re: Better radio programming= ever to be?

["Tim Davisson" <timdav@bright.net>]

Competition USED to be the force that caused change (improvement?)...but,
since 
consolidation, there's little direct competition among radio stations.

Those of us in the radio industry, ex-industry folks, and radio fans mostly
agree: most 
music-based radio programming is boring, boring, boring. 

But has a significant trend emerged in focus groups, on Arbitron diary
reads,
etc....where listeners have literally said "I don't listen to the radio
because they
play the same songs over and over..." (etc.)?  And,  if such negative
trends 
have appeared....are those not the same type of complains from listeners
we've
all heard for years?

Again...I agree with most of you.....the same 250-300 songs over and over
and
over in virtually any format IS boring. The difference might be that AC &
oldie
stations play the same 250-300 songs and those songs are 25-35 years old...
....not like on a alternative station that may go WAY back to 1993 for
an "oldie".

The problem is more detailed than I've described above....no doubt.

The question is....the competition to force better radio may come
from outside radio. Hopefully by then it won't be too late. Get listeners
used to "cable radio" will a good chunk of them ever come back?


> 
> And will anybody care? The product is so horrendous now, the public may
just
> have given up and turned to CDs and/or DBS. It boggles my mind how
willing
> these big outfits are to drive the audience away as long as they can make
a
> buck while they do it. (And, alas, under current conditions, they _can_
make
> a buck while they do it.) Can you say "eating your young?"
> 
> -------------------------------
> Dan Strassberg (Note: Address is CASE SENSITIVE!)

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