NIRVANA AND VOTING. Arguably the last great era of FM radio was grunge. Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Smashing Pumpkins -- these bands rose from obscurity into the pantheon of rock. It was something to behold. But then there was a shift. Radio stopped taking risks. It slung Backstreet Boys, �N Sync, and other over-produced garbage. It brought in a profit and was safer than the garage band that kept sending in their cassette tapes. Result? Radio listenership fell. The same thing is happening to television. As iPods and YouTube have crept into our consciousness and as media outlets cower before the administration, television news viewership has dropped. Like radio, they�ve opted for the safe route and seem surprised when their viewers have turned their attention elsewhere.
