The Memory Leak

Not long ago Don Henley was accusing Clear Channel of homogenizing the airwaves.

Clear Channel now seems to be changing directions. They’ve been bought by a private equity firm. They’ve been selling a lot of their assets.

They announced recently they are rolling out HD radio in 48 large markets. With HD radio, it appears hyperlocalization will be possible … I wonder if it will ever extend beyond traffic reports. Clear Channel VP Jeff Littlejohn says:

“HD Radio is the future for broadcast data delivery, allowing us to not only deliver traffic data, but provide additional services a well.”

Clear Channel is localizing in other ways too, with a localized version of Facebook. For example Dallas has KissNation, while San Francisco has Wild Space. I can’t tell if differences between the sites are a result of different local culture, or simply different pre-ordained music formats.

The Express News quotes Clear Channel VP Evans on why they want to be local:

“Our feeling was that our listeners wanted to connect on a local level”

.

I dunno about all this … when I want to feel connected with a local community on the radio, I just listen to the News from Lake Wobegon.