In the summer of 1977, I was a college student preparing for a career in broadcasting. One afternoon in August, I heard the news (through word-of-mouth) that iconic entertainer Elvis Presley had died. I immediately drove to my local top-40 radio station (where I worked part-time) and offered what little assistance I could in getting all the relevant information, as well as a healthy sampling of the King's music on the air. The entire staff pulled together and our hometown station rose to the occasion.

Flash forward to a day in June, 30-some summers later. I heard the news (through the Internet, the contemporary version of word-of-mouth) that iconic entertainer Michael Jackson has died.

That night, I tuned in our local 70s-80s radio station (the one that boasts of being "First With The Hottest Music News," or words to that effect) and listened for a full hour. I heard absolutely nothing about Jackson's demise, no updates on the story, none of his music, no mention at all.

Sad fact is, I doubt if anyone really noticed; if you wanted updates on the story, or to hear any of the King of Pop's hits, you went to TMZ.com, iTunes, your iPhone … anywhere but radio.

Radio, to put it bluntly, has dropped the ball. The problem is largely due to mismanagement on the national level, but in many cases a local market manager is in a position to make a difference.

Radio can be, and in many places still is, a powerful, engaging medium. All too often today it isn't. Until certain broadcasters in our community are willing to deal with that fact, much of Bismarck-Mandan radio will continue its precipitous slide into irrelevancy.

(Jim Walsh, a former local radio talk host, is now a blogger and podcaster.)