Re: Corperate radio/Clear Channel

["Joseph Pappalardo" <joepappalardo2001@yahoo.com>]

Hi Jeremy, here's some points to ponder..

From: "Jeremy Mixer" <mixer@zoso.net>

> never been a fan of it, and as a 22-year old relative newcomer to the
> world of radio I am disgusted by what radio sounds like today compared to
> what it did five years ago when I was graduating from high school.

Radio always sounded better when we were younger.  After all radio/music
target the young...as we get older we find that programmers have less and
less interest in us...

> I think it is sad that the radio industry has gone so corperate and these
> corperate companies have not only taken a lot of the localness out of
> radio but have turned it into a big money making venture and really could
> care less about their employees, and to an extent, their listeners.

Did they EVER care about their employees?  Or was that just some wishful
thinking about the past?

Weren't they always interested in turning their stations into 'big money
making ventures'?

Listeners always came second to making a dollar in the smaller markets...and
they did in the larger markets as well.  The only difference was the larger
operators knew that it was the proverbial dog that wagged the tail....and
knew not to kill the goose laying the golden eggs.

But let's face it....the public does not respond to "localness" as they once
did.  It's very low on the list of "what makes you choose a radio station".
To wit....Howard Stern, etc.  They once said that radio HAD TO BE LOCAL in
AM Drive....but that bubbles been burst as well...and people listen and like
non-local radio...and therefor stations make money on non-local radio.

> Anyone who is a fellow Mainer will agree with me that the WTOS of a couple
> of years ago was a great station. While format wise they haven't changed
> too much, their music is very corperate sounding, the fact that they've
> eliminated overnight jocks (and don't even do voicetracking)...

Hmmmm, having a live body is a classy thing...but the overnights are a
frill...very few listeners...and even less revenue.  Does it matter....and
how much does it matter?

> We, as either former or current participants in the radio industry, should
> attempt to do something to reverse the direction of this. We should do
> whatever in our power that we can do. Impossible task you say? Maybe,
> maybe not, but it is worth a try.

LISTENERS have to do something.  If they continue to listen, stations will
continue to cut budgets and make money.  If listeners start going away....to
say, streaming media or sattelite radio, or digital cable music
channels...then radio will sit up and notice.

OR...It will take a competitor coming in and doing things the way you
mentioned...and showing that it DOES make a difference to listeners.  Right
now, no one has proven that making the changes you suggest will result in
more satisfield listeners, bigger audience, more responsive sales and thus
more revenue.

>
> Has anyone ever thought of making a petition and getting signatures to get
> something on a future election to downsize the corperate companies? Clear
> Channel owns too much, period. I stated in an email an hour or two ago
> that I think it is rediculous that they own 9 stations here in Bangor when
> the other two radio companies only own a combined total of 7. That's just
> an unfair advantage if you ask me, it really is.

Some markets are starting to sound like a monopoly to me.  We definitely
need to go back to some sort of ownership caps within a market...just for
the sake of competition.

> they  can't find northern Maine profitable) any market which means
> anything is completely corperate now, and it is DISGUSTING.

> Corperate radio is evil. Period. I don't care what anyone says. I have

"Corperate" is not necesarily a bad thing.  You speak the word  like it's a
curse.  Corperate radio gave us Westinghouse, CBS, NBC, ABC, etc.  Places we
ALL wanted to work at one time.

Westinghouse was always known to be cheap..The big three were always know to
be top-heavy and over controlling their stations from NYC.  (I remember that
NBC HQ in NYC demanded that WKYS,  then an NBC O&O Disco FM station in DC,
carry NBC hourly news every hour on the hour.  Imagine how that broke the
mood doing an evening disco show with lots of mixes....and stopping for
BING-BANG-BONG...N-B-C RADIO NEWS....I'm CAMERON SWAZEY".  All audience that
enjoyed the music was then....GONE.

While I appreciate what you said.....I just wanted to post a few things to
think about.

JP


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