The Pope’s Death. Radio. A Latin Lesson About Innovation.

Nihil Innovetur. It’s the Latin phrase for Let nothing be changed. I didn’t take Latin in prep school or college, and I’m not Catholic. The term entered my 24-hour vocabulary retention early Monday morning as I was driving in the irregular rainfall of Nashville. You know, the type of rain when the wipers are on the intermittent setting for a few miles, then full speed, then off, then back to full speed. This is why weather forecasters say scattered showers.

Scanning the radio while playing this game with my windshield wipers and the nimbostratus clouds, I learned Pope Francis had died. How did I miss this story before leaving the house? Simple. I didn’t look at a social media or news app before getting in the car. When the poet Thomas Gray wrote the line “ignorance is bliss” in 1742, little did he know the burdens of knowledge would be heavier 283 years later. There’s a feeling of freedom not having every fact constantly accessible at your fingertips.

When a reliable, in-the-moment radio station enlightened my ignorance with the death of the first Latin American pope, I searched for The Catholic Channel on SiriusXM to expand my knowledge about this historic event. Okay, that’s my public relations response. I searched the station for the same reason I always move through the dial during a news, sporting, or weather event. I want to know who is paying attention and who can meet the audience’s expectations.

The Catholic Channel met my expectations with updates on the six-hour-old event. Special guests, experts, analysts, and commentators were talking about Pope Francis’ final day, his legacy, and what will happen in the next few days to memorialize this unique leader of the Catholic Church.

A successful news program or commentary happens when I learn something new. I bounced back to The Catholic Channel throughout the morning after hearing a Morgan Wallen, Sabrina Carpenter, or Brandon Lake song on other radio stations. Then the ultimate learning moment happened. Latin school. Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, said, “Nihil Innovetur.”

The cardinal was responding when Seize the Day host Gus Lloyd asked Dolan, “Will the work of the Church go on” in the coming weeks before a new pope is elected? Expect the Catholic Church to be the Catholic Church during this period is what Dolan wanted his patrons to hear. But when it comes to major decisions about The Church universal, Dolan said, “We use that Latin phrase, Nihil Innovetur. Nothing new...until the chair of Peter is filled again.” I quickly spoke those words into my Notes app while driving. Research was needed when I got home. Hang on, I’ll bring branding and radio into this blog.

The Latin words chosen by the charismatic archbishop address the conflict between innovation and tradition in Catholic theology. Nihil innovetur nisi quod traditum est (be there no innovation beyond what has been handed down) dates to the Middle Ages, according to Discussions in the Middle Ages on Changes to the Unchanging Faith, published by the Cambridge University Press. “The term ‘innovator’ was an insult, and innovations in theology were to be avoided, since they entailed the risk of deviating from the old, true doctrine,” according to that same document. I’m sure the book, published February 18, 2023, has never been quoted in a radio industry blog.

When is nothing new a wise approach to our business or brand development? Heresy. (I’ll work every pun available into this column. How often will the death of a pope, mentioned with pop star Sabrina Carpenter, be in the same column?) Are we balancing the challenges of innovation with the limitations and expectations of the brand’s original use and purpose?

Innovation. It’s reached buzzword status, and that means it’s overused or misinterpreted. “Yeah, but if we’re not innovative, we’ll be left behind” is the feeling. Maybe. The examples of missed opportunities to innovate include Blockbuster, Blackberry, Toys “R” Us, Kodak, and so many others. The Kodak story is the most fascinating. Here’s a company that invented the digital camera in 1975, but feared the technology would hurt their film business. By the time they realized digital was the future, it was too late. Radio industry people shudder at that example. Phonic pun intended. Shudder is the correct word.

The term innovate or die is accurate. However, I edit the phrase to innovate, adapt, or die. Most of us are simply adapting to an innovation. If I want to innovate, I have to think about reinventing the user experience. This is what Cardinal Dolan triggered in me during Monday’s ten-second Latin lesson.

New is good if it enhances the brand’s mission and reach. It’s essential. However, suppose we’re adding services and content to simply catch up. In that case, we may be diluting the brand if we don’t have a visionary strategy for how those innovations and adaptations will change us and our audience.

Because this is a blog that often writes about radio, it wouldn’t fit the purpose if we didn’t include some type of alliteration. When considering changes and movement, pause for the cause.