The End of the Dr. Demento Show On Radio 206
damnbunni writes "Dr. Demento has announced that his long-running comedy radio show will be ending (except weekly in and around Amarillo, TX). Modern 'format' radio has been less and less friendly to oddball and offbeat programming, and after years of declining station membership the Doctor announced on June 6 that his radio show will be no more. He will still stream weekly shows on Saturday from his website, drdemento.com. While I'm sad to see the show go, nearly 40 years is a good run."
A bang or a whimper (Score:4, Insightful)
It's sad to see it go. The show that helped so many of the musicians that geeks love make it big.
How will we get our entertainment in the future? I think the net will let shows like Dr. Demento thrive.
Re:I'm ignorant (Score:5, Insightful)
I live in a small town. Clear Channel is one more way to erode something unique. The corporate whores at the FCC have decide to server their corporate masters, and this is just one more sympton.
Re:I'm ignorant (Score:5, Insightful)
Dr. Demento ran a syndicated radio show that focussed on the weird, offbeat, and just silly. Weird Al got his start there, for example. A large number of people in the geek community grew up listening to his show, especially as it's had a forty year run.
What's being lost? A bit of the unique, a bit of the oddball and unusual. Radio has become that little bit more boring and bland.
Re:I'm ignorant (Score:5, Insightful)
Though I agree with your sentiments, I have to point out, nothing is being lost. It is being redirected. As the Demento audience declines internet useage increases. Your strange, silly, and plain funny are now online. Radio is going the way of the newspaper. There is a new medium in town.
Formative years... (Score:5, Insightful)
When I read this today, a was quite saddened. For whatever reason, I identified with Dr. Demento. I remember listening to him when I was 10/11/12. It appealed to me and helped me form my identity today. It wasn't like I was introduced to it, it was patently "un-cool", but the show and the music struck a chord with me. I understood it and I understood there were obviously other people out there who thought like me and were interested in the same things. Call it "geeky" or "nerdy" if you wish, but it was uniquely me in a way that few people around me could even begin to understand. A friend at a time I didn't have any.
Comment removed (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Wow (Score:5, Insightful)
Just out of curiosity, why the hell is going online/podcast a last-last ditch effort for this guy? He's got a name recognition that would draw people in, and the format would seem to work well for podcasting. At the very least a podcast could drive people to his website and help him sell a few CD's/tshirts. I get he's an old school guy and up until recently still had a terrestrial broadcast to do, but you'd think someone would have come to them at some point and suggested this.
Radio is a wasteland. Honestly, I didn't even know he was still on the air. I never got to hear him locally.
There are so many weird and wonderful new things online. Just look at all the stuff that's being produced, from song parodies to music video parodies to fan films and the like. The impetus never went away, it's just not channeled through his show. As a case in point, MST3K. Had a great run, died a horrible death on the Skiffy Channel. Resurrected in the form of Cinematic Titanic and Rifftrax. They both seem to be making money doing what they're doing. I just get a kick out of hearing Tom Servo's voice riffing on new, crappy movies. I only wish Trace was working on that project, too. Mike I could do without -- I'm still hoping Joel comes back. (Give it up, man. Yeah, I know.)
All that being said, I agree with the other poster -- Demento has huge name recognition. He should be able to get enormous traffic with it. Look at what the Onion's done with their online presence. And they seem to be making money -- at the very least they haven't closed up shop yet.
Re:I'm ignorant (Score:3, Insightful)
You are incorrectly assuming that, in the absence of Clear Channel stations, some other broadcaster would not choose to use those same frequencies.
Another way to look at is that Clear Channel owns all the high-power stations in the area, leaving the little guys no room but to broadcast on low-power frequencies.
Re:Wow (Score:1, Insightful)
Because theres no money in podcasting, and his audience will shrink as a result.
I listen to a ton of podcasts, but I know I'm in the minority. Until every car has a reliable 3g internet connection, podcasting has no chance to reach the audience needed to pull in the sponsor money to compete with radio. You just end up with people like Adam Carolla bleeding his own money just because he enjoys doing it, and even his show has become mostly plugging live events to try to keep the lights on.