Imagine this: people call in to a local radio station to offer things they want to sell to their neighbors. The Los Angeles Times sent a reporter to Findlay, OH to report on the ages-old small town radio institution often known as “Tradio.”
The piece by P.J. Huffstutter is styled as a report on the impact the recession is having in the heartland. The first caller mentioned is selling his air conditioner because “I need the money more than I need to stay cool.”
But on-air garage sales are nothing new and the LA Times piece acknowledges that such shows have been a staple of small market radio for decades. For many in radio who’ve moved on to larger markets or corporate jobs, it will bring back memories of how small market radio really connected with people in the community. You can read it here.
For many stations across the country, much like WFIN-AM Findlay, “Tradio” and other programming featuring extremely local information is still a part of every day’s broadcasting today. Obituaries, high school sports scores, water hydrant flushing announcements – all part of truly local radio.
We doubt that the LA Times really needed to go to Ohio to find a radio station so in touch with its community. No doubt there are stations in California doing “Tradio” or a similar program. It only seems unusual if you’re in La-La Land.
RBR/TVBR observation: It’s as old as the hills. Like many of our readers, we too hosted such a show way back when – and hated it. Of course, now we have fond memories of how much fun small market radio really was.
