Radio Refuse: iHeartRadio (or iDestroyRadio)

This is The Chronicles of Trevor, the only blog safe from acquisition by some massive Mega-Conglomo-Corp™, even though this blog is hosted on a Google service.

Welcome to another installment of Radio Refuse, a series of vents/editorials about the negatives of Marconi's wonderful invention, primarily in the Boston area market.

Today we're taking a look at the largest owner of radio stations in the country, owning almost 900 stations, including 17 in my home state of Massachusetts! Today, I'm talking about iHeartMedia (or iHeartRadio), and the way they've been homogenizing and ruining the radio industry.

The company known nowadays as iHeartMedia was founded in San Antonio, TX in 1972 as Clear Channel Communications, named after the fact that their 1st station they acquired was a clear channel AM station, meaning that the station's power could remain the same at night, as AM radio signals go farther at night. A great local example is WBZ 1030, a News format station.

The then-Clear Channel also owned Live Nation, the company that produces several concerts, and A Star Is Born (the one with Lady Gaga and the cilantro of a song 'Shallow' [you either like it, or you don't, lol]).

And the Clear Channel name lives on, through the outdoor advertising company Clear Channel Outdoor. I guess they kept the Clear Channel name for that, because of the sheer amount of billboards emblazoned with the Clear Channel logo.

(Look at the bottom of the billboard, next to the "001500".)

But in this post, I'm going to talk about their radio business, and how it's causing the downfall of the industry.

Like I said, iHeartMedia was founded as Clear Channel Communications in 1972, named after the fact that their first radio station, WOAI-AM (San Antonio, TX) was a clear channel station. 

Throughout the company's existance, they've gone through several mergers and acquisitions, and in their prime, owned 1,500 stations (this was after the acquisition of AMFM Holdings, who owned 500 stations). Because of their endless acquisitions, they're in so much debt that they filed for bankrupcy in 2018, only to emerge the following year.

My main gripes with iHeartMedia are the homogenization of the radio industry on their part, the fact that they give away $1,000 every hour even though they have massive debt, and the quality of their programs.

First, the homogenization of the industry on their part cannot be understated. Every few minutes on an iHeart station, there's an ad for the iHeartRadio app, an announcer gleefully stating that the station you're listening to is "an iHeartRadio station", even outside of the top of the hour station ID. It's like the folks at iHeart think that people listen to a station because of the station's ownership. That is NOT the case. People listen to a station for the music, the personalities, or just because it's a good station they grew up with. They don't go around saying "I LiSTeN To P102 bECaUSe WEeNiE BrOAdCAStInG OwNS tHe StATIoN HuRrDY DUrR!" And also, the fact that they own almost 900 stations around the country, it just shows their stance on ruining the radio industry.

Next is the fact they give away money every hour, and blow millions of dollars on the iHeartRadio Music Festival and the iHeartRadio Music Awards, even though they have a large amount of debt. Doesn't that sound like a stupid business practice?

iHeartRadio: *is in a multitude of financial issues*

Also iHeartRadio: Win a GRAND on us! Text "WINNER" to this number!

Also Also iHeartRadio: IT'S THE IHEARTRADIO MUSIC AWARDS!

Their program quality is terrible as well. Especially on their talk stations. Like I said in the post about WRKO, their talk stations are around the same league as Sinclair Broadcast Group in terms of their political stances. One show they have, that only plays on WRKO, called The Kuhner Report (obviously titled that to make it sound reliable, when honestly, it's a four-hour tantrum directed towards the middlers and leftists, broadcast live over the airwaves), embodies this to a T. This show, hosted by Jeff Kuhner, makes Sinclair's must-run propaganda stories look like Sky News in the UK. He's made misogynistic, racist remarks about Boston's mayor Michelle Wu, calling her a witch, and saying she is the one who let all the undocumented immigrants into Massachusetts. SHE DID NOT DO ANYTHING OF THAT SORT. HE'S PROBABLY MAD BECAUSE MAYOR WU IS THE FIRST ASIAN-AMERICAN WOMAN TO BE MAYOR OF BOSTON!

These are the main reasons why iDon'tHeart iHeartRadio. Thanks for reading...

Radio Greats - 95.9 WATD: We're (Not) At The Dump

Welcome to the Chronicles of Trevor, whose main offices are located just conveniently 100 feet near a dumpster. 

Today, I'm saluting an underrated but locally-owned player in the Massachusetts radio market, A station whose studios are on the same block as my home. It's high time I give my appreciation to 95.9 WATD.

This station, owned and operated by the Marshfield Broadcasting Company, first aired December 6, 1977, and has studios near a landfill currently owned by Republic Services in Marshfield. As a result of their location, the owners applied for the call letters WATD, meaning "We're At The Dump".

The programming on WATD during the morning drive is a newscast, with national stories provided by the CBS News Radio network. It is a well-produced newscast, and is an easy way to get your day started. After that, on weekdays, the station plays the usual adult-contemporary fare. It is one of 3 AC stations in the area (the other 2 are WMJX (Magic 106.7) and WPLM (Easy 99.1).

On weekends, the station airs a variety of other genres, like oldies, classic alternative rock, jazz, and talk. Whenever Marshfield High School has football and basketball games (Go Rams!!), they are aired on WATD.

All in all, WATD provides a great service to the area, and as a Marshfielder, I'm proud to be in the same town as this great station. They may be at the dump, but they aren't trash!

Now on Ocean 104.7: Sensory Blender 4000

And now, an addendum for my post about WOCN (Ocean 104.7). When I was going home from my day program, this station played this song (I don't remember the name, but it was from the 70s), where the end of the song has this B3 organ playing very discordant, distorted, out-of-tune, swirling notes. It felt like the part of my brain that senses sound was being mixed in a blender. The organ tone, clicky attack, and distortion, combined with the tri-tones and chorus/stereo effects did not play nice with my ears. 

It messed with my ears as much as this blade messes with the pixels of this GIF.

Yet another reason why Ocean 104.7 is a sensory-unfriendly station. Why do they want to destroy people's ears so much? Ocean 104.7 should be called "Oceans of Blood Coming Out of Eardrums 104.7, Crafted for Destroying the Ears of the Cape"

Radio Refuse: WRKO 680 (or We Really Knocked Off)

Welcome to The Chronicles of Trevor, where the only fakes, frauds, and phonies are not people at all!

Ever wish there was music on AM Radio again? I do, because of the downfall of one of the legacy AM stations in my area, 680 WRKO.

The station started in 1937 as WLAW-AM, and broadcast every day until sunset, up until 1940, when they received a directional antenna.

In 1953, WLAW became WNAC-AM, and was bought by RKO General, owners of then CBS-TV affiliate WNAC-7 (now the independent WHDH-TV, owned by the Sunbeam Television Corporation), and in 1966, they started to play an automated "Top 40" format, which became permanent in 1967. "The BIG 68" was born.

Under the new format, 'RKO became the highest rated station amongst the highly sought after 18-34 demographic, and at one point, drove WBZ 1030 out of the top 40 format (now they're sister stations, but we'll get to that.)

Sadly, all golden ages must come end, and WRKO's golden age ended at 6:00 on September 27, 1981. The Big 68 concluded its life as a Top 40 juggernaut with "American Pie" by Don McLean. It truly was the day that music on Bostonian AM Radio died.

It seems like some people thought "maybe, 680 as a news/talk station will still be entertaining"

Enter the station's 1988 acquisition by Atlantic Ventures after the forced dissolution of RKO General's broadcasting business. In 1992, Atlantic (later known as American Radio Systems) acquired WHDH-AM from New England Television Corporation, which was the affiliate of Rush Limbaugh's radio network at the time. 

If you don't know who Rush Limbaugh was, he was a pioneer in right-winged talk shows, and has pushed many of people to become rightists. His show has inspired many copycats, some of which are flagship hosts on WRKO, but again, we'll get there.

In 1997, Westinghouse/CBS later acquired WRKO and WHDH's parent company, but 'RKO was acquired by Entercom in 1998. 

In 2006, the station fired its on-air news staff, in order to focus on its talk blabbering, and in 2012, WRKO hired their 'god-emperor' (in quotes due to how I feel about him; see later in the post) Jeff Kuhner. These things were the final nail in the coffin of what once used to be an iconic station.

That and their acquisition by iHeartMedia.

San Antonio-based iHeartMedia owns the most radio stations in the country, and has been responsible for homogenizing the radio broadcasting industry, even when they were known as Clear Channel Communications. Yup, it's the same Clear Channel whose logo appears on billboards. Marconi would be spin dashing like Sonic the Hedgehog in his grave if he saw what iHeart has been doing to his prized invention. This, and the fact that their talk stations always lean far right, makes me think that iHeart is the Sinclair Broadcast Group of radio (even though SBG owns a handful of radio stations itself).

But the main reason why WRKO is "Radio Refuse"? Two words.

JEFF!

KUHNER!

He became the morning host at WRKO in 2012, and later on, his show became the 2nd most listened to broadcast in the station's history (after the top 40 music of old).

His show, called "The Kuhner Report" (presumably to make it sound more trustworthy and reliable) is just a 3½-hour transmitted tantrum directed towards the left. He's called Boston's Mayor Michelle Wu a witch, a hackfraud, and other terrible names, because he thinks she let undocumented immigrants into our country. The 'Kuhner-Man', as he calls himself, is being racist and misogynistic for calling Mayor Wu, an Asian-American woman, these disgusting names. She did nothing wrong! Also, Jeff is Croatian-Canadian, and his parents came into Canada illegally, so he techically has no right to call Mayor Wu these names. Long story short, he's being racist towards an Asian-American woman, which is also misogyny, and he's being completely hypocritical, as his parents entered Canada illegally! 

Well, Jeff, you're a WARLOCK! THERE, I SAID IT! 

Also, WRKO's 60's-era competitor WMEX-AM, after a very long period of darkness, was brought back in the 2020s thanks to 95.9 WATD's (Marshfield, where this blog originates) owners, and has had very good ratings. This station airs music from the 50s to the 80s, and had a very good music-heavy morning show. Now THIS is how you radio.

Just saying...

WRKO's final moments as a music station (9/27/1981): An aircheck of the last moments of the Top 40 format on The Big 68.

Sailor Songs: Why I HATE Swearing In Modern Music

Welcome to The Chronicles of Trevor, where the only curse you'll find is "Klnka Imra Miryon Tin Qua".

Ever notice how pop music nowadays has gotten even more profane? I have, and I HATE IT! While driving home from the last bowling day of the spring season, my mom's Amazon Music started playing this song called "Trophy", and I have to say, that this trash heap of a song deserves a trophy for having the most forced swearing in any song EVER RECORDED. I never thought that a song could beat Rihanna's dumpster fire "Needed Me", but this song laps it like Usain Bolt at an elderly folks' fun run! Not only is it shorter, but it has an F-bomb at the start! RIGHT AT THE START OF THE SONG! And worst of all, THIS SONG ISN'T EVEN GIVEN AN EXPLICIT LABEL AT ALL!

It makes no sense that "Shallow" by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper is labeled Explicit (there's no bad language in that song at all, but the "A Star Is Born" album does have a song with the F bomb in it and has a warning sticker), but "Trophy" has a shipload of F's flung, yet it isn't labeled Explicit.

Hey "Trophy", HERE'S YOUR #@$%!&% TROPHY!

YOU'RE WINNER, For being the reason I now have no faith in pop music nowadays !

❤️ A Celebration of Ashley and I ❤️

Here on The Chronicles of Trevor, I strive to make you feel so alive, and give you purpose once again. One of the ways I do so is by showcasing what's going on in my life. Today is not only Cinco de Mayo, but today also marks 9 months since I met my lovely girlfriend Ashley Johnson at the bowling alley.

Let me take you back to the past (not to play bad games lol). 11 months ago, I got very upset because my then-girlfriend wasn't dancing with me for the first dance during a dance party, and instead with someone else. This guy called her stupid 30 minutes before, and I called him out on it. I told him "She isn't stupid, she is the kindest, sweetest, most loving woman I know". I still think she's kind and sweet as a friend.

A few weeks after that dance, I was so unsure if she would still love me. I was thinking that she might have been stringing me along, so I decided to look into another woman. Fast forward to the evening of July 29th, 2024. I was getting ready for my weekly bowling league, when all of a sudden, a beautiful woman with wavy brown hair was flirtaciously staring at me. I told my mom, "Hey, that girl is staring at me rather flirtaciously!" She suggested that I give her my phone number, so next Monday (August 5th), I did just that!

Judging by these photos...

...you can't deny we're such a great couple.

Radio Refuse: Ocean (of Blood Coming Out Of My Eardrums) 104.7

Welcome to The Chronicles of Trevor, where we still listen to the radio and listen to CDs! Take that, Spotifiers!

Today, in this new series called "Radio Refuse", I will rant about the Cape Cod classic hits station WOCN-FM, branded as Ocean 104.7. This station is locally owned, and says they're "Crafted for the Cape" which seems like it would be a good thing. They have a 3-minute block of news info at the top of every hour, which is good, but after that, is the main reason I'm not a fan of the station.

The music playlist style is a copycat of Plymouth-based WPLM (Easy 99.1), with the same formula (Mostly 70s and early to mid 80s, a small amount of late 80s and 90s, and a sprinkle of modern music), but it isn't as easy to listen to, because of ONE, SINGLE, GODFORSAKEN, INSTRUMENT!

Yup. Almost ALL of the songs on their airwaves contain harmonica. Why do they like that devil's horn so much? I guess they think Cape Codders are masochists who get off on that sort of thing.

Also, the owners are Cape Cod Broadcasting II Inc. With the II in it, I bet Act II Popcorn could run a radio station better than they could! "99.3 Poppin' Radio, WPOP, Brought to you by Act II!" I'd listen to that station.

Heck, I'm sure my imaginary* friend Haru Miyazumi II could run a station better!

*She is based on the Mii character Haru, seen in Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort.

Anyway, if I were to program Ocean 104.7, I would instead play lesser-aired songs from 80s musicians, and add more 80s hits. I would also get rid of the modern hits. Or even better, a format change into album rock, a format that is sorely missing in Massachusetts radio after the gutting of WAAF by the Educational Media Foundation, and the recent format change of WBOS-FM into Bloomberg radio. I even thought of a great song to start the new format off with: "This War Is Ours" by Escape The Fate. It's an excellent song from a great album of the same name!

Anyway, there is more litter I need to pick up to throw into the Radio Refuse. WRKO is the station I will dispose of next time!

News Content Warnings Still Grind My Gears: Already Been Chewed News

Welcome to The Chronicles of Trevor, the only blog where no news is good news. Anyway, I have a bone to pick with ABC News about today's edition of Good Morning America. As of me writing, It is still live on the air. One of the stories reported on GMA today is about an attack at a nightclub. The anchor led the story with a short summary containing the words "disturbing video", which is enough of a hint to be considered a nice little warning, BUT when he had the reporter come in to report the story, he gave more information, and went the WHOLE NINE YARDS AND SAID "WE MUST WARN YOU THAT THESE IMAGES ARE UPSETTING".

REALLY ABC?! WASN'T THE ANCHOR SAYING "DISTURBING VIDEO" IN THE OPENING SUMMARY ENOUGH OF A WARNING IN ITSELF?!

Anyway, since Keke Vencill wasn't on WHDH channel 7, as she is a reporter in the afternoons, I guess she was watching GMA when she saw that it was an upcoming story, and called up the reporter and asked him to give the warning.

BUT I digress. The reporter's warning was unnecessary, because the anchor already said "disturbing video" in his summary.

It reminds me of the time WHDH Channel 7 did the same thing when reporting on the surveillance video obtained by CNN with Diddy beating his ex-girlfriend. I gave a rant here on this blog about the anchor's summary and the lower thirds (the graphics on the bottom of the screen where the headline goes) saying that it was "graphic surveillance video" yet the reporter gave the same "we must warn you..." nonsense.

I guess ABC News and WHDH are the main sponsors of the Redundancy Department of Redundancy, because having the anchor say "graphic" and/or "disturbing" is enough of a warning in itself, and I'd be fine with just that, but having the reporter flat-out GIVE A WARNING ANYWAY?! That is dumb and redundant. It's reDUMBdant!

I even changed the channel from WHDH 7 to WCVB 5 this morning because Megan Doll was reporting traffic. I'm not a fan of her because she doesn't appear on camera. If you don't show your face Megan, I guess you're NOT A DOLL AT ALL!

Usually, channel 7 has this woman named Polikseni Manxhari (pronounced paul-ix-EN-nee man-JAR-ree) do the traffic. She's a beautiful fair-skinned brunette woman that reports the traffic very well! She does news reports once in a while, but she is mainly the morning traffic reporter.

Anyway, Polikseni is pretty, but nothing compares to my lovely girlfriend I met at my bowling league, Ashley Johnson (not to be confused with the woman who voices Ellie in the PlayStation franchise The Last of Us).

I have been her boyfriend for 8 months, and she says she wants to be Ashley Hart someday.

To partially quote Craig Mabbit of Escape the Fate, she gives me "purpose once again".

But anyway, back to the subject, whenever an anchor says "graphic video" or "disturbing footage" or anything similar, the reporter doesn't need to give an extra warning. I guess ABC and WHDH 7 think viewers are morons.

Thanks for reading!