Re: My Research on Minot, ND

["Roger Kirk" <rogerkirk@ttlc.net>]

"Sid Schweiger" wrote:

> This has NOTHING to do with monopolistic group owners.  What upset
people was that
> there was no contact to get EAS activated.  It wouldn't matter whether
there was one
> owner in Minot or 30.  EAS activation for local events of any nature
is strictly optional,
> and if all the owners in Minot or anywhere else decide not to
participate, at the moment
> there is nothing that can be done to compel their participation for
other than the tests and
> the EAN that the FCC requires.
> Group ownership is seen today as the ultimate evil in the radio
business, blamed for
> everything...and while it may be directly to blame for some things, in
all fairness let's not
> blame it for this.

I would like to make the case that with multiple (competing, not
colluding) owners, there is less (I stress "less") likelihood that an
across-the-board decision to not participate EAS would be made by ALL
owners.  Whereas, with a group owner, one such decision affects ALL the
stations at once.  Therefore, it COULD be argued that indeed, it might
matter if there were 30 owners instead of one.  Not an indictment of
group ownership (monopolistic or otherwise), but merely an observation.

Roger Kirk