"D Peter Maus" wrote in message
...
David Eduardo wrote:
"D Peter Maus" wrote in message


{content stipulated.}



So, let me put it this way....WLS is strong in Lake County.
Even though
the signal is not 15mv/m. Lake County listenership is high, and
WLS is a
strong radio station, here. And yet, here, HD rash has been
encroaching on
WLS, to the degree that it's now sometimes virtually impossible
to hear,
much less enjoy....and this HD rash is coming from another radio
station.
You telling me this is acceptable? Even when WLS, itself is NOT
transmitting HD and so no digital solution is available? (the
C-Quam pilot
is still lit and the station is still in stereo, even as of 00:30
UTC
today.

What station? I'm curious about this...


I'm having trouble receiving WLS. The offending station, I'm
not
sure. I can't make out much due to the IBOC rash from there down.


I'd be interested in what your engineer has to say.

I can send you audio files of the AM band from my location, if
you'd like.






This is not an easy discussion, and the first step is accepting
that AM will
not exist in 10 years or less if something is not done. There is
no other
solution than HD. Either it works, or the band dies. Nobody is
coming into
the party, and the ones already there are undesirable to
advertisers.



If things were that dire, it would make sense to have a less
intrusive/obtrusive implementation strategy. Disenfranchising local
listening with digital noise on a band that's fighting for it's
survival, is like everything that's been done to AM in the last 30
years: shortsighted, and ultimately, counterproductive.


Taking your scenario one step further... if AM is truly on it's
last,
tentative legs, and AM stations of significant investment are in
dire
straits, and if the large companies are beginning to move AM
stations
to the FM band, where, say, in Chicago would stations like WBBM,
WGN,
WSCR, WLS go? There are no open allocations. And it's not like there
are
any allocations that would be worthy of sacrifice. And Young Talk
was
tried here. It failed dismally. (Ask Turi Ryder how many times she's
been here.) Where would that content go? Where would Rush, Hannity,
Levin, or even Franken, Rhodes, Springer and Malloy go?

Cincinnati is in the same boat. Between Dayton,
Columbus, Lexington, Louisville, Indy and us,
there's no bandwidth to move major AM stations
(the big ones locally: 550, 700, 1360, and 1530).
The only way to do that is to remove the format
on some other stations, and someone's going to
lose out. Which is it? Urban contemporary?
Mix? Album oriented rock? Classic rock?

If Clear Channel wants to move any of their
four AM stations, they'll have to give up one
of those formats to do it. Or buy more stations,
but those stations are owned (for the most part)
by other mega conglomerates who aren't selling.

More to the point, if AM is over in 10 or less, and you're
looking at
a 5 year implementation, do you really think that there's a chance
in
less than 5 years remaining you can rebuild what you've lost?


David, I certainly see how you've arrived at your conclusions,
Radio
being what it has always been and all...but what you're describing
is a
roll of the dice with far greater chance of crapping out than
staying in
the game. Almost entirely by serving the needs of advertisers and
broadcasters over the needs of listeners who ultimately carry the
water.

Peter, you know, this might be a good thing in the
end. If AM ceases to be viable from a corporate
perspective, some local group will come along and
buy the stations and put on their own thing. In
a bizarre sort of way, it might lead to a renaissance
in the AM format; the big boys leave, and someone
will fill in the blank spaces.

There may be fewer listeners, but the radio will be
oriented more toward what those listeners want,
rather than packaged demographics.

And if Radio is really more about Radio than it is about the
audience, is it any wonder why listenership and revenues are eroding
in
favor of alternative outlets? Non traditional outlets permitting
mass
customization vs traditional radio where answers to complaints are
met
with prepackaged corporate non responses, and listeners can be
disenfranchised by a statistician in a locked room.

Can you see now why I've turned down offers to return?

You're a wise man, Peter, if you ask me.

--Mike L.