[BC] Legal ID's and accurate information

[Barry Mishkind]

At 01:58 PM 8/31/2006, Douglas B. Pritchett wrote
>station identification, I offer that the system of identifying 
>stations these days in antiquated and wholly unnecessary. First of 
>all, city of license means nothing. Stations serve areas of 
>listeners. Because a station is licensed to Patterson NJ, does that 
>mean that people in NYC can't or shouldn't listen to it? I believe 
>stations should identify by their call letters/Abritron positioner 
>and the area they serve.

         This has been mentioned previously, and
         is not unthinkable - except to the people
         in DC. They hold that a station is licensed
         to a community and should serve it -
         primarly.  Much of this comes from the PROMISE
         made by the applicant (much like CC&Rs for
         a homeowners association). Some of it
         comes from the current political expediency
         of fining for budgetary reasons.

         However, the Rule says what it says in 73.1201
         The industry has been free, for years, to request
         a change. NO ONE DOES. They just ignore Rules
         they don't like.  That is not good for anyone.

>As to when they do? Once an hour. If they wanna bury it in stopset, 
>fine. The average listener does not care. And with all this new 
>digital technology we have, displaying the ID on an lcd screen along 
>with the song title, artist, weather forecast and disc jockey's 
>inseam measurements should be no trouble.

         Few RBDS screens show location. A listener who
         hears an EAS or other emergency announcement
         NEEDS to know WHERE the problem is, and how
         it relates to his position.

         During "normal" programming, true, the average
         listener doesn't care. In an emergency, it is
         rather important that the automation stop and
         accurate, complete information happen. Otherwise,
         why should people care about terrestrial radio?





_______________________________________________________________________
Barry Mishkind     -       Tucson, AZ    -   520-296-3797