A sad commentary on the state of radio

[nd2023]

She still hasn't fixed her antenna. Radio has lost her as a listener.
There must be many people like her who choose to abandon terrestrial radio for good every day.

 

[Radio411]

She still hasn't fixed her antenna. Radio has lost her as a listener.
There must be many people like her who choose to abandon terrestrial radio for good every day.

Thanks for the update...

:

 

[hubcity]

There must be many people like her who choose to abandon terrestrial radio for good every day.

Standard radio industry response: "They'll be back."

My addendum to that response: "...maybe...and when they do, we'd better have something they'll want to listen to."

 

[SoulCrusher]

If there is a worse market for radio than Monmouth/Ocean, I have yet to find it. Sleep-inducing mush on 40% of stations, shallow brain cell killing drivel on another 40%, and caveman music and love songs for the NASCAR set making up what's left. Not enough choices around here, and we don't receive anything worthwhile from a slightly out-of-market station because all the good formats are right near or sharing a frequency that drowns them out (i.e. WJSE blocked out by WWFS, WRXP inaudible thanks to WIOQ in Philly, WTTH mostly static because of WRAT). There are a lot of people who are done with radio because of the lame broadcasters and the cookie-cutter formats that they put on the air - count me as one of them.

 

[hubcity]

SoulCrusher, you've gotta get a directional antenna - you'd have a prayer of getting not only WRXP, but also 102.7 HD2 ("Last.fm/discover"), 94.3 HD2 ("Shore Alternative") and my own little piece of spectrum at 90.5 HD2 ("Altrok 90.5 HD2") 92.3 HD2 ("K-Rock"), unfortunately, has gotten infected by Active Rocker-ism, so that's no longer an option. You're pretty much out of luck in the car, though - that's why I use my computer to log stations I can't otherwise receive in the car, so that I have something to listen to on my iPod while driving out-of-range...

...of course, you can do that without the directional antenna, just by using your computer and your iPod.

 

[8638]

SoulCrusher, you've gotta get a directional antenna - you'd have a prayer of getting not only WRXP, but also 102.7 HD2 ("Last.fm/discover"), 94.3 HD2 ("Shore Alternative") and my own little piece of spectrum at 90.5 HD2 ("Altrok 90.5 HD2")

Maybe, maybe not. I'm in Berkeley Twp., and I do have a directional Yagi, with rotor, on my roof, AND an HD tuner! I get all of the mentioned stations, except any of WBJB's HD's. That 9 watts of digital injection doesn't even light up my HD indicator.

I get the sense that SoulCrusher is down around Barnegat; where he will never get WWFS HD2. WJLK analog is good there, so there might be a prayer of receiving its HD2. I don't believe WBJB is available there, even in analog.

My two cents: WRXP gets better every time I tune it. I'm thrilled that the station has outlasted all its naysayers and celebrated its second anniversary. WJRZ was a mediocre oldies, er...classic hits station, but it has become an utterly boring AC outlet, worse than WOBM-FM. I didn't think that was possible. When I think of a slow, tortuous death, it involves having "Soft Rock 92.7" piped into my ears via headphones! Shore Alternative is definitely a breath of fresh air!

I signed up for satrad last December, and, while it isn't a panacea that cures all ills, I enjoy several of its offerings, and use it almost exclusively in the car instead of OTA, except for Limbaugh. Ocean County is pretty damned bland, radio wise. And radio had far more variety prior to the Telecom Act of 1996. Thanks, Bill Clinton!

 

[hubcity]

Maybe, maybe not. I'm in Berkeley Twp., and I do have a directional Yagi, with rotor, on my roof, AND an HD tuner! I get all of the mentioned stations, except any of WBJB's HD's. That 9 watts of digital injection doesn't even light up my HD indicator.

Heh, yeah, 9 watts is a pretty daunting number...but it's *my* nine watts (okay, actually Brookdale's...) Catch us on the Internet, then - we're doing a more 80's-centric take on Alternative than Shore Alternative, since mainstream Alt took a turn with Grunge that we didn't agree with. (Consequently, we're a bit poppier, albeit in a mutated sort of way. For instance, we were on La Roux's "Bulletproof" back in August because it left us thinking of Alison Moyet of Yaz.) Not to denigrate Shore Alternative, by the way - us HD2s have gotta stick together. They're (latter-day, Terrie Carr-style) G-Rock to my FM106.3, so their take on it's just as valid as mine. (And you can get their 13 watts? Huh - they must have fatter watts. Actually, they're about ten miles closer to you, too...)

My two cents: WRXP gets better every time I tune it. I'm thrilled that the station has outlasted all its naysayers and celebrated its second anniversary.

Same here (though I've been cheerleading for Pinfield ever since he and I did an alumni day show together at Rutgers and he announced his upcoming RXP morning gig.) Far fewer tuneouts for me than there used to be. They're not *quite* as fast on the uptake as I'd like, but as you might suspect, I'm a bit extreme...

 

[nd2023]

Maybe, maybe not. I'm in Berkeley Twp., and I do have a directional Yagi, with rotor, on my roof, AND an HD tuner! I get all of the mentioned stations, except any of WBJB's HD's. That 9 watts of digital injection doesn't even light up my HD indicator.

Heh, yeah, 9 watts is a pretty daunting number...but it's *my* nine watts (okay, actually Brookdale's...) Catch us on the Internet, then - we're doing a more 80's-centric take on Alternative than Shore Alternative, since mainstream Alt took a turn with Grunge that we didn't agree with. (Consequently, we're a bit poppier, albeit in a mutated sort of way. For instance, we were on La Roux's "Bulletproof" back in August because it left us thinking of Alison Moyet of Yaz.) Not to denigrate Shore Alternative, by the way - us HD2s have gotta stick together. They're (latter-day, Terrie Carr-style) G-Rock to my FM106.3, so their take on it's just as valid as mine. (And you can get their 13 watts? Huh - they must have fatter watts. Actually, they're about ten miles closer to you, too...)

My two cents: WRXP gets better every time I tune it. I'm thrilled that the station has outlasted all its naysayers and celebrated its second anniversary.

Same here (though I've been cheerleading for Pinfield ever since he and I did an alumni day show together at Rutgers and he announced his upcoming RXP morning gig.) Far fewer tuneouts for me than there used to be. They're not *quite* as fast on the uptake as I'd like, but as you might suspect, I'm a bit extreme...

Oh wow, can't believe you beat most of the dance stations to La Roux - Bulletproof!

I wonder why Hit 106's owners hate HD radio, perhaps because 106.3 and 106.5 would interfere with each other with their IBUZ.

 

[hubcity]

Oh wow, can't believe you beat most of the dance stations to La Roux - Bulletproof!

And it wasn't even the first track from them I featured...but remember how much WLIR stuff (even in the early New Wave days) crossed over to dance. Same deal. Punk was punk, but a lot of New Wave was "rock you can dance to".

I wonder why Hit 106's owners hate HD radio, perhaps because 106.3 and 106.5 would interfere with each other with their IBUZ.

Heh - that may be the case.

 

[MickeyD]

My friend was cleaning the snow off her car, and she broke the antenna. She told me that she didn't want to replace it because there's nothing good on the radio anymore.

Which brings me to this. There really isn't much unique programming on radio anymore, just programming aimed to keep people from switching to the other stations. Why pay upwards of $50 to replace the radio antenna, if all it will enable you to hear is 7 CHR stations, 5 AC stations, 3 classic rock stations, 6 urban stations, 4 cookie cutter rock stations, 2 stale rhythmic ACs, 3 religious stations, 3 Spanish stations, and not to mention all the IBUZ. Nothing too compelling to actually drive listeners back to radio. Where's the G-Rock, the Pulse 87, the Y100, the CBS FM before 2004, the CD 101.9 or WJJZ, the Mix 102.7, the Sunny 104.5, the Oldies 100.1, the list goes on and on for uniquely formatted stations that actually had a loyal audience that has abandoned radio because their music isn't played anymore? None of the aforementioned stations were doing poorly in the ratings.

And we are wondering why the younger generation is abandoning radio for iPods. Rather than playing new or unique music that isn't on people's iPods and having energetic, engaging, and LIVE DJs present it and interact with the listeners, you chase after the ever-shrinking audience for a piece of the CHR or AC pie. Tell me, what does Hit 106 offer that differentiates it from the 6 other CHRs in its coverage area (besides the Hit Mix at 5)? Is that a station you turn on and listen for long periods of time because the programming is interesting, or is it the station you listen to when the other stations are playing commercials? What does Magic 100.1 offer that isn't available on the myriad of other AC stations? What does 92.3NOW play that isn't being played anywhere else? Why must Magic 98.3 play the same crap heard on Z100? Has KTU ever beaten any Internet dance station to a new dance track in the past year? If HD radio on AM is supposed to make it sound like FM, why are AM stations simulcasting on FM? Why does Z100 no longer have a "local" feel in the mornings and afternoons?

If my car radio antenna breaks, I will not fix it either. Nor will I get an HD radio for it.

Automation has a lot to do with it AND the radio conglomerates.