>>A big problem for these stations is the way stations are counted for
ratings and for disbursing ad dollars. 
The ad agencies don't think of Salem as Salem, or McMinnville as
McMinnville, etc. 
They're considered part of the Portland ADI "Area Of Dominant
Influence," which is true in a way, but for ratings and ad buys, they're
lumped in with the Portland stations as if they're part of Portland. But
of course Portland residents don't listen to McMinnville stations as
much as they listen to Portland stations, so that methodology stacks the
deck against the little guys. 
They could have _never_ competed on that level, even in their heyday.
That change signed their death warrant, and it's amazing how long
they've been able to survive under the circumstances. It should have
never happened that way.<<

Rick,

Yes, I think that is what he was explaining back over 40 years ago. But
there were a lot less stations in those days and AM was still king, so
there was more ad money to go around even if the "metro" stations still
did not get high ratings. If you have a market of 30 stations in 1970
and today that market is 60 stations, there just isn't much left over
once you get near the bottom of the list. Plus the cost of running a
station today, like everything else, is higher. I think that is why so
many stations run satellite programming. At least the station can stay
on the air with only a few ads, as the overhead is much lower. But is
that radio? To me, working in broadcasting for a number of years, radio
is connecting to your community. Often a satellite driven station has
little or no connection with the community. If the person likes the
programming, fine, but that station could be any station out of hundreds
out there. Personality is what kept listeners. The contests, remotes,
local news, etc. The person felt that was "their" station. even if you
did not like the format, the station still served that community and
during an emergency it was there for that town. At the local coffee
shop, you would often run in to the local DJ, Salesman, PD, etc and talk
about local issues, as they were apart of the community. You had kids in
the same schools as the station employees. That is radio to me. I used
to love driving around on trips listening to all of the different
stations. Often I would stop in and say hi. Those were great days. 
KLYC will be missed.
73,
Patrick

Patrick Martin
Seaside OR
KGED QSL Manager


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