As bad as radio has degraded for most of us discerning listeners, there are many who still listen to Chicago music stations.

I was recently in a UPS store. WXRT-FM was playing and when I asked, they said it's their go-to station.

A trip to a sandwich shop had WLS-FM playing. The problem was the last song was ending before they went into an 8-minute commercial break. The TOH was announced along with HD1. I thought this ID was over with. The next song was so-so and it got me to thinking. Eight minutes of ads and a song which is not a power tune. The listener has just wasted nearly 12 minutes or more.

If I'm advertising on any station, I don't want my commercial buried in a cluster this long.

A second trip to the sandwich shop has WLS-FM still playing, however, the signal was not coming in very well. I asked one of the workers if changing the station to a stronger one would be possible. I may have well of been speaking a foreign language. This hour of FM static on WLS-FM is brought to you buy....

Many of us listen to our personal music libraries at home or in our cars. I am one of them. It's the digital age.

There is the segment of friends who are very loyal to a Chicago FM station and will tolerate long commercial loads. I wonder if they hold a PPM device? Sometimes, a CD or get this; a cassette is inserted, and their music is heard in that
fashion.

I have mentioned the fact many stations are either running jockless or using voice-tracking. It doesn't seem to make a difference with some listeners. They want **their** music. Sort of reminds me of Jack-FM with the snarky liners.

I recall reading in the radio trades ads for a DJ on a major or medium market station. Some of the requirements were good working the phones, running the board, cutting commercials, attending station events and living the lifestyle of said station.

Today, DJs are hired to be fired. It's just a matter of when and not if.

I study the writings of WYTZZ95FM. He's been around for a very long time and gives it to you straight. I'm glad he's an active member here.

The same for Jeremy Andrews. Both men are radio
encyclopedias. There are other valuable writers who are too numerous to mention. Keep posting and thank you for furnishing all of this knowledge.