{"id":142,"date":"2017-05-16T19:49:20","date_gmt":"2017-05-16T19:49:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-hccc-massmedia\/chapter\/7-1-radio\/"},"modified":"2017-05-16T19:49:20","modified_gmt":"2017-05-16T19:49:20","slug":"7-1-radio","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-hccc-massmedia\/chapter\/7-1-radio\/","title":{"raw":"7.1 Radio","rendered":"7.1 Radio"},"content":{"raw":"
\n

Figure 7.1<\/span> <\/p>\n \"7.1.0\"<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n

In 1983, radio station WOXY\u2019s new owners bought the station and changed its format from Top 40 to the up-and-coming alternative rock format, kicking off with U2\u2019s \u201cSunday Bloody Sunday (WOXY, 2009).\u201d Then located in the basement of a fast-food restaurant in Ohio, the station was a risk for its purchasers, a husband and wife team who took a chance by changing the format to a relatively new one. Their investment paid off with the success of their station. By 1990, WOXY had grown in prestige to become one of Rolling Stone<\/em> magazine\u2019s top 15 radio stations in the country, and had even been made famous by a reference in the 1988 film Rain Man<\/em> (Bishop, 2004). In 1998, the station launched a web cast and developed a national following, ranking 12th among Internet broadcasters for listenership in 2004 (Bishop, 2004).<\/p>\n

When the station\u2019s owners decided to retire and sell the frequency allocation in 2004, they hoped to find investors to continue the online streaming version of the station. After several months of unsuccessful searching, however, the station went off the air entirely\u2014only to find a last-minute investor willing to fund an Internet version of the station (WOXY).<\/p>\n

The online version of the station struggled to make ends meet until it was purchased by the online music firm Lala (Cheng, 2010). The now-defunct Lala sold WOXY to music company Future Sounds Inc., which moved the station and staff from Ohio to Austin, Texas. In March 2010, citing \u201ccurrent economic realities and the lack of ongoing funding,\u201d WOXY.com<\/a> went off the air with only a day\u2019s notice (Cheng, 2010).<\/p>\n

Taken in the context of the modern Internet revolution and the subsequent faltering of institutions such as newspapers and book publishers, the rise and fall of WOXY may seem to bode ill for the general fate of radio. However, taken in the larger context of radio\u2019s history, this story of the Internet\u2019s effect on radio could prove to be merely another leap in a long line of radio revolutions. From the shutting down of all broadcasts during World War I to the eclipse of radio by television during the 1950s, many arbiters of culture and business have prophesized the demise of radio for decades. Yet this chapter will show how the inherent flexibility and intimacy of the medium has allowed it to adapt to new market trends and to continue to have relevance as a form of mass communication.<\/p>\n\n

References<\/h2>\n\nBishop, Lauren. \u201c97X Farewell,\u201d Cincinnati Enquirer<\/em>, May 10, 2004, http:\/\/www.enquirer.com\/editions\/2004\/05\/10\/tem_tem1a.html<\/a>.\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\nCheng, Jacqui. \u201cBad Luck, Funding Issues Shutter Indie Station WOXY.com,\u201d Ars Technica<\/em> (blog), March 23, 2010, http:\/\/arstechnica.com\/media\/news\/2010\/03\/bad-luck-funding-issues-shutter-indie-station-woxycom.ars<\/a>.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\nWOXY, \u201cThe History of WOXY,\u201d 2009, http:\/\/woxy.com\/about\/<\/a>.\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\nWOXY, \u201cThe History.\u201d\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t","rendered":"
\n
\n

Figure 7.1<\/span> <\/p>\n

\"7.1.0\"<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

In 1983, radio station WOXY\u2019s new owners bought the station and changed its format from Top 40 to the up-and-coming alternative rock format, kicking off with U2\u2019s \u201cSunday Bloody Sunday (WOXY, 2009).\u201d Then located in the basement of a fast-food restaurant in Ohio, the station was a risk for its purchasers, a husband and wife team who took a chance by changing the format to a relatively new one. Their investment paid off with the success of their station. By 1990, WOXY had grown in prestige to become one of Rolling Stone<\/em> magazine\u2019s top 15 radio stations in the country, and had even been made famous by a reference in the 1988 film Rain Man<\/em> (Bishop, 2004). In 1998, the station launched a web cast and developed a national following, ranking 12th among Internet broadcasters for listenership in 2004 (Bishop, 2004).<\/p>\n

When the station\u2019s owners decided to retire and sell the frequency allocation in 2004, they hoped to find investors to continue the online streaming version of the station. After several months of unsuccessful searching, however, the station went off the air entirely\u2014only to find a last-minute investor willing to fund an Internet version of the station (WOXY).<\/p>\n

The online version of the station struggled to make ends meet until it was purchased by the online music firm Lala (Cheng, 2010). The now-defunct Lala sold WOXY to music company Future Sounds Inc., which moved the station and staff from Ohio to Austin, Texas. In March 2010, citing \u201ccurrent economic realities and the lack of ongoing funding,\u201d WOXY.com<\/a> went off the air with only a day\u2019s notice (Cheng, 2010).<\/p>\n

Taken in the context of the modern Internet revolution and the subsequent faltering of institutions such as newspapers and book publishers, the rise and fall of WOXY may seem to bode ill for the general fate of radio. However, taken in the larger context of radio\u2019s history, this story of the Internet\u2019s effect on radio could prove to be merely another leap in a long line of radio revolutions. From the shutting down of all broadcasts during World War I to the eclipse of radio by television during the 1950s, many arbiters of culture and business have prophesized the demise of radio for decades. Yet this chapter will show how the inherent flexibility and intimacy of the medium has allowed it to adapt to new market trends and to continue to have relevance as a form of mass communication.<\/p>\n

References<\/h2>\n

Bishop, Lauren. \u201c97X Farewell,\u201d Cincinnati Enquirer<\/em>, May 10, 2004, http:\/\/www.enquirer.com\/editions\/2004\/05\/10\/tem_tem1a.html<\/a>.\t<\/p>\n

Cheng, Jacqui. \u201cBad Luck, Funding Issues Shutter Indie Station WOXY.com,\u201d Ars Technica<\/em> (blog), March 23, 2010, http:\/\/arstechnica.com\/media\/news\/2010\/03\/bad-luck-funding-issues-shutter-indie-station-woxycom.ars<\/a>.<\/p>\n

WOXY, \u201cThe History of WOXY,\u201d 2009, http:\/\/woxy.com\/about\/<\/a>.\t<\/p>\n

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