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The  Boomer Public Radio Story

When the concept of active aging entered the mind of author, mentor, and serial entrepreneur, Allan Holender, he made a conscious  decision to leave the city he had known personally and professionally  for 43 years and move to a  community , where the average age was 54.  Shortly after that , he and his wife decided to re-invent their lives, and the former broadcast executive  immediately grasped its powerful implication: why shouldn’t all our years be alive with purpose, and brimming with healthful activity?

What started as enthusiasm became a commitment, and the commitment became ONE big Dream. That dream was to create a radio network that would become “The preferred media choice for connecting the voices of Boomers from around the world. Where imagination and ideas flourish. The idea became a reality with the birth of  Boomer Public Radio. His intention was for Boomer Public Radio to be the Number #1 digital source for news, information, stories, conversations, and entertainment exclusively for the 10 million Boomers and beyond in Canada and 80 million in the U.S.

Holender’s efforts have turned the idea of active aging into an entire edutainment broadcast network, thus inspiring researchers, organizations and health and wellness professionals around the world to come together with the common goal of changing the way society perceives and responds to its older population.

The timing was ideal; while the United Nations and World Health Organizations were awakening to the need for policies to support active aging on a global scale, Boomer Public Radio could emerge as the one media entity that could be the go-to source for anyone needing information on older-adult issues. Holender says; ” Our social broadcasting  platforms are as multi-faceted as they are effective in disseminating the active-aging message. We are inviting world-renowned experts from medicine, science and academe to be expert contributors within our broadcast family. “

“Utilizing the latest tools of online digital broadcasting, podcasting, on demand audio, e-paper, and crowd casting, we will be engaging leading authors and new thought presenters. We will be inviting industry leaders to explain to our audiences how they would  make their products and services more appropriate for the older population, thus guiding  their marketing efforts in a truthful and honest way.”

“We are also one of the few media outlets that focus their entire program content around the fifty plus generation, thus becoming  a prime source for those spreading the active-aging message. Think “CNN for Boomers”. Forbes magazine recently was quoted as saying “Boomers are the most valuable generation in the history of marketing”.

Rick Bava, BPR’s new COO has also announced the launch of it’s premiere  flagship show.   Bava says’  “I am pleased to tell you that our founder, Allan Holender, will produce and host a new entertainment and conversation podcast on Boomer Public Radio. ” THE BOOMER PUBLIC RADIO HOUR” will be a cornucopia of fireside memories, mindful chatter and  music from the jukebox of your life. “Do you remember”? “The program also features  candid and insightful interviews with prominent boomers from all walks of life. Allan will be inviting  a whole range of interesting folks from around the world to pull up a chair to the big breakfast table and have a conversation. There’s lots of room for you too!”  The show will air LIVE on the BPR Network and be available later as a podcast.

 

“Our  flagship podcast is based on the popularity of NPR in the U.S. and CBC in Canada” . “Boomers love the diversity of the commercial-free programming content” says Bava, himself a communications veteran.  “We are committed to bringing back the golden era of radio with new technology.

All of the programming, the personalities, the music, the memories, and the musings will be geared to those baby boomers and beyond who fondly remember the “magic” and the way radio used to sound.

This is the population that grew up with an actual “real’ radio in their possession, those who were born between 1946 and 1964. It may have been a radio console in the living room for the family to gather around on a Sunday evening, or a radio in the kitchen, the bedroom, the den, or in the workshop.

And many will even remember the smart phone of the times – it was the “transistor radio” that you took to the beach. Do you remember? Bava says, “Allan, who will host “The Boomer Public Radio Hour”,   is not only a brilliant broadcaster, but a terrific leader and partner who is making a difference in the lives of every listener.” He says the one hour radio show will air LIVE on Boomer Public Radio but will also be available for syndication on terrestrial radio stations in Canada and the U.S.

 Bava, who will be BPR’s first Chief Operating Officer, graduated with a BA in Communication Arts from UW, Madison, where he studied under Professor Winston Brembeck, a leading authority in the field. Bava then expanded his education further by taking graduate courses at Harvard , before beginning his business career. He went on to enjoy a successful 30-year corporate career, working his way up to become the Senior Head of External Affairs for the Computer Services division of the Boeing Company, followed by his role as the Director of World Wide Business Development for Digital Equipment Corporation’s Services Division. In 2002, Rick founded and was CEO of his own company, the Bava Group, which became the premier communications consulting firm serving the Fortune 500 community.

 

Bava is the Author of the acclaimed book- “In Search of the Baby Boomer Generation.” For two years he traveled the country talking to, and interviewing Baby Boomers, to form the basis of his book. He  writes the respected column “The Baby Boomer Corner” for Today’s Senior Magazine, a leading publication serving the over fifty reader. As a chronicler of the Baby Boomer Generation, Rick Bava has established the reputation as the Baby Boomer expert for Newsmax.

 His featured column, “The Boomer Generation,” is seen as an “Insiders,” look at one of the most interesting generations in American history.  Bava is associated with the media outlet, “Boomer Nation,” which provides commentary on the Baby Boomer Generation in multiple media formats. He has been a chronicler of the Baby Boomer Generation since 2008, following a highly successful business and corporate career. Today, Rick Bava is considered a thought leader for the Baby Boomer Generation.

 Bava, who has been closely observing trends in the radio industry business model over the past three decades, notes that we are seeing re-broadcasting of “Podcasts” as a new norm for radio stations as they try to capture the much needed quality content to fill their programming schedules. A good example is that of The TED Radio Hour, which is produced by National Public Radio, and is now being made available for syndication to local stations, as a podcast.

And there are new collaborative partnerships being created in the world of Podcasting and Publishing. Forbes and PodcastOne have announced a partnership to create a “Forbes on PodcastOne” network of on-demand audio. In what appears to be a deep creative business relationship, the two companies will collaborate on production, distribution, promotion, marketing, and advertising sales.

 Bava adds that  “As everyone knows the industry is not always 100% unified. Some companies have their own plans on how to accomplish their goals with their radio assets and that doesn’t always mesh with what the industry as a whole is focused on. “The entire media landscape is changing with the advent of the internet and digital technology”.

Radio and Television have lost some of the traditional listeners and viewers that they had previously relied on back when there were no choices other than listening to an actual physical radio or watching a traditional television set. Television PVR’s and Radio Podcasts are replacing appointment television and radio.

Even the traditional car radio, the last stronghold for radio, is being replaced with a WIFI dashboard that will allow you to search thousands of stations on the internet for free, and listen to your favorite podcast in hi-def surround sound. You may only need a local broadcast radio station for weather, news, traffic and sports reports.

That’s why he says, “We have made a conscious decision that we will be an ALL DIGITAL On Demand  and “Live Stream” radio network, with a business model that meets the new realties in the industry. When asked, “What about  terrestrial radio stations, he says “By making BPR all digital it allows the flexibility to use all the new forms of radio as well as still being able to take advantage of traditional media such as broadcast radio,by selling shows via syndication.

 The first original BPR  digital media podcast which had a “soft launch” on July 16th was the  “Big Boomer Beach Party“, produced and hosted by Holender, an early pioneer of Internet broadcasting in Canada, who has over 40 years in the broadcasting industry. Holender has been a highly  recognized producer , nationally syndicated radio host, and acclaimed writer.  He’s also been one of the original founders of a terrestrial radio station in the lower mainland of British  Columbia. C-ISL 650, which started out programming for Boomers.

 “Through the power of social broadcasting”, Bava says “BPR will focus on discovery and engagement with a range of audio types, including spoken-word stories, news, information, journalism, and entertainment,  all targeted to the Baby Boomer Generation. Boomers of the world need a citizen voice to be heard above the noise of corporate media and the drone of commercial driven radio. To emphasize the power of social broadcasting, Bava quotes Google on it’s new “crowdcaster”platform:

 “For years, we’ve invited iconic voices, from television and radio, into our homes. Today, with the power of technological advancement and a movement towards social sharing, we have an opportunity to give media back to the people. This is where the power of social broadcasting becomes really important – in its ability to democratize audio, giving voices to those we couldn’t hear before, and giving rise of a new era of information sharing around the globe!”

 Bava further adds, “Our goal and intention at BPR is to be an independent citizen voice, to help media improve their coverage of issues affecting the world’s  increasingly aging communities. Traditional media outlets just don’t understand the aging population in communities around the world. They don’t know the community’s politics, the divisions among government and private initiatives and the diversity of programs. It all starts with the Boomers, those currently aged 51-69, and then goes beyond Boomers to include those 70-100″ says Bava.

 “This issue goes beyond the Boomer community itself,” Bava says, “because the public is poorly served when reports don’t reflect the reality of life of someone who is growing older.”  Estimates released this month by the U.S. Census Bureau show that Baby Boomers (ages 51-69) now number 74.9 million.

And the grey shift has already begun in Canada, says Holender, with over 10 million Boomers. As of this year, for the first time, Canada has more people over the age of 65 than under 15. The age group that now encompasses the boomer generation – 50 to 69 – makes up 27 per cent of the population, compared with 18 per cent in that age group two decades ago. The number of people over 65, the traditional retirement age in this country, make up 16 per cent of the population – double their proportion in 1971.

 Boomer Public Radio is unfettered by the constraints of geography, demographics, culture, politics or the status quo. Our intention at  Boomer Public Radio is to expand our knowledge and influence across multiple sectors, countries and organizations – to the point where today we have the programs, the expertise, the media platform and the experts to champion the causes of active aging in a way no one else can. Featuring fresh takes and real-time analysis from BPR’s signature lineup of contributors and to re-think the media’s current coverage of an aging population while developing new formats more in line with public service and less defined by the need to make a profit for shareholders as is the custom of radio and television corporate conglomerates.