READER COMMENTS

COMMENT ONE: NEW TEAC CASSETTE DECK DISAPPOINTS BUYER

On Monday 2/26 we reported [link] on Teac’s new cassette deck, the AD-850.  Paul Conley, Managing Editor, Music and Arts at Capital Public Radio, Sacramento, bought an AD-850 and isn’t happy with it: 

Paul Conley

“Hi Ken. I bought this unit and was very disappointed to discover that the USB records at 128 kbps stereo. 

[This is] very harsh compression that degrades the audio a great deal. 

I don’t know why TEAC didn’t use at least a 256 sample rate, especially on such a pricey unit. I wrote them requesting a firmware upgrade [but] I haven’t heard back from them.”

KEN SAYS: Thank you for telling us about your experience with the Teac AD-850. Given your experience, we have deleted our verbiage about “rave reviews” for the desk. These reviews came from vendors selling the Teac deck. Also, we have added Paul Conley’s review to the original post.

COMMENT TWO: WHY PROMOTE THE COMPETITION?

Our report on Tuesday 2/20 [link] about APM’s plan to distribute a half-hour version of the New York Times podcast The Daily brought this response from an anonymous reader:

You forgot to ask “What is in it for Public Radio Stations?” The answer: nothing. 

This is giving airtime (and indirectly, revenue) to a direct competitor. It is a terrible idea. 

And it is being pushed by Kinsey Wilson, which tells you all you need to know.

KEN SAYS: This can be argued either way. The reader is correct that public radio stations are giving support and visibility to content that competes for the ears of our listeners. 

We saw this when This American Life used its weekly program to promote the release of the podcast Serial.

Consider the other point of view: If the radio version of The Daily pleases listeners, why not air it? 

The Daily is already well known, so not airing it won’t stop people from accessing the podcast. 

Plus, the brand association with the New York Times doesn’t hurt. If something good is out there, it is better to recognize it than ignore it. This is true even if Kinsey Wilson has something to do with it.

COMMENT THREE: THE IMPACT OF BILLY GRAHAM ON AMERICAN RADIO

On Friday 2/23 we published an essay [link] about the Reverend Billy Graham’s early efforts to promote evangelical Christian radio. We talked about the influence of KTIS, a radio station Graham founded in the Twin Cities in 1949. Spark News reader Don McCullen wrote that there is more to the story:

Billy Graham at KTIS in 1949

Graham also paved the way for Percy Crawford and Richard Bott to start up their namesake radio companies to broadcast Christian formatted programming. Although both Crawford and Bott were already making inroads into the radio business, the success of Graham’s station was an important validation of the format.

Please interested in this topic can learn more via these links:

Bott Broadcasting history: bottradionetwork.com/about/history/

Crawford Broadcasting history: crawfordbroadcasting.com/history/

KEN SAYS: Thank you, Don, for the additional information. I am very proud of the Graham essay. I decided to write it when I didn’t see it being covered elsewhere. A slogan I’ve used for my consulting business is We Seek Radio That Matters. Billy Graham in the 1940’s and 1950s really mattered.

Also, thank you to Radio World for featuring the Graham story in their publication.

COMMENT FOUR: EMERSON COLLEGE IS A TERRIFIC PLACE TO LEARN ABOUT RADIO & MEDIA

We received a comment earlier in February about our post from January 2015 [link] that discussed options for getting an education about the radio business. The person who asked recently wondered if we knew of places to get a radio education in Los Angeles. We asked our readers for help and we received this comment from an anonymous reader:

“Emerson College has a Los Angeles campus, and they have had an excellent radio broadcasting curriculum in the past. As I understand it, that curriculum has faded somewhat as fewer and fewer students are interested in formal education in radio.”

“I have no idea if the LA campus has any radio offerings but I know it is offered at the Boston campus and WERS. That said, I question how much anyone would really learn even in a ‘radio broadcasting school.’ If you want to work in radio just dive in and experiment on your own.”

 KEN SAYS: I agree with the reader. It depends on what someone wants out of the experience. If a person wants to work in commercial radio, learn about sales, voice-tracking and corporate management.

I recommend looking at a “radio career” in the context of digital audio for a variety of platforms. Knowing the software and equipment is important but so is the ability to construct a complete sentence. No matter how well a person knows “the gear,” creating content that connects with people is the key.

I had no formal training before I started my career as an announcer. I just showed up and learned the skills by osmosis.  If you want to work in radio, immerse yourself in it. Be a volunteer, help with station events and make friends with people who are doing what you want to do.