Adam Carolla Show Cancelled; Is Radio A Doomed Business?

Here's another nail in the coffin of terrestrial talk radio. It was announced late yesterday that Adam Carolla, who replaced Howard Stern on the west coast, has been fired. His home station in Los Angeles is switching formats away from talk.

The slow death of radio mainstays--Carolla has been on the air since the mid-90s, starting as host of the syndicated show Loveline--has led to cries from some that a whole type of business is dying while no one tries to save it. See my previous post here.

Carolla has won fans since his days on Loveline for his anti-radio radio personality: he doesn't have the mellifluous or bassy voices of most broadcasters, and his specialty is long, unscripted, often off-the-cuff rants.

Some might point to Carolla's demise as further evidence that it is impossible for independent voices to thrive on radio. That might be true of terrestrial radio. But, as I blogged about last month, this is a sign of progress, not regress, for broadcasting entrepreneurs.

Audiences aren't abandoning the idea of radio. They're abandoning this format. That's not necessarily a bad thing for people interested in talking to large audiences. The Internet is becoming the great equalizer. You don't need an expensive license and millions of dollars in broadcasting equipment. You just need to start and publicize your own podcast.

The question for entrepreneurs now is--how do you monetize podcasts and their millions of listeners?

Here's hoping that Carolla makes a comeback--not to the airwaves, but to the web, as a podcaster.