1 of 1- RadioActive
- Moderator
Offline 
Happy National Radio Day. But Is There Anything To Celebrate?
It's celebrated every August 20th in North America and I actually heard it referred to on CFRB's morning show Tuesday. The date was picked because it was the day that WWJ Detroit first went on air in 1920.
How ironic, then, that it occurs the same week we lost a 97-year-old radio station in Hamilton and there's been a flurry of stations being shut down across the country. You have a day to honour radio at a time when some of those who own many of the stations are doing their best to destroy it.
I'm not sure whether to celebrate the day - or mourn it!
National Radio Day - August 20th
- ED1
- Member
Offline
Re: Happy National Radio Day. But Is There Anything To Celebrate?
This is anecdotal, but I was recently in a lineup to get an autograph from a current NHL player. Behind me was an older gentleman (probably late 40s) and a younger gen-z aged person. They were talking about the hockey team and the older gentlemen mentioned that he listened to the games sometimes on Sportsnet radio.
The gen-z person then responded "I don't know what that is".
There was a pause, and the older gentleman tried to explain what Sportsnet radio, and radio in general was, and still the gen-z person responded "I don't know what all that is." He's never used radio in the traditional sense before.
I had to turn around and intervene and explain to him and show him the various radio apps out there that can stream these stations, and that all of them were free.
If there's a large set of the younger demos who don't know what radio is, this industry is indeed doomed.
Last edited by ED1 (August 20, 2024 11:11 am)
- MJ Vancouver
- Member
Offline
Re: Happy National Radio Day. But Is There Anything To Celebrate?
ED1 wrote:
This is anecdotal, but I was recently in a lineup to get an autograph from a current NHL player. Behind me was an older gentleman (probably late 40s) and a younger gen-z aged person. They were talking about the hockey team and the older gentlemen mentioned that he listened to the games sometimes on Sportsnet radio.
The gen-z person then responded "I don't know what that is".
There was a pause, and the older gentleman tried to explain what Sportsnet radio, and radio in general was, and still the gen-z person responded "I don't know what all that is." He's never used radio in the traditional sense before.
I had to turn around and intervene and explain to him and show him the various radio apps out there that can stream these stations, and that all of them were free.
If there's a large set of the younger demos who don't know what radio is, this industry is indeed doomed.
I spotted a news story on YouTube about the pending demise of WCBS 880, and the interviewer from Fox 5 in New York asked several young people (probably younger than 30) if they knew about WCBS and none of them knew of it or what it was.