Radio is Dead. Or is it?

I was in broadcasting for over 20 years and decided in 2001, that was it for me. It has changed so much over the years? Whatever happend to editing the old-fashioned way with a razor blade and grease pencil to that reel to reel tape? How about live jocks 24/7? The list goes on.............Now, it's make a buck and screw the listener. Thank goodness I have a 6-CD changer in my car and I recently bought an I-POD so now I have thousands of songs downloaded from the Internet and from my own personl collection. Oh yes, I still broadcast - but on line this time and I am having a blast. After the the demise of KLSD, I decided radio is dead and I do see any re-birth of it any time soon. Also satelite radio is a blessing too. Goodbye to AM & FM! Okay, Jazz 88.3 is about the only station I'll listen to and XLNC-1

When radio went from a family business to a business, it all changed.

HDRadio is a bust; and I spend more time on XM or on-line streaming. The SignOn Radio the UT offers is quality community radio.

Obviously it does not help when wealthy owners far away in Texas drive away loyal listeners for selfish short sighted stupid ideological reasons. Today we lose KLSD. With it goes our 5 hour a day listening. We will get AAR on the computer. When driving around the beach area I can still get AAR acceptably on KIST from Santa Barbara. Of course I long ago gave up on radio for music. KNX is good for headlines and traffic if headed through LA or OC. Any business that deliberately drives away loyal customers is doomed. Its a shame. Radio had so much going for it. It was such an interesting medium.

I already have XM and I can listen to XM and the internet at my office. AM/FM is dead to me.

Whatever happend to editing the old-fashioned way said:

Whatever happend to editing the old-fashioned way

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Replaced by new, better technology. That's not a bad thing!

You must learn to embrace the changes or you will not survive in this business.

P.S. There are two e's in happened, that hasn't changed. ;D

Wow, I'm as disappointed about KLSD's "retirement" as anyone else, but there's a lot of near-bitterness here. Radio may not be what it once was, but neither is TV or the newspaper. I cut my teeth doing blade editing and recording multi-track productions on multi-track tape, but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate an "undo" function on a Vox Pro or even Pro Tools. In the right hands, this technology saves time and makes things sound better, and there's as much an art form in utilizing these tools as pulling off a great segueway or deftly cutting a piece together on tape. And believe me, I'm not a guy who embraces technology.

The catch is using technology for good...or just using it to be lazy and still make money off that laziness. The lack of a mentoring process anymore these days is also a shame, and I'll admit technology has in some ways reversed the roles. I'll be the first to admit not having humans on 24/7 sucks and that corporations in Texas, or wherever they may be, continue to find new ways to jam their snouts into the business of capable, local radio pros and micro-manage, and impose pencil-pusher programming or procedural decisions which can work against and undermine local success. Yes, it's lame and it sucks. But it's not just radio, it's every type of business.

The solution? Stand by your principles, find the best situation you can, and get into management by any means necessary and enforce the change (or non-change) necessary.

I know this is a forum for venting, that's totally cool and fine with me. Hey, I like XM too. I don't know if they're doing something right there or if I just enjoy the variety they offer, but it's working. And that tells me radio still works, and should be able to work locally. You just have to position yourself to be ready to make those decisions when you get the chance, or better, create the opportunity. No, it's not easy, and not everyone gets there, but if you've got a better solution I'm happy to hear it. And listen to San Diego radio and then go elsewhere...you'll find the radio "elsewhere," even in L.A., even without a progressive talker on the dial, pales in comparison to the variety LISTENERS have somehow managed to keep here. Last I heard there was still some competition on the dial. That benefits LISTENERS (and hopefully something to act as a counterweight to the right-wing profanity on the AM dial won't be too far off).

Call me the eternal optimist, but I don't see radio being completely kaput just yet. I know there are a zillion fools around who try to inadvertently kill radio every chance they get, but they never quite succeed. Meet them head on and disarm them with superior programming and superior ideas, and remember, this is a business. If you're not comfortable with radio being a business (and with the added, worthy component of serving the public), go do something else. Like rock and roll, radio isn't dead yet...though a swift kick in the ass every now and again doesn't hurt.

Crack the mic and be sensational. Someone's always tuning in.

great post machinehead....Amen

radio dead? mine still talks to me.

Bravo machinehead and Snarkin USA