Paul Jeffries wrote:

Stu Jeffries gives his take on the medium and its place in a universe with so many other choices.

Stu Jeffries - Facebook


PJ

 

Wow, he really took that much time on air for that commentary? It was wonderful. Bravo, Mr. Jeffries!

(Any relation to Paul "PJ" Jeffries?)

Stu Jeffries take on radio would carry more weight if we didn’t know that many dayparts in radio are voice tracked or come from out of market sources, especially in smaller markets. Also, we know the songs played on most commercial radio stations are researched, charted and rated before hitting the air and many fit into a tight 300 song rotation that guarantees repetition throughout the day. Radio is hardly the free-form “I play what I wanna” wonderland that he portrays.

As for podcasts, some are tightly produced, highly edited packages, while others are free-form and feature music and spoken word content that reflect the interests of the host(s)/producers. Many are updated two or three times a week and, in some cases, daily, often with far fewer commercials than radio. I like that I have the option to listen to both types and frequently do so.

I can understand Jeffries’ spirited defence of his medium of choice, but I don’t share his rosy view of what today’s reality for radio actually looks like.

BowmanvilleBob wrote:

Stu Jeffries take on radio would carry more weight if we didn’t know that many dayparts in radio are voice tracked or come from out of market sources, especially in smaller markets. Also, we know the songs played on most commercial radio stations are researched, charted and rated before hitting the air and many fit into a tight 300 song rotation that guarantees repetition throughout the day. Radio is hardly the free-form “I play what I wanna” wonderland that he portrays.

I can understand Jeffries’ spirited defence of his medium of choice, but I don’t share his rosy view of what today’s reality for radio actually looks like.

I was thinking the same thing myself. It's one thing when your own show is live and you have a certain amount of wiggle room for creativity, as some morning shows still do. But when much of the day is voicetracked by jocks who are usually doing quadruple duties in multiple markets (and likely getting paid for only one), and the playlists are heavily researched and curated, it is rather challenging to defend the whole notion that radio is still a spontaneous, free-form medium.

I suspect most of Stu's audience that aren't radio people themselves can't tell the difference between live or Memorex. To that, I give Boom top marks for at least sounding live and spontaneous even when they're not. And I do admire Stu's non-preachy affection for the medium, even if it does tend to hark back to the radio of yesteryear.


PJ