According to a DTV spokesperson, this week's transition to digital television should be practically invisible to people at radio stations. And radio is considerably more ready for the change now than the industry was at the original deadline in February.On Friday, analog transmissions from full-power TV stations will cease as the TV world goes fully digital. In the case of older television sets without a connection to cable or satellite TV, converter boxes will be necessary for the sets to receive digital signals over the air.
"I think every radio station had an old junker of an analog TV sitting there kinda disintegrating in the news room," explained Charm Luckee of the National DTV Switchover Crisis Council. "Heck no it wasn't connected to cable or satellite, and more likely it had aluminum foil on the rabbit ears to get a poor excuse of a signal even from a local station."
"Now that news rooms have been virtually eliminated, along with nearly everything else local about a radio station, there are fewer of these piece-of-crap ancient TV sets to worry about," the chatty Charm beamed. "That old 'news room' has probably been turned into storage, and who the hell goes into the storage room to watch their soaps?" she asked somewhat logically.
"That is, if there are people at the station at all these days. Or if the ones that are there have any free time any more to catch a glimpse of the noon news or Wheel Of Fortune in between doing extra tasks heaped on them after the callous firings of their co-workers and friends."
Laughing nervously, she continued in an almost maniacal tone: "So yeah, radio stations are now in lots better shape for the DTV transition than they were back in February, thanks to the total abandonment of localism and ever-continuing rampant consolidation! We love you guys!"
