I woke up early today and listened to Howard Stern's first (official) broadcast on Sirius satellite radio. It was very exciting. As someone who loves radio. I have to say I am excited about Stern's debut.
It wasn't without problems, there were some glitches, and for the first time in years he had to play some music while they sorted out the problems.
The rest of the show was generally uneventful. George Takei from Star Trek fame is a new member of the crew as the official show announcer, and there was a somewhat boring press conference.
Though there were numerous swear words, it was no more than you'd hear if you hung out with a bunch of close friends who were having a few beers. There were also few commercials, actually no commercials. Stern though has said that they will have about 5 minutes of advertisements an hour. Still much better than the close to 20 minutes he had at KROCK.
What Sirius is doing is indeed a revoluation. It is exciting to me. I’ve been growing disgusted with "terrestrial" radio. The music channels were ever more boring and homologized. A Kiss FM station in Pittsburgh played much the same music as the Kiss station in Philadelphia. So from a music standpoint alone, Sirius and rival XM, are great.
But from a free speech standpoint, it is even more exciting. No more DJs frightened to talk like normal people. How can you have a frank talk about a topic like sex, when you are afraid that FCC and company will fine you if you say "CUM".
Getting Sirius and XM are easier than ever. Years ago, a radio for your car or home would cost about $200, plus the $12.95 monthly fee. Now you can get radios on-line at the company’s web-sites, or from stores as common as Wal~Mart or Radio Shack. I got one for me and one for my wife together for $120. They are plug and play, meaning that they hook up via your cigarette lighter, and broadcasts the content to your FM radio or through your tape deck.
I also purchased a home kit for $50 so I can listen in my house too.
Much like pay TV was a revolution decades ago, and the medium enhanced and altered the broadcast services, satellite radio is slowly doing much the same for old fashioned radio. Get on the bandwagon now, and see what I’m talking about.
Posted by psugrad98 at January 9, 2006 03:26 PM | TrackBack
