(Scott Dorsey) wrote:

THAT is interesting. That's something worth talking about... how we got
into the situation where the whole extended band was created. THAT is an
important part of radio history.

The history is this: Extended band channels were offered to daytimers under
the promise that they would abandon their daytime channels and go fulltime in
the extended band. I believe KNBA 1190 was the first or second station to
take up this offer to move to 1640. But they never left 1190. I forget the
excuse they used.

So, what kind of tour could KDIA/KDYA do? "See, we have two stations because
we promised we'd move from one channel to the other and they we went back on
our word." I don't think that would play very well.


What is interesting about the station isn't anything that is in the station
itself, it's how the industry got to be where it is and how the station got
to be there.

But when people go visit a station they want something fancy and technical and
unlike their ordinary lives. What I'm saying is that what they're going to
see in a radio station is nothing that far removed from what they see
elsewhere. Radio is a mature medium. There's not much more that can be done
with it. It's like Microsoft Word 2002. It's a mature product and all that
can be done now is tweaking the bells and whistles, and moving the furniture
around.


No, but there's a _lot_ to talk about. Everything is in little boxes in
racks that look like every other rack in every other industry, but how it
got to be that way is the story of radio.

Generally speaking, history is not a way to interest someone in a career.
History tends to be the domain of old folks. I didn't realize this until
quite recently when a friend didn't want to go visit a private library with me
to look up old books and magazines about the history of BART. He's a transit
buff, but had no interest in learning about BART's past, only what they're
currently doing and how they can change things to make it better in the
future. He's, uh, maybe 25 or so.

David Kaye wrote:
(Scott Dorsey) wrote:

No, but there's a _lot_ to talk about. Everything is in little boxes in
racks that look like every other rack in every other industry, but how it
got to be that way is the story of radio.

Generally speaking, history is not a way to interest someone in a career.

Well.... yes.... but.... I don't think I'd want to interest someone in a
career in radio today.

But I might want to give them a tour that would make them think about how
messed up the whole radio industry is....
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

(Scott Dorsey) wrote:

Well.... yes.... but.... I don't think I'd want to interest someone in a
career in radio today.

Times do change. I wouldn't want to interest someone in blacksmithing as a
career, either, even though those who are willing to weather the vagaries of
the profession and who are at the top of their game can make 3-figure incomes
doing it.


But I might want to give them a tour that would make them think about how
messed up the whole radio industry is....
--scott

I'm not necessarily convinced that broadcasting is messed up. Small owners
retired, died, or sold out for big bucks to the larger owners, as happens in
just about any industry (drug stores, car dealerships, auto parts). The
larger owners have notes to pay down, and have the choice of either boosting
revenue or cutting expenses to do it.

And while all this was happening, along came the Internet, which took both its
advertising base and its entertainment base in just a matter of a few years.

The new world order isn't just happening to broadcasting. 2006 was the Postal
Service's biggest year. 2009 was one of its worst. The USPS has to turn its
huge passenger liner around on a dime in order to keep from sinking in a
mountain of debt (forgive the mixed metaphors).

I think the radio industry is trying to give the audience what it wants.
Certainly, Clear Channel spent a lot of resources with their Format Lab
website, trying to see what music formats would work for what demographics and
then trying to incorporate them into those stations that weren't doing well.

But the audience is moving on to other media. If stations can establish a
presence in those other media, fine, but they might not be able to do it the
same way as they've done as broadcasters.

Some radio stuff works well in the transition. I know lots of folks who
listen to "Fresh Air" and "This American Life" via podcasts instead of or in
addition to via their local NPR station. But I don't know if KPIG's
subscription service will work -- I think it's $5.95 a month for unlimited
streaming of what is a remarkable playlist. It's clear that many people
listen to KGO's talkshows online in real time, but is it enough to compensate
for the number of listeners they lose by being an AM station in the days of
diminishing AM listening?

(David Kaye) wrote:

Times do change. I wouldn't want to interest someone in blacksmithing as a
career, either, even though those who are willing to weather the vagaries of
the profession and who are at the top of their game can make 3-figure incomes
doing it.

I meant to say 6-figure, not 3-figure. It's true. Good blacksmiths are in
demand, but it's not a growing profession.

In article ,
(David Kaye) wrote:

I meant to say 6-figure, not 3-figure. It's true. Good blacksmiths are in
demand, but it's not a growing profession.

A six-figure income from broadcasting is still fairly common these days,
even since the big bust. Sales reps, talent, management, and engineers
all typically make six-figure incomes in the Bay Area.

--
John Higdon
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