Being 64 now, I guess I am old fashioned. I have never been a person who takes change easily. I loved radio when I worked in it. I never made a lot of money, but I was into it for the enjoyment. I figured I was doing something to help people. Either announcing on the air of a bake sale or the lost dog, taking requests, or covering that boring city council meeting that no one cared about, but we were still seaving our community. Radio was "people" . People doing things for other people. Being in a town like Astoria or Dallas OR, or any small town, you knew the advertisers, the listeners, and so on. All three AMers in Clatsop Country has three owners. They all had their style. KSWB Seaside, had their studios on the highway, with the nice sign out front where you could stop off, have a cup of coffee and visit with Ken, or BG, or Bob. They had their outer office, station meetings, parties, and so on. The station had real D.J.s, the guy down the street. You knew him, their kids, as your kids went to school with their kids. The station was Top 40 Rock. Now KSWB is in a hole in the wall upstairs on Broadway. Out of site, a couple DJs. Sure the owner is still local, but he has had a time keeping the station on the air now with a jillion other competing radio stations. The format is Oldies now. Not the same as when real radio was here, but at least they are local and do their own format. Astoria where I worked, both AMs are co owned, where KVAS had a separate owner and was live a lot of the time. They did run some automation, but again, a small station downtown where a person could come in a see the DJ, shoot the breeze, have a cup of coffee. KVAS was C&W, which they still are, but all satellite now. Over across town was KAST, another small pop music station, had a separate local owner like KVAS. Today, KAST is satellite talk. I knew all of the owners. Sure they competed for the ad money, but that was radio to me. KAST was always the number one station. They were the oldest going back to 1925. They were the EAS station They had a generator, if the power was off. A few years ago, they moved their studios to Warrenton. Now if the Warrenton power is off, they are off too. They are not the emergency station any longer. They lost that to a local listener supported FM. It is sad what has happened to so much of the industry. Also gone are the days when that local high school kid could find a part time job at the local station. That rarely happens any longer. They don't have the staff any longer. Sure, there are still a few of the old fashioned stations around. In DXing I catch one once in a while that really sounds local. They are really a part of the community. My old boss Chuck Farmer woul be rolling over in his grave if he knew what has happened to the industry. But things change. Like it or not, we are stuck with the statis quo. What happens down the road, is anyones guess. But radio that many or us grew up with and worked in is becoming a thing of the past. On a DXing point, gone are the large staffs with a fulltime CE, so getting a QSL out of many stations is hard to do. Locally, all 3 AM stations in Clatsop County were good verifiers. KSWB had a letter, KVAS, the same and early on KAST had a QSL card, and later a letter. Today, it is near to impossible to get a QSL out of KSWB. I had to go there and have them sign a ppc for a Finnish DXer sometime back. KAST/KVAS co owned only answers via e mail. But I will say, when we have had conventions here, all three stations have been very nice and we have had tours. I do appreciate that. It helps to know the people too. I don't blame the people in radio. They are trying to make a living just like the rest of us. However, I do blame the FCC for allowing so many stations on the air, that they all have a tough time making ends meet. There are just too many stations for the ad money. But I am glad I worked and DXed in the better days in broadcasting. I smile looking through the wonderful QSL memories.
73, Patrick Patrick Martin Seaside OR KGED QSL Manager _______________________________________________ IRCA mailing list IRCA@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: irca@hard-core-dx.com
