B
Braswell
Guest
"Why Do We Want (What We Know We Can't Have)" is the way Reba sang it, and I think that philosophy applies here. To be sure, I firstly point the finger at myself.
Having been in the business for 35 years, I'll confess that I'm just a sloppy old romantic, who mostly waxes nostalgic about the "good ol' days".
When I was on the outside looking in, I wanted to cue them records and twist them knobs. When "they" let me in, I wanted to talk on the radio. When I was allowed to DJ, I wanted to pick the music. When I was the MD, I wanted to program the station. When I was a PD, I wanted to manage the place, and when I became a manger, I wanted to own it. AND, once I owned it, I wanted to be independently wealthy, so I could afford to keep it!
I said all that to say this...most ALL of us (that's broadcasters and civilians) always want we ain't got. Think about it.
The daytime AM wanted to be fulltime (or at least have pre-sunrise authority). The fulltimer wanted more power. The powerful fulltimer wanted FM, and the class A FM wanted to be a full C. Many listeners are the same way. Whatever you give 'em, they want something different.
Now, I've not been an owner for about 10 years now, but that could change (the medicine's not working, doctor!) at anytime. Even so, I do NOT like the whole LPFM concept, nor do I like the way most translators are used. At the same time, I definitely understand what it's like to want to captain your own ship.
I am NOT on the side of all the DX'ers, who want to keep AM like it is. I'm for ANYTHING that will improve AM's ability to compete (although not necessarily Ibiquity's solution), but some of my fondest memories are of listening to all those far away AM stations.
I totally and completely hate what deregulation has done to the business, allowing all the mega-clusters and such. At the same time, I wish I could own every possible competitor (primarily for the business, but also the listeners) in my area.
I wish docket 80-90 had never come along, allowing FM's to be allocated to all these "not really" communities, yet I presently make a good part of my income from one, and have previously been "nicely" compensated because of that ruling.
I wish class C-3's, C-2's, C-1's and C-0's had never been allowed, but, again, I am being (and have been) financially compensated because of that very provision.
Here lately, I've been wishing that I'd been born 25 years earlier. The reasoning is that I could've been old enough to find that nice, little town, applied for a class IV or regional frequency daytimer, and had a pretty good life. On the other hand, I think about all the great things I might've missed (like this thing I'm pecking on now), had that been the case.
In January, 2004, I applied for an AM on 1450 in my hometown. It wasn't necessarily a hasty decision, but now I have doubts about what I'll do when (if?) it's granted (I'm MX'd with several others). Oh, I expect I could possibly be able to build a nice facility, but it'd have to pay for itself, and, probably have to provide me with an income, and a pretty good one, at that.
Problem is, if I do the kind of radio I want to do, it probably won't generate much business. If I do what MIGHT generate the most business, I won't be proud of it, and probably wouldn't want folks to know that I owned it. Since my earliest days in the business, I have kicked and clawed, over and over again, to try to be able to "do my own thing" there. Now, when it's likely that I'll get the CP, I'm seriously thinking about trying to peddle it. Go figure.
In conclusion, I understand the angst experienced in the Asheville's of the world. The pirate should be made to walk the plank, individual (and local) ownership should be the law of the land, mega-groups should be disallowed, and Zeb Lee should still be alive, and should have both WZLS AND WSKY! I feel so sorry for that family, as that has to be the biggest "officially sanctioned" screwing known to man. If it'd a-been me, some-damn-body (perhaps several somebodies) would've been killed, and I'd probably be under the jailhouse now.
Hmmm. Jailhouse radio. I might oughta look into that. There's lots of prison songs. Hmmm. <P ID="signature">______________
Jay Braswell - Moderator
Atlanta/North Florida/South Carolina/Georgia Boards</P>
Having been in the business for 35 years, I'll confess that I'm just a sloppy old romantic, who mostly waxes nostalgic about the "good ol' days".
When I was on the outside looking in, I wanted to cue them records and twist them knobs. When "they" let me in, I wanted to talk on the radio. When I was allowed to DJ, I wanted to pick the music. When I was the MD, I wanted to program the station. When I was a PD, I wanted to manage the place, and when I became a manger, I wanted to own it. AND, once I owned it, I wanted to be independently wealthy, so I could afford to keep it!
I said all that to say this...most ALL of us (that's broadcasters and civilians) always want we ain't got. Think about it.
The daytime AM wanted to be fulltime (or at least have pre-sunrise authority). The fulltimer wanted more power. The powerful fulltimer wanted FM, and the class A FM wanted to be a full C. Many listeners are the same way. Whatever you give 'em, they want something different.
Now, I've not been an owner for about 10 years now, but that could change (the medicine's not working, doctor!) at anytime. Even so, I do NOT like the whole LPFM concept, nor do I like the way most translators are used. At the same time, I definitely understand what it's like to want to captain your own ship.
I am NOT on the side of all the DX'ers, who want to keep AM like it is. I'm for ANYTHING that will improve AM's ability to compete (although not necessarily Ibiquity's solution), but some of my fondest memories are of listening to all those far away AM stations.
I totally and completely hate what deregulation has done to the business, allowing all the mega-clusters and such. At the same time, I wish I could own every possible competitor (primarily for the business, but also the listeners) in my area.
I wish docket 80-90 had never come along, allowing FM's to be allocated to all these "not really" communities, yet I presently make a good part of my income from one, and have previously been "nicely" compensated because of that ruling.
I wish class C-3's, C-2's, C-1's and C-0's had never been allowed, but, again, I am being (and have been) financially compensated because of that very provision.
Here lately, I've been wishing that I'd been born 25 years earlier. The reasoning is that I could've been old enough to find that nice, little town, applied for a class IV or regional frequency daytimer, and had a pretty good life. On the other hand, I think about all the great things I might've missed (like this thing I'm pecking on now), had that been the case.
In January, 2004, I applied for an AM on 1450 in my hometown. It wasn't necessarily a hasty decision, but now I have doubts about what I'll do when (if?) it's granted (I'm MX'd with several others). Oh, I expect I could possibly be able to build a nice facility, but it'd have to pay for itself, and, probably have to provide me with an income, and a pretty good one, at that.
Problem is, if I do the kind of radio I want to do, it probably won't generate much business. If I do what MIGHT generate the most business, I won't be proud of it, and probably wouldn't want folks to know that I owned it. Since my earliest days in the business, I have kicked and clawed, over and over again, to try to be able to "do my own thing" there. Now, when it's likely that I'll get the CP, I'm seriously thinking about trying to peddle it. Go figure.
In conclusion, I understand the angst experienced in the Asheville's of the world. The pirate should be made to walk the plank, individual (and local) ownership should be the law of the land, mega-groups should be disallowed, and Zeb Lee should still be alive, and should have both WZLS AND WSKY! I feel so sorry for that family, as that has to be the biggest "officially sanctioned" screwing known to man. If it'd a-been me, some-damn-body (perhaps several somebodies) would've been killed, and I'd probably be under the jailhouse now.
Hmmm. Jailhouse radio. I might oughta look into that. There's lots of prison songs. Hmmm. <P ID="signature">______________
Jay Braswell - Moderator
Atlanta/North Florida/South Carolina/Georgia Boards</P>