Stop all "local news" on public radio stations. Why do I argue this? Because today on KBYU-FM, owned and operated by Brigham Young University, the local news announcer presented listeners of classical music with a non-story on some lady who finally trimmed her finger nails after 30 years, the nails being some 24 inches in length. Talk about filler! Is there any better example of sordid non-news "local news" on public radio stations?
I blame station management of KBYU for allowing this inappropriate story to be presented. Where is station manager Walter Rudolph? Perhaps he is still on his trip to Bayreuth Germany to attend the pricey Wagnerian Festival, funded, of course, by listener donations and pledges.
Really, there appears no active management of the news or any other feature at KBYU. Rudolph seems to have abdicated, leaving the station pretty much on its own during the periods from fund drive to fund drive.
But I argue that this problem of poor local news management is endemic to all the other public radio stations. Announcers make their own news, sometimes germane but at other times low class and crude, as in KBYU's story about fingernails. Instead of such dumbed-down stuff, we listeners would be far better off with BBC Radio News twice each hour. "Local news" just gives announcers the chance to butt in, but their product too often is below standard.
Thursday, September 03, 2009
NO MORE "LOCAL NEWS" ON PUBLIC RADIO STATIONS
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The only problem with this, Roberto, is that local news is often germaine to the people who live there. The airwaves are supposed to be public and almost all local AM and FM stations are now corporately owned by companies way far away from the place they are at, and though I agree this story about fingernails is stupid, local stations that still report about local things are still retaining the "publically owned" aspect of the airwaves. However silly that story is, it's good to know there's actually someone AT the station. In case there are such things as earthquakes, wildfires, or hurricanes, or other disasters. There are far too many stories of emergency workers trying to let a local station know that there is a dangerous chlorine gas release or some such public hazard who have shown up at the radio station and found no one there to break in with important, relevant news. In fact, those emergency workers have often found a locked studio, that has no one in it, and is automatically sending the news from CBS, FOX, CNN but nothing local. No local traffic news either. So I think that we need to keep the local stations with their local news going, no matter how stupid their stories might be when they are essentially, bored.
ReplyDeleteOn a happier note, that the announcer spent his time talking about fingernails being that long must mean that life was pretty mellow that day, right?
So though I understand your frustration Roberto, I think that putting on BBC news on would lead too easily for even a public radio station to automate their broadcast so that they could curb costs, and then the station would not be serving the needs of the community.
Granted I don't know all the ins and outs of the radio world, but I do know this is a very valid comment from the AM world of liberal radio hosts, such as Randi Rhodes.
Regards,
Joy Williams