One of the topics I try and keep abreast of for the purposes of this blog is radio station format changes. With satellite radio continuing to grow in popularity and personal playlists a la online downloads and such becoming the norm, it's no surprise that radio stations have to do everything they can (or think they should do) to keep listeners tuned in. It's important to keep in mind that the station's owners aren't usually concerned about what kind of music or content is playing, as they are truly in the business of getting advertisers' messages to listeners. That's all well and good, but the average listener doesn't want to know that - they want to be able to find whatever they want, when they want, commercials or not.

This week, a big move came through in the New York City area - the Friday drivetime welcomed listeners to 101.1-FM WCBS with an all new sound, that of the "Jack" format Infinity Broadcasting has been rolling out in recent months. Listeners to the station, of which I'm only a periodic one, aren't pleased about it. But just as the Star-Ledger's George Berkin points out, it's not about those listeners, it's about getting "better demographics later on," as one radio writer describes.

And I'm not the only one who will miss the station. Michele at A Small Victory harkens back to the days when she grew up with the station on. I, for one, am very familiar with my childhood days of having WNEW on in the car as we went on family trips in the area, and the holidays is always a great time to turn the dial that way when visiting family and friends. Not anymore. I'll also echo Michele's final statement, "It's time to load some doo-wop and 50's rock and roll onto the iPod." Radio stations are concerned about being able to sell advertising in order to operate and get people to listen. What they don't realize is that if all the stations on the dial are essentially the same three or four types of stations, then the gravedigger just got two or three assistants to help dig that six foot hole - and they brought a case of Red Bull.