Radio stations were once a bustling industry in America. They were the way people found out important news, kept current on world events, found out about weather related closings, school cancellations, listened to the big game, danced the cha-cha, heard scary stories, and so many other things we now have other mediums for.

Radio operates on public bandwidth through the support of advertising dollars, local monies, and private investment. More and more radio stations are being bought up and bundled together by private monopolies that have no real interest in their ‘local audience’ because, sadly so often, the songs they hear are digitally pre programmed, the voices they hear are recorded, leaving no real human being behind the microphone to hear what they want. To add insult to an already injurious situation, nationally syndicated voices are taking the local airwaves; driving audiences further and further away from the original point of radio; a local voice, with local interest, speaking for the local good.

Today radio is a dying medium. With the introduction of satellite radio, television stations that play any combination of songs (Hot AC Top 40, 70’s Hits, Big Band, Jazz, Rap (uncensored) Folk, Rap (censored) Heavy Metal, Arena Rock, et al), Satellite radio which comes commercial fee, and a listening public that’s become ever more insulated with the introduction of the iPod and the ability to listen to what or who you want whenever, whether it’s been downloaded to your mobile or directly to your desktop, I wonder even why advertisers continue to pump money into something so few listen to anymore.

It really is mind altering to think of all the choices we have today. But be warned, even though you’re hearing the announcers voice who you’ve called before and spoken maybe even live on the air with to request a song or something else, there’s a better than average chance he’s not even in the studio anymore. What happened is when radio went digital, all the jockeys were paid less and less until they either moved on to bigger markets or quit the business altogether and the ones that stayed were still paid not that much but were required to be there less and less.

The thrill of radio is being able to speak into a microphone live and say just about anything you want; it’s only a matter of time before live radio stations succumb to the move of the public and the last major airwave goes dead.

Something touched me deep inside, the day the music died.