Category: Commentaries
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The continued blurring of format lines
I’ve said for years that format lines continue to blur, and it seems that with each passing year, lines get even more blurry. Adult Contemporary used to be softer music, sometimes current, sometimes from a few years ago. Now, most AC stations consist of 80s and recurrents, overlapping Hot AC, Variety Hits, and Classic Hits,…
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Two Very Different Waves
Usually when I review two stations, I’m comparing them, as they have a similar format. This time however, the only thing in common is the station name and that they both have an imaging spot that is nothing but waves splashing. I discovered the station on Hawaii’s big island first, as their sister station, 102.7…
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Fresh Listen, KZFN/Moscow, ID
Last week, I wrote a rather pointed commentary about Inland Northwest Broadcasting’s KZFN, Z-Fun 106 Moscow, ID. This week, let’s take a fresh listen to the station. I first heard KZFN on an orchestra trip to the University of Idaho in 2009. At the time, I thought the CHR format had to be big and…
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How Not to Stream Your Station
As I write this, I’m listening to an aircheck of Inland Northwest Broadcasting’s KZFN, Z-Fun 106, from Moscow, ID. This aircheck exists because one of the people I serve on Washington Council of the Blind’s communications committee lives on the Washington side of that small market in Clarkston, some 30 miles away from the station,…
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What’s the strategy with Townsquare’s national streaming channels?
In last week’s commentary, I focused on the overall streaming experience of Townsquare’s stations on various platforms. This week, let’s drill down to specific national stations, and why their programming strategy doesn’t make sense either. Launched just before Christmas 2012, the only promotion these stations ever got was in the update description for Radio Pup.…
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Why Townsquare’s streaming strategy makes no sense
Everyone in radio is trying to figure out the streaming world, but one company’s strategy makes no sense to me, and that is Townsquare. Townsquare is one of the largest radio companies in the country, yet its streaming strategy feels to me like a company stuck in some earlier era of internet radio. Why do…
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Looking ahead to 2025
Last week, we looked back at 2024, this week we’re looking ahead at 2025. What might happen in 2025? The big theme of 2024 was cuts, but I don’t think we will see as many in 2025. In a story I saw a month or so ago about iHeart’s debt restructuring, a slight increase in…
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Looking back at 2024
It’s the time of year to look back on the year that was, so that’s what we’re doing this week, looking back at 2024. The single biggest story of the year was the bankruptcy of Audacy. With that complete, it means that all the major radio companies have gone bankrupt in the last 14 years,…
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My thoughts on Christmas programming in 2024
This was originally going to be a post comparing radio’s Christmas selection to that of other streaming and music options, but the one station I was going to use appears to be dead, despite still showing up on the Radio Pup app, so I don’t have a sample hour of that station. From what I…
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How my understanding of radio programming has shaped my concept automation
This is a commentary I have been meaning to write for quite a while, but I’ve been pretty busy the last month, so haven’t done it yet. Over the years, I’ve been playing with the concept of developing my own radio automation system. This concept has evolved over the years. How it has done so…