[BC] fallout from cuts

[Broadcast List USER]

AH!  With this, I STRONGLY DISAGREE!

People will put up with real crap to get the compelling programming  
they want!

I recall the 70s when WGTB (FM) was the college radio station of  
Georgetown University in Washington, DC.  They had COMPELLING  
programming (for some).  They kept a file of "fan mail."  The  
engineering fan mail was most telling.  People sent in letters of  
climbing trees to install HUGE Yagi antennas to get the station.

In the studios was a map of the Washington / Baltimore / Maryland /  
Virginia / Delaware / West Virginia area.  They had thumb tacks in it  
from the locations of listeners.  Attached to many of them were  
(links to letters) from listeners as to how they were picking up the  
station.  People did some amazing(ly stupid) things to pick up the  
station.

Of course, this was even before Arpanet, so there were no other choices.

The station is long gone.  The Catholic Church didn't care for them  
advocating "choice."  It is now WCSP, C-SPAN radio.  It is still  
fairly compelling, but not so much so, and available from many other  
sources, including XM.

It's new transmitter location, and antenna pattern.... not so much.



People have gone way out of their way to receive compelling  
programming.  NO ONE has ever gone out of their way to listen to bad  
programming on a superior signal!

Let's think about that for a second.  Listen to a noisy signal with  
programming you REALLY want to hear, or listen to a very strong  
signal with (pick your poison) rap music or a soprano singing opera!

Earlier in my life, I listened to short-wave broadcasts from  
oppressed people.  I may have agreed or disagreed with those  
broadcasts, but they were different opinions.  Even the easy to  
receive Radio Moscow broadcasts were interesting.  Easy to receive  
local popular music?  Who cares?


While I really DO think the engineering is important -- we should  
provide the best possible signal -- the programming is MUCH more  
important.  If you have compelling programming, people will find the  
way to get it.


Providing poor engineering because it is easy, or inexpensive, is  
really bad.  BUT, as long as you can provide compelling programming,  
you will win.

Imagine an FM signal from a satellite in orbit above the US.  It  
provides 70 dBu over the entire US on an FM channel.  Yet, the  
programming is just awful, say smooth "jazz."  Would this work?

Take the same signal and put on compelling programming.  It might be  
talk, but it might be popular music with interviews with music groups  
and stars and contests to win both music, money, concerts, and  
contact with the stars.

What wins?


Pick at nits if you want, but the real issue is that programming  
trumps engineering.  Engineering is important, but even if you have  
the best signal in the market, if your programming sucks, so do your  
ratings.



On May 5, 2008, at 7:23 PM, broadcast-request at radiolists.net wrote:

> Message: 13
> Date: Mon, 05 May 2008 11:50:43 -0700
> From: "Kent Winrich" <kwinrich at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [BC] fallout from cuts
> To: "Broadcasters' Mailing List" <broadcast at radiolists.net>
> Message-ID: <7.0.1.0.2.20080505115026.044efec0 at oldradio.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed
>
> Chicken or egg Steve.
>
> Some people are in charge of the programming, others are in charge of
> keeping the product on the air.  BOTH are as important as the
> other.  NONE is more important.
>
> You can have the best programming in the world, but it dont mean a
> thing if you dont have a way to broadcast it.