Steve, I'm sure you've confused me with another poster. I've never pined
for a different and supposedly golden era of radio with council meetings, lost
puppies and local artists. These were Hendricks and gaffo's themes, not mine.
Consolidation was a theme of others. Payola was a theme of others. Live and
local, a fetish of others. Automated and local is cheaper and works as well on
radio as it does on the web.
My issues are, typically
1) The sheer inefficiency of paying for content through undifferentiated
commercial sponsorship. Not that long ago, the only way for a listener to pay
for radio was to be harangued.
2) NAB's attempts to brake technical progress and its chokehold on the
bandwidth and the fundamental liberties of its competitors
3) If excessive competition were a problem (the Bakersfield principle) the
license prices wouldn't be going up
4) If even more competition eventually forces profitability and license
prices down, terrestrial radio would survive nonetheless, and might even find it
necessary to invest in local content to differentiate and compete.
Am I a little nostalgic for Wm. B Williams, Shep, Carlton Fredericks, Brad
Crandall, Bill Watson, BAI and Monitor? Of course. What thinking listener
doesn't have a set of names like these, exemplifying calm, worldliness,
spontaneity and respect. But they were rarities even then, they can't be
regulated back into existence, and I probably wouldn't have time for them today.
The golden era of radio is the one we're in, with satellite, internet and
time-shifting through Winamp, CD burning and flash memory. As dismal as AM and
FM became, the marketplace found other ways to meet listener demand. Good radio
people may have landed out on their ear, but we listeners definitely got our
portion.
What makes Satellite radio hometown? Well, when NAB does its annual brag
about how many artists and songs terrestrial radio introduced, its tally
includes about 12,000 signals that any given listener cannot receive. It is
satellite that brings these niche formats to every community in the contiguous
states. A far richer variety in East Jesus, USA than was available in the
biggest markets a few years ago. Each listener is a hometown
subscriber/sponsor; satellite has a name on file, a feedback and accountability
mechanism in place, and a keen awareness of the economic value that listener
represents.
XM is developing digital fountain technology and will be as locally
differentiated as regulators permit it to be. No longer will the information
you need be tied to the music or commercials you despise; it'll be stored in the
background and available at your convenience. Including, perhaps, a traffic
report from terrestrial, and real-time room availabilities from the local
motels. Onscreen or via synthesized voice. NAB will have a fit.
I'll admit there's a disigenuous element to the "hometown" crack, though I
stand by it. I'm actually on very friendly terms with most of the broadcasters
in this community. Jim and Jim, the former owners of one group. Cindy and Jen,
the voice talent. George, the new manager. Jan, owner of the other group.
Doug and Tracy on the air. Known 'em and liked 'em for years. But I don't
listen. Home is where the eardrums are.
Jerome
"Steve Sobol" wrote in message
...
Cooperstown.Net wrote:
This angle of attack appears to be going noplace. So I expect we'll
shortly
be reminded that Karmazin runs Sirius and that both providers are teamed
with
good terrestrial radio people.
Look, folks, perhaps I shouldn't have named names. Especially since I don't
follow the satellite radio business as closely as I could. Especially,
especially since there are people who are much more familiar with the players
involved than I am. 
However, if y'all really want to argue that satellite radio is "hometown"
radio, I'll argue until my dying day that it's not. It is the diametric
OPPOSITE of hometown radio. "Hometown" implies a broadcast outlet directing
its
programming at an audience in the same geographical area.
Jerome, THAT is the point I was trying to make (and apparently failed to
make).
For us ("us" including you, if I recall correctly) to have complained for
years
about industry consolidation and the homogenization of radio outlets across
the
USA, and then for you to tout satellite as "hometown" programming, is beyond
my
comprehension, and I'm shocked to hear such a thing from any of the regulars,
ESPECIALLY you.
Maybe I'm just confused. Perhaps you could clarify your statement.
**SJS
--
JustThe.net - Apple Valley, CA - http://JustThe.net/ - 888.480.4NET (4638)
Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / / PGP: 0xE3AE35ED
"The wisdom of a fool won't set you free"
--New Order, "Bizarre Love Triangle"