BTC Radio, Talking Business Travel, has joined a growing list of Internet radio broadcasts aimed at meeting and travel industry pros. The tone of the show, which is hosted by Kevin Mitchell, chairman of the Business Travel Coalition, is professional and journalistic, and the content is in-depth.
The 40-minute inaugural broadcast was part one of a two-part discussion of the airline industry's financial crisis, which included a 15-minute conversation with Bob Crandall, former CEO and chairman of American Airlines, as well as commentary from reporters from The New York Times, Philadelphia Enquirer, and The Christian Science Monitor. Upcoming topics include the avian flu pandemic, registered-traveler programs, and a roundtable on travel management issues.
Mitchell says he hopes to increase listenership to attract 800,000 downloads a year. Internet radio, he says, “is one more tool to bring business travel issues and transparency to people.” The time is right for a business travel — focused radio show, he says. Not only have new, inexpensive, easy-to-use, Web-based technologies made it feasible, but industry issues are increasingly complex, and people are increasingly busy, which makes a multitask-friendly information source appealing.
BTC Radio can be heard via the Internet or downloaded from the Apple Music Store for free and played on an iPod or other MP3 player.