Military radio could air less talk soon
Military radio stations around the globe soon could be playing more hip-hop, more pop hits, less country music and no sports or political chat shows, reported Stars and Stripes. Lund Media Research, reviewing American Forces Radio has recommended those changes as a way to boost ratings. Warren Lee, operations and plans officer for American Forces Radio and Television Services, said officials will meet this Thursday to discuss the future of military radio, based on the review's findings. To compile its recommendations, Lund surveyed 1,125 AFR listeners between January and April of this year, and conducted 10 focus groups in Europe over the same time period.
The biggest change proposed in the review would be centralizing most programming decisions in the United States, and creating a pair of music stations for broadcast worldwide. The first station would feature hip-hop, rap, pop music and other similar formats. A second station would have classic rock, alternative bands and a mix of other Top 40 songs.
Talk radio programs such as Rush Limbaugh and those from NPR, as well as country music, would be relegated to a third station, broadcast only in a few select areas with three military radio frequencies.
The Lund recommendations also include dumping play-by-play of sports events, noting fewer than 15 percent of those surveyed said they had listened to baseball, basketball or hockey games on the radio in the preceding six months.
Instead, those games will be offered through the cable channels only--AFRTS offers a dozen radio formats via its cable and satellite television system, accessible only with the decoder boxes.
The report also recommends removing the Tom Joyner show from the menu as well, despite its popularity among minority troops.
Several white respondents complained about the show, and Lund officials deemed it too controversial for AFR's attempts to broaden its listening audience.
Country music, while popular with some troops, is also despised by others, making it difficult to mesh with other musical formats.
Currently, the Armed Forces operate radio stations in 18 countries, each one receiving content from AFRTS HQ. Decisions on what programs to air, when to air them and who should act as a DJ between songs are made at the local level.
"Traditionally, in areas where we've had two over-the-air stations, one has been different blocks of music and one has been news talk," Lee said. "But this study is saying that might not necessarily be the way to get the best audience."
Local DJs would be replaced by prepackaged American hosts such as Ryan Seacrest, except for occasional regional call-in shows. Local news reports would still be produced and inserted into each hour, said the story.
RBR observation:
We're not sure why they're so concerned about ratings and audience numbers here. Yes, advertisers understand our armed forces are a component of the listening audience. But for many out there, radio-Talk radio especially-is a lifeline to home. For goodness sake, if our troops like listening to Tom Joyner while they're out there in Iraq, AFR should continue to let them do so. Adding more music is fine, but limiting/reducing existing programming is maybe not the best route. More choices in general would be better.
Good Morning - Gain a personal edge on today's business day. Are you reading this from a forwarded email?
