Globe: Mixed Signals (WESX Sale)

[raccoonradio]

(Len Wenneberg= formerly DJ Len of WMWM's Tracks of the Town)

Audio: http://www.boston.com/news/special/contreras/wesx.mp3

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/02/26/mixed_signals/

The friendly talk will soon end at WESX. After 67 years, the 1,000-watt station long known as ''The Voice of the North Shore" is signing off for good in May. The homey station -- run out of a little white house with black shutters and a 180-foot tower in the backyard -- has been sold, along with its sister station, WJDA of Quincy. The new owner plans to relocate the two stations to Chelsea, move the WESX tower to Lynn, and change the format to Christian and multicultural programming.

The pending sale is yet another signal that the glory days of local radio may be over north of Boston. Industry consolidation and hip new technologies -- satellite radio, iPods, webcasts, and cable television -- have made it tougher for community stations to connect with younger audiences, and compete with other media outlets.

 

[raccoonradio]

And Donna Halper pays tribute to WJDA...

From the South Weekly section of the Sunday Globe

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/02/26/a_farewell_message_to_wjda

"And then, one day, we learned that WJDA was being sold. The new owners announced plans to turn it into a religious station, even though that format was already well represented by other stations. They also said after so many years of representing our city, WJDA was leaving. Once again, Quincy would have no station of its own, no local news staff, no friendly announcers.
In our modern world of instant communication, with so many choices of media, it may be difficult for young adults to understand what AM radio meant to people."<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by raccoonradio on 02/27/06 05:32 AM.</FONT></P>

 

[argytunes]

Re: And Donna Halper pays tribute to WJDA...

>> In our modern world of instant communication, with so many
> choices of media, it may be difficult for young adults to
> understand what AM radio meant to people."

And sadly...this is why what used to be a personal, user-friendly, one-to-one source of communication...has turned into a "disinterested, crank-out as many spots as possible in a stopset, and shout at (or swear at)your audience whenever you can" entity!

Whether "young adults" want to embrace this concept...or take a few steps to make many of today's radio stations less hostile (and less corporate) IS ANYBODY'S GUESS?

Satirist, Stan Freberg, said it best:

"A camel is a horse that was designed by a committee!"

Kinda like most radio stations have become....?

argytunes