Radio stations everywhere are dumping their old formats and adopting something known as "Jack FM" random formats. Country music stations are using a similar notion called "
Hank-FM." In short, stations are playing "whatever we want" rather than tightly formatted playlists.
Wired.com reports:
Boasting they're "like an iPod on shuffle," the new stations typically dump their disc jockeys in favor of huge song playlists that mimic a well-stocked portable music player.
The Jack format, which is already spawning imitators, could be a key to FM's survival as an alternative to satellite radio, Internet radio and MP3 players.
The story explains this started in Canada:
Inspired by Canadian stations who developed the format several years ago, the Jack operations boast unusually large, iPod-style playlists of as many as 1,000 songs. Commercial radio has traditionally relied upon predictability -- you'll hear that new Britney Spears song 15 times a day, and you'll like it! -- and some stations rotate as few as 200 songs.
At San Diego's Jack station, for example, a recent morning's playlist featured songs from a 35-year span, from 1969's "Gimme Shelter" and 1982's "It's Raining Men" to Madonna's "Vogue" and a recent tune by Nickelback. This is an unusual level of variety in radio: music stations almost always stick to a narrowly defined niche like classic rock, oldies, R&B or alternative rock. The (adult album alternative), known as the triple-A format, typically blends old and new rock, but pop artists like Madonna, let alone disco standards, aren't part of its equation.
"The appeal is that it reminds you of music you might have forgotten existed," said Scott McKenzie, editor in chief of Billboard Radio Monitor. "We all have our libraries of music sitting in our iPods. You recognize a song and say, 'I love that.'"
Some observers are skeptical of the mix-and-match approach. "It assumes that someone will set their dial to one radio station, leave it there all day and be thrilled with the randomness," said Darrel Goodin, general manager of several Jefferson-Pilot stations in San Diego. "It runs extremely counter to the way the radio has been successful over the years. Maybe someone has found a way to defy gravity, but the odds are against it."
There's another Jack quirk: Many of the stations have dumped their DJs. The lack of on-air talent could be temporary, a way to spotlight the new blend of music. Or the DJs might be gone forever from the stations, a truly radical -- and counterintuitive -- concept in radio.
Here are some other stories from:
Here's a recent playlist for the noon hour on Chicago's Nine FM, one of the country's new ''we play anything'' Jack variety format radio stations. You will hear anything from Sonny and Cher to Toad and the Wet Sprocket:
Donnie Iris, ''Ah! Leah!''
The Doors, ''Love Me Two Times''
Switchfoot, ''Dare You to Move''
Sonny and Cher, ''I Got You Babe''
a-ha, ''Take on Me''
Toad the Wet Sprocket, ''All I Want''
Manfred Mann's Earth Band, ''Blinded by the Light''
Del Amitri, ''Roll to Me''
Tom Petty, ''I Won't Back Down''
Five for Fighting, ''Superman''
The Pretenders, ''Back on the Chain Gang''
Cracker, ''Low''
Boz Scaggs, ''Lowdown''
Prince, ''1999''
Cheap Trick, ''Don't Be Cruel''
The Business of Tutoring
One of the more interesting stories I saw at the Investigative Reporters and Editors convention this year was an investigation into government funded afterschool tutoring. The tutoring is part of the No Child Left Behind program and is aimed at giving much needed help to kids who have fallen behind.
Bob Segall at WITI in Milwaukee found that while some tutors give intensive one-on-one training to kids, others do little more than babysit.
The tutors can make big bucks, hundreds of dollars an hour. (See the second story on this page.)
National Public Radio this week also is examining the $4 billion tutoring business. I call it a business because, as NPR points out, tutoring and the money behind it have created a whole enterprise.
Parents, NPR says, are spending more money than ever on "education enhancement" programs, not just in the United States but worldwide.
NPR says:
Federal law requires failing schools to provide tutoring. Hundreds more are listed as "needing improvement." A breakdown of the states with the most schools required to provide aid:
- Alaska: 106
- Arizona: 117
- California: 370
- Illinois: 213
- Maryland: 114
- Massachusetts: 80
- Michigan: 185
- New York: 268
- Pennsylvania: 137
- In the United States: 2,152
Other Resources:
EPA Action on Flea Remedy
The EPA website includes this interesting consumer safety story:
At EPA's insistence, Hartz Mountain Corp. has agreed to cancel uses of several flea and tick products that may be associated with a range of adverse reactions, including hair loss, salivation, tremors and numerous deaths in cats and kittens. The common pet product brand names which are involved in this action include: Hartz Advanced Care 4 in 1 Flea & Tick Drops Plus+ for Cats and Kittens; Hartz Advanced Care Brand Flea and Tick Drops Plus+ for Cats and Kittens; Hartz Advanced Care 3 in 1 Flea & Tick Drops for Cats and Kittens; and Hartz Advanced Care Once-A-Month Flea and Tick Drops for Cats and Kittens.
In the short term, the agreement calls for immediate relabeling of the products. The new labeling will state that the products of concern are not to be used on the most vulnerable animals, including cats and kittens that weigh less than 6 pounds, cats older than 13 years, or kittens less than 5 months old.
Hartz will stop all new production of the cat and kitten products by September 30, 2005, and not sell or distribute any affected product after December 31, 2005. The measures announced today will help ensure pets are protected. Pet owners should pay close attention to new labels and exercise good judgment when choosing pet products.
"EPA is taking this action because there are safety concerns with these products,'' said Susan B. Hazen, principal deputy assistant administrator at EPA. "Pet owners should be alerted to these concerns, and may choose to transition to alternative products. We take seriously our obligation to ensure that pesticide products, when used as labeled, are safe."
The company agreed to a prohibition on any remaining retail sales by March 31, 2006. This orderly transition allows consumers and distributors to move to alternatives flea and tick products and will be strictly monitored. Hartz will also be notifying their distributors and retailers of the changes in order to ensure a workable phaseout.
National Fire Information
As forest fire season approaches I wanted to pass along this website that tracks big fires state by state. Currently there are fires burning in six states. Also, try these sites:
VA Claims Piling Up
A new Government Accountability Office study says VA claims are piling up.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) continues to experience problems processing veterans' disability compensation and pension claims. These include large numbers of pending claims and lengthy processing times. While VA made progress in fiscal years 2002 and 2003 in reducing the size and age of its inventory of pending claims, it has lost some ground since the end of fiscal year 2003. For example, pending claims increased by about one-third from the end of fiscal year 2003 to the end of March 2005. Meanwhile, VA faces continuing questions about its ability to ensure that veterans get consistent decisions across its 57 regional offices.
What I Learned From My Summer Job
A couple of weeks ago, I suggested a story idea about the importance of summer jobs to teens. Freelance reporter Lisa Palmer took the idea and ran with it for The Standard-Times in New Bedford, Mass.
We are always looking for your great ideas. Send Al a few sentences and hot links.
Editor's Note: Al's Morning Meeting is a compendium of ideas, edited story excerpts, and other materials from a variety of websites, as well as original concepts and analysis. When the information comes directly from another source, it will be attributed, and a link will be provided, whenever possible.
Demographic-watchers' obsessions with iPod culture are officially out of hand....
