I Sure Do Miss "Uncle Jay" Gilbert

Here's an example of what I miss..

Uncle Jay Explains: July 4, 2011

You see "Uncle Jay" Gilbert worked at WEBN-FM 102.7 in Cincinnati, Ohio for 25 years up until he got fired on Thursday, December 6th, 2012. On May 17th I posted LVCI Plays DJ which I mentioned how local DJ's have become a thing of the past. Well it seems 'Uncle Jay' became another victim of Clear Channel's iHeart radio format changes. For folks not familiar with 'Clear Channel's owned stations click here. It is owned by Owned by: Bain Capital, LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners. Both which are huge equity firms.



Here locally B104, Cat Country 96, WZZO, WLEV and WAEB-790 are all owned by 'Clear Channel'. At one time they were all separately owned and employed local personalities broadcasting LIVE throughout the day. Under 'Clear Channel's' 'iHeart Radio' system nearly every hour of the day is fed by computer automated satellites. These have less then a handful of local personalities throughout most of the broadcast day. Localization is made possible via prerecorded sound files dropped in occasionally by these automated systems. In other words they are pretty much void of any real locally recognized personalities. So in short 'Uncle Jay', has like nearly every other DJ become a relic of the past at WEBN-FM.

The next day after his firing The Cincinnati Enquirer was kind enough to host a chat for him on Friday, December 7, 2012 in which he said..."Hey everybody! First, many thanks to the countless people who posted good wishes at the Enquirer and various other places. It's all very gratifying. My abrupt end was no surprise ... this is about the fifth time that Clear Channel has laid off dozens of people around the country in one massive splat. It's how this business goes, it's been that way since before I started in it, and this is often the way it ends. I'm sad but not angry, and don't want to spend our brief time today complaining." He was not the only one that got axed that day. There a bunch of others from around the country. Which brings us to the YouTube videos of 'Uncle Jay Explains The News'.Comment From Cullen:
What are your plans for "Uncle Jay Explains the News"?

Jay Gilbert:
It's been a year since I last did an episode. That project simply didn't catch on fire like I hoped it would and I just couldn't keep committing the time and expense. I haven't given up on it but right now it's still dormant."

Comment From Thomas:
When we hear someone talking on the radio, how much of it is really live – and how much is pre-recorded?

Jay Gilbert:
More and more it's pre-recorded, because computers play all the pre-scheduled songs and commercials, so a DJ can just insert him or herself into the places where they belong. So a 4 or 5 hour show can be done in maybe 40 minutes. Many DJs' jobs now are just being in a studio and "voictracking" a series of radio shows that are sent to stations around the country, and they never do a live show. These two things explain why 'Uncle Jay' has pretty much been relegated to the past like so many others. That's a damn shame. He is right. The world moves on. The guy can't remain successful when in today's world less then 30,000 people watch his YouTube videos or when his 3:00pm to 7:00 pm radio slot can be filled for nearly zero dollars by simply patching into a satellite feed.

I have a tough time understanding why only 10,286 people bothered to watch..
Uncle Jay Explains: Nov. 27, 2011


Or why only 36,157 people over the last 2 1/2 years thought the last video he ever made: "Uncle Jay Explains: 2011 Singing Year In Review" wasn't entertaining.

It was once said, if you blindfolded someone riding in a car, they could tell what city they were in just by who was DJ'n in that city. NOT ANYMORE!

And that is why I Sure Do Miss "Uncle Jay" Gilbert as well as the numerous local broadcasters' voices that used to saturate our airwaves.


UPDATE
(03/18/2017)
Maybe I Found him. The latest update can be found HERE