Victoria Radio died when the Kaufman family couldn't hold the "Texas Mix"  98.1 together after Steve's passing. I missed the local and regional flavor along the a great mix of tunes......The Last DJ indeed!

When I moved to Victoria 7 years ago, I was surprised to find the only AM "talk" station was a weak signaled computer run sattelite fed loser. In other small markets, at least one AM station still has a local morning show with some "home spun" talent doing personal pitches for advertisers. Did Victoria ever have a local personality driven AM station?

Oh well, WOAI, KTSA, and KLBJ can be picked up with a little static.....

i need my radio.  i put the baseball game on and turn the tv volume off. 

the same way when local hs football games are on the radio or podcast.

try it.

 

first, I must correct Amber: Russell is the DJ on 100.9, not 93.3. That's Trey Johnson.

Second, I do love me some radio, especially in the morning on my commute to work. ask any of my friends and they'll tell you they will get voice mail messages at all hours of the morning with some song i've heard on the radio that i have to share. I cannot imagine a world without a radio. My daughter and I sing along to nearly every song, but Billy is right: they DO play a lot of the same songs over and over, which can get annoying. [but at least they make it easier to learn the words to songs when you can't afford $185 for a CD] And nothing, and I mean NOTHING, drives me crazier than hearing the same stupid commercials over and over again.

We get it Port Lavaca Ford, you've got **** for sale. Now just some **** like the other dealers, but all your ****. OK, stupid help wanted.com, you want people to put their ads on your site and they can have unlimited words. No, what's that you say? a motorcycle dealership changed its name but still has low prices? Really? I'da never guessed.

At a result of the endless mind-numbing amount of the SAME STUPID COMMERCIALS, I often find myself popping in a CD or listening to radio online. AOL has a good service and of course, you can't beat XM or Sirius.

My point is this: radio has become less and less about the music and more about the money. In any given hour, you're bound to hear close to a 50/50 mix of music and commercials, when it used to be more of 90/10 split, with there being far more music than talking and commercials. So if radio dies, IMO, it will be because of that. Ironic isn't it? They need the advertising to make a profit, but the advertising is what causes them to lose listeners. No listeners, no one to hear the ads and buy the stuff for sale. No one to buy the stuff, companies can't afford to buy the ads and we all lose cause the radio stations will cease to exist.

One of my favorite Tom Petty songs is "The Last DJ." The chorus goes something like "here comes the last DJ, who plays what he wants to play, who says what he wants to say, here goes your freedom of choice, there goes the last human voice, there goes the last DJ" and one of the lyrics says [again I'm sure this isn't exact]: "they want to see how much you'll pay for what you used to get for free." I think that song says it all about the state of radio.

Aprill.......good topic. Like MMKO, I am pretty much an XM listener for the same reasons. I do not listen to talk radio, but I regularly listen to KPFT 90.1, in Houston, and have since 1970. It is an alternative, listener sponsored station, part of the Pacifica Network of stations that has been on air since the Vietnam War. It is also streamed live online at KPFT.org for those interested. While I grew up listening to first AM, then FM, I think those who can get satellite, get a far better selection of programming. AM in particular, is like the newspaper business. It will hang on and endure for a while, as there are listeners yet. It's downfall, if and when it happens, will be the same culprit as the one chipping away at the newspaper business - the internet and computer network technology. I hope it hangs on for my lifetime, since to this day, if I am not near a TV or at the ballpark, I will listen to my Astro's baseball on AM. To some that is like listening to golf on the radio, but I enjoy the game and the lost art of an announcer calling a live game on the radio and doing it in a way that can make you feel like you are sitting at the game.

I listen to satellite radio. Because their pool of listeners is larger, they can devote entire channels to particular genres. I like Left of Center which is College Rock, Alt Nation which is mostly Indie Acts, but I also love the Totally 70s station. There are no commercials since you subscribe to the service, and less of the chatter that I find so annoying.

I also like www.pandora.com where you can type in an artist you like, and it will find similar artists and create a "radio station" for you on your computer. I tend to find new music through an Indie on-line community or the I-like application you can get on most personal networking sites.

At least our "classic" rock station here has stopped playing "The Stroke" three times a day. Give it a rest. We get it. *cue Beevis and Butthead* 

I expected a bit more from this article, but I see now that it is a blog...a bit different.

Is radio dying? No. Free concert tickets, money, groceries, gas, etc., keeps me listening.

Aprill, I'm a bit older than you.... but not that much.

Anyway, I remember a song from the 70s that had the lyrics, "Video killed the radio star," or something to that effect. When music videos first came out (Oh man, remember George Michael with lonngg hair!) this song came along, and people did wonder if video would kill radio. It didn't, because I think it keeps evolving too.

Even if radio does survive in the form of polka shows (Halletsville, yea!) or talk radio, I think the LIVE aspect of it is very attractive. Also, when people are driving in the car, they do like to keep up with the latest news and information.

That's my opinione.

I grew up loving radio, taping songs and calling in for the contests. However, I never listen to the radio when I'm home now. Instead, I enjoy digital music through cable. I can find the specific type of music I want to listen to without any commercials or repetition. When I'm traveling, I listen to my iPod.

I listen to NPR for the news on my drive to work. I usually listen to Rush Limbaugh for a few minutes if I'm out over the lunch hour. On the drive home, I'll listen to pop music on the radio. My how times have changed.

I wonder what's happening to the audience of our local radio stations. Good story idea, Aprill.

Billy, I have to agree with you on all three points. I also hope A.M. will die first send Rush Limbfrat, Sean Hannity, and Joe Pags pink slips.

Going to have to disagree with you. I hate radio.  For me, nothing is more frustrating that driving around waiting to actually hear a decent song on the radio. Some of the main problems are (in no particular order):

1. Repetition: You hear the same songs over and over. This can make good songs bad and bad songs unbearable. Even the oldies and classic rock stations that in theory have tons of songs to choose from play the same songs over and over.

2. Lack of quality on-air talent: It's not just smaller markets like Victoria. Even in the bigger cities it's getting harder to find DJs that aren't completely annoying. (Seems like the most interesting ones are one in the middle of the night. That's just bad management)

3. Lack of quality music: I'm not trying to be a music snob or anything, but radio music is lame. Victoria has no underground/college stations of any genre that I know of. You occasionally get a gem on the regular stations, but they are few and far between.

I could go on, but there's no point. I'll eventually end up getting Sirius radio so I can have access to good music and quality on-air talent.

APRILL- I agree the radio should stay. Love the morning show with Joe and Ash. Love hearing about new songs. And it helps me sleep at night. Lol.

GREAT BLOG APRILL!!!

Keep The Radio Alive People!!!

Joe & Ash of 95.1 rock!  Russel of 93.3 also rocks!

Much Love & Respect, INTERN AMBER.