Save Our Signal! Politicians close in on votes needed to keep AM radio in every car

[melm00se]

33. When I worked in radio

in the late 80s, the Sunday morning God squad shows were money markers for the station and checked some required actions for our license renewals.

The Church or preacher, by contract, were required to deliver their tape to the station with a check no later than 10am on Thursday and signed the contract for next week's show.

If they were late? Oh well. They lost their slot.

The problem was that there were always Great and RIght Reverend so and so of the great and mighty church of something or other (they all sounded like they were recorded in the basement bathroom) who would jump at the fact to take over a slot.

We saw that happen a couple three times a year.

From a monetary standpoint? They paid the normal Sunday morning rate (I want to say $5 - $7.50 per 30 sec x 60 minus 25% for the bulk buy - did this so we didn't run afoul with the FEC political advertising rules) and we had college interns learning "Board operations" from 6 - 12n so the labor
cost was zero.

And like political ads, under no circumstances were we allowed to edit or change the religious show's tape. No pitching it to stretch or shrink to the contractual times. They could get up there an call down fire and brimstone on those FV&K1N6 sinners and we just had to deal with it (my 2nd job in radio was working for Mary in the business office to address all the FCC complaints about one of the shows (who swore a lot).

But it wasn't all about the money. Each one of those 30 minute snooze fests gave the station a nice check mark in their Public Service logbook.

They counted just as much as having the Fire Department come in and do a show (once a month for 6 months straight same topic different person but the same script) to discuss the shift from fire engine red trucks to their pea soup green trucks and the lady who discussed the relining of sewer pipes for an hour. I engineered that recording and drew the short straw for Sunday so I got the pleasure of hearing it twice.