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This is a true story.
When I was pursuing a deal to purchase a radio station in the St. Louis area fifteen years ago, I got a call from a DXer named Jeff Lewis, who was residing in the Kansas City area at the time. He volunteered his time with several community-based groups who would support the purchase of this particular station by a non-religious entity. Another subject he mentioned was DXer involvement in the day-to-day operations of the commercial broadcast industry, especially in the United States.
DXers tend to be more knowledgeable about radio than any other group of people. In fact, most DXers are more qualified to own and operate broadcast facilities than several of the largest corporate media owners. Of course, radio is not only a business, but also a service to the local community. While most corporate broadcasters have lost sight of that, I have never lost sight of the fact that radio is a service to the local community, in addition to being a business. As both a one-time commercial broadcaster (I now work in public radio, where I have a little more freedom) and a DXer, I have found that DXer involvement in the day-to-day operations of the commercial broadcast industry is sorely lacking, especially since the industry was deregulated (without consulting the Constitution) in 1996.
(The following is my viewpoint: this does not necessarily reflect the views of everyone on this list.)
DXer/broadcasters should definitely be more involved in station ownership. This is where their experience as a DXer would really benefit. For example, what if a listener in, say, Seaside, OR, heard a Class C Regional station in the St. Louis area. If that station was owned by a DXer, then that listener would receive a prompt verification from the owner or engineer. For stations owned by non-DXers, the listener's results will vary. Some broadcasters have taken a very negative attitude toward DXers. Case in point: the true story another DXer, Gil Morgan, told me at the 2001 IRCA convention in St. Louis. Several years ago, he heard KIND-FM (101.7 MHz) Independence, KS from his home QTH in Lebanon, MO. He called the station, only to get a denial from the engineer on duty. This engineer said: "We don't get out beyond the state line" (in reference to the Kansas-Missouri state line) and promptly hung up the phone without Gil getting a word in edgewise. This is the kind of attitude that U.S. radio stations should never show toward the DX community. By contrast, if a DXer owned KIND 1010/101.7, then the engineer on duty would have shown interest in what Gil had to say.
As a DXer and a broadcaster, I have the knowledge necessary to program a radio station to fill a number of voids in the market. First off, I don't care about ratings...they are often inaccurate, and the main reason why advertising rates remain artificially high. Second, I would program a format to fill marketplace voids. For instance, St. Louis County and most of the Illinois suburbs of St. Louis are missing out on suburban-oriented radio. There are only two stations oriented to St. Louis' far western suburbs, KWRE (730 kHz) and KFAV (99.9 MHz) in Warrenton, MO, owned from the beginning by the Kaspar family, and one serving a small area of the Illinois suburbs (the Metro East); WBGZ (1570 kHz) Alton, IL. There's especially a desperate need for a suburban-oriented, locally-originated (24/7) News/Talk format in the area. Third, I also found that several sources for new talent just weren't being utilized: the most notable of which were the college radio stations. I would not hesitate to hire air talent from a college radio station. These people worked hard to earn their chance at a job in commercial radio, especially in their home town. The attitudes shown toward college radio and so-called "homegrown" talent displayed by corporate radio has been nothing but negative (I should know...I've experienced this). It is not because of friendship or relations that I would hire someone for an on-air position; it's because that person has shown that he or she has potential, and that his or her experience and hard work would be beneficial to the station. Most importantly, I feel that their hard work should pay off. I also would not hesitate to hire a DXer, because of his or her value, not only to the DX community, but to the community as a whole. Having a DXer working at, let alone in ownership of, a commercial radio station, would be beneficial to the station, not just in the short term, but also in the long run. This would mean that the station in which a DXer works at or owns is very likely more DXer-friendly than a station run by a non-DXer. I believe that the DXer is just as important a member of the audience than the local listeners.
In sending out resumes to commercial radio stations, I always included my radio club memberships and my radio club award nominations to indicate the strength of my radio background. To some broadcasters, this may indicate that one's radio background is too strong. That's one of the problems I saw. My involvement with the DX and ham radio communities may have intimidated some corporate broadcasters. Another problem is the type of stations I worked for; mostly smaller, independent (non-corporate), non-commercial or not-for-profit broadcasters. I also have a major problem with programmer attitudes; they've been mostly negative. A positive attitude that a programmer should display toward hiring a DXer or a "homegrown" talent for on-air work is "Let's give this person a chance", and stick them in an overnight or weekend slot. The right attitude toward a DXer owning a station is "Let's give this person a chance", especially when that person brings new ideas to the table, or proposes to add a new twist to proven ideas. One idea I have is creating a more open commercial broadcast job market; making the broadcast job market accessible to more people. Today's commercial broadcast job market is confined to the friends, cronies and/or relatives of station management. It is largely a closed job market. By opening up the job market to more people, especially DXers, commercial broadcast employment would be more accessible, and it would give the DX community the perception that this station is DXer-friendly.
Besides my willingness to hire DXers, I would not hesitate to give a DXer a tour of any station I owned, nor would I hesitate to carry programming aimed at that portion of the population as a public service. Carrying such programs as "World of Radio" has the potential to get a person interested in the DX hobby. I wouldn't also hesitate to carry "Amateur Radio Newsline"; it has the potential to get more people interested in Amateur Radio. In my current position in public radio, I made the station I work for, with the approval of the General Manager, the only station in St. Louis currently airing public service announcements for the American Radio Relay League on a regular basis. I would not hesitate to do this if I had owned a commercial radio station.
Unfortunately, deregulation has cut significantly into the number of DXers gainfully employed in the commercial radio industry; there are practically no DXers owning commercial radio stations in the United States, as far as I know. The commercial radio industry is losing out on a vital resource in employment and ownership: the DX community.
73, Eric (N0UIH)
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