Radio Kills Itself On Air, After We Take This Short Break....

I started as a disc jockey in the early 80's. It was a when the “golden age” of radio was fading very fast. With a good voice and perhaps a bit more life experience than younger DJs, I got good jobs with some large stations that were still “full service.” They provided weather alerts, news break-ins, and most important, local material from people who actually lived in the community.

For example, when the 80's Iranian hostage crisis ended I was on the air. At about 2 AM, the hostages' plane lifted off, and they were finally heading home. I grabbed a copy of Neil Diamond song “America” with the refrain, “They're coming to America!” and blasted it out into the night.

Other nights I spent mourning the death of the Challenger crew, and of Ricky Nelson. At Christmas Eve I avoided “Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer” in favor of more traditional music. Why? I once heard from a grandmother that the song spoiled her holiday. Plus I never like the song anyway. On New Year's Eve my wife would join me in the studio to ring in the new year.

What is the point of these 25 year old stories? While this kind of broadcasting was still going on, stations big and small were experimenting (and saving money) with a new radio “format.” Did I mention it saved money? 

Somewhere, some programming “genius” decided that people wanted MORE MUSIC, LESS TALK. DJ's played “ten in a row” with little or no intros, weather or anything else. Lesser quality DJs could be employed for lesser salaries. Did I mention it saved money? 

Remove interaction with the listener, remove local references, play song after song without stopping. 

What does it sound like? It sounds like an iPod. Twenty five or more years ago the radio industry lowered the expectations of listeners and trained an entire generation to compare radio to the same experience they now get with a cheap MP3 player. Radio stations didn't see the monster they created.

In short, what is the point of tuning in a radio station to play a selection of songs when you can do the same thing in your pocket? You can load hundreds of song you actually like, hit the “shuffle” button and all you lose are the commercial breaks and cheesy contests.

And now it has gotten worse in radio land. The lowly DJ must do “tracking.” They are given a list of songs a computer will play on several different stations, often in different states. Then they sit and record “That was Elvis on Wzzz!” “That was the Madonna on Rock Kppp!” “That was ELO on Oldies Q27!” In a matter of a couple of hours, they have recorded and inserted an entire day's worth of song intros into the computers of stations located in places they have never visited and for people they have never seen. Did I mention it saved money? 

It IS cheap and saves money at a time when radio stations are hurting for money. But it doesn't solve the problem of why people are no longer tuning in.

There still is originality in public radio, college stations and community broadcasting operations. But heaven help you if a tornado or Katrina visits your community. I hope your Internet connection keeps working or you have a weather radio. Because chances are that as the storm hits, your “local” station will keep on playing hit after hit with more of your favorites from the 80's and 90's.