Two things have ushered in the latest radio wave in the U.S., which by the way, affects what everyone’s listening options are.  One is deregulation and the other is a new programming format called, “Jack FM,” Jill FM,” or “Shuffle.”  With these formats radio station owners are able to make more money by firing their disc jockeys.  And in recent months such radio giants as Clear Channel and Infinity fired their on air staff by the hundreds.  And the trend is only beginning.

WCBS-FM

For decades this New York City radio station has become a legend in the industry.  It has set the “oldies” trend for decades, playing everything from the Beachboys to the Beatles.  Many famous on-air personalities such as “Cousin Brucie” worked here.  But now the format and the on-air staff are long gone – the latest to go in the wake of what some have termed, “radio with no personality.”

The new advertising campaigns say, “we play the music we want to.”  Big deal.  These major corporately-run stations have always programmed what they wanted to, and their “playlists” are strictly controlled. The computer in the studio tells the disc jockey what song is coming next, and that’s it.  So, is this just a marketing slogan?  In a word, yes!  Station owners say that now they’ll be playing a wider mix of music with more variety.  That’s fine but it’s not new. “Variety Radio” was very big in the 1950s, with one big difference. The program host (the DJ) was a central part of the format.  The owners can talk all they want but the bottom line it’s an excuse to reduce costs by firing people.

An Endangered Species

As a result, disc jockeys are becoming an endangered species.  Despite the fact they have historically powered a station’s ratings, it is now felt that the format’s popularity doesn’t need a voice.  The new perception is that people will tune in just for the music…and commercials of course.  Automation is now the king.  A typical example is at the Clear Channel headquarters in San Diego, California,  where 14 stations are under one roof.  The company either owns outright or manages that many stations in the market. That’s deregulation for you.  Well, apparently only three people are needed to operate all of the stations.  All the segments are pre-recorded and what on-air people they still have do what is called, “voice tracking.” That means they pre-record their talk segments and the computer puts them where they’re supposed to go so they’ll be heard at a later time in between song sets.  The listener thinks he or she is listening to “live” radio but “it ain’t necessarily so.”

Local Radio?

The other factor in radio today is that some local stations aren’t that at all.  An announcer in some central location (could be anywhere in the country) does all the sound bytes for stations up and down the line. Some talk segments can be pre-recorded and some are still done live but they aren’t local.  From the station owners’ view this is sometimes necessary when a station in a smaller market can’t afford to pay the price of a top DJ.  Many would answer, “so what?  Maybe we want a local, folksy sound from somebody who knows the town and most of the people in it.” 

Endangered Formats

Station owners also look for the widest audience they can get.  So some formats, although drawing a good audience, aren’t popular enough and don’t make enough money. This isn’t to say they don’t make a profit, it just isn’t what the owners want. As a result, today many cities in the United States don’t have a station playing an “oldies” sound, a jazz station or a classical music station.  People forget that the airwaves are really owned by the people and they are leased to private entrepreneurs.  When broadcast licenses were originally granted by the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) it was understood that stations would broadcast in the “public interest, convenience and necessity.”  Well, that thought is long gone.  Thankfully many public stations have stepped in to fill the void because they don’t have to be commercially viable, although they do have to survive financially.  Any many do quite well broadcasting classical music, talk and jazz.  But this isn’t the case in other cities which have lost out altogether or today have substandard stations and signals. Again using San Diego as an example, there is no “nostalgia” format (hits from the 40’s – 70’s), and the only classical station is an AM daytimer, meaning the signal is very limited and the quality is awful.

Forgetting the Baby Boomers

The old advertiser axiom is to reach the 18-49 age demographic.  That’s the desired target for all a lot products from beer, soft drinks, trendy clothes, rock concerts, cars, etc.  It means that broadcasters fall all over themselves trying to provide the right music  environment so that kids from this coveted age group will listen.  And truthfully that is where the big bucks are to be sure.  But what about the forgotten Baby Boomers?  This is the largest demographic group in the nation’s history.  They are interested in hearing popular music (nostalgia hits), classical, jazz, news, and talk radio, which we haven’t discussed before. Thankfully there is plenty of the latter in almost every market.  Somehow station owners haven’t figured out how to get rid of the “talk jocks” or they would.  And although some of this is syndicated, i.e. Rush Limbaugh, much is still locally-based.  But aside from this the Baby Boomers will probably have to turn to other sources to hear the music they want.  Satellite radio, internet radio, and cable radio do in fact provide a limited alternative but it isn’t pervasive as regular radio is.  And it is clearly not as convenient.  

Long Live Jack?

We'll have to wait and see if the "Jack" format trend is long-term or a short-lived fad.  Depends on how many people feel it is a plus having a DJ host a radio show, telling listeners a little about the music, and perhaps adding a little humor.  It of course has been very successful in the past in virtually every radio market.   Or, maybe this new generation of listeners just want  music so they can download it on their MP3 players.  Over the next few months listeners will be voting with their ears.