After a four year hiatus, I have decided to relaunch my direct mail service business.

  This is targeted especially for smaller businesses, churches, ministries, nonprofits, and others who may be short-handed, yet need to get direct mail out in a timely manner. I previously did some of this type work on a relatively small scale. I also have several years experience in handling, receiving and sending mail for the State of Florida. I left that job for full-time radio in 1997.

   I have a small but dedicated office space available in the radio building, so I am able to take some projects immediately.

   For mailing projects that are not cost-effective to be handled by the larger print-and mail companies, feel free to contact me at alanmccal@hotmail.com. I will do my best to complete your project in a timely and cost effective manner, freeing you and your staff to concentrate on your business.

   I am working hard to establish some means of providing for my family. Internet radio isn't doing that, so I hope to be of service to you soon!

  By the way, I'm not quitting radio - just adding one more item to the plate. Thank you for your support in this endeavor.

It seems rather ironic that Big D Country is an Internet station heard worldwide - yet one of the commitments I have made early in the development of the station is the decison to program to a local/regional community.

Our Facebook page, for example, focuses heavily on links to local news items, area concerts and events, traffic, and more. I have included the area of North Florida and South Georgia due to the fact that we do have many listeners in the general area who do not live in Tallahassee. However, they do live within driving distance of area fairs, concerts and other attractions.

I am finding it extremely difficult to attract local advertisers to the station, leading me to opt into the national PRO Points program. This allows the station to be represented by other outside sales reps and ad agencies. I personally do sell locally and work with an ad agency in Jacksonville, Fla., and one on Pennsylvania. I assure you, monetizing an Internet station is not for the faint of heart.

In the news recently is the dismissal of at least 200 local-level broadcasting professionals. Radio as we have known it, keeps changing, and is never going to be what it once was. As someone who began a radio career by first hanging out at one station (before eventually being hired by another station as an overnight board operator), radio is not a business I can even recommend to anyone wanting a stable career and any kind of job security.

If you would like to make a donation to help us continue broadcasting, it would be much appreciated as we continue our efforts to make our broadcast the best it can be. There's still a lot of work to be done. I remain committed to local Internet radio for as long as I am able to do so.