Mouse Jockey

Back from a longer absence than we care to admit, the Peanut Whistle blogger is catching up to all the new ways of doing things in radio. Back in the dark ages we had separate machines that had specialized tasks. Tape machines, record players, live sources: all compartmentalized and each one doing its job very well.

Now days computers and highly complicated software have replaced both physical machines and human beings. Don’t get me wrong, I am no Luddite. I have always embraced new technology. In fact, you could call this blogger an early adopter.

What I take issue with is that we now over rely on one central computer to deliver all our content. There is no safety net anymore. No back up. Newbies to the business are not trained on legacy equipment, so they’re lost when the software crashes. With no physical interaction with our playlists, they’re screwed if something goes wrong. A computer mouse makes a poor replacement for a cart tape machine.

To me the term disk jockey is passé. To this generation the Peanut Whistle proposes a new handle: “Mouse Jockey.” Although getting a saddle on those critters will be tough.

Stay tuned.