Michigan Radio & TV Buzzboard

...radio stations had someone on staff 24 hours a day? Always someone in the building? It seems to me "dead air" doesn't really matter anymore. WCSX has had a dead carrier for about 30 minutes now, and the RDS says "Hold the Line by Toto".

I guess it just amazes me how often I'll roll by a station and there will be nothing. Just silence. Check back a while later, still nothing. It used to be a big deal to hear a record or CD get stuck and skip for a second. Now, it's just "oh well, we're off the air. No one from the station is listening". The irony is, I don't frequently hear it on the smaller stations I sample. Always the ones from Detroit.

Oh well. No sweat off my back anymore.

Back on now.

The other day I heard one of the jocks, I forget which station, keep talking over the vocals. Isnt that a big no-no in the broadcasting world?

Remember when "classic rock" meant something? When it identified a particular era and time in rocks development? When stations like 94.7 didnt bombard us with 80s music that was influenced by, and a whole generation apart from, actual classic rock?
Im surprised they were playing Toto. I figured they scrubbed that stuff off their playlist for non-stop Bon Jovi (heave) or 3 Guns and Roses (gag) tracks per hour.

I understand formats evolve. And I do miss cuts from The Animals and early Who and early Alice Cooper group. But you nailed it when you said "bombardment". And it's not just CSX that's guilty of it. It seems any sort of classic rock/active rock/classic hits format (any kind of library format at all) seems to play those groups way too often. Between GNR, Motley Crue and Bon Jovi, I could cry. But I guess it had to happen. When 70s music was the focus, it was overplay of Seger and Hotel California and Carry On Wayward Son. Now that it's 80s centric, it's Girls, Girls, Girls and Wanted Dead or Alive non-stop. Gonna gloss over so much good stuff. But, that's the name of the game. But like I said, CSX ain't the only one. Just from my basement, I can hear one (if not all) of those groups on the following:

93.5
94.7
94.9
99.1
100.3
101.1
101.7
103.9
104.3
104.7
106.1
106.7

Mega Hertz wrote: ↑Sat Nov 02, 2019 8:54 pm ...radio stations had someone on staff 24 hours a day? Always someone in the building? It seems to me "dead air" doesn't really matter anymore. WCSX has had a dead carrier for about 30 minutes now, and the RDS says "Hold the Line by Toto".

I guess it just amazes me how often I'll roll by a station and there will be nothing. Just silence. Check back a while later, still nothing. It used to be a big deal to hear a record or CD get stuck and skip for a second. Now, it's just "oh well, we're off the air. No one from the station is listening". The irony is, I don't frequently hear it on the smaller stations I sample. Always the ones from Detroit.

Oh well. No sweat off my back anymore.

Back in the Greater Media days, CSX and WRIF actually had an overnight jock. You could even call in requests at times.

fuzzpower wrote: ↑Sun Nov 03, 2019 4:24 pm

Mega Hertz wrote: ↑Sat Nov 02, 2019 8:54 pm ...radio stations had someone on staff 24 hours a day? Always someone in the building? It seems to me "dead air" doesn't really matter anymore. WCSX has had a dead carrier for about 30 minutes now, and the RDS says "Hold the Line by Toto".

I guess it just amazes me how often I'll roll by a station and there will be nothing. Just silence. Check back a while later, still nothing. It used to be a big deal to hear a record or CD get stuck and skip for a second. Now, it's just "oh well, we're off the air. No one from the station is listening". The irony is, I don't frequently hear it on the smaller stations I sample. Always the ones from Detroit.

Oh well. No sweat off my back anymore.

Back in the Greater Media days, CSX and WRIF actually had an overnight jock. You could even call in requests at times.

Oh I know...I was there for a few years. Sometimes I WAS that overnight jock on CSX. When Brian Figula took over as PD on Magic, I was the overnight jock there, too, for a few months (to hone my craft...turn me from flat-out lousy into somewhat shitty lol). If, and I mean IF any of us had a dead carrier, I made "back up discs", in case AudioVault crashed, so we had SOMETHING on the air.

I was very proud to be a part of GMD in those days. Even during syndicated programming, someone was there running the board at least. My stupidity ruined my employment, though. I don't think CSX is "live and local" like they used to be, and I'm not really sure about WRIF anymore, either.

But man, I remember when dead air was a heart-stopper. Once I had forgotten to push a fader up for automation when I ran to the bathroom. As I was peeing, I heard the song fade out and my heart sank. I RAN back to the studio holding my pants up. Now? It's not unusual for a station to go 15, 30+ minutes with nothing. That's a shame.

I am frustrated that for a whole cluster (Toledo), they shut down at 7pm. No one answers the phone. Isn't that a rule, that at least you can call ONE person from 7pm to 5AM to tell them they have dead air on one of their six stations, or no RF on an FM, or that their building or transmitter is on fire? Just someone to answer the damn phone, yet alone a live body there that can fix it? So sad. I want my 1980 radio back, when AM stations had totally funny goofballs on the air from Midnight to 5am and you could call and talk to them. Radio actually was fun.

Mega Hertz wrote: ↑Sat Nov 02, 2019 8:54 pm...radio stations had someone on staff 24 hours a day?...

In the 1960s, WJR had at least two engineers on active duty, 24/7/365.

WJR had a total, full-time staff headcount of about 125 back then.

Rich (ex-WJR Engineering staffer)

1000 Watt WOHO had a staff of 41 in 1978, although they were integrating their FM 105.5 at that time too; it was about then they started backing off about a full time engineer for directional stations and DJ's with their 3rd class license were allowed to make the transmitter readings and 'tweak the dial' to keep the power under the limit on the typewritten chart!