martin and Mazda — are covered by the agreement.

“Subscriptions to SIRIUS have increased dramatically over the past several years,” said Phil Martens, Ford’s Group Vice President of Product Creation. “So, it’s only natural that Ford would want to continue to make SIRIUS’
unique mix of programming available to Ford buyers in the future. Our relationship provides customers with the best of both worlds – innovative technology, style and driving experience.”

“We are delighted that Ford has decided to extend its exclusivity with SIRIUS, enabling future Ford buyers to experience the best programming in satellite radio,” said Mel Karmazin, CEO of SIRIUS. “Ford and SIRIUS are both dedicated to providing our customers with the best quality possible. Now, Ford buyers can be assured that our two companies will continue to work together in the future to make their driving experience even more pleasurable.”

For more information contact Jim Collins.

Media

Oscar In Agriculture Call For Entries

Chuck Zimmerman June 6, 2005

The 2005 call for entries is out for the Oscar In Agriculture awards. This award competition is sponsored by New Holland in conjunction with the National Association of Farm Broadcasters (NAFB). Although the award competition has a long history and used to be given in many different categories, it’s now just one award given to a farm broadcaster who has demonstrated excellence in broadcast reporting.

AgWired’s own Cindy Zimmerman won a prestigious Oscar In Agriculture award in 1991. The award looked very different then.

To find out how to enter please contact Kristina M. Boone, 301 Umberger Hall, Dept. of Communications, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66505-3402, 785-532-5804. Entries must be postmarked by July 31, 2005 and be for work that aired on or after August 1, 2004.

Agribusiness

Talking News Releases RSS Feed

Chuck Zimmerman June 5, 2005

I’ve been asked too many times by people who want to subscribe to our Talking News Release service to ignore it. In fact, I’ve got folks who want to use them as content on their websites! So . . . I’m in the process of adding the following RSS feed of the Talking News Releases we produce and distribute. It’ll show up as a permanent feature soon. I posted it here to alert you and to test it with my favorite news aggregator – NewsGator (I use the Outlook version). Works like a charm. Subscribe to the XML file signified by the button image and you’ll receive any new ones I post to it. I intend to post them all!

Uncategorized

Mayo To Bader Rutter For Summer

Chuck Zimmerman June 5, 2005

Welcome Wendy Mayo to Bader Rutter. Wendy will be interning in the public relations department over the summer. I’m a big fan of internships and have had the pleasure of working with many of them over the years. You’ve got to love a PR department that sends out a release on their intern though!

Here’s what the release says about Wendy: Mayo, a senior at Kansas State University, is majoring in animal science and agricultural communications. A native of Garden City, Kan., she previously held communications internships with Certified Angus Beef LLC and the American Hereford Association. Mayo has served as an editor for Agriculturist Magazine, a publication of Kansas State University. On campus, she’s an ambassador for the College of Agriculture and a member of the livestock judging team.

For more information contact Greg Nickerson, President, (262) 784-7200.

Agencies

New Grower Guide On Pioneer GrowingPoint Website

Chuck Zimmerman June 5, 2005

I don’t know if you’ve been on Pioneer’s “Growing Point” website but it’s got a lot of information. According to their latest release sorghum growers now have a new document available. You’ll need to register to enter the site unless you’re already a Pioneer customer. Then all you have to do is contact your local sales rep to obtain a login and password.

Sorghum Management Guide
Now Available at Pioneer GrowingPointSM Website

DES MOINES, Iowa, June 3, 2005 – Sorghum growers with questions on topics ranging from planting rates to pest management can find answers with the click of a mouse. The Sorghum Production Manual from Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., is now available on the Pioneer GrowingPointSM website.

Pioneer customers can access the manual by logging on to www.pioneer.com/growingpoint and entering “sorghum manual” in the site’s search box. This sorghum manual is an online source and reference guide, written by Pioneer sorghum experts, for sorghum growers. Content focuses on grain sorghum research, cultural practices, management systems, insect and weed management, and end-use applications.

“This manual is designed to assist growers in developing management systems that can maximize economic returns from sorghum,” says Clive Holland, sorghum product line manager for Pioneer. “Additionally, experts in the sorghum field offer their insights on drought tolerance and top yield potential for greater productivity.

For more information contact Jerry Harrington.

Agribusiness

DAP Owners Listen To Traditional Radio More

Chuck Zimmerman June 5, 2005

Podcasting News first alerted me to a new study by Bridge Ratings about the effect of MP3 or digital audio players on traditional radio listening. As Podcasting News points out the portable digital devices have a real impact on the younger demographic but the report concludes overall, “This first look at a three-month composite of radio users suggests an increase in time spent with traditional radio the longer radio listeners own these digital players.”

You can look at the full report here. Bridge Ratings is “dedicated to providing on-going, immediate, reliable and affordable audience measurement services for radio.”

Podcasts

Blog Business Summit 2005 Announced

Chuck Zimmerman June 5, 2005

I’ve been waiting on this announcement since I couldn’t attend last year’s first ever Blog Business Summit. However, I’m already scheduled to conduct a session on blogging at the NAMA Boot Camp on August 18. We’ll just have to see how it goes. Maybe I can get there for the final day? We’ll see. If you’re serious about wanting to know what this blogging thing’s all about this would be the place to be!

Blog Business Summit in San Francisco this August

After the success of our Seattle event, we posted a survey asking people interested in the conference to tell us which city they’d like to see the BBS come to next. San Francisco received the most votes, so we have contracted for the dates August 17-19 at the beautiful and historic Palace Hotel.

We will be posting final sessions and speakers over the next several weeks. Besides adding several new sessions and speakers to the main conference, we’re hosting a pre-conference “Business Blogging 101” seminar that will cover the basics of making the blogosphere work for your company.

Our early bird discount will be in place until July 11, and you can take advantage of that pricing here.

We’ll be posting immediately on the finalized sessions, speakers and sponsors as they are updated!

You might want to subscribe to the BBS blog feed to keep up to date on the event even if you can’t attend.

Uncategorized

Pictures From Mid Missouri Energy Grand Opening

Chuck Zimmerman June 4, 2005

I would be smiling too if the governor just handed me the keys to a new Chevy Tahoe. That’s just what Missouri Governor Matt Blunt did yesterday. With Chevrolet’s Ed Wallace looking on, Governor Blunt handed Missouri Corn Growers Association, CEO, Gary Marshall the keys to a new Tahoe that’s a rolling billboard for ethanol. Gary says he’ll have the truck on display at many events around Missouri in the coming year.

I promised you a whole bunch of photos and I have them uploaded. I’m now a Pro account holder at Flickr! That’s because I went over my “free” limit of photo uploads in one week! You can see all the action from the Mid Missouri Energy grand opening right here: Mid Missouri Energy Grand Opening

Once you go to the photo album you can view it as a slide show or individual photos. You can also download them (at the resolution I uploaded them).

Enjoy. It was a great event Ryland!!!!!

Ag Groups, Agribusiness

An Ethanol Plant And An Ethanol Standard

Chuck Zimmerman June 3, 2005

It was a big day for the ethanol industry in Missouri. We had the governor, some congressmen, various ethanol industry leaders and a couple thousand people. This was Malta Bend, MO!

The event was the grand opening of the Mid Missouri Energy ethanol plant but it was almost overshadowed by the Governor’s announcement that he will pursue his campaign promise of getting a legislated mandatory 10% ethanol standard. You could just see the beaming, smiling faces. I was there to record interviews, take pictures and help the Missouri Corn Growers Association produce a Talking News Release, which was sent out with audio and image links to reporters around the state this afternoon. Thank you Patty Kinder for letting me use your office and the high speed internet connection!

BLUNT MAKES STATE ETHANOL STANDARD HIGHEST PRIORITY
Missouri Corn Growers Applaud the Governor’s Continued Commitment
at Grand Opening of the State’s Third Ethanol Plant

(MALTA BEND, Mo.)— Ethanol will continue to help fuel the economy of Missouri, thanks to the opening of the state’s third ethanol production facility and Governor Matt Blunt’s promise to enact a statewide ethanol standard next year.

In his remarks to a packed house at the grand opening of Mid-Missouri Energy (MME) in Malta Bend today, Governor Blunt reiterated that one of his highest priorities next legislative session will be to pass a 10 percent ethanol standard in Missouri.

“So every gas pump, if you fill up your truck or your car, you’re going to put in a gas that contains 10 percent ethanol. It’s good for consumers, it’s good for the environment, it’s good for economic development and very significantly important for Missouri farm families.” (full release) Word Document

For more information contact Becky Grisham.

Ag Groups, Agribusiness, Audio

More On The Podcasting Wave

Chuck Zimmerman June 3, 2005

This image is normally used in our posts when we’re alerting you to the latest ZimmCast. This time though I just wanted to bring your attention to podcasting again and a good recent article in BusinessWeek Online.

I’ve said it before and will keep saying it. You ag groups especially should consider podcasting now. Just because a lot of farmers aren’t yet carrying their MP3 players around (anyone know how many?) doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be creating your own programs. This is even more true for groups that need to reach the consumer!! Here’s an excerpt from the BusinessWeek article that that makes some good points:

But the heart of the podcasting movement is in the world of blogs, those millions of personal Web pages that have become a global sensation. In a blogosphere that has grown largely on the written word, podcasts add a soundtrack. It’s not like the traditional Internet sound, which usually involves visiting a Web site. What’s special about podcasts is that they’re dispatched directly to users who ask for them.

In this, they’re like the written content on blogs. But podcasts go a step further. They can be delivered not just to your home page but to the music program on your computer, whether it’s Apple’s (AAPL ) iTunes, Microsoft’s (MSFT ) Windows Media Player, or another. From there, it can go straight to your MP3 player.

I say let your written word “speak for itself.” Do a podcast. I can teach you how or you can find lots of resources on the internet. You’ve probably seen our posts each week for the MBIC Report and CornTalk. These are weekly interview programs that two of Missouri’s more innovative commodity groups have been producing and distributing to farm broadcasters for some time. That’s still being done. The broadcaster has a fully produced program to air or draw sound bites from. Some do their own interviews but have this recording as a backup. Additionally, we stream the audio and create and post the file that you (or their members or anyone in the general public) can subscribe to and download the program to your computer. You can then listen on your computer or sync it into your Ipod or similar device to listen to anytime/anywhere you want.

This is great producer/consumer communications. A new public relations tool. Let me know if you’ve got questions and I’ll do my best to answer them. In fact, if you email me I’ll be glad to post an answer for others who may be wondering the same thing.

I’ll ask one of my own. Are any of you podcasting now? If so, let me know and I’ll make sure to bring it to our reader’s attention.

Ag Groups, Agribusiness, Podcasts

Page 2,333 of 2,374
←
1
...
2,332
2,333
2,334
...
2374
→