[BC] the end of radio ...

[wmroradio at bellsouth.net]

Richard,
   
This is the first "good thinking" post you have put up on this board. I own a small 1 KW AM daytimer, with just 3 watts at night. We had the worst year in revenue take in since me and my late Dad bought WMRO (was WWGM) in 1993. My Dad went home to be with the Lord on February 7th of 2007.

My Wife, My Mother, and I sold some excess land that we had that was a part of the station's property, due to a developer wanted it, and was willing to pay high dollars for it. I didn't want to do it, but I had to realize the value of the little station vs. the amount the property was worth, sitting there doing nothing.

It is a pure shame that the FCC, Congress, and even President Obama is not really paying attention to what is going on with radio. I realize the President, along with with President Bush, President Clinton, and President George Bush Sr. have had many other problems that have to be addressed, but I wish that they would have congress stay away from the corporate lobbyist and focus on the spectrum. 

AM would be valuable if the FCC would work with the groups like the NRSC and make AM sound good again, like it did 35 years ago. IBOC is not the answer. AM Stereo came along too late. Back in the early 1960's AM should have been allowed to broadcast in Stereo just like FM.

Richard, I'm an AM Guy, I love AM! Not just because I just own an AM Station and not an FM. I don't believe really an FM Translator would do me any good, but maybe at night during the High School Football Games in the Fall.

Let's just pray that it doesn't get any worse than it already is. From what little I've been reading from the FM engineers on this list, FM is going to be turned into a mess! They need to leave radio in Analog until we get a better digital system in here than IBOC. This is just my opinion.

Best Regards,
         Scott

Scott Bailey
WMRO Radio, Gallatin, TN
  
-------------- Original message ----------------------
From: RichardBJohnson at comcast.net
>
> 
Methinks there is entirely too much money including entire family fortunes tied 
up in radio broadcasting for anyone to abandon it in the near future. 
Eventually, the real estate value will exceed the value of the radio operation 
> and stations will go dark, but right now, I do not see that happening.
> 
There has been entirely too much lack of oversight by the FCC. Our spectrum 
space has not been well protected as it had been in the past. This is not just a 
problem within the broadcast frequencies, but everywhere. The use of 
spread-spectrum communications devices increases the "noise" floor all over the 
VHF and UHF spectrum space and the power distribution systems are no longer 
> corona free, generating additional noise pollution.
> 
There needs to be an increased awareness of these issues amongst broadcasters 
and everyone in the industry needs to remain vigilant. In spite of 
twenty-thousand-dollar fines, the FCC will always declare that they have 
> insufficient manpower to properly perform. The stakeholders need to give the FCC 
> and occasional nudge.
> 
> Cheers,
> Richard B. Johnson
> Book: http://www.AbominableFirebug.com/