Stuff Only I Would Notice

We can't say the New London County radio market had been lacking a country radio outlet or a female-focused adult contemporary station, but the field just got a bit more crowded. I wish the new entrants at least as much luck as someone who works for the competition can. I'm sure some considerable planning and effort went into launching these new station formats, but leave it to this radio geek to ask the silly questions. With the possible exception of right-wing talk, I can't think of another format that wraps itself more in the American flag than country music. Hey, Canadian and Australian artists score well on the country charts too. There's even French Canadian country. Jazz is about as American as music can get, but even the more widely - and commercially - accepted soul and rock trace their roots to the good ol' USA. Are country artists or fans more patriotic? I don't think so. Radio is also very focused on audience age and gender, but I find much of the adult contemporary playlist more listenable than ten years ago, even though the programmers may not care whether a guy over 55 likes it or not. Is it really necessary to project such a "women only" image between the songs that I'm made to feel unwelcome setting a button for that station? I like lots of different types of songs and understand today's competitive need to superserve a demographic, but why tell me I'm not wanted?