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Home Front: Culture Wars
Military Radio May Go Hip Hop
2006-06-05
U.S. military stations around the world could soon be playing more hip-hop and rock and cutting back on country music, sports and talk shows. The consulting group Lund Media Research recommended those changes after an analysis of American Forces Radio, and officials will meet this week to discuss the proposals.
Disclaimer: I did 4 tours in AFRTS on the maintenance side. Every few years one of these surveys pops up claiming to know "what the troops want". Troops response is "Huh? No one asked me!"
The most significant change would be creating two music stations for worldwide broadcast. One would feature mostly hip-hop, rap and pop music, and the other would play classic rock, alternative bands and a mix of Top 40 selections.
AFRTS stations have gone automated, satellite feeds from broadcast center are played direct most of the day. Local spots inserted as needed, manned outlets normally do a morning and afternoon "drive-time" show. Bases with cable systems may carry multiple radio channels, locations with transmitters can select which feed they broadcast during different hours.
Popular talk shows, such as Rush LimbaughÂ’s program and those from National Public Radio, would be relegated to a third station broadcast only in a few select areas, according to the military publication Stars and Stripes.
Since when has NPR ever been "popular"? Rush is hugely popular, except by HQ AFRTS staff. They've tried several times to kill his show since it was forced on them. I heard this disscussion first hand.
Lund also recommended abandoning play-by-play broadcasts of American sports events, which attract few listeners. Those games would instead be available via the cable and satellite systems of American Forces Radio and Television Services (AFRTS).

Lund found that talk radio isn’t popular among troops under age 34, and country music, while it does have an audience, is very unpopular among many military personnel. "They said when we play country, we pull in the country fans but lose everyone else,” said Warren Lee, operations and plans officer for AFRTS.
And when you play rap and hip hop you lose everyone who doesn't like them either. Plus, the biggest hip hop records tend to be so vulgar, the AFRTS outlets can't play them.
The report also recommends removing the Tom Joyner show from over-the-air broadcasts as well, despite its popularity among minority troops. Several white respondents complained about the show, and Lund officials deemed it too controversial for AFRÂ’s attempts to broaden its listening audience.
"Several white respondents" which included several Wing Commanders
The rationale behind the proposed changes is simple, according to Andy Friedrich, deputy director for AFRTS: To attract the largest possible audience.
I think Andy has been there since the earth cooled
If officials decide to accept the Lund recommendations, the changes could be implemented by January 2007 at the earliest.
More info at Stars and Gripes
Posted by:Steve

#7  What the Captain and Sgt. M sed.
Posted by: 6   2006-06-05 17:19  

#6  I can hear it now:

Check it out!
I hip hop the hippie the hippie to the hip hip hop, and you dont stop
the rock it to the bang bang boogie say up jumped the boogie
to the rhythm of the boogie, the beat
now what you hear is not a test--I'm rappin to the beat
and me, the groove, and my friends are gonna try to move your feet
see I'm A-F-R and I say hello
to the black, to the white, the red, and the brown, the purple and yellow
well, my name is known all over the world
by all the foxy ladies and the pretty girls
I'm goin down in history
as the baddest military there could ever be
planes go up real high and drop the JDAMs below
the concussion starts gettin into your toes
ya start poppin jihadis with an M-82
and movin your body right down to your shoes
and the Ba'athists start doin the freak
I said damn, right outta their seat
then they throw they hands high in the air
surrenedrin' before we kick their derriere
we're rockin to the beat without a care
with the sureshot ordinance for the affair
singin on n n on n on n on
the war dont stop until the break of dawn . . .
Posted by: Mike   2006-06-05 16:57  

#5  Amen, Capt. America!
Posted by: Sgt. Mom   2006-06-05 12:39  

#4  Let the men and women listen to whatever the hell they want to listen to.

Stop being a nanny.
Posted by: Captain America   2006-06-05 12:29  

#3  "They said when we play country, we pull in the country fans but lose folks who'd rather hear music that denigrates women into whores and bitches whose only function is a sex toy for murderous gold-tooth sporting drug dealers in fancy cars everyone else,” said Warren Lee, operations and plans officer for AFRTS."
Posted by: mcsegeek1   2006-06-05 12:04  

#2  Just what I was thinking HU. Buy/lease several Sirius channels and unencrypt them so any Sirius receiver, whether on subscription or not, can play them. Same for TV. Have a few unencrypted channels of DISH or whatever DBS satellite is active in that hemisphere. It will be a heck of a lot cheaper than having AFRTS staff in each of the theaters and variety can be expanded.
Posted by: ed   2006-06-05 11:57  

#1  You'd think in a world with XM and Sirius radio that this is one serious place Rummey could outsource the whole department and let the troops tune to what ever rocks their boat. What's the break even mark for a relay satellite versus funding this bureaucratic pit?
Posted by: Unaimp Hupert6199   2006-06-05 11:33  

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