Johny D (yep, one N - what a rebel) exists just to outdo his previous outrageous behavior. He is much like his radio persona in real life.
I hired various KISS-FM jocks for live remotes in an old retail business I owned in the 1990s. Johny D went on air and announced: "So, all of you over in the 'hood by LaGrange, stop on over to XXXXXX and get today's special."
A bunch of people called up to complain. I asked him to apologize on air.
So at the next remote, Johny D says: "I am sorry for everyone I hurt on the last segment by referring to where you live as "'the 'hood.'"
"There," I thought, "that ought to calm everyone down."
But no. He continued: "So any of you white trash over by LaGrange listening, get on over to XXXXXX and get today's special!"
The volume of angry calls increased exponentially. My only solution was to get him talking about other things, because the guy was just having way too much fun pissing off my potential customers. While I found him funny in a sort of sophomoric way, what you hear on the radio is pretty much the real Johny D.
In short: Johny D is the ultimate shock jock. He is a symptom, not a cause, of the depths to which we have already sunk as a society. He wouldn't be able to convince anyone to act like morons at graduation if the value of graduating high school was meaningful. These days, they give everyone a diploma just for showing up for 4 years. The standardized tests (OGT, ACT, SAT) are what matter, and the BA or BS degree is yesterday's HS diploma.
posted by historymike at 12:02 P.M. EST on Tue Jun 07, 2005 #
I absolutely agree with you about the college bachelor degree being yesterday's high school diploma...high school has evolved into a daycare for 14-18 year olds.
Also, there is a lot of concern about satellite radio taking over terestrial radio. Johnny D is a good reason why this is happening. He is not funny, not entertaining, discusses nothing interesting and is aimed at the mentallity of a 12 year old. I am forced to listen to this garbage in my office because other people are listening to him. There are many Johnny D's out there in radio that provide nothing. I can't be the only one who feels this way.
posted by Kevin at 12:27 A.M. EST on Thu Jun 09, 2005 #
I agree. I cannot think of many DJs to whom I care to listen. There is a guy named Jim Horton who fills in for a bunch of Cumulus stations who is decent, and Kelly and Staples on 93.5 usually bring intelligence and decorum to their morning show; Jim Brady puts on a decent show in the afternoon (although his goofy refusal to play Cat Stevens because he converted to Islam is annoying).
OK, Mitch and Marybeth are harmless, but I never listen to them.
Talk radio is devolving the same way.
When the genre began to appear in the 1970s and 1980s, you could find a good variety of perspectives and reasoned discussion.
The new wave of talk personalities, who trace their lineage to Limbaugh, are for the most part shock jocks without music. They are abusive to callers, cut people off so they can dominate the conversation, present a completely biased (usually, though not exclusively, right wing) and mock that with which they disagree.
I remember some of the earlier syndicated talk radio gurus like Bruce Williams and Larry King. There was a level of civility with these hosts that you do not hear in the 21st century.
When I lived in Detroit, there were a ton of talk radio hosts who understood the value of intelligent debate. JP McCarthy and David Newman were class acts who treated their guests and callers with respect, while bringing the audience important issues.
WGOP (whoops, WSPD) hosts Frantz and Shaffer are of the slash-and-burn talk radio generation. They justify their crudeness with the disclaimer that "this is entertainment," like Limbaugh, but to many of their listeners talk radio provides most of the news they get.
I wish a Toledo station would front a host with brains, cordiality, and depth.
I am forced to go to NPR to get any intelligent talk radio without the shock factor.
posted by historymike at 10:23 A.M. EST on Thu Jun 09, 2005 #
"I wish a Toledo station would front a host with brains, cordiality, and depth."
Any idea what the startup costs would be for a local radio station that was limited to 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mon-Fri? Are the costs different for AM or FM?
posted by jr at 10:53 A.M. EST on Thu Jun 09, 2005 #
An interesting story about the iPod's influence on radio formatting.
"Alienating older listeners may seem like an unusual business plan in an era of slipping overall radio ratings and rapid growth in alternatives to AM and FM. Oldies fans can find their favorite songs on satellite radio, Internet broadcasts, and even audio channels offered by their cable TV systems."
"Several of the converted oldies stations have begun wooing younger audiences with a popular new radio format called "Jack." The stations, with names like 100.7 Jack FM, share the snarky slogan "playing what we want" and rely on unusually large playlists of songs from the past two or three decades."
"They compare their zany musical blends - bouncing from Abba to Mötley Crüe to Coldplay in a manner of minutes - to the randomness of the "shuffle" feature on the ubiquitous iPod music player; in some cases, the stations have dumped their disc jockeys, leaving nothing but promos and commercials between songs."
posted by jr at 11:14 A.M. EST on Thu Jun 09, 2005 #
Micro Radio or Low Power FM provide small overhead options.
"The LPFM station is designed to let individuals and small organizations own and operate radio stations for a wide variety of not-for-profit reasons. In this sense, the FCC is trying to bring station creation closer to normal people."
"An LPFM station is a 10-watt or 100-watt transmitter. This level of power gives the station a range of approximately 3.5 miles. A transmitter this size and its antenna might cost $2,000 to $5,000."
Probably a better idea is creating your own Internet radio station.
posted by jr at 11:45 P.M. EST on Thu Jun 09, 2005 #
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