You mean they are the same in *nominal* terms, so stations have been taking roughly a 2% cut each year with inflation, riding that train all the way down?
That would not shock me. See my previous posts about newspaper revenues.
Radio might not be *that* extreme, but local media has taken a beating.
This is really true -- 150%.
I tell people I went to Iowa State in DC, NYC, or Boston, and they look like me like I suddenly have a second head. I go from potential equal to hick.
"Iowa? Do you grow potatoes?"
"Ohio? Oh, Iowa, oops!"
"Oh, I went there once for the caucuses when I worked on a campaign!"
I have gotten "**** that didn't happen for $200, Alex" on here several times for relating these stories but... they absolutely happen in certain circles.
The East Coast snobbery is so real.
There is a rat race out here, starting from a young age about getting into the "right" schools even long before college, and clambering for status your entire adult life that is just alien to the egalitarianism and friendliness of the Midwest.
Becoming an expert at anything requires spending a ton of time thinking about a relatively small number of issues and questions. Asking those people anything outside of their field should give you responses that are simultaneously funny and stupid.
Don't ask a brain surgeon how to launch a rocket.
Don't ask a rocket engineer how to conduct brain surgery.
Absolutely 1000% real. However, do you think that is because the schools are better or the contacts are better? Any more than that and I'd be delving into Cave territory. I'd have a quick snippet saying that hey I'm not the one who can't find every state on a map. Then again, I guess that I'm kinda of a jerk because I don't blow smoke.