Beebo wrote:
Radio is in an interesting spot right now, both with the current economy and the plethora of other delivery medium/packaging.
It sure is, but it's not gonna die as quickly as newspapers will. At some point the FM dial will be nothing but computers spitting out songs, like the premise of a Granddaddy album. Of course the iPod, iPhone, Internetz and all the other new mediums will contribute to its death, but it will largely be the fault of media consolidation and Program Directors and Music Directors pandering to the lowest common denominator.
AM radio is mostly a land of computers at this point. Look at WLS-AM, at one time just about the most respected station in America. Now, you get very little local programming and mostly syndicated talk. You can hear Hannity and Mark Levin on a 5 hour delay, in this day and age when you can get breaking news and opinions every second, that wont last long. The huge contracts Rush and Hannity just signed, in a couple years will look like the money Stern got from Sirius, something that bankrupted the medium. In ten years, I doubt terrestrial radio will still be around.
But local radio will. You wont get it from what we now know as radio, but stations like WGN and WSCR will survive. That’s why signing Mac makes sense. He’ll take a pay cut, a big one. Radio will no longer give out seven-figure contracts, but they’ll still be able to make money, good money. That is, if the people at the top aren’t as greedy, that includes on-air talent.
SID, before you squirt your panties, let me say, I hated MJH, all of them. Jurko was the only tolerable one on the show, and I could handle him for about five minutes. But I liked the HFC when I was a kid and Mac is really honest and often compelling when he posts here. That’s why I’d like to hear him do a podcast, just Mac, no co-host. I wouldn’t expect him to continue it if the Score signed him, but I would download it.
I never would have thought of it until Adam Carolla started doing a podcast. Carolla was really enjoyable when I was growing up, on
The Man Show and
Loveline, but his radio show sucked. His co-hosts and his old PD Jack Silver ruined it. But his podcsts have been pretty damn good. It’s already the top podcast on iTunes, take a look at the list, it’s NPR and Bill Maher at the top, not Mancow or Bob and Tom. Carolla hasn’t put ads on the show yet, but he will, and probably on his website as well. People need to make a living. None of that bothers me if I can get some decent programming, which is tough to find on the FM or AM dial these days.