Jazz for the Asking Blog

I suppose I should have posted this long ago, but I have not done a radio show in a long time.  Things just seemed to get in the way, plus a general lack of local interest, lead to the demise of the radio show on WGHQ.

Since there was no support from the ownership, which is not necessarily their fault, I felt it was too difficult to continue on as a single person entity.  The radio station ownership is leaning toward a news/talk format for that radio station and I felt that a Jazz show on a low rated AM station who’s focus is a mostly satellite syndicated programming was not a good fit.  Perhaps there is some other outlet for this music in the Hudson Valley, or perhaps there is no great local interest.

In either case, I will keep the Jazz music store open, as it seems to be quite popular, and I will occasionally post to the blog.

This is one of those topics that may be a little boring to some, so if you are not interested in how to get better reception from your AM radio, or you are happy with the reception you are getting, then skip to the next post.

The main problems with AM radio reception these days are two fold. One, the proliferation of cheap radios with poor selectivity and sensitivity makes tuning in a station difficult. Two, the local noise factors have increased dramatically.

First, the quality of your radio will determine how well an AM station is received and how good is sounds. Believe it or not, this is one place that new high tech gadgetry does not pay off as the older radios are built better and sound better. One good AM radio this is still relatively inexpensive is the GE Super Radio. It is big an bulky but is an excellent table top radio and works well on both AM and FM.

Secondly, the local electrical noise levels have increased dramatically in the last few years. This is mainly due to the use of Compact Florescent Lights (CFL). These little florescent light generate noise, which unfortunately is picked up by AM radios.  There is not a lot you can do about this noise, so the best course is not to use your radio near any florescent lights.  If you need a light near your radio, use an old fashioned incandescent light bulb.  Some times turning the radio will increase the signal level and reduce the noise.

Finally, you may need to use an out door antenna if you are located far away from your favorite radio station.  The GE super radio has provisions for connecting an outboard antenna.  If you have questions on how to go about making a good outdoor antenna, you can always e-mail me, and I will respond.  There are several good designs that do not take up much space and are inexpensive to fabricate and install.

Hope this helps!

Time was when a radio station license was “Granted in the public interest” which means the radio station owners needed to provide the local community with services such as local news, public service announcements, important information and so on. Those rules have not changed, but they are interpreted differently. It seems these days, the public is interested in squeezing every last nickel of advertising revenue out of the community and sending it to San Antonio, Texas.

What am I talking about? The huge mega corporations that own 90 percent of the radio stations in this country are not concerned with the local communities those station used to serve. What they are concerned with is the bottom line. Radio is still a hugely profitable business, with most of those profits being shipped off to Atlanta or San Antonio or some other corporate headquarters thousands of miles away from the community they came from. That in and of itself is fine, however, those corporations then fail to return anything to the local communities. They simply milk the station for all it is worth then move on to the next target.

Here is a good example of what happens to your local radio station when the mega corporation takes over:

This used to be the 94.3 WBPM studio. When the station was sold, the new owner’s engineers came in and removed anything of value, then they moved the studio to another city, twenty miles away. Gone is the local news staff, the news now comes over the satellite from Newark, NJ, gone is the local promotions staff, the community interface, and so on. Sure, the radio station is still on the air, but it is run by a computer. Try calling the studio on a Saturday afternoon and see if anyone answers the phone. The announcers may be located in Dallis, Cincinnati, or Chicago. Ask one of them to pick out Kingston, NY on a map and they may be able to find it after a while. Ask them who is the mayor, what are the local issues, or even what is the weather like, they probably won’t be able to tell you.

This is the news studio, back when there was a local news department, they worked out of this room. As you can see, it has become the office garbage dump:

Radio is becoming irrelevant. Radio station owner’s complain about the competition from Satellite Radio, the Internet, and iPods. Competition is supposed to make you better, not worse. Instead, owners seem unable to come to grips with the facts that radio’s strength is its ability to be local. They continue to implement computer generated generic formats that are boring, unoriginal and anything but entertaining.

These blended formats are a result of the highly sought after money demo, 25-54 year old women. The rationale is the advertisers want the 25-54 year old women (AKA Soccer mom’s) listeners because they spend the most money. The programming is adjusted to the potential advertising client. Once again, the bottom line drives the on air content. Radio used to be the innovator, the place were new music styles and artists were heard.

It can be turned around, but it will take a mighty effort by those who care and support from those who write the checks. With out those two, radio will go the way of the passenger rail road, the steam ship, or the horse and buggy. Left behind, obsolete, a novelty.