But AAR could actually be the answer to Bittner's problem; he could air the libtalk and actually make money (not much money, but he has a very low overhead...) with a signal so close to Harvard Square some people might pick it up on their fillings! (OK, it's near Fresh Pond Parkway, actually)
Bittner used to air a show called "Let's Talk About Radio" in which he talked about the radio industry locally and nationally. While his own political views are left of center, he did say that he didn't feel Air America put out a good product...but now faced with high music licensing fees you wonder if he'll change his mind...?
I remember "JIB" when it was FM. They played a lot of Mancini and Elevator music but the quality of their signal was so good that every audio store had all their systems tuned in.
reminds me of my salad days at Radio Shack...
Wish there was a American-Standard type station in Chicagoland. Used to be. Same phenomenon in other towns, too. Listener-sponsored and commercial-free (or, perhaps more accurately, pre-recorded-commercial-free) would be preferred, at least by me. Very pleasant driving music. Alas, like so much else....
WJIB is a rare bird--I think Bittner may be the sole employee and he runs music he likes which he thinks other people will like, too, along with those "brokered time" shows, but no real ads. Once I literally heard him say on the air, "Cut up your
credit cards. Most of the companies are evil." I'm not
kidding...this on a station which as far as the FCC is concerned is of the "Commercial" variety.