Radio active: in small markets, independent AM stations survive by playing to their strength: They know who's listening.

A full moon still hangs over Mount Jefferson as Mike Powers parks his pickup beside a brick ranch house flanked by white satellite dishes. The clock reads 5:30 as he plops in a swivel chair and starts pulling compact disks from racks of country music along the wall, then turns toward a panel of switches and buttons. Shuffling another stack of computer disks -- commercials -- into the order they'll run, he scans printouts of the overnight news.

Powers slips a headset over his baseball cap while keeping an eye on ...

If you are already a vLex customer, Access Here