Atlantic Oldies 2NG

The vast majority of the radio stations in the U.K. will have a brief news bulletin at the top of the hour, no matter what time of day it is. I grew up with and got used to it. Over here in Washington, DC, I can get a brief summary of the news during what they call their peak hours, “drivetime”. Other times, forget it. I need to swing to a news station (which to get impartial news is not one of the most easy tasks, but that is another story).

A common request over the couple of years has been to ask for a news bulletin. Until recently there has been very little option for us small internet radio stations, cough up some $$$ for a small ad-free bulletin that may get updated or nothing. Being a small station, every $ counts, so that was not an option. USA Radio News has been around for quite a while providing syndicated programming and news bulletins to many stations and has now offered Internet Radio stations like mine access to these bulletins. The only caveat is we have to air the commercials that they place with them. This is called “barter” in the trade and is a small price to pay.

As we concentrate on the music, I’ve decided for now, just to air the news bulletins every three hours from 1am Monday to 7pm Friday night (EST) and just twice on the weekend days (7am and 1pm EST, although I will add 10am soon). The reason I play them less at weekends is that I know we’re often a frequent choice for dinner parties etc. We’ll be mellowing those hours soon.

Initial feedback is encouraging, and you’re never more than two minutes from that great next oldie.

As ever, let us know what you like and don’t, and don’t forget to take part in the 2NG Top 100 Survey