| Re: Radio's Popularity [message #94475 is a reply to message #94469] |
Tue, 21 September 2021 08:12   |
Barryso
Messages: 196
Registered: May 2009
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The telecommunications act of 1996 did a lot of damage to radio.
Here's a synopsis from the net:
"What did the Telecommunications Act of 1996 do?
The legislation eliminated a cap on nationwide station ownership and allowed an entity to own up to 4 stations in a single market. ... The Telecommunications Act was supposed to open the market to more and new radio station ownership; instead, it created an opportunity for a media monopoly."
After the act, big companies began buying up all the radio stations. The small, mom and pop local stations just completely vanished. Similar to what happened in the 70's as big companies bought up all the small, local newspapers. There was no longer a local voice.
The big companies now controlled all the major radio markets and could format the stations with proven, profitable programming. So the stations in all the markets were essentially the same even if that particular format wasn't really what the local market wanted. There weren't any small, independent stations left to fill the void anymore.
They also got rid of announcers because they claimed surveys had shown people didn't like the talk. It's more likely they figured out how much cheaper it would be to eliminate all those jobs.
Then they started expanding the number of minutes of commercials played every hour.
That radio became irrelevant was caused by the big companies. They shot themselves in the foot as they homogenized the industry. It also didn't help that the Internet and streaming was catching on. The internet offered better music selection and little or no commercials.
At this point, at least in my neck of the woods, the only radio worth listening to are the big college stations out of Philly. They play jazz, classical and other non-commercial feeds. The commercial stations are, to put it mildly, garbage.
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