The Telecommuncations Act of 1996 is what started the decline of independent radio stations
I wasn't aware of this, thanks! I was in radio in the early 2000s and witnessed rapid decline over just those few years.
*Summary from ChatGPT.
The Telecommunications Act of 1996 had several significant impacts on the telecommunications industry in the United States. Here are some of the key pros and cons associated with the legislation:
Pros:
Competition: The act aimed to promote competition by breaking down regulatory barriers between different types of communication services, such as local and long-distance telephone services, cable TV, and Internet services. This was expected to lead to increased choices for consumers and potentially lower prices.
Deregulation: The legislation aimed to reduce government regulation, allowing companies more flexibility in offering a range of services. This was intended to encourage innovation and investment in the industry.
Technological Advancement: By promoting competition and removing certain regulatory restrictions, the act aimed to encourage technological advancements in the telecommunications sector. It contributed to the growth of the internet and broadband services.
Cons:
Media Consolidation: The act's deregulatory approach led to increased consolidation within the media industry. This concentration of ownership raised concerns about the diversity of voices and perspectives in the media landscape.
Local Service Issues: While the act aimed to promote competition, some critics argue that it did not do enough to address issues related to local telephone services. In some areas, competition did not materialize as expected, leading to concerns about monopolistic practices.
Digital Divide: Despite advancements in technology, there were concerns about a "digital divide" where certain communities, especially in rural or low-income areas, lacked access to the benefits of new telecommunications services, such as broadband internet.
Loss of Localism: Critics argue that the act contributed to the loss of local control and localism in media, as national companies gained more influence over local media outlets.
Overall, the Telecommunications Act of 1996 had both positive and negative consequences, and its impact continues to be a subject of debate in discussions about the regulation of the telecommunications industry.
Ngl, I appreciated the post though. I've got some serious brain fog at the moment, and having the topic broken into a bulleted list really helped me understand the issue.
My bad dude, I will do that for now on, just wanted a quick and maybe a little dirty summary of the whole thing, and after reading it all myself I still wasn’t quite sure how to summarize the whole thing without bias on my part!
No worries I was not trying to hide it, just wanted the summary because I was curious about the whole thing.
I agree with the other guy, when I feel compelled to sate my curiosity this way, I will be sure to qualify it with a “from ChatGPT” response.
Here in Vancouver, Canada many years ago one of the morning show hosts dressed in a beaver suit with a big sign asking to buy heroin and went down to the east side and bought heroin live on air, then got handcuffed for buying drugs on air at 7 in the morning.
They went on a "totally planned vacation for a few days" after that incident.
No, there is not. There is some video of him in the costume but not doing the actual drug deal. There were two cops listening live and tracked him down pretty quickly. To this day he won't talk about it at all. While the other two hosts will kind of giggle about it. They won't outright talk about it, mostly it is mentioned about how much trouble they got in, along with how many other times they got suspended for a few days for doing other bits that went too far in their boss's eyes.
They did it as a comedy bit. It was funny, they did it also to show how ridiculously easy it was to buy drugs in the downtown Eastside when even a guy being so blatant and showy could get heroin in less than 10 mins.
"local" radio still exists, and in many ways it's better than ever because you can hear it from anywhere!
Go to any internet radio streaming service and search for "independent" or "university" and you'll get tons of super cool unusual commercial-free stations from around the world.
Here are some of my favorites:
Check out radio garden. Pretty much any radio station with web access on earth is available in one place.
The Current is Minnesota Public Radio's music station, and they are phenomenal. I have found so many great bands and artists listening to them.
edit: just today, they played Janelle Monae, IDLES, LCD Soundsystem, Bob Dylan, Daft Punk, Silversun Pickups, Yard Act, and Caroline Polachek.
With almost all media being on-demand now, this is something I miss from live entertainment being mainstream. All the fun, shared moments from everybody tuning in at the same time.
I guess you can still get that experience with sports (or maybe live-streaming?) but it doesn't feel the same.
Reminds me of Mori Calliopeʼs 2021-12-22 primal scream over Adam Sandler jokes. “That was a blood-curdling scream. 大丈夫？”
