Radio: Fluff on AM, Pornographic Talk on FM?
Thursday November 12, 2009
While I was bouncing around the Internet and reading various articles and blogs about Radio, I came across this email to DesMoinesRegister.com from Sam Ryan who says he was listening to the memorial service for the Ft. Hood soldiers and then flipped around the dial. He writes:
"I checked other stations as I listened -- to hear a flaming 50,000-watt, hate-radio station broadcasting a recovering OxyContin addict laughing raucously as he blamed our president for this tragedy. The listeners of these stations are eased into a day of hate by fluff on the AM station and pornographic talk and ribald songs on the FM stations."
How does this jive with your opinion of the current state of traditional Radio? Feel free to leave a comment below.
Go Deeper: What Radio Might be Like 50 Years From Now (Opinion)
Comments
Gee, what else is new? The crazies have existed all through history. Now, there are enough stations fighting for scraps that there are formats catering to each and every one of them, giving them voice.
Even the right-wing stations, which are just about all the talk outlets, stir up the listener with flag-waving and/or absurdities just enough to keep listeners hooked through the next set of commercials. It’s not about sanity or performing a public service, but making a buck to pay the bills.
Porno-talk? Explicit song lyrics? Same thing.
Traditional broadcasting is gone. Further fragmentation via the Internet will increase. We just have to understand that in a free society, all sides, including the whacko’s, will have a voice. Trust that there will be enough intelligence among listeners to sort it all out.
What probably WILL change is that radio as a medium will one day become extinct.