Does that make us bad...? Probably

I'm not too sure what's going on over at WKIO (formerly Oldies 92.5), but so far it doesn't sound all that promising.

Granted, their old Oldies format was getting more than a bit tattered, And the announcers ... that's another rant in itself.

But this past week the station suddenly became 92.5 The Chief. It still seems to be playing much the same music (maybe a few newer than usual songs...) but it all appears to be prerecorded, pre-programmed and computer controlled. Not a live voice to be heard anywhere. As tired as the station seemed at times, at least it was nice once in a while to hear a real, live voice talking about something happening in our community. Haven't heard a live voice from them all week.

Then there's the shouted-out title: 'The Chief Plays What the Chief Wants.' A good, sound listener-oriented philosophy, if you ask me.

Finally, there's the name. There's no real indication of such, but it sure appears that the station's trying to grab onto Chief Illiniwek's faux-authentic feathered NCAA basketball coat tails. Let's hear it for corporate racism. In truth, there's no mention of the pathetic suburban-white-boy-mascot on the station's new Web site, http://www.925thechief.com/ but the site's all done up in unmistakable Orange and Blue.

I wonder if the station thinks it can increase its listenership by endorsing an outdated, simplistic racial stereotype? If that's so, I can hear radio dials throughout the area spinning in other directions in a hurry.

I know for sure at the first broadcast hint of an Illiniwek connection, I'm gone. For good. And I'll bet a good deal of others will be, too. The station didn't have that much going for it before... With that ...

Finally: After the computer/announcer defiantly shouts out the 'The Chief Plays What the Chief Wants', he follows it with 'That doesn't make us bad, does it?'

Uh, yeah, it does.

And so it goes