We’ve been posting periodic updates about the disturbing decisions being made about KCSN in Northridge, CA (the L.A. area). We just received this bit of historical perspective from Helen Peppard, of CreativePR.
Making the case for HD Radio with fresh programming
I’ve told you about the changes coming up at WGCU in Fort Myers, Fla., where classical music will soon be moved to a channel available only on digital radios. WGCU’s classical channel will air Classical 24, the nationally distributed satellite feed produced by American Public Media. Other public stations have taken similar approaches, filling their digital channels with Classical 24, Classical Public Radio Network (when it was still on the air), or other 24/7 formats such as rock or electronica.
Over at the Edison Media Research blog, Tom Webster suggests that radio programmers should give their HD streams a little more thought, especially if they hope to give consumers any real incentive to buy new HD Radios. His focus is on commercial radio, but the advice applies to public stations as well.
Some Innovative (And Painless) Programming
When stations play those CDs, and you hear the announcers chat about the music — blah, blah, blah — don’t you wish you could hear what the actual artists have to say about it? So many stations try to make celebrities out of their announcers, but the real celebrities are the people who make the music! It’s all about them. Really. That’s why I’m so fascinated by this fairly new production group called Virtuoso Voices. It’s not at all the old interview concept, where the announcer is still in the way. This … Continue Reading
Florida station moves classical to HD
We’ve been ruminating and prognosticating lately about the Future of Classical Radio, but it’s equally important to follow present-day developments in good old terrestrial radio — for many still the primary source for classical.
So I took notice when not one but two public radio stations announced in the past few weeks that they’re moving away from the dual news/classical format and giving more daytime hours to news and talk. They join several other stations that have made similar changes since we launched this blog in March. As I’ve written before, 200-plus public stations in the U.S. air both news and classical. But the format is saddled with some inherent drawbacks, the main one being that few listeners enjoy both kinds of programming.
One of the stations to dump the dual format is going whole-hog — not just taking classical out of middays, but taking it off its primary signal entirely.