The Radio

Why you annoy me:

• Broadcast radio is a wasteland.  I cannot understand why anyone would listen to it. 

• Talk radio on broadcast radio is so bad.  The problem with it is that you have people discussing issues and politics who have no business discussing either.  We are talking about hosts who MIGHT have graduated from the Connecticut School of Broadcasting, but in most cases are happy to have a GED.  These DJ’s are not qualified to discuss politics or the issues of the day.  The extent of their depth of knowledge on any issue is the newspaper editorial they read that morning, and possibly Fox News.  Maybe some people enjoy listening to ignorant people talking about concepts they don’t understand.  Those people also probably like watching high school JV sports.

• Music radio is even worse.  The same 20 songs repeated endlessly with the same 10 commercials repeated endlessly in between.  For some reasons, girls love listening to music radio.  Most guys listen to CDs or something, but it’s mostly who girls love music radio.  I think it may have to do with not having specific enough musical tastes, or even not wanting to have to think about what to listen to.

• Sports radio is so repetitive that it makes music radio seem fresh and inventive.  All sports radio consists of are overweight, probably greasy, guys sitting around talking about how badly the coach of insert city name and sports team needs to be fired and how badly insert starting quarterback’s name needs to be benched.  If anyone can tolerate this endless chatter for more than an hour straight they should be checked for brainwave activity.

• Shock jocks.  Broadcast radio shock jokes are pathetic.  A group of people who make their living trying to be edgy, yet the FCC has so frightened their companies that if they say anything that would border on being offensive to an 87 year old woman, they get fired.  That results in some really non-funny radio, as you can imagine.

Possible mitigating factors:

• Satellite radio is the exact opposite.  You get political channels where the conversation is discussed among literate, well informed people.  You get music radio where they play whatever they want, and the channels are so specific that people with refined tastes can find something they like.  While they too have fat men discussing sports, they also actually have sporting events on the radio, which is something regular radio hasn’t done for decades.  And as far as shock jocks go, Howard Stern uncensored is the most entertaining thing in media.

Contact me.