Re: Community Radio

[tims@channel1.com]

I for one am a supporter of "community radio" and almost but not quite, 
supportive of pirate radio...because when done right, pirate radio is 
what community radio is all about...minus the license.

If it were affordable, I would be willing to help support the purchase 
of a "community radio station"...such stations that come to mind are 
WHAV Haverhill and WHTB Fall River, both of which are not for sale.  I 
mention those two because I've worked at both stations and know the 
value of mentioning listeners birthdays on the morning show and saying 
hi to the DPW crew doing street work in the other part of town.  It's 
not a monetary value, its a dedicated listenership.

Another thing about dedicated listenership...older radio listeners.  
Older listeners aren't as fickle about listening to the radio...they 
don't simply turn the dial when a "bad" song comes on...mainly because 
they're not listening for the music...they're listening for the company 
and the enjoyment of having a friend with them throughout the day.  
That friend is radio.

When I worked at the two AM'ers listed above...you wouldn't believe the 
amount of older people who would come up to me at a remote and say 
something like..."I listen to you every morning."  Or, when my wife was 
pregnant with our first child, people would ask how she was doing.  When 
the morning man's child was born, I think he received more gifts from 
listeners than from his family...that's because the listeners from 
"local, community" radio stations are like family, only you don't want 
to avoid them at cookouts :)

There is a place for community radio...if it were only affordable enough 
to accomplish....

Marc Lemay

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