People who know me know that I’m an absolute freak about radio.  It started when my parents would leave a radio in my crib when I was a baby, and it really kicked in when I discovered a local radio station about to go on the air when I was in high school and walked in and demanded a job.  Anyone who works in the industry will tell you that once you’re in, it’s like a drug, and it’s damn nigh impossible to walk away from it.  It gets in your blood.  It bonds you to the people in your industry, and it becomes a part of who you are.

When I broke the story in late 2005 that Infinity Radio (now CBS Radio) was going to end 20 years of rock in New York City and change 92.3 K-Rock to “Free FM,” where they’d air talk personalities all day and rock only in overnights and on the weekends, I took it personally.  Not only did I have friends who worked at the station, but I almost felt like it was an insult that CBS would be willing to get rid of such a heritage station and leave the biggest (and best) city in the country without a rock station.  And I suffered as the new Free FM sank in the ratings until it was the lowest-rated FM station in New York, knowing that when I eventually went back to the city I was born in, the city that holds such significance for me, there wouldn’t be a rock radio station for me to listen to.  It was almost like the city was missing a piece of something that made it so special.

Until today.  I should’ve seen it coming, and I speculated that it might happen, but I was still surprised when a co-worker called from New York and woke me this morning to say that Free FM was stunting.  The talk days were over.  And at 5pm Eastern today, the talking stopped and the music started again.  92.3 K-Rock was reborn.  And again, in some ways, I’m taking it personally.  I feel like a good part of New York has been restored, and I feel happy that I know that when I go back to New York, there’s a rock station waiting for me.  Even better, my friends who were still there kept their jobs, adding relief to the happiness.

I don’t expect people to understand.  I realize that radio isn’t as much a part of everyone’s life as it is mine, and I realize that it’s not as important to everyone as it is to me.  But I’m hoping that despite how people rail against the radio industry and say how awful it is these days, we won a little victory today — CBS Radio realized they made a mistake, and now they’re trying to make it right:  Introducing 92.3 K-Rock, Mark 2, The Rock of New York.