Cal Radio News: Objectivity Is What The Readers Want (2-1-03)

Now I am not anti-Clear Channel or corporate radio, per se. I am against the use of the public airwaves for purposes of using tragedy for monetary gain, running 13 stations that all sound too much alike instead of programming truly diverse formats to bring in more listeners, and hiring voice-tracked jocks such as "B.C." or "Mojo" from out of town to pretend that they're broadcasting locally. The readers of this website know better than to be insulted with Clear Channel's stupidity and trickery; my readers are the smartest radio junkies.

America has fallen behind the other countries in terms of educating the masses and radio music programming, and Clear Channel is partly to blame for playing no-talent rap and pop from MTV strippers aimed at the tweens with half-witted lyrics full of sexual messages. Top 40 music, run by Clear Channel and others, as well as overpriced CDs with only one song people want to buy, have decimated the listener's interest in popular music and strengthened their interest in downloading MP3's from Kazaalite.com's browser for music better than what Clear Channel is programming over the airwaves. Clear Channel's radio spots want to dupe the listeners into believing that downloading MP3's are a criminal act; don't believe Clear Channel, readers. Do you see "stupid" written over your face in the mirror? NO! Download all the music you want, and since radio plays only what people buy in the record stores, instead of using their brains to play better music, if you like the music you downloaded, then seek out and buy the music yourself. If enough people buy the better music they've downloaded, radio will take notice and play them over their airwaves, over and over and over and over again like they do with that gay anthem by Christina Aguliera "Beautiful".

I get many letters, some unprintable with expletetive-filled thoughts on Clear Channel, in support from the readers for what I'm doing right. I'm not kissing anyone's ass at corporate-ruin radio in the San Diego Outland area, in fact, Clear Channel can kiss my ass anytime! I'm not being nicety nice like some other radio columnists over the 'net in order to get news scoops. I print news that's of interest to my readers, not news that radio wants the readers to be brainwashed with. Am I the last of the independent thinking radio columnists in the Outland area? I'm not as much of a hound as Matt Drudge, and I don't care about getting that dirty with radio news, but anyone is free to set up a competetive website about San Diego radio dirt that's even dirtier than what I can think of, and when you do, please let me link you up from here!

Now as for the issue about the 1996 Telecommunications Act that was passed to allow radio companies to own and run more radio stations, and I, believe it or not, was for it when it passed like many in congress, little did we know what would happen seven years down the road when radio would end up being controlled by some four big broadcasters taking about 60 percent of the total advertising revenue on the commercial radio station pie. What we also didn't expect to see happen is that Clear Channel would buy so many damn radio stations in the States so fast! Who knew that one company would grow up to 1,200 stations so fast! That's not the bad part. The bad part is when you own so many stations that you become the gatekeeper of exposing new music, with music that's better than what is being played being tossed into the garbage, music that gets played are paid for by indies representing the big five corrupt record labels with dinosaur-thinking ways of doing business, buying an entertainment venue, and raising the ticket prices.

If that's not abuse of corporate radio in America, then not giving the radio listener true diversity as promised in the 1996 Telecommunications Act is. In San Diego, Clear Channel runs rap on 90.3 and 93.3, R&B on 90.3, 92.5, 93.3, and 94.1, oldies on 92.5, 95.7, 101.5, and 94.1, a low-rated country format nobody listens to on 99.3, rock on 91.1, 93.3, 94.1, 95.7, 101.5, and 105.3, and music that's duplicated on two to three stations in town. Where's the diversity? Not even the Brady Bunch kids duplicated each other like these stations do! Meanwhile, profitable ideas that will get listeners, such as rap-free dance, comedy music, classical, and true children's radio remain unprogrammed in San Diego.

This is David Tanny telling it like it is: there is no such thing as radio diversity in San Diego. When one owner runs some dozen stations in town, and you can pick any two stations to play the same song on, then that's called redundancy, not diversity. You're not going to read about this dirt on Chris's or Randy's websites. The Union-Tribune definitely won't hire thinking radio analyists instead of that tub of goo Preston Turegano to give their readers a radio education. Has San Diego-based journalists gotten a bit too soft and fluffy so as to be afraid to not offend anyone by writing what broadcasters want the readers to read and believe about radio? That's propaganda as one letter writer wrote in another radio website. I don't think any of the other columnists are giving you, the radio listener and fan, the complete sides of both stories, or even all of one story for that matter. Most are not fair and balanced; they're lopsided towards the broadcasting bullies.

Don't blame congress for the 1996 Telecommunications Act. Legislation is needed to correct this oversight of media getting too big and controlling what the listeners hear on the radio, which has also led to the decline of CD Audio sales due to lack of quality new music getting radio airplay, thanks to Clear Channel's cookie-cutter idea of formatting music. Blame the broadcasters for abusing the public trust with tricks and games. They should be punished, fined, and have some of their licenses revoked and properties seized and donated to the general public!

The Public Is Smarter Than Any Radio Broadcaster! That's my statement radio should heed to!

B.C, the voice-traked jock on Rock 105.3, wrote in with praise about another radio column website, and says basically he "typically stay away from media watchdog style websites just because 90% of the people writing them have some kind of axe to grind about radio in general. So often it is all just sour grapes about the state of an indusrty, that the people writting about aren't even a part of. You guys just tell it like it is and let that be that. I really respect and appreciate that." That's what radio people want to read about. Is this what you, the radio listener, want to read? Some fluff jock from Clear Channel praising another radio news website because they're soft and hunky dory with the radio folks? Radio folkies at CC like to see the world with rose-colored glasses.

Should you, the reader, agree with B.C., an out-of-towner voice-tracked jock from a Clear Channel station, who writes that people showing a thought about the decline of the radio industry are just a grouch not worth reading about? Here's some news for Clear Channel: anyone who listens to radio is part of the radio industury, whether Clear Channel likes it or not. You, the radio listener (as well as yours truly) are THEIR employers who hold the cards with the corrupt Arbitron ratings system, which has unfortunately gotten the talented Jim McInnes fired from KGB due to poor ratings on his shift (their outdated programming is really to blame), which shows you that great radio talent is no guarantee for employment in radio.

What that idiot B.C. probably knows is that he's just saying deceiving thoughts like that to save his ass on the radio.

It's not sour grapes I write about; it's thought provoking facts to educate the listeners about what radio is really doing wrong, plain and simple. Clear Channel's radio folks likes to lie to people about radio, so readers, take their thoughts with a grain of salt, download all the MP3's you want, and program your own radio station on live365.com, and tell me about it so I can share it with the other readers.

This is David Tanny telling it like it really is about radio. No fist waving or anarchy; just straight talk.

San Diego Radio Wires 2-4-03!

An all-dance format with no hip-hop, rap, slow R&B, or fake dance remixes (grunge rock remixed as dance for example).

A 24 hour classical music station on a full-power San Diego-based transmitter.

A 24 hour comedy and novelty format. Canada has better diversity when it comes to comedy and dance than the U.S. does!

And finally, a 24 hour kid-oriented radio station that is not full of adult-aimed material such as no-talent strip acts on MTV and endless commercials for a Disney product.

Cal Radio News: The real site that tells it like it is; not the way some out of town radio folk want you to believe it's what the rest of us want. Got that, B.C., the voice-tracked jock from nowhere?