by Garet G. Sarkisian
YOU KNOW, I really like WINA radio, AM 1070 in Charlottesville. They have a variety of views represented — not just one solid phalanx of party hacks like WCHV or that “progressive” station on 1450. They have the most complete local news. And when bad weather strikes, they get on the ball fast with live reports on conditions so my family and I can stay as safe as possible.
But why, oh why don’t they have a live streaming feed of their station on their Web site, or anywhere on the Internet? (Yes, they have podcasts of some of their shows, but that is definitely not the same thing — for one thing, podcasts aren’t live.)
After all, they are an AM-only station, and with the rising tide of noise on the AM band from CFL lamps to switching power supplies to computer monitors, there are many places (especially my office) where the AM signal is just plain painful to listen to. Or inaudible. And, like many AM stations, they reduce their power at night. In some areas of the county, they might as well sign off at night considering how weak their signal gets.
All of these problems could be instantly solved if WINA streamed their programming live on the ‘Net. I could listen to them on my desktop or laptop anywhere in the city or county — or, for that matter, in Rome or Peru or Afghanistan — and have absolutely perfect reception. I could use free software to record the programs to listen to later on my iPod.
So, please, WINA, grant my wish: start streaming your excellent station on the Web!