Living in the past

Some time ago I was reading the Yfm page on Facebook and, I must say, I was not surprised at the number of people who are still complaining about the changes that have taken place at the station, two years down the line.

This got me wondering why it is that people are just so hell-bent on living in the past. I fully understand the fact that the station was the mouthpiece of the youth. I also fully understand the fact that people came to love not just the station but also its personalities as though they were a part of their own family. That’s all good and well, but what I find interesting is the fact that people tend to forget that even though the role of these personalities is to entertain, radio is also their chosen career path and in one’s career there comes a time when one should move on. Unfortunately Yfm is only but a regional station and one gets to a point where one would like to spread one’s wings.

While reading the FB page, one can’t help but note how some people can get really mean and tactless. Others get to a point of blatantly calling some of the Y DJs idiots, blonde and so forth. I am yet actually to read where even though someone is not impressed with the direction the station has taken, they actually have some constructive criticism to give. It’s so much easier just to be negative and destroy, but it is much more difficult to build.

The fact remains that the “new” breed of Y DJs have humongous shoes to fill and this is not an easy task. Fact remains that the likes of your Freshes and Thomases were never embraced immediately either. They also received hate mail, yet people would like to make it seem as though they were hailed as heroes from the onset. That’s not the case.

Some complain not about the DJs but about the music. They go as far as saying that the station is not growing with them. To me, that’s like saying that one can be in grade one forever since it will grow with you. Come now, in life one grows and moves on. Why is it then that Yfm is expected to grow with people?! The station’s core target market is 16- to 24-year-olds. If you feel the station has “dumbed down” and no longer caters for your listening needs, maybe you need to sit down and think that maybe, just maybe, you are no longer part of the target age group? Hence the existence of different radio stations.

I just wish people would just stop crucifying the DJs for simply following what is requested of them and doing their level best to fill giant shoes in order to entertain. The constant negativity is simply getting tired. It’s two years down the line. Let’s build a bridge and get over it already.