glieb said:
You say, correctly, "the average listener doesn't notice". But, that's the point. There are far more "average listeners" than radio geeks like us. They are who we entertain. And, a small station like 'DJO (with a niche musical format that does not rely on news coverage) does not NEED to "comment on anything going on NOW". With the right software and internet connectivity, changes, if they are truly needed, can be made in minutes...changes which can be done far faster (with all things in place) than most of the commercial stations. Why? Because many people who work for commercial stations these days don't know how to VT correctly...or else don't have time...or simply don't care.
What we radio geeks think doesn't matter...it's what the listener perception is. Perception is reality. If we make them think we're live, then to them, we are.
I agree...it ain't the old way of doing things. But, nothing is these days. And, nothing will be in the future, either. You either embrace the new technology and do your best to make it work, or prepare for the pink slip next time someone decides you're not needed.
WDJO does a great job, overall, on their voice tracking. And when I think of the thousands of "request" shows I've done in 35 years...I think I would rather have the 15-20 minutes to do the break right, than remember now the number of breaks I screwed up because I couldn't remember how the call started exactly, or had my inflection correct, or any of the problems that can happen when you're doing radio "NOW", on the fly.
With all due respects, "creating the connection" is today's DJ's job. And, their challenge. Some do it well...and some can't, or don't try.
If you say "It's 8 O'clock"...and a listener's clock says "8:02", few will care. Heck...the clock in my van right now is ahead 2 minutes.