Updated May 26th 2003
It's
all about quality, my friends!
Well,
it appears pirate radio just won't go away. It's strange that 20 years
on we are getting stories of the Irish Government closing illegal radio
stations. I am somewhat amazed that these stations get to broadcast
at all, considering there are not the excuses of outdated radio legislation
to back them up. Perhaps someone could explain this to me?
Thing is, back in the 80's there was professional
radio broadcasting there. And you only have to hear Dublin radio now
to realise the authorities made some pretty big mistakes when choosing
who was to get a licence. Nova, Sunshine and Super Q were stations that
proved to the world, that from a small country, there came some of the
most professional radio in Europe at the time.
What happened in 1988 is a mystery to me. How could something that worked
so well go so badly wrong? The authorities in Ireland issued licences
for radio stations in 1988, and it was all downhill from there. The
owner of Nova Chris Cary applied for a licence, but oh, no. They couldn't
give him a licence. That would be far too sensible.
I remember one newspaper reporting that Cary did not get the licence
because "he would have been too professional.
The others would not be able to compete". How stupid is
that? Bob Geldof please remind us: Banana Republic.
Oh
yeah, and the IRTC changed their name to BCI (Broadcasting Commission
of Ireland). That should help a lot. Phantom
FM had to close it's doors when the Government in Ireland decided
to raid the pirate stations just over a week ago. It was a swift, calculated
affair. Very efficient indeed. If only they could do positive things
that efficiently. They used the police force aswell. Police that could
have been doing their real jobs - you know, like keeping the
peace. Phantom FM in Dublin plays rock and indie music to a not-so-small
audience of dedicated music lovers. They have applied for a licence
more than once and have been turned down. They went off the
air for 6 months while in application. Still they got hit in the face.
No wonder they broadcast without a licence. The BCI saw better fit to
assign a licence to a country music station largely dominated by RTE
Crimeline presenter David Harvey (Hi Dave). Nothing wrong with that.
Truth is they should BOTH have been given a licence. Let market forces
control who broadcasts.
Here
in Australia, commercial radio is all but as horrid as that in Dublin.
2DAYFM is soley
aimed at young office girls with disposible incomes - so they can flog
everything from bad music to cosmetics. Then there's TRIPLE
M (owned by the same people - AUSTEREO),
which targets young "traditional" men, who are still bopping
along to ZZ Top while they're fixing cars or digging up roads - you
know the kind, they whistle at girls in the street and read Hustler.
How much Meatloaf can you take? Recently a new station arrived on our
horizon - NOVA
969. It's fractionally better. At least they play decent hip-hop.
But gee, you need to be under 18 to follow the rhetoric. It's like playschool
for radio. If you're reading this from Dublin, just go to Spin 1038
and you'll know what I'm getting at. But there's a difference in Australia.
We also have GOOD radio. TRIPLE J is Australia's "youth"
station. I always find that term funny because in fact, it's one of
the only stations that doesn't patronise its listeners. And many of
it's listeners are my age (40). Go listen to them! They're great. And
they are 100% Government funded too. There are numerous community stations
here that don't offend the intelligence of their audience with dribble.
I personally feel that we should have the American approach to radio.
FREE FOR ALL. Yes, anyone who has the money to start a station, let
'em do it! As long as they're not causing planes to crash, or affecting
emergency signals. I was in San Francisco about a year ago. I listened
to a 24 hour Jazz station. Fabulous stuff.
Enough of me waffling on. It's time you went to TRIPLE
J on the net and listened to some decent radio. Hell you're not
going to get that in Ireland!
The
views expressed on this site are not necessarily those of it's owners.
These views are expressly my own.
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