SteelRocker said:
I have to totally disagree with your assessment of Pittsburgh radio. After moving to Central PA in 2009 I yearn for Pittsburgh radio. Here in Lancaster where I'm at, I can tune up the FM dial and starting at 92.1 hear a classic rock station, hip hop station, religious broadcast station, an oldies station, several CHR, 2 Hot AC's, 5 country stations and another classic rock station on the other end of the dial. Unlike Pittsburgh, we don't have an Alternative station, no FM sports station, no "Bob" station and no FM News/Talk.
This area really is boring for FM, and like was mentioned, I often turn on Pandora or TuneIn Radio, and can listen to just about all the FM stations back in Pittsburgh. If I don't like what's playing on 105.9 The X or if it's a commercial, I listen to DC 101.
Trust me, you don't know what boring is out there in Pittsburgh.
I think you make a valid point, but a general rule of thumb is that the larger the market the better the radio.
I don't think that's an absolute rule- for instance I think the radio I've heard in recent years in Washington, DC isn't anything to write home about. In terms of formats and on air talent I think Pittsburgh has the nation's capital beat, which is saying something when considering the incredible talent DC has had through the years.
I'm familiar with one medium sized market that I used to work in and the overall quality of radio, as compared to Pittsburgh, is just awful.
But to say that you're eating better than the prisoners in Andersonville is not necessarily saying you're eating well. Yes, Pittsburgh has hidden gems on the air. But the question we're wondering is if the overall quality of Pittsburgh radio, though almost unquestionably better than most medium sized markets, is worthy of a Top 25 market.
Some of my pet peeves-
Talk show hosts or DJs who have mailed it in.
Broadcasters who instead of engaging the listener, insult it. This seems to be very prevailent in Pittsburgh. Criticism can be constructive, but how often is it given here and it's only mean spirited?
Give you an example- Yinzer humor. Jim Krenn knew how to do it because while Stanley P. Kachowski was a parody of a Pittsburgher, he wasn't insulting, he was funny.
How often is yinzer humor nowadays just insulting? How often do broadcasters around here use the phrase as a pejorative term? Do broadcasters in, say, Canada use "Canuck" with scorn and not affection all the time?
The fact that any rock radio station has ever had "Piano Man" in their playlist. Meanwhile many bands from the 80s I grew up with, even those with local ties such as Poison, aren't on the playlist of classic rock radio stations. When I listen to rock, I want my senses to be aroused.
Few local talk shows that actually deal with local issues. And those we have had have often historically gone into suck-up mode.
I've written all of this before so I apologize for being repetitive myself. But it's my opinion.
One last point- I am somewhat surprised you say this about radio in Lancaster. I can't say I'm any expert on the market but as a young teenager I lived in South Central PA and I think that's where part of my own love of media came from. I was getting newspapers and broadcasts, both radio and TV, from major markets like Washington (where have you gone, Greaseman, Ken Beatrice, Ken Herzog, Don & Mike, etc.) Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City, Pittsburgh, and the state capital.
That was high quality stuff, and it had an influence. Local media often had to be of higher quality than one would expect from a market the size of the Lancaster area because of the location and the influence of the neighboring larger markets.
I realize everyone has a romantic notion for everything that was around when they were a young teen, but I remember listening to WIKZ in Hagerstown-Chambersburg a generation ago and hearing a well programmed CHR station (or Top 40, to use the term of the day) with lively DJs who would often go on to major markets. The radio stations in that area generally had to be good, or else the listeners would just tune into a station that could be heard from one of the major markets above.
Does the fact the sports or news station broadcasts on AM in Lancaster instead of FM really make a difference in the quality of the broadcast? Wouldn't having two classic rock stations and no alternative or modern rock station be more a statement about the conservative nature of the market that might be a bit behind the times as compared to Pittsburgh?
I like "Bob" here in Pittsburgh, but is there really no station in Lancaster that plays 80s music?
Just wonderin'.
