Not Just A Radio Station

Everyone who drives and uses the music transmitter inserted into the dash knows that the simple act of driving down the road will necessitate changing the station from time to time. According to where the person happens to be driving at the time, the type of music available may or may not be to the taste of said driver.

If the person grows up listening to radio, a sense of propriety takes over when discussing hometown stations. Many of the radio stations do more than play songs. News, weather, and local advertising take up part of that air time.

Regions of the country take their radio seriously. West Coast vs. East Coast. North vs. South. There is a difference in stations and listeners.

Something that many who’ve never toured around the Deep South don’t experience is the difference in approach to living. Radio stations come into this category. Having grown up part of the time in the south, I learned that people there listen to the radio as much or more than to the television. At least the older generations do.

I grew up with radio and still prefer it most of the time. Southern radio differs from that of the North. Talk radio isn’t unusual in the South. On the contrary, it’s expected.

The small town South relies on that link for reports of local doings. They reveal who’s going on a cruise, who has out-of-state company coming, and whose kids were doing what at school. They keep up on local sports, obits, awards, community affairs, you name it.

I listen to radio in the North and can barely find a hint of weather reports, much less news. Talk radio in the North relates to state or national politics, religion, or news about things that affect large numbers of people across the country. In the North a person hears little other than an occasional ad for a local business or a station give away contest. There’s no local flavor, no real local information.

As you can see, the interests of the radio station tend to run along different lines than those of the Southern stations.

I’ll be honest and say that modern hip-hop and rap isn’t my preference. What other people listen to is certainly up to them. I don’t particularly care about local sports, either. The point is that when local information is presented on the radio, I learn far more about an area, town, or region than by the music played. That’s what happens when an astute listener hears a Southern station.

The Coasts are too busy trying to be cool to give any real information. At least, that’s how it seems to this casual listener. They work very much like the North with regards to the music played and the promotions used.

In contrast, I can listen to a station in any small town in the South and discover all sorts of info. I can learn how many people will be buried and when and who the family members are along with where they live. I hear about the latest developments at the local area schools and who has been honored for what. I also learn about discover the major economic news that concerns the county and surrounding counties and why those concerns exist.

That’s a lot of information on the airwaves and all for free. I feel like one of the locals listening to the radio. I’ve been made a member of the community by listening. That’s something special.

Elsewhere in the country listening to the radio means nothing more than listening to sound. There is no real community as there is in the South. That’s the major difference.

I like the radio and what it adds to a community. It’s one of the last few forms of free of communications media. In a time when nearly every form of media costs the recipient, having radio available is a pleasure. Having so much information available for the cost is unbelievable.

Tell me—do you listen to the radio? And if you do, what do you get from it? Do you learn about your area because of it? Does it help define you and your loife experience?

Give me your comments and tell me about your experience with radio. Let me know if you enjoy listening to radio and what type of station you listen to.

Until then, a bientot,

Claudsy