Programming
Programming generally heard on full service stations can include: * Local and national (or top-of-the-hour) news, sometimes including agriculture reports. * At least one local talk show (often under a generic name such as ''Viewpoint'', ''Dialogue'', or ''Hotline''), occasionally along with syndicated talk programming. These are usually politically neutral and offer local organizations and businesses time to talk about upcoming events in an unscripted format. Other programs may have an "open line" format reflecting a conservative orientation, often reflecting a community's political predilections (and thus not following the orthodoxy of national conservative talk radio), rather than those of national broadcasters such as the traditional radio networks; likewise, if such stations are in more left-leaning communities, the shows may carry a progressive lean. * Music, frequently drawing from a number of popular formats. Common ones include middle-of-the-road,Background
Full-service radio was the predominant form of radio broadcasting during the network radio era, before the debut of contemporary hit radio (top 40) in the 1950s. Top 40 and other narrowly-defined formats were adopted in large measure to replace network programming that was fast disappearing in favor of those networks' television operations, which were gaining high popularity at the time. In the old-time radio era, most stations would mix local programs (of a wide variety) with the networks' offerings. The name of the format implies that the station serves a broad spectrum of listeners and demographics with small portions of various types of programming. Since the full-service format is traditionally confined to AM and rural listeners,