Re: Lowry Mays speaks

["Steve West" <stevewest106@hotmail.com>]

> As far as "soul" missing, I hate to say it, but I heard a similar argument
> in the 70s when I was working for a company that made phototypesetting
> equipment.  As linotypes were being replaced with this new equipment I'd
> hear all these old-line newspaper composing room employees complain about
> how it's taken all the "pride" out of the job.  In the end the end user
> doesn't know or care how the paper was put out, just that it was.
>

I just couldn't disagree more.  You're not seriously comparing radio to a
typesetting machine at a print shop!!??

There is a whole huge difference in radio today as compared to 20 years
ago... no, even pre-1992 or 93.  Radio back then DID have soul!  Most major
market stations had real entertainers (well, perhaps not on sleepy AC),
people who really went out of their way to relate to their audience.  It
really isn't that way now.

Perhaps I'm wrong, now that I think about it, though.  Not in the overall
picture, but in HOW jocks entertain today.  Look at Alternative and Hip
Hop/Rap jocks... they relate to their audience, albeit in my opinion it is a
severely dumbed down audience where Ebonics and inner city chatter is norm.
Instead of a whitty one-liner, jocks get wrapped up in talking about sex...
boobs and whatever else they think of at any particular moment.  You think
THAT's 'soul'?

No.  Fact is, aside from those two formats and the few remaining CHR's,
everything else is heavilly voice tracked.  Nobody does time/temp (well
okay, some consultants will tell us that those are unimportant items outside
of morning drive) any more, we don't hear a lot of phoners during the day,
except for the few stations that really try to relate - most just go along
on autopilot.

Radio listening is down, what? 17 percent?  Is it more now with the latest
reports?  I'll grant you that listeners have more distractions with the
internet, mp3's, play stations, etc.... but the RADIO is still where people
turn to hear music and entertainment first.  At this rate of listener
decline, how long will it be before the majority of American's get
entertained by some other medium?

I'll get off my soapbox after I take one last poke at Clear Channel.   The
Mays brothers have done more to take down a good industry full of decent,
creative entertainers than any act of Congress, the FCC or any one company
has in history.  All in the name of progress... or should I say PROFIT.  I
personally think the accusations of Payola or Payola-related offenses are
true and far more aggregious than the ones Alan Freed was accused of way
back in the 50s - but, as always, a court of law will determine what, if
any, offenses were committed.  My guess is that if they are found to be in
violation of any part of the Payola laws, they'll get a slap on the wrist
and just end up making some minor adjustments in the way they go about doing
business.  Sorry, I'm cynical as hell.

Its a different world today.  I'm not that old (born in the 60's if one must
know), but perhaps I've lost the ability to grow and adapt to the new way of
doing business.... somehow I saw nothing wrong with doing things the old
fashioned way.    Well, let me get off the soapbox... the new guy wants it
to stand on while voice tracking.....

You wanna hear real radio the way it used to be?  That's why I do the
www.airchexx.com site.  Sorry for the shameless plug - it just somehow seems
appropriate to the conversation at hand.

Steve West
Millington, TN
a former resident of Orange, Mass.