Dks01 A lot of radio today is automatic except for news, weather and sports.
And it’s been automated / semi-automated for a long time, especially in cases of stations that play music (and ads) and nothing more.
When 96.5 changed format over a decade or two ago, I’ve heard mostly one voice all the time with enough spread [time], precision and repeatability that it was practically impossible to have a live DJ deliver all that.
I’m 100% certain there is some SW that can have the playlist, ads, and wisecracks in between programmed in, and it just plays it, possibly randomized in an infinite loop. Notably, they didn’t take any request, which was a big hint of the lack of *live DJs*.
Going pre-programmed list to AI is almost like a SW upgrade.
Stations with live DJs can take requests – previously through phone, but I guess also through the internet nowadays. But I’ve never had much success with requests – once in the 80’s I called a rock station (probably KISW at 99.9, or 102.5) and asked for a Livin’ Blues song, but the response was: “Never heard of that band” 🙁
BTW, this was the song I’ve tried to request: