John,

There is more than a singular viewpoint concerning this, more of a whole picture effect that you did not seem to have considered.

They are a locally owned company. There is a big difference between Milwaukee Radio Alliance and iHeart or Audacy. How many of those can you point to me in the Top50 markets in the US these days? Especially that O&O more than one signal in the market? Milwaukee Radio Alliance employees were super serving their audience. Something iHeart is not, when their PD is MD, tracking 5 others stations and has 5 other job titles including janitor. A lot of people are losing their jobs in this move. They will never work in this market again as the amount of rated secular commercial radio stations are drying up. They might not ever work again.

I am Christian but EMF is a toxic fatal disease. What IS EMF bringing to the table for Milwaukee? The amount of other jobs lost is major too. EMF set up shop, pipe in programming. No traditional sales team, no board ops, no engineers, no major amount of leased or purchased space, no janitor needed, no taxes paid. Same content in hundreds of other transmitters across the country, same thing. Leeches shrinking the economy. Can you point to an EMF outlet that is full service, 24 hours a day, full live on air staff and does not retransmit the national online feed? (I will wait, but if I wait too long I will die waiting).

You are also now shrinking the possible offerings of content on the AM and FM dial. You said, just turn the dial. You are right. But at some point, it will no longer sustain the industry anymore and there will no longer be a "dial" to change. Furthermore, it is assumed everyone can afford broadband or have a reliable signal. (I recently moved, not to the country either. I have ZERO reliable wireless signals at my new domicile. I move 1 foot in another direction I lose signal. Digest this, in the US, not on a farm or rural area). Or to the point that they have a reliable signal but users can afford to consume it unlimited. It is not the case. You also have P2 consumers (not the P1 which radio thrives on to make most money and appeal to as primary consumers). The P2 consumers are secondary consumers of radio, or supplement it to digital online offerings, or are exposed to it indirectly when others which are P1 are tuned in (ie: driving in a car). Less offerings on the dial, less people available to consume what is being offered.

Absolutely NOT allow commercial signals under 91.9fm, the worst thing you can do. When we start flirting with thoughts like this, next thing you know, GMRS, Ham, CB and other public usage will be exploited and eliminated. But your viewpoint is understood why you think that way and that it is viewed as normal, because It is ruled and driven by EMF manipulating the weak FCC rules and propagating over the 91.9 threshold. The amount of tax sheltering they utilize along with the pledge drives is criminal. They have to keep burning money they sit on. How? Purchase more distressed signals. The goals is domination, control, no competition, you will have it shoved down your throat. Once again, changing the dial will not be an option. Think I am wrong, go research how they totally steered the CCR music industry away from the record labels (think about the 90s how CCR music was charting on the Hot100 and is non existent now) to the mega churches and to EMF. Single outlet. They don't like you? Don't like your politics? Don't like your religion? Don't like your sexuality? They will not play you. They do not have to when they are a monopoly with no competition. Who is "they"? EMF. The only game in town, controlling the artists and the broadcasting it on their outlets. Who is EMF competition? (I will wait again, but once again, if I wait too long I will die waiting). The solution to this was to expand the FM dial below 88FM, like the rest of the world, but the US was sleeping at the wheel again. Like their crappy HD radio standards, AM Stereo..... I can go on. Add these atrocities to the decline of the medium.

In reality, this is over, I have said it before many times. Radio is slowly declining and at some point the decline will speed up as the ball rolling down hill gains momentum. The AM daytimers and now full service AM signals going dark or being turned in is escalating. The next is FM. You are seeing the initial steps, this is one of them. Elimination of local ownership and moving in of religious broadcasters like EMF, offering no creativity, variety and nothing to the economy, locally or nationally.

Majority of the time like your input John, but yes, just turning the dial is an option, it is just not sustainable and it it goes away, so do many jobs, careers and nothing of equal value to replace it and benefit the economy. Let alone lack of variety, different viewpoints or a monopoly controlling this and us. It is not just ^you^, it is ^us^ that in the end, will suffer from this wrecking ball.

Z