Would You Like Another "Local" Radio Station?

Question

Radio is so cold and impersonal anymore. Gone are the days of local DJs, request lines and call-in contests. Can you remember the local DJ? Remember calling him at the station across town to ask him to play your favorite song? If you could have that radio station back, would you listen again? I'm interested! It's time for radio to start listening to the public again!

Answer 1

In UK various regional radio stations still exist that are kinda like this.  But they are beginning to fall fowl of the 'cult of celebrity' and the playlist.

Answer 2

107.5 wgci

Answer 3

NO THERE TO MANY NOW!!!!;-)

as20

Answer 4

Well, most of our stations still have disk jockeys where you can call in requests and one or two are still mostly local talk shows.

The biggest problem is that 99% of all large market radio stations are owned by the same 3 companys, and in that way the music is censored, formulated and standardized.

Sinclair, ClearChannel and I forget the other are all megabroadcasting corps that own most if not all of the major markets.  There is a Kiss FM station in every major city, playing all the same music.

Same with "talk" radio.  Instead of local talk shows, most talk radio is syndicated shows like Rush Limbaugh, Glenbeck, Dennis Miller and others.

But you almost never see any local shows in tv either except the news.   Unless you count the "public access channel"

Like every other medium business, it has been commercialized to get the maximum amount of listeners/viewers so they can get the maximum amount of advertising dollars.

Try some of the smaller local stations.

Answer 5

Gearbox has a great answer for all the questions asked in the radio section, and did again.  I would like to add though that if you do get a station that does have someone "in" the control room, it doesn't always mean that someone is actually in that particular station's control room physically.  The bigger corporate broadcasters like the ones Gearbox named are using talent from bigger cities to also do shows for the corporations smaller market stations.  Your thinking is more so history than the future.  Things like what we are experiencing now in the broadcast radio arena are normal with the voicetracking technology that stations have in their possession.  The station I worked at used voicetracking as a learning tool and used it everyday.  I didn't like voicetracking and never used it.  I always liked doing my live shows.

Some internet streams will feature live shows.  Gearbox is also correct on this, but I have found that if they don't used live talent in the control room, they will offer programs from ABC Radio, Jones Radio Network and Premier Radio Networks.

Answer 6

There are many "local" radio stations but usually forget anything near a big city. for that "local" sound, try streaming radio stations from small towns all over the US... I am fortunate to still have some that air live DJs (as other small town stations forgo the local DJ all together and subscribe to a satellite radio service meant for radio stations such as ABC or Jones network leaving no one in the DJ booth anymore)

I also find these smaller stations are willing to play a wider variety of music than a big city station. It used to be big city= better station .. now the mom and pops as they are sometimes called are those stations.

But basically you are looking for areas smaller than about 300,000 people.. mainly ones of about 15,000 people for these home town americana stations.

But to answer the one poster, it's not 3 big companies.. there are many I can name that control big city radio if not more. CBS/Infinity, Clear Channel, Entercom, Citadel, Cumulus, Emmis, EMF (non commercial broadcaster), Univision broadcasting,Cox, and others

They even have these stations streaming sometimes.. but without knowing what you listen to may be hard to tell you. Email for more or try http://www.usliveradio.com/ or http://www.canadianwebradio.com/  (hint, pick smaller towns in the farm belt and southern US for more chances at local radio)