Radio competes against downloads, file-sharing, satellite broadcasts: Although iPod remains a four-letter word to many in the radio business, the top podcast on the iTunes chart, week after week, is a radio show: "This American Life," the weekly syndicated public radio show hosted by Ira Glass. It's a sign that radio, instead of fighting the competition from online and satellite radio, is adopting the same tools to serve -- and keep -- its listeners. [...]
Younger listeners are using cell phones as the new request line connection, text-messaging song requests to their favorite radio stations instead of phoning them in. Some cell phone companies now offer the capability to see a radio station's recent playlist, download audio or take part in contests.
A terrestrial station's cyberspace presence has become an important programming tool.
