Why don't radio stations publish their programming schedules in the
newspapers, like the TV stations do?

Lots of radio stations have other things on besides music, nowadays,
and people might tune in to hear specific shows.

Hello, fishpond!

I can't tell you for certain why radio stations have by and large
stopped putting their schedules in the paper, but I suspect is has to
do with the cost of advertising.  I know that in my city, (Halifax NS
Canada) a couple of the local stations do still have their schedule in
the paper occasionally.  Our national radio service, the Canadian
Broadcasting Corporation, also prints a monthly program guide which is
distributed in the major national newspapers.

The good news is that there are hundreds of stations which post their
schedules on the Internet!  If you follow this link to Google's
Directory service, you will find hundreds of radio stations across the
US, many of which have complete schedules online.  They are
conveniently organized by state.

http://directory.google.com/Top/Arts/Radio/Regional/North_America/United_States/

Even better, many stations you wouldn't be able to listen to over the
air have placed their broadcasts on the internet as streaming audio
files.  A Texan, for example, could listen to a broadcast coming live
from Boston (assuming he was interested in hearing what an easterner
had to say! :))

If you are interested in CBC radio programming, available in northern
states or the internet, click here:

http://cbc.ca/radioguide/index.jsp

For online schedules and archives of National Public Radio, click
here:

http://www.npr.org/

Many well-know internet companies also offer a wide range of radio
listening online.  A few examples are:

http://realguide.real.com/?src=020507guide_welcome_1
http://radio.yahoo.com/
http://www.windowsmedia.com/mg/Radio.asp?
http://www.favo.tv/

Please note that these last may or may not have scheduling information
available.

I hope that this will ease your frustration, and give you many hours
of listening enjoyment.  If you wish to post a clarification request
specifying your location, I will be happy to try and locate specific
scheduling information for your area.

Thank you again for an interesting question.

A little bit of clarification, I suppose: Most of the TV listings you
see in the newspapers were placed there by the newspaper; they are not
paid advertising by the TV stations.  The decision to not run radio
schedules is one made by the newspaper, not by the radio stations.

In the United Kingdom there are Radio Schedules. All of the BBC
stations, and some of the other, mainly national, stations are
included along with the TV, in most of the daily newpapers (broadsheet
and tabloids).

The schedules generally just list the DJ or the programme title and
time, rather than the "content". In this way it doesn't take up a
great deal of space in the paper. Why you don't have them in the
states I don't know. Beyond having a huge quantity to list if they
started, I would have thought it had a great deal to do with the
nature of the radio broadcasting; often people tune into a station
based on a singular taste - rock, country, talk, etc. - and know
approximately what to expect all of the time.

(Regarding why we have them in the UK, you should keep in mind that
until a few years ago we only had four television channels ... )

After reading Mvguy's clarification, I suppose my question should be, 
"Why don't newspapers print radio programming schedules?"

Thanks for your input, everyone.

Newspapers used to publish radio listings.  From the 20s till the 60s,
radio stations used "block programming," which was similar to
what you see today in tv schedules.  A station might have a swap shop,
followed by the news, followed by Amos n' Andy, followed by Mary
Worth, followed by The Shadow, and so on, depending on their network
affiliation and local broadcasts.  With ten or more stations in an
average
city, it was necessary for the newspaper to publish a grid, so you'd
know when to hear Jack Benny, etc.

  But, things change.  Starting in the late 50's, the rock n' roll
revolution hit radio, and stations learned that by picking a certain
style of music
and rotating about 40 songs in that style throughout the whole day,
they got a bigger audience, and kept that audience for a longer period
of
time, which was more attractive to advertisers.  That Top-40 format
was so successful, it took over.  Things have become even more focused
through the years, so that today you find all Latin, all hip-hop, all
oldies, all-talk, and so on.  Aside from the non-profit community
stations
and some NPR or Pacifica affiliates, most stations run the same basic
thing all day, so newspapers, especially in smaller cities with little
radio diversity, don't have much demand for the radio grids they used
to run.  Now, you can still find some radio listings in big cities ...
the
New York Times, for example, runs daily radio highlights, but they
don't give the full detail that you see in the tv listings. Some
newspapers
still today will, once a week, list the local station call letters,
frequencies, and formats.  Radio's not what it used to be, so neither
is the
print coverage.

Thanks for that historical perspective, atpontchartrainbeach.

If you are interested specifically in the scheduling of public radio
stations, be it in the U.S. or internationally, you might find this
site quite useful:

www.publicradiofan.com

Disclaimer: this is my husband's website, but it is really great.

Since I have worked in the radio industry ... in corporate management
... for 25 years .. I can tell you that categorically THERE ARE NO
RADIO SCHEDULES IN NEWSPAPERS BECAUSE THE NEWPAPERS WILL NOT PRINT
THEM.  The biggest competitor that newspapers have for ad dollars is
radio, not TV and so they will not give radio any extra help.  They
print TV schedules because of viewer demand.  If more radio listeners
asked for schedules then they might print them.  Surprisingly, even
newspapers that own radio stations (there still are a few) rarely
print the radio schedules.

I am thrilled that you are enough of a radio fan that you are asking
such a question, however!  Keep listening and THANKS, the radio
business does appreciate your interest!