Monday, October 22, 2007

To the Governor:

Dear Governor Patrick,

I am writing to ask that your office intervene on behalf of the public. The MBTA has rolled out a "pilot" program for T-Radio, but from reading the press releases and the comments made by Dan Grabauskas, I fear that T Radio is a done deal, and we can all look forward to having our thoughts intruded upon by this awful use of the public airwaves.

Although subway stations are noisy places, filled with the sounds of trains, safety announcements, conversations and street musicians, one can still choose to enjoy one's thoughts. T Radio robs us of that ability to concentrate, think and read. Moreover, it is essentially radio: a medium used chiefly for the delivery of advertising messages. I'd rather pay more to ride the T than to have to suffer through the constant yammering of a disk jockey.

Let me ask you: if you were to be sitting on a bench in the Public Garden, admiring the Swan Boats on a beautiful day, would you appreciate it if Classic Hits from the 70s were piped in from the branches of every tree? I'm sure you would agree that it's an offensive idea.

The same holds true in the subway stations, where we are a captive audience, waiting for the next train. Once T Radio is rolled out, there will be no escaping its endless stream of mediocre musical choices and commercials.

I beg you, in the common interest, please don't let this happen to us.

Most sincerely,

[j. etc]

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By the way, I found and posted to an interesting discussion over at Pink Slip...

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