Thank you, Sir Z, for outlining an example of local radio news that
remains, despite consolidation of the airways. Here, 35 miles north of
Dallas-Fort Worth, all of the FM stations and nearly all of the AMs have become
D-FW rimshotters. The 250-watt station in Gainesville still does local news,
the 500-watter in Waxahachie ditto, but even the big boys that do news, KRLD
and WBAP only skim the surface. I hear no evidence that reporters from these
stations attend city council, county commissioners court or school board
meetings, unless they have advance notice (probably from Dallas Morning News or
Fort Worth Star-Telegram) that something controversial is due.
Back in 1963, when I was in the Fort Worth market, I covered city council
and county commissioners court meetings for KFJZ-1270, and the rival top 40
station, KXOL-1360, did likewise. At that time, Fort Worth and Dallas were
separate markets, and KLIF-1190 and KBOX-1480, the Top 40 competitors, also
covered local news as intensely as can be done with full five-minute newscasts.
KFJZ and KLIF shared material, as did KBOX and KXOL.
In 1966, when I was at KILT in Houston, we competed with KPRC-950,
KTRH-740, plus the music stations on 650, 790, 1230, and 1320 who all had
outside newsmen. Management prided itself on being first, fast and factual ...
and they really meant it 40 years ago.
Today, it's "We report, you decide" but all you have to base your decision
on is two sentences of information.
One of the unfortunate factors that hampers a good local news operation is
that the same deregulation trend that resulted in the growth of the big chain
radio owners has also found chain retailers squeezing out the local stores. We
all know this, but some of us may not realize that the significant advertising
decisions are made by the big ad agencies in New York, L.A., and other such
centers rather than by local owners or managers.
I should mention, about the 250-watter in Gainesville, that when Scott
Fybush was in the area a couple of years ago, recording local station
operations, all he heard on KGAF was automated, segued 50-year-old country
music, which is what they do most of the day.
I am carefully refraining from commenting on IBOC. It has already been
said, and even sung, and it seems almost futile to keep beating a stillborn
horse.
John Callarman, KA9SPA, Family Genealogist, Retired Newspaper Editor,
DX-oyente, Krum TX (AKA Qal R. Mann, Krumudgeon)
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