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Don't You Miss Really Good Radio?

F

FRR

Don't you folks miss really great independent radio? Remember the days when you could drive across this country and listen to a variety of stations with great independent formats. Cincinnati would be a great example of this. In the late 60s when WEBN went on the air in Cincinnati they were truly a station that had a very unique format. Even WSAI-FM was truly a unique in 71 and 72.. When Bill Todd came to WKRQ in 1973 and programmed Music that was not heard on any other station but was great. That obviously ended in January 1974 with WKRQ programming change

Now very few successful stations are independently owned. It seems like two or three people own 90% of the radio stations in the United States. You can drive from coast-to-coast and hear the same four formats in any city you are in or driving through. It appears that rules regulations from the FCC in the past 25 to 30 years has killed any chance an independent radio. Look at what happened to W L I R years ago.

I gave up on commercial radio 20 years ago. AM seems to be dominated by conservative talk all day long. FM is cookie cutter programming. My question to the radio experts on this: what is the future of the a.m. and FM radio in this country or does it have a future.

Thank you for your comments.
 
Since it's been three decades, at least, since any of those sepia-toned radio memories of yours were live and local, a full generation and part of another has grown to adulthood never knowing that radio could be anything bot what it is right now. And people, for the most part, have preferred the "cookie cutter" approach from Day 1. Lee Abrams buried free-form FM in less than two years with his tight "Superstars" format. Other formats also attracted more listeners and advertisers when they were tightened up, both in presentation and playlist.

AM turned to conservative talk for survival when it lost most of its younger audience to FM music stations and the AM music stations needed to program something different that would appeal to an older audience. Even old folks wouldn't want to hear their old favorite songs in low-fi AM audio, so what better format to attract them than one that continually reminds them how good it was way back when and how stupid the current generation and its political leaders are?

Radio has proven quite durable over the years. You could even argue that its true golden age was the '80s and '90s, before the introduction of the internet and its evolution into a powerful entertainment medium. If you believe the statistics (a big if for many of us mere listeners, I grant you) more than 90 percent of all Americans still listen to radio to some extent, just not as much as they used to. Bringing back mom and pop operators, loose playlists, gabby announcers and musical styles of the past isn't likely to change that statistic significantly, if at all.

Oh, and that bit about "It seems like two or three people own 90% of the radio stations in the United States."? They don't.
 
FRR said:
Now very few successful stations are independently owned. It seems like two or three people own 90% of the radio stations in the United States.
Click to expand...

The biggest radio companies together own about 25% of all the radio stations. There are quite a few small independent stations. But the ones people want to listen to tend to be owned by big companies. People don't listen to radio because of who owns them. They listen because of what's on those stations, and the big companies know what most people want.

I can point out a few independent radio stations in Cincinnati, but you probably don't listen. A local guy recently bought WOKE and flipped it to classic country with the call letters of WPAY-FM. You want to support local independent radio? Listen to that station. You don't like conservative talk? Listen to WVXU. It's locally owned too. Owned by Cincinnati Public Radio, who also own WGUC. If you're a fan of radio, as you seem to be, you should consider volunteering for the station. Independent radio needs the support of its listeners. So if you're serious about loving independent radio, there's something you can do.
 
By the way, nobody wrote sufficiently large checks to Northern Kentucky University, nor offered to buy WNKU/WNKE/WNK? to keep that independent AAA format going.
 
gr8oldies said:
By the way, nobody wrote sufficiently large checks to Northern Kentucky University, nor offered to buy WNKU/WNKE/WNK? to keep that independent AAA format going.
Click to expand...

That's the common problem. People want things to be the way they used to be, but no one wants to actually spend their own money. That's the big difference between now and then. Back then, people were willing to risk their own bank account on a radio station. Today, they'd rather have someone else pay for it. Don't blame the big radio companies. They're the ones willing to spend money.
 
Well, kudos for your relevant thread. Not an easy question. At least in Cincy there are local topics callers have opinions on, so talk shows can do pretty well. Some should take more calls.
 
When you think about historic Cincinnati radio, the name that comes immediately to mind is Crosley. I'll never forget the first time I saw WLW's antenna. Just awe inspiring. And in a way, Crosley Broadcasting and the city of Cincinnati were basically the foundation of iHeart, when you look at the list of their owned and operated stations:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crosley_Broadcasting_Corporation

It's a great radio town. But I wouldn't consider Crosley a small independent broadcaster.
 
I concur to an extent, though that article could use some serious clean-up and fact checking. I don't believe Clear Channel owned WLW in the mid-70s. (It was WLW Radio, Inc. from 1976-79 and Mariner Communications 1979 to whenever it was Jacor. Official licensee is still Citicasters, even though it was actually Clear Channel/iHeart.

Long time owner of the radio and TV chain, Avco, also owned the farm implement company where my Dad worked.
 
gr8oldies said:
I concur to an extent, though that article could use some serious clean-up and fact checking. I don't believe Clear Channel owned WLW in the mid-70s.
Click to expand...
The Wikipedia article doesn't say that about WLW, it says that about WOAI in Texas.

Most of the old Avco/Crosley broadcasting radio stations ended up in AMFM, and all the Avco/Crosley stations were winners in their markets. So I guess I agree with BigA's point.

Clear Channel pretty much had its pick of the stations in Cincy when it merged with AMFM. Clear Channel owned 8 stations in the market at the time, and AMFM owned 4.
 
The fact of the matter is there were many opportunities for independent local operators to buy Cincy radio stations, either when Crosley Avco sold out, or when CC merged with Jacor. The only people who stepped up to the plate were companies like Hubbard.
 
To be fair, LPR was way late in the process (i.e., the university had already accepted bids for the sale of the the WNKU signals) and they would have just simulcasted from Louisville anyways.
 
CTListener said:
Since it's been three decades, at least, since any of those sepia-toned radio memories of yours were live and local, a full generation and part of another has grown to adulthood never knowing that radio could be anything bot what it is right now. And people, for the most part, have preferred the "cookie cutter" approach from Day 1. Lee Abrams buried free-form FM in less than two years with his tight "Superstars" format. Other formats also attracted more listeners and advertisers when they were tightened up, both in presentation and playlist.

AM turned to conservative talk for survival when it lost most of its younger audience to FM music stations and the AM music stations needed to program something different that would appeal to an older audience. Even old folks wouldn't want to hear their old favorite songs in low-fi AM audio, so what better format to attract them than one that continually reminds them how good it was way back when and how stupid the current generation and its political leaders are?

Radio has proven quite durable over the years. You could even argue that its true golden age was the '80s and '90s, before the introduction of the internet and its evolution into a powerful entertainment medium. If you believe the statistics (a big if for many of us mere listeners, I grant you) more than 90 percent of all Americans still listen to radio to some extent, just not as much as they used to. Bringing back mom and pop operators, loose playlists, gabby announcers and musical styles of the past isn't likely to change that statistic significantly, if at all.

Oh, and that bit about "It seems like two or three people own 90% of the radio stations in the United States."? They don't.
Click to expand...




I guess it is difficult for you to disagree without being nasty, right?
 
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