The death of radio is overstated, in my opinon.
It is rather depressing to see the corporate expectations of double digit profit growth. So radio doesn't give that to you - sell off radio stations to local ownership, where the focus is much more modest. Those radio stations won't disappear. They'll just do simple things like provide jobs, community information, and enough profit to keep going.
You know, what radio used to do before greed entered the picture.
There will still be a need for radio in the forseeable future.
The author of the article's analysis of this is rather simplistic. I know from personal experience that the programming is more important than the technology.
In my case, I used to enjoy and participate in evening AM radio talk programming where each of the five days of the week there was a program on topics such as Travel, Car Repair, Gardening, Investing, and Home Maintenance with each topic on a specific weeknight. This was a non-commercial station owned by a local university and, just like forums such as this, had a loyal and active group of listeners who felt informed and included. We were not bombarded to tears (or tuning out) by commercials.
My son, who is a fan of Bluegrass music, would reliably tune to this station on Saturday from six to midnight to enjoy the "Bluegrass Ramble". He didn't care that it was AM, he cared only about the content and lack of ads.
Unfortunately, this station was sold to a religeouscaster and might as well gone dark as far as I am concerned. The university operated a TV, 2 FMs, and this AM station and all were listener supported. Perhaps it was an economic decision but they retain their TV and FM stations.
There is a small 250 Watter seven miles from me which serves a rural community. It has the feel of a local "Mom and Pop" operation with live read ads without the shouting and obnoxious music and in between these and music there are farm reports.
From what I hear during times when I listen, the sense of community is lost by most of the large market stations and the need to maximize profit results in hiring low talent hosts and many commercials which contributes to an irritating and no gain listener experience.
Neil
In response to Artisan's comment (#2)---We've heard this demise of radio "song and dance" before, just different lyrics. Remember when TV was going to kill radio, TV was going to kill the movies, then newer mediums were going to kill TV?
The demise of radio has been expounded for 60+ years. Artisan is right, radio may change, in fact it MUST, but it will be around for a whole lot longer. Formats may come and go, but the medium will still be there. Stations have to adjust and adapt. They can't keep doing the same thing and expect a different result. Radio doesn't have to be about just the music--remember when the DJs were as popular as the artists they played? They had talent, they didn't read the same old 'liners' day after day, nor did they voice-track. Those days may be gone, but creative PDs will help radio survive.
Not sure how this all fits into Part 15, but frankly, it looks like hobby broadcasters are on the leading edge of innovation.
Radio used to be a diverse, entertainment medium. Yes, it had music, it had talk, but it also had comedies, dramas, variety shows, horror shows - you name, it was there.
It perhaps didn't allow radio stations to increase profit margins by double digits every year, but it was creative (a lot of it, anyway), and much of it still holds up today.
Radio just doesn't have to be (obnoxious) music or (obnoxious) talk.
What saved radio when TV came was rock and roll, the hit parade, good DJs, and transisters that made it portable.
Now the situation is different and the writer of the article has a point....but more for part 15....maybe that will save radio this time.
Mark
In reality radio is still extremely strong in areas where it stayed local.
One man's interference is another man's music.
Actually, that line could stand all by itself, but I'll give it more content.
The "Death of Radio" article linked in Post # 1 includes the line: "why is terrestrial radio headed south? The reasons are many but basically boil down to one factor, the same one that’s disrupting so many industries, including the new business — the Internet."
As Radio8Z points out in Post # 3, that analysis is "rather simplistic", and badly written, in my opinion.
The second "factor", had it been mentioned, would be INTERFERENCE; on AM from many noise producing sources, on FM from over crowding by licensed stations.
Interference is electronic noise, and noise is defined as "unwanted sound".
Unwanted noise/intereference is a very subjective kind of thing...
Classical music is the unwanted sound of many and buzzy CFL bulbs are music to the ears of GE Corporation.
Rule 15.19 regarding Part 15 devices states: "(1) This device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) this device must accept any interference received."
Please note the word HARMFUL in (1), a word typically left out by those who unfairly claim Part 15 broadcasting IS a form of interference, with which I strongly disagree.
Does a radio license grant reciprocal rights (?): This station may cause harmful interference and will not accept any interference received?
While unstated in so many words, yes, consider Radio 8Z's once favorite FM: "Unfortunately, this station was sold to a religeouscaster and might as well have gone dark as far as I am concerned."
Another specious claim frequently expressed is that the field-strength levels specified in the rules are crafted to contain interference to licensed services. Such a notion is a million miles from being scientifically true or accurate.
There is room without violating any physical laws for situational flexibility in the power output from intentional radiators.
At the same time, stepping on cracks in the sidewalk should never be allowed.
"Another specious claim frequently expressed is that the field-strength levels specified in the rules are crafted to contain interference to licensed services. Such a notion is a million miles from being scientifically true or accurate."
What?! That's literally what they are for. I'm really puzzled by this train of thought. Am I reading this wrong?
Mighty said: "Am I reading this wrong?"
Yes you are.
The numbers written into Part 15 rules for Intentional Radiator field strength limits are for no reason in the world exact and precise and the only possible numbers.
They are only ballpark. Add or subtract a few milliWatts and it only matters in relation to highly variable moving targets including the electromagnetic spectrum itself, which is a wild beast of nature that changes unpredictably and the location, which is always different from other locations in terms of how the spectrum is assigned to licensees near and far.
In short, the rules are static and inflexible and the reality world to which they apply is fluid and as variable as the sea.
As I tried to explain above the definition of "interference" is subjective and as a word can be applied in many ways to several circumstances.
The false claim that Part 15 radio stations actually are a form of interference is nothing more than an editorial slur from persons of either ill intent or misinformed thought.
"Not sure how this all fits into Part 15, but frankly, it looks like hobby broadcasters are on the leading edge of innovation."
Lets talk about this quote first off. I think big wig commercial stations that are losing their shirts can learn from part 15 hobbycasters. We don't have to spend 30,000 on super expensive broadcasting equipment. A part 15 hobbycaster can run a complete station using NextKast for their software, A y spitter for AM and FM, Two sound cards for Internet and Live broadcasting and maybe a Radio Shack mixer to pipe in some Live Bands.
If you play your cards right you can have a great station running for under $2K (Unless you stream then its $6K+/yr as this is what my sponsor spends on my station).
Instead of trying to run 50K Watts maybe its time to cut the power down to 50 watts and start buying 0art 73 certified transmitters for $2K, an $11 dipole and maybe set up an AM antenna and have 25 Watts and only worry about local broadcasting in your own towns.
Instead of one station trying to serve hundreads of miles let each city run little stations that serve that city. Program Local Live Bands mixed with your big RIAA artists everyone tries to play like tickie-tackie houses where all is the same.
You tune in to a Classic Rock station in Richmond, VA and later as you travel you tune in to 106.9 The Fox around VA Beach and that station plays the same artists and songs from the same albums as did the one in Richmond, VA. As you travel to Florida you then tune to one in Atlanta, GA and guess what same old stuff. Hobbycasters are not all the same. This is why Radio is dying. Part 15 hobbycasters are not killing your profit margins Big Radio companies, your doing this your darn self.
Maybe its time ti hire hobby broadcasters to run your stations and forget everything you think you know about Radio programming. Then your stations will survive. And for God Sake stop with all the damn God casters already.
God casters are taking over every band and have more than one frequency broadcasting the same thing. I even heard the same shortwave preacher on AM one night as I was messing around with the dial. This is something that needs to be outlawed. One entity should not have the right to hog frequencies from 530Khz, Shortwave, and then FM too?
The FCC needs to put a stop to all the religious programming hogging up everything across the spectrum. What ever happened to the separation of church and state?
As far as AM goes? Its dead for commercial Radio. Best thing they can do for AM is to give it to hobby broadcasters and allow 1-2 Watts and call it a day. Or allow 10 watts for anyone day or night and call it a day on AM. There is no saving that band unless the FCC was to really step up and do something about the CFL's, hydro, and all the other slop on AM. Its not likely to happen so AM is useless in most areas. So they nee to save the headache and give it up to the hobbybroadcaster and then expend FM from 76 Mhz to 107.9 Mhz. Give some of those frequencies to the dying AM stations and give the hobby broadcaster 87.7 and 87.9 Mhz.
Best of luck with all of this because little is being done to even get a petition to start this kind of stuff due to the lack of interest. So that my friends is why Radio is doomed very soon.
I want to see of my signature changed on this post.
Saying bye-bye to our CBS radio stations will be like having grandfather move out of the house. We were together for a long time and remember many family stories.
Will there be a buyer? Will it be one buyer or several?
It seems to me all the big corporate owners that grabbed all the stations are running low on petrol and in no better shape than the CBS stations.
What about the CBS Radio Network?
Part 15 may inherit the medium wave wasteland sooner than we expected.
What is happening with radio is natural and actually healthy. Radio will evolve and come back, perhaps smaller, perhaps more local, but also more unique and more sustainable.
It will continue to provide programming to the public, and jobs to those who work there. It may never again be the target of greedy corporations looking to suck it dry for obscene profits, but then, that's a good thing.
Interesting that someone writing for a truly dead medium would try to claim the death of the medium that presently is reaching more people on a daily basis than any other medium. See:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_defunct_newspapers_of_the_United_States
and http://newspaperdeathwatch.com/ for starters.
Then review: http://radioink.com/2016/02/25/radio-is-the-number-one-reach-medium/ and http://observer.com/2015/07/radio-yes-terrestrial-radio-is-the-no-1-medium-in-terms-of-reach/ and many more.
A newspaper man announcing the death of radio. LOL. What is happening is the death of corporate radio.
As one who has worked in local, live radio for 43 years -- I can tell you first hand locally run stations that are involved in their communities thrive. And they thrive quite well.
My AM (where I work, not my Part 15 LOL) continues to set sales records and listenership continues to grow. Our sister FM station down the hall (where I'm not on the air (except commercials) but I am chief engineer -- also continues to grow in listenership, and is generally sold out. We can't even cram in more ads! At least not without compromising our sound.
Death of radio my ass.
TIB