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All Hail The Death Of Radio
San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 3/2/5 | Mark Morford

Posted on 03/02/2005 8:03:31 AM PST by SmithL

Corporate radio sucketh, whole and large and true. . . .

(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: aidsfactory; aidspetridish; barebackbuckaroo; buttpirate; clearchannel; dontdropthesoap; fruityloops; headbanger; headboardbiter; hedontusejelly; ifeelprettyosopretty; loosecaboose; maneater; markmorford; morford; morfordite; peterpuffer; pickleslurper; pillowbiter; radio; rectorooter; sandinhisvagina; sausagesmoker; spitsonyourback; superthanksforasking
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To: CSM

The CCRadio is great - the best AM radio I ever used. It is optimized for voice, so it's great for talk radio. I never use the FM or TV audio, although they work well. I do use the weather band from time to time. My only complaint (minor) is the lack of a carrying handle. The lame groove they provide is insecure. They do offer an expensive harness that is even more lame. It is a wonderful radio - you won't be disappointed.


21 posted on 03/02/2005 8:43:40 AM PST by Octar
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To: SmithL
Hmm. Classic FM in the UK draws listeners and is profitable. I've noticed that classical being on NPR has killed it in America.

Regards, Ivan

22 posted on 03/02/2005 8:44:37 AM PST by MadIvan (One blog to bring them all...and in the Darkness bind them: http://www.theringwraith.com/)
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To: Octar

Clear Channel owns 5 stations, all FM, in New York and they're all doing very well.


23 posted on 03/02/2005 8:46:47 AM PST by Revenge of Sith
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To: SmithL
He's absolutely right about this. Within ten years I predict that commercial radio is going to go the way of network television.

He's talking specifically about rock music, but you could say the same thing about almost every genre in radio. Go to any big metropolitan area in the U.S. and flip through the radio dial, and you'll invariably find yourself wondering why all those radio stations sound the same.

Having said that, I think he missed a very big point . . . The real problem here is not just corporate ownership of radio stations, but ownership of radio stations by corporate conglomerates that own subsidiaries in multiple entertainment sectors. If you notice that your favorite FM radio station plays a lot of Rod Stewart, Billy Joel, Elton John, etc., I can almost guarantee you that your favorite radio station also owns the record label that produces and markets Rod Stewart, Billy Joel, Elton John, etc.

This became abundantly clear to me last week on a FreeRepublic thread least week about Sean Hannity. During a discussion about his radio and television shows, an astute Freeper did a bit of research and learned that Hannity was spending long segments of his shows interviewing @ssholes like Jose Canseco, Amber Frey, etc. simply because these people were peddling books that are published by the same company that publishes Hannity's books.

24 posted on 03/02/2005 8:48:55 AM PST by Alberta's Child (I'm not expecting to grow flowers in the desert.)
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To: MadIvan

Yeah, a great NPR Classical station here in DC is about to go to talk stuff (undoubtedly barf content, too).


25 posted on 03/02/2005 8:55:25 AM PST by expatpat
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To: expatpat

Should have said PBS, not NPR.


26 posted on 03/02/2005 8:56:07 AM PST by expatpat
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To: CSM

Very,very,very good-I think excellent. The antenna they sell extends reception. All worth the money.
When I travel I always take the radio and antenna with me.


27 posted on 03/02/2005 9:00:08 AM PST by just truth please (just truth please)
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To: MadIvan
You are probably right about the NPR connection and classical radio. Here in Houston, TX, we had 2 classical stations. One was commercial, the other was NPR. The commercial one went Mexican a few months back, and the NPR one never seems to play music when I am driving. I started listening to AM for talk radio, or playing CDs, but I missed being able to turn on a classical station and get a chance to be surprised by something I've not heard in a while, or to hear a new work, or even a different version of something I already have on CD.

Last month, I made the plunge to XM Subscription/satellite Radio. I really hated to pay for something that has always been free, but there are lots of choices, including 3 classical stations, and the sound is almost CD quality. I can even get some extra talk-radio choices as well. I also bought the "Boom-box" add-on unit, so I can pop the Sky-Fi2 radio out of my truck and plug it into the boom-box. I have it playing in my office right now. I may take this one on business trips so as to make sure I always have classical music (without NPR BS) in my hotel room in the future.

28 posted on 03/02/2005 9:03:35 AM PST by Sans-Culotte
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To: jpl; lewislynn
It's not the radio, it's the music that sucks.

Exactly, which is why I pretty much listen exclusively to talk radio now.

Yep. I'm a big fan of talk radio (even the hated Beeb at times) and carry my own music via Walkman. I like some new music, but most of new rock is crap, all of pop is crap, and as much as I like the tunes, even I get tired of the constantly repeated playlists on 'classic rock' stations. Better to listen to talk radio; at least you may learn something.

29 posted on 03/02/2005 9:06:49 AM PST by radiohead (revote in washington state)
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To: SmithL

ALL HAIL THE DEATH OF RADIO (headline)

It isn't the entire medium that is dying, though. It is specific portions of the bandwidth that are.

Classical as a format is dying out because NPR is grabbing up all the stations and turning them into News/Talk Format (hopefully they won't kill KBAQ-FM in Phoenix for a while). Rock and traditional top 40 or "oldies" stations are dying out due to overplay of an increasingly narrow playlist.

You might doubt my reasons above, but there is no doubt that these particular formats are dying. Some would argue that the traditional country outlets are going the same way Rock has been going with narrow playlists as well.

That being said, the Talk format continues to grow. The more fringe shows are being pushed over to pay radio due to FCC guidelines, but that is really only a repeat of what happened on broadcast TV years ago when Cable and later Satellite came out.

My prediction is that much of FM as we currently have it will become FM-Talk stations. Talk seems to occupy pretty much any bandwidth that is abandoned by music radio, so as these stations fail they'll go the route the AM stations did. I would definitely predict that subscription radio services will grow, because the traditional radio formats are in fact losing quality.


30 posted on 03/02/2005 9:19:26 AM PST by AZ_Cowboy ("Be ever vigilant, for you know not when the master is coming")
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To: MadIvan
I've noticed that classical being on NPR has killed it in America.

Quit listening to them years ago; they seemed to have a conviction that classical music exists to be talked about, not played.

31 posted on 03/02/2005 9:20:49 AM PST by Grut
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To: newgeezer
Anyone who deems the CCRadio too costly should consider the GE SuperRadio III. I use 3 of them.

Thanks for the heads up! But I'm looking for something for the bedrm. Any suggestions re: something similiar to the CC or the GE SuperRadio that is also a (alarm)clock-radio?

32 posted on 03/02/2005 9:24:21 AM PST by yankeedame ("Born with the gift of laughter and a sense that the world was mad.")
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To: newgeezer
too buzzed on premium tequila and postcoital nirvana

Wow! It took until the 4th paragraph to get in a sexual reference. At least it wasn't too explicit. I refuse to read the rest of the article, as I am not somewhere where I can take a shower afterwards.

33 posted on 03/02/2005 9:24:24 AM PST by Disambiguator
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To: SmithL
It took him 15 paragraphs, but he was able to blame President Bush for some of it. Way to go, Mark.

Radio dies when WOXY 97.7 went off the air last year.

34 posted on 03/02/2005 9:24:59 AM PST by KarlInOhio (Blackwell for Governor 2006: hated by the 'Rats, feared by the RINOs.)
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To: yankeedame
something similiar to the CC or the GE SuperRadio that is also a (alarm)clock-radio?

I know they're out there but, I'm not familiar enough with them. I recall seeing two models of a Sangean brand (or something like that) on Amazon. One model got rave reviews; the other not.

35 posted on 03/02/2005 9:32:59 AM PST by newgeezer (Just my opinion, of course. Your mileage may vary.)
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To: CSM
Great but after I posted I remembered I got my radio on sale this Christmas. I think I paid around $139.00. Here in west Texas the clearest channel I get at night is Omaha. I am now thinking of getting the external antenna but waiting for it to go on sale. Not that I mind since I have not watched them anywhere I have lived since 1984, but I can't even get the television networks here.

Muleteam1

36 posted on 03/02/2005 9:40:26 AM PST by Muleteam1
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To: randog

Don't give up yet. Look into XM. I know there is an initial cost, but once you buy the hardware (got it as a gift so don't know how much it costs), it's about $8 a month. That's a small price to pay to get a HUGE selection of channels -- commercial free. I can finally get classical music -- on XM there are several classical music options. My local classical station went Classic Rock about 10 years ago. Also can get either all the major league baseball games or all the football games, depending what package you get.

Commercial stations are going to have to rethink how they get by as I think once more people get a taste of XM, they're not going to go back to the commercial packed AM and FM options. It's the equivalent of premium cable TV channels which a vast number of people pay for.


37 posted on 03/02/2005 10:08:27 AM PST by randita
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To: Red Badger

Twice a day actually.


38 posted on 03/02/2005 10:09:51 AM PST by thefactor
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To: KarlInOhio

The President does just fine against the DUmmies that consistently misunderestimate him. I take offense at the cheap shots at the First Lady.


39 posted on 03/02/2005 10:33:46 AM PST by SmithL (Proud Submariner)
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To: Red Badger

Even his stopped clock is right once in a while.......




GEEEZ....It's right Twice a day!


40 posted on 03/02/2005 10:36:11 AM PST by Bogtrotter52 (Singin' the blues with a smarmy Irish smile)
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