[summer]

The switch to what it calls “rhythmic pop contemporary” was dictated by economic common sense: a country station that draws predominantly white listeners aged 25 to 54 could no longer stay afloat in an ethnically diverse megalopolis.

I think country music gets a very bad rap in markets like LA, NY and San Francisco when no radio station will play that music, even though so many people buy that music. In addition, people like Kenny Chesney sell out in Madison Square Garden (and he got rave reviews for his show). So, I don't think it's "too white" or whatever reason they are giving for getting rid of it. I think "diversity" demands that country music be given a home on the radio dial in these cities -- but why doesn't anyone ever make the diversity argument when it comes to country music? Surely we can do without a few more rap stations when so much rap music is all over the dial in these markets!

[summer]

Also, there is really so much terrific country music. I know of a market where three country stations compete for listeners, and each has their own slant on country music -- one catering to oldies country, one to newer country, and one with a mix of both old and new.

[Jeff Chandler]

If the market for CW is strong, it will return on another station.

[Gay State Conservative]

Country's too white...and far too Republican.

[Chena]

I don't think country music is too "white", but it might be too "Right" and many of the performers are Christians and patriots. I doubt that sets well in liberal CA. LOL

[TWohlford]

Soooo... Rap music caters to more than 25% of the population?

[winodog]

I was there last week and half the dial was mexican. It seems everything about America is changing because of 12 million? illegals.

If country music had half the buying power of 12 million illegals then we would dedicate entire shopping malls to it.

[US_MilitaryRules]

I live in LA and now we have to listen to KFROG 95.1. A little static, but will do in a pinch. What is this world coming to? :(

[Tribune7]

With iPods, satellite radio and MP3 disk players there are fewer and fewer listening to music on over the air radio.

[raccoonradio]

a shame...esp. since a big part of country in the past was the sound that emanated not far from there; "The Bakersfield Sound"

a friend had sent me tapes of KZLA in the past. They used to do oldies on Sunday nights hosted by Mac Davis & his wife.

[daviddennis]

Serving 25% of the population is a a pretty big deal, actually, when radio stations fight for individual ratings points. I don't think any station gets more than 10% of the Los Angeles market.

Whites are a pretty affluent market, so it surprises me that they would not be perfectly well represented on radio. Of course the "right" kind of whites are. For instance, I'm sure the 94.7 KTWV ("Smooth Jazz") audience is almost certainly majority white and yet I think the ratings are sufficiently high to ensure its survival. As I recall, it just cracks the top 10, which is not bad for a format aimed at affluent listeners. Not to mention public radio stations, which definitely don't sound minority no matter how PC they are. For that matter, isn't Republican talk radio majority white almost by definition?

Hmm. Maybe whites aren't badly served after all. Perhaps it's that country music appeals to low-income whites, while the other stations I mentioned appeal to higher income whites?

Still, there seem to be plenty of stations aimed at low-income blacks, so that can't be too much of a problem.

Perhaps the real problem is that music listeners are now controling their programming with iPods and don't listen to radio that much at all? The only time radio is on is in my car. In Pittsburgh, where I live now, that pretty much means public radio. All our local music stations are vile.

D

[philsfan24]

the radio station you speak of (kzla) had less than stellar ratings.

http://cclamp.radioandrecords.com/RRRatings_EM/DetailsPage.aspx?MID=148&RY=2006&RQ=2&MP=0&OTHER=2&MN=Los%20Angeles&MS=CA&MR=2&12P=10790100&UP=7/18/2006&SU=CM&BPER=7.6&HPER=40.7&OPER=&NSD=8/21/2006&CE=0

[Revolting cat!]

Lesson of the day: Learn to speak Arabic with a Mexican accent, and you'll be all right! Allahu Fubar, Amigo!

[StayoutdaBushesWay]

Very sad to read this. I worked for KZLA/KLAC from 88-93, it was a great place to work and the country music fans were the best as were the artists that came to the station.
I'm going to miss it :(

[SZonian]

...diverse...

How I hate that word and all of its variants!!!

Cheers,

SZ

[L.N. Smithee]

I drove a rented car from S.F. to SoCal for a friend's wedding a couple of years ago, and while I am not that fond of Bay Area radio, it kicks ascorbic acid all over L.A. radio if you don't speak Spanish. It was torturous trying to find decent rock-and-roll down there.

I arrived in L.A. county via I-5 in the late evening, and the only thing I could find that wasn't that accordion-and-acoustic guitar crap (you may dig it; I don't) was a station that played Big & Rich's "Save a Horse..." That might have been KZLA, for all I know. Fortunately, I brought an armful of CD-Rs to keep me from dying of boredom on the road. While in L.A., I kept the radio in my car untouched so I wouldn't lose the signal until word came that Ronald Reagan died. Then I found the news stations.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

My main objection to what is labeled "Country" these days is that if some cutsie female singer or a hunky male singer dons a ragged old cowboy hat, tight jeans and warbles his/her wares while accompanied by a steel guitar and or a fiddle...it's called Country.
And I grew up in a town in Massachusetts that produced two very good singers...Liz Boardo and Jo Dee Messina. Both of them "Country" singers.
The majority of this music is marketed this way because these singers can't make it in, what is termed, the Mainstream.
Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, Conway Twitty, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Clink Black...now that's Country.
Just my opinion. I'm sure some will disagree.

[JFC]

Hip Hop is pretty darkish... from what I have heard and seen.