I love a good DJ. I can remember staring at the boxy cassette radio waiting for that familiar voice. On August 24, 2011 the bell will toll for the beginning of the end of the music disc jockey.
On tiny KROV in San Antonio, 'Denise' will debut. She'll intro songs, give weather breaks and even tell a joke or two, but don't expect any emotion — Denise is the first robot DJ to take over a licensed AM/FM station. She is a computer program purchased for $200.
There's no denying that humans are expensive so a computer-driven substitute will save money. But radio has historically been personal. Maybe I'm being too nostalgic? There are no DJs at Pandora at all and people love that. Give a listen and tell me if it's the future of FM radio or the end of radio as we know it.
--MR
