In the late '80s, while listening to a Classical music station, WNIB, in Chicago, I was struck by how thoroughly the station was making its case for support. In laying out the station's case, the announcer noted the call letters of three stations in Chicago that used to have Classical formats. The announcer continued that the station needed listeners to continue supporting "this select taste."
There's a parallel between WNIB's plea for support and the rationale for buying a jazz record instead of copying it that I once read on an LP sleeve. "Jazz is not a mass market format," it said on the sleeve. The pitch pointed out that when listeners copy a record instead of buying it, they hurt the very musicians whose work they enjoy.
It's a shame that, in both cases, it was necessary to state what should have been obvious.
