By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM

To paraphrase a line from John Fitzgerald Kennedy: “Ask not what your station can do for you, ask what you can do for your station.”

Think of this as a reverse QSL program . . . but I get ahead of myself.

I was perusing the news a while back, reading about the closure of radio stations in the U.S. and how e-vehicle manufacturers did not want to include AM (MW) radios in their vehicles . . . and . . . I snapped.

“The reason they are closing,” I snarled, “is that they think no one is listening . . . but WE listen!”

So I offer, for your consideration, a modest proposal . . . the “I listen” project.

Let’s do this!

All I ask is that each and every one of you who reads this is that you send a postcard or a letter to your favorite station – AM, FM, or shortwave – that says in BOLD letters at the top I LISTEN! Further down on the postcard or letter, you should explain what you listen to, and what you enjoy.

So here would be a sample from me:

From: Jock Elliott, Upstate New York

To:       Talk 1300 AM & 98.7 FM WGD, 11 Dennis Terrace
Schenectady, New York 12303

I listen!

To Talk 1300

To the Jack Catham show because I really like the calm way he presents the issues and interacts with callers.

That’s it. Of course, if you want to send more than one postcard or letter, great!

The point is to let the station know without a doubt that you listen. Why a postcard or letter? Because it is a physical piece of mail that is hard to ignore. By contrast, an email or a text is much easier bypass or ignore.

So make sure that your favorite station or two knows that you listen, and let me know here.

I’ll end by paraphrasing Arlo Guthrie: “Can you imagine fifty people a day, I said fifty people a day, sending “I listen” postcards to their favorite stations? And friends, they may think it’s a movement!”

And bear in mind, this is not the time to be asking for goodies in return.