Did I miss a thread on Mr. Bittner?

[Eli Polonsky]

>
> Date: Fri, 26 Aug 2016 18:08:03 -0400
> From: Sean Smyth <ssmyth@alumni.psu.edu>
> Subject: Re: Did I miss a thread on Mr. Bittner?
>
> I'm not defending the manner in which the pirates operate, but these
> stations do offer a public service (albeit in an illegal manner). I wonder
> how this all would be different had WILD found a 24/7 home years ago.
>

​I don't think things would be much different now even if WILD had
continued broadcasting their mainstream urban R&B programming,
because that's what it was, mainly mainstream American R&B/soul
music programming, whether contemporary (Urban CHR/Hip-Hop),
or classic (adult Soul/R&B), or a mix of both at different times.

Other ethnic varieties such as Caribbean, Reggae, Haitian, Creole,
Black Gospel, contemporary African and other World music, etc...
were relegated to weekend specialty shows only on WILD, and we
have had pirates in the urban neighborhoods specializing in each
of those genres full-time since even before WILD abandoned its
former largely mainstream American urban programming format.

The powerful "Big City" on 101.3 that's now occupying Bob's future
frequency is mostly Caribbean and related talk and music that was
not well represented on WILD, and there are now many more lower
powered pirates in Boston's neighborhoods specializing in all of the
various genres I mentioned above, in addition to mainstream R&B.

I'm not trying to justify these pirates by any means, I'm just trying
to explain why I don't think WILD continuing with mainstream urban
R&B would have made much difference. These pirate broadcasters
feel that they need entire stations specializing in each ethnic genre.

The Boston area DOES now have a legitimate full-time urban station
WZBR 1410 AM, but with mainly R&B programming (like the former
WILD), it won't make a dent in the pirates because it doesn't cover
all the other ethnic genres they cover, and also because it's on AM,
a band now largely ignored by younger people. Also, though its day
signal covers Boston's urban neighborhoods well, its night signal
just barely makes it out of Hyde Park. It's barely audible at night in
Roxbury, Jamaica Plain, etc...

EP