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The New "Normal"

S

Surfer

Here's something I just thought of. What if the state of radio broadcasting, as it currently is today, has become our new "normal". Gone are the days of live jocks and live remotes and live news anchors and live ANYTHING. What we have now is voice-tracked, satellite broadcast, no PD's, sales running the show and who gives a crap about the listeners when it's the ADVERTISERS who pay us anyway! Formats are for old folks who constantly yearn for the "good old days" when radio was FUN! Now it's all about the money. Technology is king and if you can replace people, ALL THE BETTER! Now, what happens when people get tired of the new "normal"? It may take another 20+ years but we could eventually see a return to what radio once was...a personality driven medium that entertains by using the magic of your imagination and mind. But first, we have to dismantle the computers...
 
Just discovered a new station yesterday (new for my ears), 94.5 out of Calhoun, GA. Living in Kennesaw-Acworth area, it comes it nice. In the 24 hours of listening on/off, it seems to be running on 'full-automatic'. I have never heard a 'live' jock, no commercials, just an frequent ID, 'Kickin Country 94.5'.

Went to their web site to see/learn more about them. Even their one-page web site is as vague...Go Figure. :-\


http://kickin945.com/
 
The station appears to be co-owned with A.M. station WEBS in Calhoun.

I spent some time with the owner at WEBS a few years back and saw an operation that was a unique blend of automation and some good radio features we usually think of as "live and local".

How long has kicking945 been on the air? Are they still in the "let's work out the bumps" phase of their history?
 
Surfer said:
Here's something I just thought of. What if the state of radio broadcasting, as it currently is today, has become our new "normal".
Click to expand...

Depends on which stations you listen to. The fact is there are 14,000 AM & FM radio stations. Thousands of owners. That means thousands of ideas about how to run radio. Don't like radio run for advertisers? Listen to public radio. No advertisers there.

But the fact is that the entire media marketplace has gone through a revolution. Everything changed more than 10 years ago. Cell phones and the internet replaced the pocket transistor as the medium of choice. Radio is slowly adapting to the new marketplace where the old ways, with live & local DJs, isn't in demand anymore. Sure, some people want them. But where's all the growth now? Jockless music streams from Pandora and Spotify. No local talent, no interruptions from DJs talking about themselves, and no tight formats. That's what people want, so that's where radio will go. Advertisers just want people, whatever that takes.

Surfer said:
It may take another 20+ years but we could eventually see a return to what radio once was...a personality driven medium that entertains by using the magic of your imagination and mind. But first, we have to dismantle the computers...
Click to expand...

I once met Himan Brown, one of the great producers of radio drama from the 1930s. He dreamed until he died that we'd see a return to the "golden age of radio," when people would sit glued to their radios to hear The Lone Ranger and Fibber McGee & Molly. He'd speak passionately about how audiences need to challenge their imaginations, rather than listen to silly pop music and screaming DJs. Have we returned to the 30s? No. The future won't be like the past. What happened in the 60s and 70s was that way because of the circumstances. And because it made money. To you, it may have been fun. But it was all about business. A lot of people like Hi Brown and your parent's generation disliked what radio had become. But radio never returned to the old days, and it never will again.

Read about Himan Brown here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himan_Brown
 
How long has kicking945 been on the air? Are they still in the "let's work out the bumps" phase of their history?


Radio-locator indicates licensed in April 2012...been listening since early AM, not one commercial...wonder how they pay bills
 
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