In New Orleans and the rest of Louisiana and Mississippi, we are blessed with the greatest local Mom ‘n Pop eateries in America. Our music venues are also some of the most magical places on earth as well.

At least, that’s true as of today.

Unfortunately, we’ve noticed an abundance of national chains of restaurants moving into New Orleans. That goes against what the Big Easy and the rest of Louisiana is known for, and it’s worth noticing.

We need to start supporting our local Mom ‘n Pop restaurants and music venues in far greater volume than we’ve been doing if we want to keep them.

Unlike the national chains where the money goes elsewhere, the money spent supporting local businesses stays local and in the communities. New Orleans is no different. In fact, as a city where cuisine and entertainment are an outsized part of the economy, keeping a healthy locally-based nightlife scene is practically the heart and soul of the city.

The same goes for local live-music festivals like the Jazz Festival, which cranks up in just 10 days.

Our local musicians earn their supplemental income from playing music. For some musicians, it’s their main source of income to make ends meet. Without community support we won’t have a suitable volume of local acts to keep a viable music scene going – and with the corporatization of the recording industry almost complete, that gets harder and harder.

The venues need to make money as well. Preserving the unique character of places like Tipitina’s and the Howling Wolf so that everything isn’t some anodyne corporate cookie-cutter experience can’t be overstated as a quality-of-life – not to mention a quality-of-tourism – measure.

Another once locally owned business is becoming a thing of the past thanks to  Bill Clinton’s  Telecommunications act of 1996, allowing for corporations to own several hundreds of radio stations, cutting down on the playlist, especially in the rock radio market.

There are only three locally owned radio stations left in New Orleans – WTIX 94.3 FM, WGSO 990 AM, and W3Z INTERNET RADIO, reminiscent of the old family owned  WCKW ROCK 92.3 FM.

Radio stations, as it turns out, are a lot like restaurants. They lose their flavor when they go corporate.

Unlike corporate radio stations with cookie cutter playlist rotations, locally owned stations have a lot more variety in what makes it onto the air. For example, TIX FM will dig deep into the oldies vault and play a rare gem rather than beat listeners over the head with endless repetitions of whatever soulless and mediocre song the suits decide is “hot” this week.

And W3Z will play album cuts that didn’t make the top 40, just like WCKW did. Many of those songs end up being cult classics. They’re certainly a great change of pace for the listener.

Finally, WGSO talk show hosts are all local – not national. While there are certainly some great syndicated shows out there, those national hosts couldn’t care less about New Orleans or Louisiana and you’ll find out nothing about your community listening to the corporate-owned stations which exclusively carry them.

Local flavor still is favored over corporate flavor. We all know it. Sometimes we need a reminder.

Plus, unlike our competitor down the dial, WGSO is not owned by George Soros.

God Family and Country!

John Swisher-Host
Holy N Patriotic Jambalaya Radio Show
WGSO 990 AM
Talk Line
504-556-9696
Cell 985-469-1188