It has repeatedly come to my attention that the corporate climate surrounding Face Book and Google is very friendly to what I commonly refer to as the Loyalists of the 21st century. These are the folks who have no regard for liberty and are rather comfortable with a nanny state caring for it's citizenry. It is this nanny state that now dictates the type of electric light bulb you are allowed, whether or not you have health insurance (and the resulting health care you will receive), picks and chooses the laws it will enforce, the education content available to your children and who should succeed in what should be a free market economy. Given the recent revelations that Google encourages the political class that has become this republics ruling class I choose to divorce, to the best of my ability, any relationship I have with this firm's product. I now use Bing rather than Google for my search engine.
Face Book is no more than a tool which the ruling class must be very happy to have. It enables the ruled to seek some sort of public fame as they sacrifice freedom. Each user is the star of his own show. He can post pictures of friends and family which puts him on a level playing field with the likes of Justin Beiber or Jennifer Lopez (even though the pictures of these people are more likely seen in teen magazines or supermarket rags displayed at the checkout counter). Face Book enables the ruled to feel they still have importance even though they've sacrificed personal choice for the comfort promised by the ruling class. I have severed my foolish relationship with this tool.
I think of those brave souls who lived in the 18th century and chose to break from the ruling class of that era and chart a path which took them to Philadelphia and the founding of an nation where it's citizenry would be independent of rulers who had the power to dictate. Of course there were those elites who fared well under this method of rule. They were the chosen beneficiaries of wealth and power. They were loyal to the Crown. Many fled after the successful Revolutionary War. They are now returning, not to worship a Crown from across the pond, but to create a new Crown to create such dictates as mandatory health insurance, placing ugly windmills that scar the open fields, enables farmers to get rich off the backs of taxpayers, public labor unions that are bankrupting local governments and so forth.
I remain a revolutionary and will use these pages (and other means) to fight to regain the freedom and liberty we once had in what was once the greatest nation on earth.
I will have more on these 21st century Loyalists in the days and weeks to come. I hope you will stay tuned.
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
First Women of Radio
When the instructor in the Broadcast Management class at Central Missouri State College said "there's a great future for women in radio" there was not a woman on the AM band which at that time led the market in audience size. This is not so many years ago.
In the few decades since women may now be considered a dominate force in media. Most readers actually witnessed this cultural transformation perhaps without knowing it. I have been taken back to the roots of this change by an accidental discovery on Christmas Day.
In 1970 this rookie broadcaster had but one dream, to be a disc jockey and play records on what was then referred to as "underground radio". Underground radio stations were found primarily on the FM band (the exception was KAAY in Little Rock which featured a late night program titled Beaker Street hosted by Clyde Clifford). Underground radio featured the deeper tracks from current record albums by such artists as Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Quicksilver, Country Joe, Big Brother and others. Most music of the era was coming from San Francisco so naturally that's where I headed.
Given the number of women on radio today it may be hard to envision a world when there were only men. I recall those days. When my instructor in that Broadcast Management class made his claim that the future for women was bright and I had no idea there would be such change. We're all better for it.
Upon arrival in the City by the Bay I found the heartbeat of this music on one station-KSAN. It was, in my opinion, the best of the best. The disc jockeys were ultra cool, and, for the first time in my life, I heard a woman presenting the music. Not only did this woman know the music but she apparently knew many of the artists. I would hear her conduct live studio interviews with the stars of the San Francisco sound. Interview doesn't really describe her style. It was more a conversation.On Christmas Day, 2012 I discovered this first woman disc jockey is still working and still playing the sounds I love on radio. She may also have the best "air name" of any DJ you've ever heard: Dusty Street. Before you ask, Dusty is her real name.
For years I have listened only to AM or FM radio. Finally I made the move to satellite. It's a natural move for anyone who prefers hearing music to commercials. This is where I found Dusty still playing the great music. She does an afternoon weekend show from the Rock 'N Roll Hall of Fame on SiriusXM. She also does her own show, and has much more musical freedom, on webcasts (http://dustystreet.net/flyLow.html ) which I encourage you to sample
In the few decades since women may now be considered a dominate force in media. Most readers actually witnessed this cultural transformation perhaps without knowing it. I have been taken back to the roots of this change by an accidental discovery on Christmas Day.
In 1970 this rookie broadcaster had but one dream, to be a disc jockey and play records on what was then referred to as "underground radio". Underground radio stations were found primarily on the FM band (the exception was KAAY in Little Rock which featured a late night program titled Beaker Street hosted by Clyde Clifford). Underground radio featured the deeper tracks from current record albums by such artists as Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Quicksilver, Country Joe, Big Brother and others. Most music of the era was coming from San Francisco so naturally that's where I headed.
Given the number of women on radio today it may be hard to envision a world when there were only men. I recall those days. When my instructor in that Broadcast Management class made his claim that the future for women was bright and I had no idea there would be such change. We're all better for it.
Upon arrival in the City by the Bay I found the heartbeat of this music on one station-KSAN. It was, in my opinion, the best of the best. The disc jockeys were ultra cool, and, for the first time in my life, I heard a woman presenting the music. Not only did this woman know the music but she apparently knew many of the artists. I would hear her conduct live studio interviews with the stars of the San Francisco sound. Interview doesn't really describe her style. It was more a conversation.On Christmas Day, 2012 I discovered this first woman disc jockey is still working and still playing the sounds I love on radio. She may also have the best "air name" of any DJ you've ever heard: Dusty Street. Before you ask, Dusty is her real name.
For years I have listened only to AM or FM radio. Finally I made the move to satellite. It's a natural move for anyone who prefers hearing music to commercials. This is where I found Dusty still playing the great music. She does an afternoon weekend show from the Rock 'N Roll Hall of Fame on SiriusXM. She also does her own show, and has much more musical freedom, on webcasts (http://dustystreet.net/flyLow.html ) which I encourage you to sample
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