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It's a shame what's happened to radio

blog.jimgrey.net

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Re: It's a shame what's happened to radio

#111

Post by kevin_thibedeau »

charcircuit wrote: post #83
parpfish wrote: post #2

There’s a human connection element to old radio that streaming will never replicate. And I worry that it’s gone from modern automated radio too. It used to be if you were driving down the road and heard a song you liked Hearing a song you liked on the radio hit harder then playing it yourself because you knew that there was another human nearby at that moment in time that had picked it out and played it. You were phy…

This still exists today. When a new song gets released on YouTube for example a group of people close to it in latent space gets it recommended. By seeing a recommendation of a song in your feed you are part of a cohort of people with similar tastes.

That is the core issue. Only a preselected cohort are exposed to new media. That limits common experiences to digital islands rather than shared among the masses.

Re: It's a shame what's happened to radio

#112

Post by spaghettifythis »

Here in NZ we have a wonderful publicly-funded ad-free radio station RNZ! (Radio New Zealand.)

The main channel "RNZ National" is a mix of news bulletins [1], panels featuring interesting people [2], and episodes of the numerous high-quality podcasts they produce [3].

The really channel one is "RNZ Concert" through - it's just msuic. They have a best-in-class audio team who record concerts (e.g. choirs, orchestra, or anything else) as well as getting famous artists in to their studio to record their own music or a cover. Played for free all the time with no ads! It was super exciting as a kid in a community choir when we got the chance to be recorded by RNZ, and then find out roughly when it would be on so we sat by the radio in anticipation all day waiting for it to play. It also made getting to the finals of choir nationals [4] extra exciting knowing your performance there would be played nationwide.

[1]: Interestingly, despite us having reasonably good private competition for news here, the government-funded news source was recently votes the most trusted in the country - I reckon it's because they aren't beholden to advertisers: https://newsroom.co.nz/2026/04/17/rising-trust-should-keep-p... [2]: Regularly including top politicians like the prime minister and the leader of the opposition, top academics, CEOs, investors, and the like [3]: https://www.rnz.co.nz/podcasts [4]: Yes competitive classical choir is a thing here, and it's treated just as seriously as rugby or any other code. You might travel will your high school choir all the way across the country to perform at Finale. https://nzcf.org.nz/events/nzcf-events/big-sing

Re: It's a shame what's happened to radio

#115

Post by GJim »

stackghost wrote: post #3

>I signed off the air for the last time in 1994 [...] radio has changed drastically, and it just wouldn’t be any fun for me today. I don't agree with this premise. FM Radio is definitely more corporate today, but I grew up in the 90s and my memories of FM radio are not fond. For my whole life it has always been materially the same, shitty, experience: occasional good songs interleaved with mediocre ones and a hefty d…

> FM Radio is definitely more corporate today,

Opposite here in Blighty.

There has been an explosion in the number of local community FM stations, frequently playing music from local bands and chat with local figures. Factor in the national BBC radio stations (who's charter is to “inform, educate, and entertain”, not to retain attention) and we are onto a winner.

Yes there are still some 'corporate' commercial stations, but we also have plenty of quality to choose from.

Re: It's a shame what's happened to radio

#117

Post by gabriel666smith »

adammarples wrote: post #109
gabriel666smith wrote: post #75

It is a shame. I think it’s especially a shame for children and young people. A counter to radio remaining relevant is “I can listen to whatever I want, via this digital technology”. Fine - but young people don’t yet have a complete mental map of what culture they enjoy. In the UK, funding for libraries and the arts (public radio, the BBC) has been increasingly cut in the name of austerity. I think that’s true in the…

The BBC hasn't been cut in the name of austerity. It isn't funded by general taxation it's funded by the licence fee, which has only risen, however not in line with inflation. This is basically because nobody wants to pay it, and indeed a huge number of people have stopped paying it.

You're mostly correct - I was absolutely generalising, using internationally known examples (like the BBC), to be more comprehensible to the international audience here about cuts to public arts spending.

The BBC was a silly example of me to use (as was 'public radio'!) because you're right - it's mostly not funded by general taxation.

That said, the license fee is directly tied to inflation (via the CPI). Whether you see that as a correct measurement is another question. [1]

The BBC has also historically been funded partially by taxation. For example, taxation provided free television licenses to over-75s, until 2020, when that funding was cut, and the cost of doing this was passed to the BBC itself.[2]

But yes - quibbles aside, a sloppy example for me to have used there. Your sibling comment has some great sources which better illustrate changes to arts funding, compared to the off-handed ones I initially provided.

[1] https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/faqs/FAQ23

[2] https://www.ageuk.org.uk/northumberland/about-us/volunteer-f...

Re: It's a shame what's happened to radio

#119

Post by Loughla »

petepete wrote: post #89

I'm so thankful for the BBC. I listen to Radio 4 through the day when I'm working on things that don't need my full concentration. It's the alarm that wakes me at 0630 and I often listen to the news before bed. Adverts drive me insane. It's a national treasure and I'd pay the licence fee again just for R4 + Sounds.

I listen to podcasts all day while working and I am JEALOUS of your access to radio 4 and sounds. There is so much just insanely killer content coming out of the BBC in those avenues.

Re: It's a shame what's happened to radio

#120

Post by inigyou »

lostlogin wrote: post #69
antisthenes wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If I turn up my volume loud enough, then the car next to me is going to be listening to the same song I am :)

If you really want a reaction here, announce that you use your phone speaker or a Bluetooth one out in public.

Sometimes, but not too often, in Berlin of all places you encounter someone biking around with a massive speaker attached to their bike blaring (obviously) techno

Not always a bike. Sometimes just a trolley or a handcart or a custom jerry-rigged contraption.

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