Posted by Adam Sobolak on June 17, 2006 at 13:36:57:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: The Dumbing Down Of Radio posted by Mike Seaver on June 16, 2006 at 23:15:01:
"It isn't' as much "red state/blue state" as it is location. As I said, a 24-death format would never work in urbanity. But in areas where everyone knows practically everyone else and people share quite a bit of commonality, and that isn't necessarily religion, politics, or "redness", but the pace of life is slower, more laid back, and the pressing urban issues do not affect everyone quite as much it is not only practical, but prevalent."
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True...but it may not be an "MOR" issue, either. Depending on where you are and who's in charge, the tone might be more NPR than MOR. But where it *is* MOR, you're basically dealing with today's equivalent of, say, the Lawrence Welk constituency a generation or two ago. Maybe a little more megachurch-robust and with a "Thomas Kinkade" gloss to boot...that is, more of a lifestyle choice than a lifestyle remnant...but depressingly entropic to the overstimulated urbanite, all the same.
Perhaps that's the fate/key-to-survival of such "MOR full-service" radio; as a deliberate "traditional values" touchstone--especially in our wired age where it's become easier and easier to *not* escape contemporary/urbanizing influences, regardless of location, esp. when you're under a certain age. (But it's certainly full circle from an era when, thanks to Top 40 et al, the concept of "radio" signified something electrifyingly contemporary and full of youthful profane energy...)