Now, how’s that for a hook in the subject line? I’ve been thinking for some time if it would be appropriate to bring up a topic that actually centers on a personal milestone but a lot of it is radio related so what the heck.
Today, March 28 is my birthday. Officially I will turn 55 at 2:32 PM EDT. And so at the time of this writing, I’m still a part of a desirable demographic. Later today I will be a part of something else. And as I cannot change the reality of “what is” I wonder if radio will ever change its’ practice of programming to exclude.
I can well appreciate the responsibilities a GM or PD has where they are measured on how well they perform in attracting target demos in 25-54. And it would literally be career suicide, especially in large corporate owned environments, if some well-intentioned programmer decided to include songs to their playlists that appeal to older demos.
What has never made sense to me is that in virtually every market in the country, and I'm limiting this to music format only, some 10-15 FMers go at it getting some piece of 25-54. Logic and simple math will tell you that really only a handful of stations can really get a significant piece of that pie. And so too we have limited choices as it's common to have 3 sometimes even 4 stations do the same format. The target keeps getting smaller and smaller while larger numbers of the listening audience become more displaced.
The Miami market does have a few more choices than most, a lot of which results from a large Hispanic population but also oldies is alive and well - a format that has virtualy disappeared but is now beginning a comeback in some markets across the country. I've said this before and it bears repeating again - Majic 102.7 may not be the kind of station it was but they had no choice given the current Ad rules. Be happy for what you have. Where I live, I listen to either XM or streaming to hear a lot of the music I like.
All in all I feel pretty good about where I am and it's just another chapter in one's life that opens. Radio has had a very special place in my life. And I guess as is typical of those of us who are now considered old, I have so many great memories. Too many to list here but I guess the biggest highlights was visiting WABC twice, eventually moving to S Fla and getting turned on big time by Y-100 and actually coming face to face with Bill Tanner one day as I was picking up a contest prize, my Saturday morning telephone conversations with Crammer on Y-100 (that is a subject for another day - a wonderful man who helped me during a tough time in my life)
As I said, I can go on and one but one thing is clear. Radio was your friend. The jocks, the music, it was all special and it made you feel you like you were in the center of it all. Funny how I can remember radio events from some 40 years ago but ask me about anything interesting I heard 4 days ago and I'd be at a loss.
Oh, one last thing. What the heck was I trying to say in the subject line? As we continue to see such narrow programming, I just have this wild vision of the powers that be tossing records out smashing them against the wall if they sound too old or they were popular prior to some year of demarcation.
Well, there you have it. Perhaps an unusual post but one I wanted to do. And I especially wanted to do it in Miami/Ft. Lauderdale as I still consider it home in many ways. You guys who post on this board regularly I find very interesting. I can only hope when I do contribute, I'm interesting too. And I certainly hope my viewpoints remain relevant.
Thanks for listening!
Today, March 28 is my birthday. Officially I will turn 55 at 2:32 PM EDT. And so at the time of this writing, I’m still a part of a desirable demographic. Later today I will be a part of something else. And as I cannot change the reality of “what is” I wonder if radio will ever change its’ practice of programming to exclude.
I can well appreciate the responsibilities a GM or PD has where they are measured on how well they perform in attracting target demos in 25-54. And it would literally be career suicide, especially in large corporate owned environments, if some well-intentioned programmer decided to include songs to their playlists that appeal to older demos.
What has never made sense to me is that in virtually every market in the country, and I'm limiting this to music format only, some 10-15 FMers go at it getting some piece of 25-54. Logic and simple math will tell you that really only a handful of stations can really get a significant piece of that pie. And so too we have limited choices as it's common to have 3 sometimes even 4 stations do the same format. The target keeps getting smaller and smaller while larger numbers of the listening audience become more displaced.
The Miami market does have a few more choices than most, a lot of which results from a large Hispanic population but also oldies is alive and well - a format that has virtualy disappeared but is now beginning a comeback in some markets across the country. I've said this before and it bears repeating again - Majic 102.7 may not be the kind of station it was but they had no choice given the current Ad rules. Be happy for what you have. Where I live, I listen to either XM or streaming to hear a lot of the music I like.
All in all I feel pretty good about where I am and it's just another chapter in one's life that opens. Radio has had a very special place in my life. And I guess as is typical of those of us who are now considered old, I have so many great memories. Too many to list here but I guess the biggest highlights was visiting WABC twice, eventually moving to S Fla and getting turned on big time by Y-100 and actually coming face to face with Bill Tanner one day as I was picking up a contest prize, my Saturday morning telephone conversations with Crammer on Y-100 (that is a subject for another day - a wonderful man who helped me during a tough time in my life)
As I said, I can go on and one but one thing is clear. Radio was your friend. The jocks, the music, it was all special and it made you feel you like you were in the center of it all. Funny how I can remember radio events from some 40 years ago but ask me about anything interesting I heard 4 days ago and I'd be at a loss.
Oh, one last thing. What the heck was I trying to say in the subject line? As we continue to see such narrow programming, I just have this wild vision of the powers that be tossing records out smashing them against the wall if they sound too old or they were popular prior to some year of demarcation.
Well, there you have it. Perhaps an unusual post but one I wanted to do. And I especially wanted to do it in Miami/Ft. Lauderdale as I still consider it home in many ways. You guys who post on this board regularly I find very interesting. I can only hope when I do contribute, I'm interesting too. And I certainly hope my viewpoints remain relevant.
Thanks for listening!
