You take your kids to a "G" rated movie...and you unknowingly expose them to "R" rated previews.You hop in the car to drive them to school...and even on many family-valued country formatted stations, you now hear content that just a couple years ago would have been considered way out of line.
I'm not even talking about the big ones--the four letter variety. Most air talent and programmers are smart enough to stay away from them. It's the little ones: "...this sucks!", "that blows...", "what an a-hole..." and beyond, etc. Stick enough of them in your on air presentation and you'll definately make some moms and dads pretty uptight in the car with the kids.
Yeah yeah...I know the arguments. Push the limits. They use that verbiage on virtually every prime time TV show---why can't we say it on the air? My question is: Why should you?
If you want to be a "safe spot"...if that's part of the brand essence of the station---why would you want to mess with the brand? (Certainly, it's a different story if you're an 18-34 driven young country station--then, the edge is part of your competitive brand attack) For a mainstream country station, your attempt to sound cool, hip, and connected to youth---makes you sound out of sync with the middle-aged core of the format. On top of that, the format gets so many important quarter-hours from 35-54 females, why take the chance on offending them and alienating your listeners?
Maybe I'm just getting older and my perspective is changing as I mature. While I know what to expect from the Top 40 stations they want to listen to---and do my best to control that exposure to my kids in the car...I find myself confused about some of the content I'm hearing on country stations. I find myself shielding my pre-teen girls from edgy jock raps, some tasteless, sophomoric promo and commercial content (and now, even some songs) on the country stations. (Daddy-what's male enhancement?)
My kids love country music too...but some country stations (along with the writers, artists, and labels)--in another attempt to make country "cool" keep pushing the edges out further and further. A little "ass" here...a little "damn" there. After awhile, "Shut up you a-hole", "that sucks/blows" doesn't even seem out of place...except to the listener with kids in the car.
Where is the filtering? Where are the gate-keepers? Aren't Program Directors guiding the talent away from brand damaging content? Doesn't the talent know where the line is? Is anyone paying attention to the product and listener expectations?
Is this another by-product of overwhelmed multiple hat-wearing Program Directors that don't have enough time to work with the talent and help them---help themselves? Is this a result of air talent trying to be as "edgy" as the Top 40 or Rock station down the hall? Will country stations continue to push the envelope further and further away from the safe center?
I hope not--because this sucks! (and blows too!) If you get my drift.
