New Hampshire radio

[Donna Halper]

Finishing up an article about New Hampshire radio, and was curious as to 
whether I've missed any changes in the market.  I've talked to a few of you 
already about the arrival of conglomerate owners like Nassau Broadcasting 
and the departure of most of the individual owners (in the 1980s, there 
were actually some local owners, but these days, that seems to apply to 
only a handful of stations like WKXL-- hi Tony!).  Any other interesting 
trends in NH radio that come to mind?  When I listen in the market, both 
southern and mid-state, I still can hear the dominance of country 
radio--  WOKQ has been at the top of the ratings for a long time, although 
they have more competition these days; but over the past several years, 
whenever I listen in the market, I hear a lot of stations that sound like 
they could be from anywhere, rather than uniquely from New Hampshire.  (I 
used to think of NH as a market with stations that were unique to the 
region, even if they did mass-appeal formats like AC or country or 
top-40.)  I do still hear some local contesting and local PSAs, but I also 
hear what sounds like much more voice-tracking and automation, outside of 
morning drive.  Am I hearing things incorrectly?