How 'bout a little different perspective on the original question...
I think (forgive me!) there's a lonnngtime supply/demand problem. I'm talking 35 years or more of the FCC handing out broadcast licenses like a PEZ dispenser. Docket 80-90, LPFM, move-ins, AMs w/FM translators...HD subchannels...
Competition is good as it improves the breed - but too much competition and you end up unable to afford to operate properly...so even if you wanted to, you couldn't afford to pay people who might otherwise choose radio as a career. For many, no amount of back-office efficiency or consolidating tasks can fix this issue and those operators are left with canned programming.
Of course in 2011 there are other factors that contribute and exacerbate. Some are universal (TV morning shows that basically do what radio AM shows do, iPods, the web, Facebook are just a few); some are specific to the Northeast...like the continuing population hemhorrage out of Upstate. As I write this from just west of Pittsburgh, our population woes have gone on about as long as yours but at least the bleeding has stopped here...for now.
I'm not trying to absolve poor management, bad programming decisions or greed. Unlike many, I don't blame consolidation in and of itself, because in its purest form consolidation would enable a savvy operator to try new formats they might not otherwise have been able to afford, since the back-office costs are spread across 3,4,5 or more stations. These new stations could then be given time to find an audience and turn a profit.
Of course that's all hypothetical. In the real world, we all know what happened instead.
As mentioned in a previous comment, Dan Mason and CBS are showing a way out thru live, local, compelling content. Whether the other "C" companies will follow suit, even a little bit, remains to be seen.
Yes, our regional differences have largely disappeared...but not entirely. And a great station reflects its community in a way that makes it impossible to pluck it out of Buffalo and place it in New Orleans. Or even 275 miles down the 90 in Albany. Few stations - anywhere, in any market - have ever gotten to that point.
I'd like to see the FCC implement a program that somehow can set the ideal number of stations in any given market...which in most markets would be probably be half the number of stations on the air today. Stations with a long-enough history of losing money - and no hope of becoming profitable would be allowed to go dark and the license turned in for a tax credit until the herd is thinned in each market.
It will be argued that even if you thinned the herd that still doesn't account for competition from outside the medium.
True. But thinning the herd is a start.
For radio to survive and thrive, it must be able to emotionally connect with its listeners. For most music stations, that means live, local, compelling personalities...people who know how to relate local content as well as the latest on your favorite artists or whatever people are buzzing about that day. A good jock will be able to live in the moment and adjust their content accordingly. Build up a rapport with the listeners...when someone texts in a request or posts on your FB wall, interact with them...what are people tweeting about, what topics are trending and can one or more of those topics translate into great on-air content? Your listener may know what their favorite artist is doing but can you bring your unique perspective to that same content...turn it around so the listener thinks of it in a new way? What can you do to turn your listener into a fan?
I know I know...when you voice track for seven stations how do you do even part of that? If I had an answer I'd be some highly paid consultant telling clients how to make it work.
I just believe that without the content you become an iPod with commercials. What's the point?
OK I've rambled enough...have at it. And Jeff, welcome to this board. I came here a few years ago to interact with a couple of my all-time radio heroes, and stayed because this is a good group of people.
