The Infinite Dial

In February, when the Presidential election had already made itself a surprise part of pop culture, we did a Super Tuesday dial scan of New York area morning shows to see how they were acknowledging the election. The answer was that they weren't acknowledging primary day very much. As has been custom, there was more exhortations to vote on Urban radio, but little topicality otherwise, beyond the usual "polling places are now open" mentions in a newcast.

But that was before today's voting was dubbed the election of a lifetime. Before this election returned "Saturday Night Live" to the center of pop culture itself. Before the long lines for early voting and long lines again today. So today, we decided to see what kind of presence the election had by streaming a cross-section of radio from across the state of Pennsylvania, the focus of so much attention in the last few days of campaigning. I put special emphasis on those parts of Pennsylvania that resemble the Midwest as much as the Northeast, figuring they'd offer a different picture than the Philadelphia radio I can hear from our Somerville ofrfices.

The day's listening still hewed to the pattern we heard on Super Tuesday. The Urban station we monitored made a big deal of the election. So did the NPR affiliate. The younger-leaning Active Rock station used the election as the springboard for a very good on-air bit. Overall, however, you were more likely to hear about the election during a stopset or a newscast than in the on-air break that preceded it. Here's what a day's worth of listening in 30-to-50 minute increments turned up:

The first station I tuned in was longtime Oldies/Classic Hits outlet WWSW (3WS) Pittsburgh. Two rotating panels on 3WS' Website led to a central Clear Channel election news page. On the air, though, there was no mention of the election. To be fair, there wasn't much jock talk at all, but there was a mention of a Penguins trade and the station's dining deals feature.

I decided to head for small-town Central Pennsylvania and check out Adult Top 40 WQKX (94KX) Sunbury. No mention of the election on the Website here. And for the first half-hour of my visit, the only mention of the election was two ads for local races. Then a local newscast came on at 11 a.m., (impressive in itself), and the first story was broken machines in Northumberland County that were throwing out any vote for a straight party ticket. The second was on a rise in gun sales, which a local dealer attributed to a rise in pre-election anxiety.

The next stop was Urban WAMO-FM Pittsburgh. On WAMO's homepage, one of the rotating lead items encouraged listeners to "roll to the polls." Clicking through got you advice on voting, such as, "if polling machines are broken, it is okay to complete an emergency ballot. Your vote will be counted" and "nothing supporting the candidates should be worn at the polls." Another link took you to Google Maps to find your voting location.

There was a passing mention of election day during the music sweep. But when WAMO did break for spots, the midday host was joined by a representative from the League of Young Voters and an attorney the ACLU Election Protection office. There was another mention of broken machines (no specific location this time) and the oft-heard reminder on Urban stations that "people have died throughout history" for a right to vote that isn't fully appreciated today. The difference this year was the coda: "so it's great to see all the excitement this year."

From there, we went to Top 40 WRTS (Star 104) Erie. Star also devoted two rotating panels to the election: one offered a number to call to find your polling place, the other led to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's voter website. The Commonwealth was also running a get-out-the-vote PSA on WRTS in which half the audio kept disappearing to dramatize what 50% voter turnout would sound like. That was followed by an ad promoting the election news coverage of the local Fox affiliate. The one jock nod to the day was to acknowledge "your Election Day edition of the All-Request Lunchbox."

No mention of the election on the Website at Country WFGI (Froggy 95) Johnstown, Pa., (although there were plenty of other civic events: a school visit program and an upcoming Veterans Day). None from the jock either; (I gave the station an hour since I missed at least two potential breaks--one because of buffering). I did hear the state PSA again, though.

Next to the state house and Classic Rock WTPA Harrisburg, Pa. No mention of the election on the homepage or on-air. Most of the on-air real estate went to the station's "Tanks-Giving Song of the Day." One possible clue to the lack of Election Day content: When the Song of the Day finally played, the on-air jock wasn't the person who announced the winner.

Big contrast at Citadel's Active Rock WBSX (979X) Scranton/Wilkes Barre, Pa., which was using Election Day to encourge listeners to "Vote the Rock," a variant on the March Madness or Battle of the Bands contest, pitting off Godsmack vs. the Foo Fighters, then Nirvana vs. Slipknot in the hours I listened. The mood here was, of course, decidedly light (one promo promised "no debates, no ads, no polls..."), but it was at least the level of topicality you might have expected. And the jock eventually did mention the real election, reminding the listeners of the free stuff that merchants were offering voters that day. There was also an election news link on WBSX's website.

After a day of staying away from Philadelphia I swung by WBEB (B101) Philadelphia, which, as I wrote this, was playing John Mayer's "Waiting for the World to Change." B101's midday host did mention Election Day, urging listeners "after you've voted today, vote again" in the station's on-line Christmas music poll. (Listeners could also vote on when they wanted to hear Christmas music.) "The polls are open anytime," listeners were told, "your vote counts." (There was no mention of the election itself on B101's homepage.)

I ended the day's listening at non-commercial WXPN Philadelphia, which was in the syndicated "World Cafe" where host David Dye has devoted the last half-hour to songs with political connections, from Bill Clinton's use of Fleetwood Mac's "Don't Stop" to Frank Sinatra's "High Hopes" (JFK's campaign song) to Jesse Winchester rewriting "Tell Me Why You Like Roosevelt" to mention Pierre Trudeau. WXPN's Website has a "Decision Day" link to NPR News and its photo of the day is a wire-service picture of a voter casting an absentee ballot under a giant American flag.

Again, we weren't expecting gravity here, or for p.m. drivers to become pundits. And the story obviously would have been a little different had we focused on All-News or Talk radio. But there was surprisingly little topicality, even in the heartland sections of the state that were courted so vigorously last weekend. To toggle back from a music radio site to a news site was to feel like you were rejoining the day's major story, not merely experiencing it on a different platform.