Residents of the Village of Hilton now have their own, tailor-made, on-line music/news/information and sports radio station.
VillageRadio.Net recently began broadcasting in cyberspace and is the creation of 30-year plus broadcasting veteran Rick “RJ” Jordan.
He says VillageRadio.Net will do what radio does best – serve the community. “Rochester stations are in the ‘broad’casting business, but we’re in the ‘narrow’casting business. While they have to generate programming with the largest appeal to an entire region, we have the luxury of not having to do that.”
The station is targeted towards parents of children who play school sports and plays “Hilton’s Greatest Hits.”
“I like to call it ‘oldies for Generation X’ — we focus on ‘80s and ‘90s hits,” Jordan says. The songs are ones that got the most airplay in the area during that era and includes songs no longer making the playlists of local ‘terrestrial’ radio.
“We like to say, ‘Not some Rochester radio station’s version of the music you grew up with — these are Hilton’s Greatest Hits,” Jordan says.
In addition to music, there is local information twice each hour in the form of “What’s Happening” updates and “Community Billboards.”
“Any community member can email us info for the ‘What’s Happening’ updates, while ‘Community Billboards’ are designed to actually be voiced by community members,” Jordan says. “Anyone at a local, non-profit or community organization can call the station to be recorded reading their announcement over the phone, or they can record their announcement using the voice memo app on their smartphone, then email it to us to be aired. We also post info for some of the bigger events on our website.”
The station is seeking community volunteers to produce their own content – anything from weekly or daily community news features and daily high school sports, to reading daily Bible verses.
“We’re open to suggestions,” Jordan says. “I’m also seeking churches that would like us to air their worship services.”
Starting September 5, VillageRadio.Net will broadcast the entire schedule of 2015 Cadet Football games. The station has a play-by-play person confirmed to call the varsity games, but Jordan says additional volunteers are needed to call games, including play-by-play for Cadet varsity basketball this winter.
Jordan has worked at more than a dozen radio stations around the Northeast over his three decades-long career – including working as program director at market leading stations in Syracuse and Portland, Maine. Locally, he was heard on air at 98 PXY, Legends 102.7 and WCJW.
“I recently left my radio career to return to the record industry, as a record promoter for a Nashville-based company, so radio has gone from my career to my hobby, which I enjoy from the comfort of my home,” he says.
Jordan says that after moving his family from market to market, it was time to put down roots. He says broadcasting Hilton High School sports is an example of local radio at its best.
“Someone listening to a terrestrial station in Gates or Webster would have little interest in listening to Cadet Football, so it makes no sense from a ratings/revenue perspective for those stations to air the games. For us, it makes perfect sense,” he notes. “Local programming is our most valuable and unique asset.”
Additionally, a tower and transmitter are no longer necessary components of a radio station.
“Most homes now have more laptops, desktop PCs, and mobile devices than they have radios,” Jordan says. “Thanks to 4G and wifi, plus bluetooth in automobiles, residents will be able to easily listen to the station. I don’t know many folks who walk around with a radio in their pocket, but I know plenty who carry a smartphone. It will be easy for them to take VillageRadio.Net along with them.”
Note: To become involved in the station, contact Jordan at rj@villageradio.net. To stream Village Radio on your laptop or desktop, visit www.villageradio.net and click the “listen live” button. To download mobile APPS to stream Village Radio on a smartphone or tablet, click the “Mobile Apps” tab on the navigation bar.
