(By Larry Stone) I wonder: Where has the great need to change radio ownership rules been hiding? Seems like in our society when a rush to make something happen, happens, it’s because someone sees a chance at a fast buck.
Here’s an idea for the FCC. Simply say, we understand the landscape has changed. The multitude of voices needed in a community looks different in 2020 than in 1920. We are open to any possible ownership scenario you can put forth. However, every such idea will be evaluated on its benefits to the local community served – and the role of radio as a local medium designed to serve the local public interest. It’s no different than the Department of Justice looking at mergers to see if they could hurt the consumer. This would be the same kind of test.
If you are a radio owner in Anytown, TN, with a PROVEN record of serving the public, with a commitment to local programming, be it news, sports, community affairs, or local talent doing music, and you want to buy your rivals across the street, the FCC will consider it. Show your track record of serving local needs.
If, instead, you are a radio owner in Bigtown, TN, with 45 signals, five announcers, and a music box approach, existing ownership limits would rule the day. You have not shown a track record of providing a true local service.
Determining local service to the community would be an easy process and will not be based on one fundraiser for St. Judes annually. The FCC should ask for a consistent 24-7-365 pattern of local service. Everyone can name the radio stations that serve local needs, and maybe more easily, the ones that don’t. And it’s your choice NOT to do so. But why should anyone associated with radio’s future allow you to buy more stations and turn them into jukeboxes of music or syndicated programming with no focus on local communities.
You have the stations and you have to get all the revenue you can and cut expenses as deep as you want. That IS your right.
The FCC and each one of us in this business right now need to see that radio’s path in its next 100 years lies in its unique ability to provide local content at a reasonable cost. Anything that does not reflect a focus on local content and service is BAD for our entire business.
There are 10 appliances in your home (AT LEAST) that deliver music better than radio. LOCAL must be radio’s path going forward.
Larry Stone is the Owner of StoneCom Radio in Cookeville, TN and can be reached at [email protected].
