Opaque Lucidity

Dead Air

Drudge has an early lead from the New York Times on Friday (no link yet) on a story claiming that radio listenership is down overall nationwide at all times except drive time. I've no doubt that the professional spinmeisters from the radio industry will explain it away somehow, but the plain fact is that terrestrial radio is dying a slow death.

Consider what is on the radio in most metro areas. There are various genres of music, but the variety in those genres is practically non-existent. The average Clear Channel music station has a 200 song playlist at any given time. That's not even a wading pool for people who are really into music.

Most areas have an NPR station, but they are partially funded by public dollars, so the economics of their operation is a little different. They are granted more latitude by the FCC than for-profit stations, which gives them something of an edge, albeit small.

Then there is talk radio. Conservative shows dominate the landscape, which is completely understandable. Air America Network, which was supposed to be the liberal answer to Limbaugh, Hannity, Hewitt, etc. has been skirting bankruptcy for two years. Why? Because, at some point, you must have something of substance to talk about. Continually making fun of people you hate is only entertaining for a few minutes.

But conservative radio is not without its problems. There are very few shows that are original. For example, Sean Hannity is essentially Rush Limbaugh's little brother in broadcasting. Limbaugh himself has become boring, pushing the same old bromides for the better part of twenty years.

So what is the answer for old-fashioned radio? Nothing; there is no answer. More and more people are turning to satellite radio, even though profitability is still somewhere off in the distance for both XM and Sirius. The 800lb. gorilla in the room, of course, is all the audio options on the internet. Podcasting alone is starting to make a dent in listenership; it makes me wonder what it will be like in 10 years.

Oh, and Air America folks? It looks like a bankruptcy announcement is coming next week. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!!!