even BBC local radio plays some great tunes - ive been listening to some BBC radio London and heard about damn time by lizzo & as it was by harry styles - both songs that the ABC would never touch
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One thing in my view was better in the past was the talkback and news. There were more resources inside the newsrooms and a lot more choice in Sydney in respect to talk back shows. Even 2ws had a talkback segment for breakfast.
Music yes I can see the point both ways esp with community radio these days. Maybe for my tastes I like the modern music in the 80s and before. (60s and 70s) The 90s also had some good songs but there were a lot a didnât like at the time. (My taste might have changed now).
Radio stations were more polished back then. I think due to more money. It was just a different time. No doubt there are still a lot of hard working people in radio. Today, a station like 2sm has lot of hardworking staff members.
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there was less competition - no streaming radio, pay tv, etc
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Yeah I agree @Tejas57. I think the bad thing of the internet it has diluted our options. Having a world without internet we had more one stop shops for news ( for example)
We canât go back. Anyway overall, I think the internet is great. I can listen to Braidwood FM without having to move there.
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Itâs funny with news lately, Iâve been scanning the daily (print) papers online thanks to my NLA card. The articles are generally still more comprehensive than those found online, though the SMH is definitely a shadow of its former self. The advantage of online news is primarily its immediacy; reading the papers around lunchtime (when they appear in the academic databases) feels literally a little behind the times. The Conversation is an excellent source of no-nonsense online news and analysis, though.
ABC NewsRadio provides a useful quick summary of events if you donât have the luxury of reading articles online. I admit (as other posters have said) that its weekend and after hours output leaves a bit to be desired, regurgitating content from RN and other sources.
Musically I think community radio is the only choice if you want adventurous programming.
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i asked my wifes late grandad when he found about the death of King George VI - he said he was camping in country SA and didnât know for a few days after it was announced. i expect when QEII passes on my phone will go mentel with push notifications and iâll know within minutes
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I know this is a bit too random, but this video gives a good feel how very different Sydney and Australia was in the 60s. A percentage of this is propaganda but it adds to the charm. You can reflect upon how different it was and radio in the past would reflect this. Fact of the matter our economy has changed.
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I love those videos of old Sydney. The Sydney Tramway Museumâs vids are good as well, not only for the (original) trams but also for the streetscapes. It was truly a different world back then. The Boomers may well have seen the best of things given the world is somewhat on the brink now, but I digress.
What is âgood radioâ is a bit like measuring a piece of string (or wire antenna). Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Myself, I prefer the older style of hyper-local content and more laissez-faire music selection.
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A random question, does anyone know what API iHeartRadio uses to get now playing information from streaming stations?
I have been able to gather thatâs it operates like a Shazam type system, and gathers whatâs playing via the music playing instead of pulling raw meta data from the stream.
I would love to be able to pull that information from there server or API to implement on my own website, since I have one of my stations listed on their site.
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I think youâre right there. Take some stations I listen to, Club Jam EDM and Club Jam Dance which play continuous club mixes. On Sonos it displays some generic file name from a automation system whereas on the iHeartRadio app it displays the song title and artist. I doubt these club mixes would have the song details saved as metadata. See screenshots below.
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The KIIS logo is now in its ninth year, is it the oldest logo for a radio station currently in use?
Or is it the tired old MMM logo?
Perhaps even 2GB.
Maybe there is an even older regional logo.
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NEW FM are still using their original 1989 logo pretty much, they did change it for a while in the early 00s but have gone back to their original one now.
I reckon most BOG stations are using logos that are quite old now.
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I think the tired old MMM logo is older. Iâve hated the MMM logo from day 1
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I did like the original Triple M logo in 1980
Simple and clear.
I agree that the more recent ones are not too likeable.
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So true and 2SM as well.
Thatâs if you can call the 2SM one a logo - itâs more just an unattractive and plain font!
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Back when you needed a brain to listen to Triple MâŚ
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I think youâre better off using your own meta data from your stream.
I often listen to VintageFM (and 2CH before they disappeared) on iheart and its amazing how many times the wrong song name appears, or no song name at all. They do play a lot of rarities and songs not available to download anywhere, so obviously the songs concerned arenât in the iheart database - yet all songs appear correct on other apps like Tunein. Youâll probably find that youâd have the same issue on Starter, as Iâd guess youâd also play many songs that may not be in the iheart radio database 
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96fm in Perth currently uses the font for its original 1980 logo (albeit in front of a KIIS mouth logo). Although 96fm has used other logos in between. 3AW has used the same logo since 2007.
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2LM has had this one since at least the mid-1990s
The 2SM logo has been around since the early 2000s
4CA still has a variation of this 1980s logo
Hot FM in Darwin is still using a variation of the logo its had since day 1 (1991)
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I actually really like the KIIS logo, itâs miles better than the old Mix logos.
I also like the Triple M logo that came into being in 2004, itâs a good logo for a rock station targeted to males.
The new Smooth logo is good as is the new Hit network logos. I really didnât like the old Hit network logo with the pink exclamation mark in between a blue H.
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