This is true, but I really do think radio has just continued to get worse and worse for years now.  There ARE exceptions, your K Rock being one of them, along with about a half dozen others that come immediately to mind, including MY local, X103.  But a perfect example of what I mean is the very station I just mentioned.  Five years ago, I would have put X103 at the VERY top of my list.  They flat-out ROCKED, playing ALL genres of rock music.  And there was NO PLAYLIST.  The DJ's played what THEY wanted to play, not what some "suit" TOLD them to play.  Now, they play mostly what they HAVE to, with some "free play" thrown in just so we know there's an actual person in the studio.  Granted, ROCK radio doesn't suck NEARLY as much as POP radio, but it's still pretty damn lame.