You would think, that a service that’s been around for centuries — and manned by people – wouldn’t be faced with many of the same personnel issues facing broadcast radio today, but it is.
Recorded history tells us that the first lighthouse dates back to ancient Egypt around the year 280 BC. It consisted of an open fire pit, on top of a hill rising 450 feet in the air. It took manpower to keep the fire burning from dusk to dawn.
Creating The Light Source
The history of lighthouses tells us of all the changes that took place creating the light in these sentinels of the coastline, things like:
- Burned wood
- Burned coal
- Burned lard oil
- Burned sperm whale oil
Electricity Arrives
The invention of the electric light changed how lighthouses operated and with it the duties of the lighthouse keeper. They no longer had to carry fuel up and down the stairs of the lighthouse to keep the light lit. Now the job only required insuring the light bulb wasn’t burned out.
Lighthouse Keepers
In America, the first lighthouse was Boston Light built in 1716 and the United States Congress created the U.S. Lighthouse Service to hire and staff America’s growing population of lighthouses up and down our coastlines.
These were good jobs, and lighthouse keepers could even have their families living with them at their light stations.
We Still Need Lighthouses, Not Lighthouse Keepers
With the advent of LED light sources, automation and the electronic Automatic Identification Systems (AIS), ships could now be tracked and warned when nearing hazardous waters. Technology had eliminated the need for lighthouse keepers, a career that had been around in America for 307 years was now over.
Sally Snowman
On December 31, 2023, the last lighthouse keeper in America will be retiring. Her name is Sally Snowman, and she has been the keeper at Boston Light for more than twenty years.
Sally has little patience for nostalgia and believes the future is for Boston Light to join the rest of America’s lighthouses in the 21st Century, as a fully automated operation.
Is There A Lesson Here For Radio?
Commercial radio in America has only been around for 103 years, and like lighthouses has played a critical role in keeping people safe and aware of their surroundings.
Radio isn’t going away, but is on the same path as lighthouses when it comes to automation and communicating with the people it is there to serve.
Sally Snowman believes in honoring the past and embracing the future.
As stated in the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) manual The Public and Broadcasting, that looks like taking advantage of Artificial Intelligence (A.I.), and automated systems to ensure that broadcasting’s mission continues to be serving the public’s interest, convenience and necessity*
No, this isn’t the style of radio broadcasting that I grew up with and spent over five decades in creating. It also wasn’t the style of radio heard before the advent of television. Television changed the way radio stations sounded and operated in the 1960s. The internet, WiFi and A.I. are forcing radio to change again.
DickTaylorBlog 