radio

[redbird]

If I say I listen mostly to non-commercial radio, an NPR station, that sounds vaguely elitist.

It's not, in this case. Nostalgic, possibly. I'm listening to WFUV-FM (Fordham University, 90.7 FM out of the Bronx) for what I used to get on WNEW: a good mix of music, including things I know and like and things I've never heard before. They even gave a home to a lot of the DJs who made WNEW "where rock lives" when I was growing up: Dennis Elsas, Pete Fornatale, and the inimitable Vin Scelsa and "Idiot's Delight."

Comments

[liv]

OK, ignorant foreigner question: doesn't NPR stand for National Public Radio? And if it's public, why is it elitist to listen to it? Isn't it more elitist to listen to the sort of radio stations you have to pay a subscription for?

[sraun]

NPR has a reputation for being ... high-brow?

All the other radio stations in the US are advertising-supported. NPR stations are donation supported - here in Minnesota, listeners are the largest single money source for the local public radio system. MPR (Minnesota Public Radio) has a relationship with NPR (National Public Radio) about like the relationship between WGBH and National Public Television - MPR produces a lot of content that is then aired nationwide. Probably the most well-known is Prairie Home Companion.

Public Radio & TV have a reputation for being educational - which, in most people's minds, translates to 'boring'. Claiming that you listen to Public Radio, or watch Public TV, means that you have interests above and beyond bread-and-circuses, which means you must be elitist, and think you're better than they are.

Disclaimer: I'm a supporter of MPR - I think anyone holding the opinion that I think I'm better than they are just because I listen to Public Radio is crazy.

[liv]

Thank you very much for this. I had the idea that one has to pay for commercial stations because I (obviously) listen to them streaming online, and quite often that is a paid for service. You've made things very clear here.

Public Radio & TV have a reputation for being educational - which, in most people's minds, translates to 'boring'
Well, I found this comment of yours very educational, and not at all boring. If that makes me an elitist, I'm delighted with the epithet.

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

If I say I listen mostly to non-commercial radio, an NPR station, that sounds vaguely elitist.

Huh?

K. [also: to whom does it sound elitist, however vaguely?]

[bikergeek.livejournal.com]

wow, cool. I remember WNEW 20-25 years ago, when "classic rock" was known as "album oriented rock", and before AOR stations played the same two hundred or so tracks over and over again. I think it was WNEW where I first heard Elvis Costello, Ian Dury and the Blockheads, and a whole lot of other early, pre-MTV New Wave.

*sigh*

[allyson13.livejournal.com]

They even gave a home to a lot of the DJs who made WNEW "where rock lives" when I was growing up...

Uhm...something happen to WNEW? Aren't they playing AOR anymore?

[redbird]

The owners decided they could get better ratings with an all-talk format. They were wrong, but by then they had (deliberately and dramatically) destroyed the music library.

Mercy!

[allyson13.livejournal.com]

I honestly never thought that WNEW would ever go away.

But turning one of the premier AOR stations into all-talk?

Gads!