FCC talks about requiring local programming on radio

[Dave Allen]

Those are called family reunions.

[Arp2]

"Local content" can happen with sat fed programming, but the station must want and strive for that to occur. A strong local morning (and maybe afternoon) show. A local news department with hourly reports several times a day.

...hourly reports several times a day....

One would be 24, and one would be three....big difference!

A weekend public affairs program.

Nobody normal cares; nobody normal listens.

High school sports team coverage...

Why?

Outside of Sports, few have any interest in hearing sports or about sports. You almost have to be a small-towner to even conceive of hearing some sort of high-school game on the radio. To the vast majority, that would be something really, really weird. And, if the listener isn't in high school or doesn't have a kid in high school, there's only one thing that could make it more irrelevant -- if it's not even the listener's local school!

If you ask me, high school sports is a flagrant flipping of the bird right in the faces of 95+% of the listeners.

You gripe when stations do stupid things these days 'cause they're getting money, yet you pine for school sports?? That makes no sense.

...and a rundown of local scores every Friday night and/or Saturday morning.

Screw it....they're on TV or the internet.....oh, and the daily dead tree (complete with at least some explanation of what happened)....play another favorite!

Keep the satellite "best mix of music that everyone in the office can agree on" for all your non-critical times,...

That's a weird thought -- "Be exactly what your listeners want when it doesn't matter; load up on what listeners don't want when it does."

It can work, and it's truly the best of both worlds.

You're assuming that everybody wants this stuff. They don't.

My biggest issue is with the totally automated plug-and-play stations out there.

I agree with you, but I think I'd much rather have a "voicetracked-just-for-us" all-music station with its own name, breaks, references, promos, and so on than a "(magi-call) (pause) (different voice) your station for big variety and strong jocks you'll hear all day and all night but never on commercials that mention local places or at events in your local community. Coming up...yet another Sears or JC Penney spot segued right into more big variety with no actual station imaging in between!" station that occasionally interrupts for sucky and irrelevant school sports.

These things you say you want? They're the things people love not being there when they move to a bigger city!

Baby Dolls actually advertises with us. They want women to do their commercials, to sort of give the impression that the dancers are doing the spots. In reality, we have used a number of ladies for their ads, including the a friend of mine who work for the ambulance company, the girl who cuts my hair, etc.

Um....so why don't the dancers just do the spots?

Uh..."dancers"...don't want to be heard on the air, but regular women are willing to appear on the air sounding like...uh, "dancers?"

Weird.......!

[genlock]

During the strip club spots, is the background music "strip club music"?

[Hoosier Daddy]

"Local content" can happen with sat fed programming, but the station must want and strive for that to occur. A strong local morning (and maybe afternoon) show. A local news department with hourly reports several times a day.

...hourly reports several times a day....

One would be 24, and one would be three....big difference!

That didn't sound right after I wrote it! Hourly news during morning drive, perhaps at the noon hour, and then later in the afternoon -- say at 5 or 6pm. But certainly not every hour on the hour around the clock ...

A weekend public affairs program.

Nobody normal cares; nobody normal listens.

I disagree, Big City Man, but OK. Hmmm ... a local church service? We're talking about NOT making the station a voiceless, faceless, could be anywhere or nowhere at all satellite fed drone, but one that actually has local content.

High school sports team coverage...

Outside of Sports, few have any interest in hearing sports or about sports. You almost have to be a small-towner to even conceive of hearing some sort of high-school game on the radio.

I AM a small-towner. Can you write that without a tone of disgust? Everything doesn't revolve around what people in Dayton or Atlanta or Los Angeles want to hear on the radio. And besides, satellite fed radio programming is almost exclusively heard in smaller markets, so please stay on topic!

To the vast majority, that would be something really, really weird. And, if the listener isn't in high school or doesn't have a kid in high school, there's only one thing that could make it more irrelevant -- if it's not even the listener's local school!

Not so. Not in smaller markets. You need to give up your snitty Simon Cowell Metrosexual lifestyle and come enjoy the small town life. You'd be a lot less pent up ...

...and a rundown of local scores every Friday night and/or Saturday morning.

Screw it....they're on TV or the internet.....oh, and the daily dead tree (complete with at least some explanation of what happened)....play another favorite!

I love that! If you've ever tipped your hat as to who you are or what you do in radio, there it is!! Following your logic, why should we even play the music? I mean, all those songs are available to anyone who wants them via Napster or Yahoo! Music or a thousand other net based venues.

Topical, pertinent local information vs. having the computer and the sat jock in Colorado or San Francisco or whereever the hell they are "play another favorite" -- defined as a favorite, of course, through some mathematical formula that ensures repetition until the listener commits suicide ...

... I think I'd much rather have a "voicetracked-just-for-us" all-music station with its own name, breaks, references, promos, and so on than a "(magi-call) (pause) (different voice) your station for big variety and strong jocks you'll hear all day and all night but never on commercials that mention local places or at events in your local community.

So now we re-define local radio as being what you want ...

They're the things people love not being there when they move to a bigger city!

Maybe so, but you can't compare small market radio with big city radio. In larger markets, the formats are narrowed and the money is (or should be) there to have higher quality live and local in-market talent. High School sports wouldn't work in Columbus or Cincinnati because there are 50 or 60 high schools in the listening area. Not so in a small market. Satellite fed programming may be an economic necessity in a small market, but there are ways to make the station sound live and local and involved in the community. You won't get that sound by plugging into the satellite and having the computer play another favorite.

I wish there was a Vomit emoticon. It would be the perfect tag-line.

[genlock]

I guess that sat-radio could be a hit in any market.
The bigger problem is that radio seems to be the same everywhere.
Same songs, same morning shows, same jokes and same national spots.
The local spots are the only tie to the local community.
If it weren't for local spots the entire show could be done in Estonia and trucked into the station. How long will it take for the imaging to be outsourced or even the local spots? I suppose that traffic and local sales could be farmed out and that would leave only the manager and a phone.
(under current rules, anyway) In a few years, radio will be an iPod, getting it's content from the power line thru a charger/podcast.

[AmpedNow]

I agree that radio's strong suit can be localism, but unfortunately, When there's any big WV related news (Sago, Ghent gas station, RichRod), I usually get the stuff I need to hear from national news sources long before radio starts talking about it locally. Otherwise, we pretty much wait until the next day's paper is out for story updates. And then I could still just bypass local radio and go straight for the paper. Heck, most stations just rip the paper open and read the copy verbatim anyway...

Satrad is great just for variety. It's always there regardless of where I am, as long as I can "see" the northwestern sky.

High school sports: this was a huge culture shock for me, as I forgot how rabid some people are about their local high school teams. I'd much rather watch or listen to a 'Skins game, but I digress...

It does tend to be a positive for stations... The spots are pretty easy to sell, plus you build community goodwill.

I've always been more "national" minded, because there's never really anything going on locally anyways.

I wish there were a Vomit emoticon. It would be the perfect tag-line.

Well, okay...

[Dave Allen]

As for why the dancers don't record the spots themselves, remember this is southern WV...most are wanted by the cops or on worker's comp, so they're on the d.l. as they say.

As for high school sports, I realize this may not play well in the bigger cities, but I have witnessed entire towns shutting down in the middle of the day on a Friday when one of the area teams is playing in a state basketball tournament.

[Ace Purple]

If you ask me, high school sports is a flagrant flipping of the bird right in the faces of 95+% of the listeners.

It depends on the context -- if it's the state championship on the line, that's different than a 3-5 team playing a 2-6 team.

The nice thing about the internet is that broadcasts for a limited but interested fan base, be it school alumni or parents, can be transmitted around the world. I won't be able to make all of my cousin's high school football games next year (especially when they play at Memphis or Chattanooga or wherever), but I can watch them live online.

[Hoosier Daddy]

If you ask me, high school sports is a flagrant flipping of the bird right in the faces of 95+% of the listeners.

It depends on the context -- if it's the state championship on the line, that's different than a 3-5 team playing a 2-6 team.

It also depends on the location. If a small market station that primarily serves an area with only two or three high schools, and this game is a fierce backyard rivalry -- the smart broadcaster sells every spot he can including pre and post game shows, and then "brings the game" to those who can't attend. In some places, I'd bet almost every radio in town is tuned to the local matchup. Even when your home team is 3-5 and the hated rival is 2-6.

[Dave Allen]

Agreed, again.

[Arp2]

That didn't sound right after I wrote it! Hourly news during morning drive, perhaps at the noon hour, and then later in the afternoon -- say at 5 or 6pm. But certainly not every hour on the hour around the clock ...

I suppose that argument could be made, but it'd still be an argument. It has to be something listeners are really interested in and would accept and use and that would be some kind of advantage for you. Some stations, such as white-collar-targeted WRAL-FM with its sister station in white-collar Raleigh/Durham/Cary/Chapel Hill, successfully simulcast a TV newscast, but those are relatively rare combinations of population, people, lifestyle, traffic, and other considerations.

A weekend public affairs program.

Nobody normal cares; nobody normal listens.

I disagree, Big City Man, but OK. Hmmm ... a local church service?

Not unless it's a strong production of a strong, seeker-targeted product, I wouldn't.....and how many of those can you possibly get in small towns? I'd say none....

We're talking about NOT making the station a voiceless, faceless, could be anywhere or nowhere at all satellite fed drone, but one that actually has local content.

I agree, but I think of "local content" in terms of content for the listeners of this radio station and only this radio station....

....which is why I'd probably rather have voicetracked stuff with my station name, frequency, promos, promotions, relatables, and (gasp!) weather rather than a live (we assume/hope) satellite feed.

I want live and local radio as much or more than you do, but, if that's not going to happen, I'd prefer a well-done, unique, 'tracked station over a live sat-fed.

Outside of Sports, few have any interest in hearing sports or about sports. You almost have to be a small-towner to even conceive of hearing some sort of high-school game on the radio.

I AM a small-towner. Say that without that tone of disgust in your writing.

"You" didn't actually mean "you;" it probably should have been "one."

Sorry 'bout that.....

Everything doesn't revolve around what people in Columbus or Atlanta or Los Angeles want to hear on the radio.

Oh, I agree wholeheartedly!

On the other hand, people are people and, like it or not, have become pretty homogenous. Exposure to better talents and products has set the bar higher for the listener regardless of location. I mean, after your first DXing of WLS at night, did you ever love, embrace, and esteem the local guy the same again?

You need to give up your snitty Simon Cowell Metrosexual lifestyle and come enjoy the small town life. You'd be a lot less pent up ...

No way! I've been there / done that, and it frightened me! It wasn't too long before lots and lots of people "knew" me...as I've shared here before, I used to buy underwear while on vacation just so that no one could say, "I sold Arp underwear...briefs!"

...and a rundown of local scores every Friday night and/or Saturday morning.

Screw it....they're on TV or the internet.....oh, and the daily dead tree (complete with at least some explanation of what happened)....play another favorite!

I love that!....Following your logic, why should we even play the music?

Because that's why they're coming!

There are exceptions, I suppose, but, generally speaking, "sports" is at the very bottom of the list of things people want and expect from their music stations and at the very top of the list of the things they want to hear less of or get rid of altogether. (That reflects the female targets or leans that most formats have, though....obviously, sports, N/T, and rock have somewhat more pro-sports numbers.)

Topical, pertinent local information...

Arp be all for it!

But it ain't school sports that really satisfies that.....

...vs. having the computer and the sat jock in Colorado or San Francisco or whereever the hell they are "play another favorite" -- defined as a favorite, of course, through some mathematical formula that ensures repetition until the listener commits suicide ...

What you're calling "some mathematical formula" is actually two separate things, both tied directly to real listeners. The songs come directly from what listeners tell us they like, and the repetition reflects how listeners tell us they listen.

So now we re-define local radio as being what you want ...

No....never! I got over that long, long ago. Gathering and keeping an audience is much more satisfying than playing or talking about what I want.

They're the things people love not being there when they move to a bigger city!

Maybe so, but you can't compare small market radio with big city radio.

How the money gets made, no. What the listeners would have on the air if it were all up to them? A lot closer than you would think -- "I want what I want, and I want it now...with some surprises every now and then, monkey boy!" Differences tend to come from what they know about. You've heard the thought, "Listeners don't know what they like; they like what they know." Well, school sports, lost dogs, dead people, and "Tradio" are inconceivable to most. "Miss Listener, on the radio, how much would you like to hear about school sports, lost dogs, newly-dead people, and used crap that lower-class people want to sell? ("Are you out of your mind? That's disgusting!" would be the expression you'd get back if you were asking in person.) Nobody would ask for such things unless he or she had heard of them first, but "my favorite songs, one after another" isn't hard to think of for anybody and is a virtual universal desire.

Of course, there are places and situations where services (beyond the usuals) have much greater acceptance and actually have a fair amount of demand, but....

High School sports wouldn't work in Columbus or Cincinnati because there are 50 or 60 high schools in the listening area. Not so in a small market.

Even in lesser-populated areas, I've got to think a class A FM would cover a minimum of 20 schools, a B about 40, and a C about 60!

Satellite fed programming may be an economic necessity in a small market, but there are ways to make the station sound live and local and involved in the community. You won't get that sound by plugging into the satellite and having the computer play another favorite.

...as defined by you! What you're saying is your preference...your idea of "right" and "wrong" and "good" and "bad!"

You don't seem to realize that you, too, are simply saying, "I want what I want, and I want it now...with some surprises every now and then, monkey boy!" And, as usual, you're wanting to force it on everybody else top-down....

Ponder that.

Ponder that.

And, then, ponder this:

The owners of the stations will do the best they can because it's in their own best interest; to do otherwise would be to destroy the value of the property and investment and damage the public's perceptions of them.

[Dave Loudin]

In central WV, a Class A might get 2 high schools, a B1 would cover 3, maybe, and a B would get 5 or so. Additionally, high school is a huge part of the lives of many. Seriously. Heck, we broadcast Little League games on WSGB back in the day (and sold the hell out of them.) If a station does a good enough job for long enough, then there are opportunities to feature the sportscaster in other times for $$s (c.f. Frank Lee on WMMN.)

[Dave Allen]

We have a waiting list for sponsors for Little League tournaments each year. We have five sponsors each for each team in the area (Logan, Man, Chapmanville, Holden, Madison/Danville). You would have to wait YEARS to be able to get on a Logan High broadcast with us. In addition to the spots, we also sell the starting line-ups, the keys to the game, the halftime entertainment, two postgame shows and two pre-game shows.

This is big time radio, folks.

[Force Commander]

In central WV, a Class A might get 2 high schools, a B1 would cover 3, maybe, and a B would get 5 or so.

Same in KY and so many small non rated markets across the nation. I would be surprised if a Class A FM in any market outside of the majors (top 20) could reach 20 high schools with a approx. 30 mile circle for a footprint.

[Arp2]

Wow.

I said that thinking 4-5 schools per rural county and an A reaching about 1.5-1.75 counties in all directions.

You're scaring me.

[Dave Loudin]

It's more like 1 to 2 high schools per county.

[genlock]

What happened to the Omar little league?

[Dave Allen]

They're still playing, I guess (well when its baseball season).

[Hoosier Daddy]

It's more like 1 to 2 high schools per county.

This got me thinking ...

Number of High Schools per county in Southeast Ohio:

Lawrence County - 7
Jackson County - 3
Gallia County - 3
Meigs County - 3, there buddy.
Vinton County - 1
Pike County - 4
Hocking County - 1
Athens County - 5

It seems like Scioto and Ross Counties had probably 6 or 7 each, but I'm not for sure.

[lastone]

At BTH in the 70's, we made most of our money on high school sports and the Reds. (Williamson, Belfry & Matewan) We made enough to turn a proffit per game that included four of us traveling as far away as Princeton and having steak dinners to boot! That was until the WVSSAC stepped in and killed it. We paid all schools for coverage but some got greedy.

I still say put the "city of license" back in the picture (not just in the 'A' coverage area) by requiring the operation be in "the city of license". Rather than a file in a cabinet in some lawyers office. Consolidation killed local involvement and competition, the very thing the increase in the number of stations was to encourage.