Death of Radio or Not?

[Frankie's Market]

Re: Death of Radio or Not?

I think there should be an override for all communication/entertainment gear where people are plugged into pre-recorded material.

Civil Defense sirens are one thing to notify people of impending dangers, but how are people that are hearing-impaired (notice how I didn't say deaf people?) alerted. Are there any visual alerts they can see?

If CD wants to issue warnings to hearing-impaired people, it would be far more effective to use specialty communication devices that already exist for them, like the TTY (text telephone). If there is a demand from hearing-impaired folks who want to receive warnings when they are away from their phones, then CD could start up a pager system.

I just think that equipping every media/entertainment device with an emergency broadcast receiver is like cracking a hard-boiled egg with a sledgehammer.

[mel]

Re: Death of Radio or Not?

Addressing the initial question of this thread, is radio dead or not? I don't think so. It has evolved into a different beast today. Music and talk are dominated by nationally syndicated satellite content. The playlists on most music radio stations are very limiting and quite lame. Hence the huge popularity of non-radio music content... iPods, internet, whatever. People like listening to what they want to listen to on their own time.

As for talk radio, apparently most syndicated content is popular natonwide, whether it be conservative talk (Rush, Hannity, etc), sports talk, NPR, BBC or whatever.

I agree local content is very few today. Automation is the apparent rule and it is done for economic reasons and the pursuit of profit, if any. Sad for all the local personalities, board ops and other behind the scenes people as well as the listeners.

Seems like the most important people at radio station these days are the sales staff given how many times I hear radio ads asking for them. And HPR is not exempt from this except their sales staff are not paid... they are the volunteers that man the phones every time there is a pledge drive at 88.1 and 89.3.

Bottom line is that it is and will for the foreseeable future be all about money. Just like mostly anything else in business.

That all said, I still listen to radio.. currently many of the talk shows on KHVH, some on KHBZ, a few on KHNR. Once in a while I'll drop in and listen to a specialty program on KIPO... um.. Bytemarks...

Music wise, I don't like 107.9's switch to automated programs, so I listen to them less often as I used to. Plus I have the same 400 or so oldies and much more playing on my iPods anyway. I have grown to like the new KPOI 105.9 The Ride. Surely the playlist is mainly hits generated, but I think a slight expansion out to cover a few more hits that were not played on the old recent KPOI is good.

I also occasionally check into KTUH, KHCM, KHAI 103.5 FM and KAIM FM to see what's playing there. The latter 2 have contemporary Christian music and I find it refreshingly different but somewhat safe and comparable to many AC music tracks.

As for emergencies, I definitely agree that if there was at least somebody working in a station at all times who could man the mic when needed would be a great improvement over just a computer that is playing the pre-programmed content or possibly nothing at all because something tripped at the station for a moment (or longer).

On the day of the big earthquake, I was up early that morning listening to my iPod and getting ready to leave the house. Right after the earthquake hit, I turned to my radio and took that with me as I scrambled out of our building. Of course for the first hour and 15 minutes there was no news, but in time KSSK was on with Kathy with a K first and then Perry & Price.

I think most people know that the station to listen to on Oahu is KSSK for the most up to date emergency information. That is where I turn to when a big emergency happens locally. They are usually first especially if the power goes out which impacts cell phone towers, the internet, TV, etc.

Still I am not in favor of mandating radios be built into all electronic audio devices. If they did that, what's next? Radio or TV being required on all cell phones, GPS systems or cameras? Keep government out of this. It only adds to the cost.

People are smart enough to know where to turn to for emergency information. And if the dumb idiots with the iPod standing at Magic Island Beach Park don't heed to the warnings or turn to a radio for emergency information then it is not our fault if the tsunami after the big earthquake swallows them up. Tough luck.

[Frankie's Market]

Re: Death of Radio or Not?

In the meantime, write Senators Inouye and Akaka as well as Representatives Abercrombie and Hirono and let them know that the ownership rules need to be tightened. Write to the President and the FCC as well. Tell them that now is the time to correct the mistakes made by the Telecommunications Act of 1996.

Here's some of what I think needs to be done:

1. Three radio stations to one owner in a market such as Honolulu should be the maximum. Current owners with more than that should be given a couple of years to divest themselves of their surplus properties.

2. Require all station owners to have their facilities manned by competent, trained (and maybe go back to licensed) personnel 24 hours every day.

3. Require stations to truly operate in the public interest. No operator owns the broadcast license. The license is a public trust...owned by the public. It's entrusted to the licensee for an established period of time. Licensees should have to prove that they have operated in the public interest at renewal time. A renewal should not be considered automatic.

4. Eliminate the auctions of new frequencies. New frequencies should not be awarded solely on the basis of the highest bid. A complete business plan containing financials and programming plans should be a part of the application. New frequencies should be awarded to the applicant that presents a plan that will benefit the local population. Applicants pledging a high percentage of live, local programming should be favored. Local ownership, as well, should receive priority.

Congress and the FCC created the mess that radio owners took full advantage of. It's up to Congress and FCC to correct it. But, it won't happen without public pressure.

That's some great ideas.

I too believe radio automation has reduced radio stations to just a computer with a glorified playlist.

Wow. I didn't expect you to agree with those kinds of ideas, Craig. An increase in govt. regulation? Directing privately owned stations to hire live personnel and local DJs instead of allowing for outsourcing (syndicated programming) and automation? Why, those ideas sounds an awful lot like Democratic Socialist thinking, doesn't it?!?!?

Just joshin', Craig. I actually respect those ideas as well. But you are aware that many pro-business, pro-capitalist, less-govt. talking heads will say otherwise. I guess it does make a difference when you have personal experience working in a particular industry and the jobs that are eliminated through outsourcing and automation belong to people with names and faces you recognize instead of looking at the job losses in terms of mere numbers.

[DaleP]

Re: Death of Radio or Not?

There is no need to put receivers in all electronic equipment. However, a simple switching device in a car radio that would shift the audio from an auxiliary or CD input upon EAS tone detection would not be an expensive add-on.

In any event, the major problem with emergency communication is that the broadcast end of the Emergency Activation System is a joke. If the emergency comes during regular business hours, there is a pretty good chance that the populace with be notified quickly. If if happens after hours or on a weekend (like the earthquake), we're up the creek without a paddle.

Many of us on the Neighbor Islands also rely on KSSK for information, but going back to earthquake event, it took quite a while for KSSK to start delivering information. That wouldn't have happened 10 or 15 years earlier. It's not because KSSK doesn't have competent personnel (quite the opposite is true). It's because they have fewer personnel. At most consolidated clusters throughout the United States, there are now fewer operations/programming/engineering personnel manning the entire cluster than there were at each of the stations individually before consolidation.

Stations should not be unmanned. If you own 4 or 5 or 6 or 7 or 8 stations in a market, you should be able to afford to have at least one experienced and competent operator on duty overnights and on weekends.

[mel]

Re: Death of Radio or Not?

There is no need to put receivers in all electronic equipment. However, a simple switching device in a car radio that would shift the audio from an auxiliary or CD input upon EAS tone detection would not be an expensive add-on.

That is fine if people want to put it in as an option. As a government mandate, no way!

[surlygirly]

Re: Death of Radio or Not?

We get a lot of tornados out our way (we live right at the start of Tornado Alley!) and so in the spring, I have a little shelter set up in our master closet. A battery-operated radio stays in there, but I also take my laptop in when the weather gets bad. I turn on the radio to the AM station that covers the weather every 10 minutes. But do they ever do storm coverage? Not really. It's all AFTER the fact coverage because they're too busy taking calls from people fighting over political issues or celebrity news. So I have to stay on my laptop to track the storm.

We've had several damaging storms and nothing was said in advance except, "Heavy winds and rain." Someone needs to be on that, covering it, so people driving can know what the hell is going on.

[DaleP]

Re: Death of Radio or Not?

I would rather see the mandate, however, I could compromise with it being offered as an option. Besides, the FCC has a pretty poor track record for setting technical standards and mandating compliance; i.e., AM Stereo (decisive indecision), IBOC transmissions (AM can't use it at night), and HDTV (lots of viewers forced to subscribe to cable or satellite). Speaking of HDTV, if the FCC hadn't caved in to pressure from RCA in the 1950's, we probably would have had a system closer to high definition a long time ago.

Nevertheless, my biggest concern is the state of the broadcast end of the Emergency Alert System. The mandate that I think is needed is manning broadcasting stations 24/7.

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Death of Radio or Not?

Whether it's a mandated broadcast receiver or a switching device, there needs to be a way to notify listeners of impending doom. LikeI said I was driving to work listening to my cd player and was totally clueless that America was attacked? I'm not naive about emergency preparedness (heck I used to work for KGU the previous Civil Defense station for Oahu and was deputized by Paul Takamiya once for a gas leak emergency in Kapahulu in the 80s).

But there's got to be a way to notify those who are isolated media-wise. Civil defense sirens are one way but when you're earbuds are blasting loudly, you won't hear it.

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Death of Radio or Not?

Wow. I didn't expect you to agree with those kinds of ideas, Craig. An increase in govt. regulation? Directing privately owned stations to hire live personnel and local DJs instead of allowing for outsourcing (syndicated programming) and automation? Why, those ideas sounds an awful lot like Democratic Socialist thinking, doesn't it?!?!?

Just joshin', Craig. I actually respect those ideas as well. But you are aware that many pro-business, pro-capitalist, less-govt. talking heads will say otherwise. I guess it does make a difference when you have personal experience working in a particular industry and the jobs that are eliminated through outsourcing and automation belong to people with names and faces you recognize instead of looking at the job losses in terms of mere numbers.

I may be a republican but I also see a need for our government to protect us as well. Communication is vital to our survival and unfortunately we tend to remove that from our daily lives as we live in a world of pre-recorded playlists and podcasts. A free-spinning economy without checks and balances spells disaster. Too much government puts the brakes on our economy. There has to be a compromise, more here, less there.

But back OT, CC had at least one person in studio to monitor all the radio stations in their group 24-hrs a day. KSSK's FM studio had an audio alert to let the board operator know if there was dead air in the other studios. I think Denny McPhee knows that drill.

When I used to train new board operators at KGU and KHVH, I would stress the importance of knowing what to do in the event of an unscheduled EAS test. There's a procedure that you must follow after receiving an EAS alert.

It surprised me when I would ask board operators if they knew the drill. Many didn't.

[Kaonohi]

Re: Death of Radio or Not?

I may be a republican but I also see a need for our government to protect us as well. Communication is vital to our survival and unfortunately we tend to remove that from our daily lives as we live in a world of pre-recorded playlists and podcasts. A free-spinning economy without checks and balances spells disaster. Too much government puts the brakes on our economy. There has to be a compromise, more here, less there.

Sometimes our government tends to protect us too well from ourselves and not enough from outside threats.

Our legal systems are overburdened by victimless crimes while our people are jobless and starving (well maybe just homeless) from foreign outsourcing of menial labor.

Where are the compromises? Where are the checks and balances?
I know, I'm not talking about radio, per se, but free enterprise must adjust to market demands - radio included. I don't listen to radio because I have not found a station on O`ahu worth listening to.

[Creative-1]

Re: Death of Radio or Not?

I love music, and in my youth, the radio stations were owned and staffed by people who loved it too.

But today, the radio stations love money, and music is just a commodity to them. They seem to have no regard or respect for the music they play.

In the 60's, DJ's would flip 45s over and play the B side, or search album tracks for great music.

Today, stations find the best song on an album, ignore the rest, and play that one song over and over and over and over until I hate it.

They play the same "safe" songs for months. "Bubbly," "Escape," " How to save a life," or "Bad day."

Even oldies stations have over 10,000+ songs to choose from, but only play songs that hit the top 10 (over and over and over). Their playlists are rarely larger than 400 songs.

If you love music, unfortunately, you have to AVOID radio stations and be your own DJ.

[GeckoGeek]

Re: Death of Radio or Not?

I'm thinking all devices such as iPods or MP3 players should have a radio receiver built in to broadcast civil emergency messages when needed as more and more people switch off their radios in exchange for iPods.

I'm not so sure about mandating a radio, but perhaps mandating an alert if the device has a radio. The cost of a EAS alert feature would be quite small. Similar additions have been mandated for TVs to provide Close Captioning, etc.

When 9-11 hit, I was in my car listening to cd's instead of the radio. When I came in to work, everybody there was straining to hear what was going over the radio. I was clueless as to what had happened because I was listening to pre-recorded content on my cd player. An iPod would do the same.

However, even if your device was so equipped, you still would have been clueless about 9-11. No EAS message was generated.

[Leo Lakio]

Re: Death of Radio or Not?

Creative-1, you get my personal award for the best post in this thread (and it had the bonus of staying on-topic).

[GeckoGeek]

Re: Death of Radio or Not?

If you love music, unfortunately, you have to AVOID radio stations and be your own DJ.

Unfortunately, unless you're willing to remain locked into your personal favorites, it takes time to go out and find things to add to your collection. Sure seems like there's a market there for finding good music and delivering it to you.

[Walkoff Balk]

Re: Death of Radio or Not?

My, My, Hey, Hey, Radio will Never Die.