I first got into the radio broadcasting business years ago, but it all started from the tech end of the equation, not the talent end. That came later.
In those days, it was mostly AM radio. It wasn’t until the 1970s that FM, with its superior audio quality, began to dominate the market. But AM had it over FM in terms of broadcast distance, at least if there was no competing station on the same channel.
So, from my home in Brooklyn, NY, I was able to listen each night to such clear channel stations as WSB in Atlanta and WLS in Chicago. And when I began to work at radio stations in smaller markets, hearing the latest rock tunes on those powerful stations gave me a leg up on programming the best music rotations.
Until I turned to news and talk radio, and so did AM. You didn’t need a wide frequency response, free of noise, to hear voices. But you still wanted AM for its greater distance, until satellite radio came along.
These days, there is actually a digital version of both AM and FM, known as HD, but you give up range for quality, and few autos come with the feature. Even portable radios with HD are not always available.
As most of you know, The Paracast is syndicated on a terrestrial network, GCN, and the signal is mostly carried on AM radio, though we have some FM outlets too. But things change, and AM radio will soon be history.
The growing number of EV cars is one key reason. Their electric motors can cause an annoying buzzing sound on AM radios, which is why you won’t get that feature on your Tesla, for example. If the station has a streaming app, or you download the GCN Radio app, you can still listen.
You can also listen to The Paracast on a number of podcast apps, such as Apple Podcasts, Downcast, Overcast, Spotify and others. Or direct from our site, https://www.theparacast.com. Audio quality is far better than AM.
Now many of you use Stitcher to hear The Paracast and other shows, but we’ve just learned that the service will be discontinued on August 29, 2023. In that notice, Stitcher podcasters are being asked to move their shows to SiriusXM’s Creator Connect, a part of SiriusXM satellite radio. What it means is that you’ll soon be able to listen to The Paracast on Pandora and other apps.
But there is even a better way to listen to The Paracast, a way that delivers better audio quality, and it solves the biggest complaint we’ve had about the show, and that’s the network ads.
And that’s The Paracast+.
Our Paracast+ streaming service is now in its 9th year and going strong. As with similar services, you can subscribe at an affordable rate.
With a Paracast+ subscription, you can download a version of the show with higher-quality audio, and 42 minutes of network ads removed. We also offer you a very special extra, the exclusive After The Paracast podcast, where you never know what’s going to happen next. And it’s not constrained by those FCC limitations, if you get what I mean.
To check out the details and sign up to The Paracast+ in a minute or so, please visit:
https://www.theparacast.plus
As you may know, our network, GCN, gives us exposure, but no payments. So another way to support the show is with your donation. So if you’d like to help the cause, feel free to send your donation to:
Pay The Paracast Company using PayPal.Me
If you have any questions, please let me know.
And thanks for listening.
In those days, it was mostly AM radio. It wasn’t until the 1970s that FM, with its superior audio quality, began to dominate the market. But AM had it over FM in terms of broadcast distance, at least if there was no competing station on the same channel.
So, from my home in Brooklyn, NY, I was able to listen each night to such clear channel stations as WSB in Atlanta and WLS in Chicago. And when I began to work at radio stations in smaller markets, hearing the latest rock tunes on those powerful stations gave me a leg up on programming the best music rotations.
Until I turned to news and talk radio, and so did AM. You didn’t need a wide frequency response, free of noise, to hear voices. But you still wanted AM for its greater distance, until satellite radio came along.
These days, there is actually a digital version of both AM and FM, known as HD, but you give up range for quality, and few autos come with the feature. Even portable radios with HD are not always available.
As most of you know, The Paracast is syndicated on a terrestrial network, GCN, and the signal is mostly carried on AM radio, though we have some FM outlets too. But things change, and AM radio will soon be history.
The growing number of EV cars is one key reason. Their electric motors can cause an annoying buzzing sound on AM radios, which is why you won’t get that feature on your Tesla, for example. If the station has a streaming app, or you download the GCN Radio app, you can still listen.
You can also listen to The Paracast on a number of podcast apps, such as Apple Podcasts, Downcast, Overcast, Spotify and others. Or direct from our site, https://www.theparacast.com. Audio quality is far better than AM.
Now many of you use Stitcher to hear The Paracast and other shows, but we’ve just learned that the service will be discontinued on August 29, 2023. In that notice, Stitcher podcasters are being asked to move their shows to SiriusXM’s Creator Connect, a part of SiriusXM satellite radio. What it means is that you’ll soon be able to listen to The Paracast on Pandora and other apps.
But there is even a better way to listen to The Paracast, a way that delivers better audio quality, and it solves the biggest complaint we’ve had about the show, and that’s the network ads.
And that’s The Paracast+.
Our Paracast+ streaming service is now in its 9th year and going strong. As with similar services, you can subscribe at an affordable rate.
With a Paracast+ subscription, you can download a version of the show with higher-quality audio, and 42 minutes of network ads removed. We also offer you a very special extra, the exclusive After The Paracast podcast, where you never know what’s going to happen next. And it’s not constrained by those FCC limitations, if you get what I mean.
To check out the details and sign up to The Paracast+ in a minute or so, please visit:
https://www.theparacast.plus
As you may know, our network, GCN, gives us exposure, but no payments. So another way to support the show is with your donation. So if you’d like to help the cause, feel free to send your donation to:
Pay The Paracast Company using PayPal.Me
If you have any questions, please let me know.
And thanks for listening.