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| You have to maintain THIS Status Quo! |
David Bowie famously warbled once upon a time about changes. In it he says "I still don't know what I was waiting for . . . a million dead-end streets . . . every time I thought I'd got it made . . . It seemed the taste was not so sweet . . . so I turned myself to face me . . . but I've never caught a glimpse of how the others must see the faker . . . I'm much too fast to take that test . . . Don't want to be a richer man . . . just gonna have to be a different man" Very poetic and quite prophetic of the times we live in. Time they say is a great healer. But change is something that takes time to deal with. Radio is no different.
When we were on Valley Free Radio (www.valleyfreeradio.org) I for one was very pleased indeed. I had realized my dream, albeit in the not so spacious surroundings of the Florence Community Center on Pine Street in Florence. Nevertheless, I felt I had reached the promised land. For the two and a bit years that both Linda and I were actively involved in that station we were proponents of change. We had a vision for that station; sadly there were elements within that organization who were not quite so in tune with our way of thinking. We were too commercial, too business orientated for their way of thinking. It surprised us really as we were amongst people who purported to be strong advocates for change.
Eventually something had to give and we left. We enjoyed our time as radio presenters and if it never happens again nobody can say I never gave it a shot - I took my chance and made an impression on people's lives during the period of January 2007 to March 2009. We weren't the first people to leave a radio station, and we won't be the last. During our time in the Pioneer Valley we witnessed the sadness our good friend John Allen felt when he got his marching orders from WRNX.
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| John in his usual understated state of mind! |
John was a popular man on that station. . . having been fortunate to open for the legendary Big Bad Bollocks on St.Patrick's Day in 2007 with my oh so brief stab at stand-up (a rendition of my jingle and a George Bush gag - always bound to work in the Pioneer Valley!) I can tell you he's a popular fella!
Working in radio isn't quite as glamorous as it may seem, especially in Western Massachusetts. The pay isn't as lucrative as you may imagine. We remember one person who hosted a popular morning talk show on WHMP who also had a job working in a video store - remember those kids?! - so it isn't all glamorous BBC style salaries. I still haven't given up on the idea of being a writer or a radio presenter. . . one day my chance will come!
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| Dan and Kim - a married couple on the radio . . . where've I seen that before?! |
Only recently, we witnessed the surprising announcement that Dan and Kim had left Mix 93.1. A surprising move we thought, as they appeared to be extremely popular. However, in my opinion, giant organizations such as those who own the stations in that part of the world feel that "the bottom line" is the most important thing going . . . people and their feelings don't count quite as much. You can't have someone working for you (to quote WWLP 22 News!) whose popularity is gathering momentum at an alarming rate. The giant behemoth that is the corporation and the profit comes first.
I was thinking about this the other day whilst driving home from work this week. You know how it is when you're making the long drive home (23 miles in my case) and you start to contemplate the meaning of life when you've spent the day answering query after query, as my ears were peppered with questions based primarily on why the cost was so much? How does a company justify charging one price to one person and offering the same product to a new customer for considerably less? Companies that have been in existence for many many years tend to believe their own hype and the people who work there once indoctrinated spew it out ad nauseum. Nobody seems to question things over here like they did in Western Massachusetts . . . asking themselves is what I'm doing right? Doing a course on American politics at Greenfield Community College was the best thing I ever did. It opened my mind up to to the concept of questioning things, of NOT accepting the Status Quo. If the colonies hadn't done it, they'd still be part of Great Britain. If women hadn't done it, they'd still be dismissed in the patronizing way they were (it must be said there's still HUGE room for improvement on that issue)
It's OK to believe in a product, but is it OK to actively deliver it in a way that is casually dismissed as "the way the world is these day?" I found myself thinking about the good old days of Valley Free Radio and those people who seemed so far removed from me back in the day. They thought they were so removed from the "real world" . . . they liked the idea of being subversive . . . they wanted to change things and make the world a better place. If they could have been a pirate radio station I'm sure they could but they had to conform to the real world and the rules and regulations of the FCC. Why can't I?
The truth of the matter is if the Status Quo needs to be changed for your own self preservation, then it HAS to be done. It is vital for your own peace of mind to do things that you believe in. The people in the media in the USA who actively question things, who actively aspire to educate via the platform they choose, whether it be the press or the radio or TV, need to be applauded and encouraged. I admire Thom Hartmann, Ed Schultz, people who don't accept the Status Quo. One day I hope to be like them. Time is on my side . . . just like this band sang about back in the 1960's!
A bit political this blog but politics plays a big part in every body's life . . . even aspiring writers like me! I hope you like this blog, and please look out for football ramblings in www.motdusaway.blogspot.com and please read about our continuing adventures in www.lindaandeddiesexcellentadventure.blogspot.com
Until the next time, don't give up the dream . . . I won't.
