w00t said:
Yeah, but only for about 87 years now. As soon as we get that Money Tree orchard growing, it'll change...
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Yeah, but only for about 87 years now. As soon as we get that Money Tree orchard growing, it'll change...
There is no doubt we are in a generation of management that does let the sales department (and clients) make many of the decisions. While that input is important, the ultimate decision can not rest solely on the dollar.
Too many stations take the money and run to the bank without thinking of the long term consequencess.
It is a product of "Big Radio" ownership being centered in the hands of the bean counters.
There are still some small operators out there who run their stations with the listener in mind but they are getting harder to find. The industry has taken the approach that programming is a simple formula that can be executed from a central point without the air of talented programmers who understand the product AND the market.
Too many stations take the money and run to the bank without thinking of the long term consequencess.
It is a product of "Big Radio" ownership being centered in the hands of the bean counters.
There are still some small operators out there who run their stations with the listener in mind but they are getting harder to find. The industry has taken the approach that programming is a simple formula that can be executed from a central point without the air of talented programmers who understand the product AND the market.
This is the direct result of Republican driven deregulation policy. Just as Wal-Mart, Lowes, Home Depot & Best Buy have been allowed/encouraged to drive small retailers out of business... Citi, Wachovia, PNC & Wells Fargo to swallow up local banks...(pick a category)... radio was turned over to Wall Street 11 years ago--and consolidated, stripped, and is now being spit out. The illusion of phenomenal profit/value growth created by consolidating & stripping is done; revenues have been flat for 6 years, and the party's over. Wall Street is done--DONE--with radio. That's why Clear Channel is so deperately trying to go private... i.e., not "public." They're trying to escape before the value of their stock crashes and they lose it all. Which, of course, is why the financiers are making it real hard for them to pull this off. We'll know fairly soon if the house of cards comes tumbling down or not. But this is what happens when free-enterprise capitalism goes unregulated. It runs amok.
The good news? Whether CC escapes or not, the Wall Street party is over. And radio, as an industry, is now being considered "old media"--it's not fashionable, anymore. Investors have moved on. So, within the next few years or so, we'll see a lot of these outfits get out of the biz and shed all these damn radio stations to whoever wants to buy them. Sooner or later, radio will be back to Mom & Pop. Maybe in our lifetimes.
The good news? Whether CC escapes or not, the Wall Street party is over. And radio, as an industry, is now being considered "old media"--it's not fashionable, anymore. Investors have moved on. So, within the next few years or so, we'll see a lot of these outfits get out of the biz and shed all these damn radio stations to whoever wants to buy them. Sooner or later, radio will be back to Mom & Pop. Maybe in our lifetimes.
NewsNow said:
Nothing will reverse the idea that radio is old media. Look around your building: a bunch of 40-to-60 year olds, both on-air and off-air. No kids to replace us.
But we're off topic, aren't we? ENC is a nice place to live, if you don't mind the absence of bright lights, pro sports, and large-market salaries. Great beaches and plenty of Open Space. And the Top 100 market designation looks great on the resume when you're ready to hit the Big Time. Easier to make the jump from New Bern than from Bismarck.
yeah, but if you're in Bismark, the winters alone could give a person enough drive to move up.
As far as the age thing, that's a bad trend. It's not because people view radio as old media, it's more that as radio consolidated, it did an absolutely horrible job of bringing in fresh talent. Need a weekend jock? Just have your full timers voice track. Ironically, at my last job at a top newstalker, we had a large roster of "kids" because we were live pretty much 24-7 with phone screeners and producers. Almost all of the producers were under 30. It was my job to herd them, and I'm under 40, just barely. When they left, they went to mid size markets to start their on air career.
I know ENC stations in particular hire almost no weekenders. And when they do, it tends to be a friend who is out of a job and needs to make air checks. I've always thought that was stupid. When I was in college, Hot 96 was at the beach every weekend, WKOO had their tug or their big boat out giving away stuff. Now, the sole weekend activity is remotes from car lots, and you can hear the full time jock dialing into the automation system in the middle of a song.
Z
ZAX Double J
Guest
Unless a station does a local ballgame most of the major sports can be automated so there is little for managemnet to "require" a person to be there on the weekends. Technology unfortunately killed the weekender's job. Upper management's view is let the technology do the job. It doesn't complain, come in late or ask to be out sick. It's people who make radio not technology. Technology is merely a tool and should not be the main focus of what you do or how you do your job. Granted technology has made the job much easier (remember the days of reel-to-reel tape and carts) you can produce commercials in less time than ever now with the DAW and have an even better sounding product too. But technology cannot replace creativity that comes from a human being not a computer. Yes radio may be "old media" as some have labled it and may be why they are either out of the busines or considering it they're not willing to "go the extra mile" to make it better but, I think radio can and will survive this "storm" and emerge even better IF the people in the business start thinking outside the box and doning the things that made radio great. Local, people actually IN the studio and not voicetracked, answering the studio phone when it rings and actually playing the song the llisterner wants to hear rather than sticking to a 200 song playlist that they have heard over and over until they want to puke, doing remotes from community events without requiring there be a talent fee in order for you to go to it
Car dealers are the only clients that spend the biggest money with the stations today and most talent want a talent fee if they go to any remote. In the old days you'd do a remote to promote and get the station out in the community without any talent fees at all you just volunteered yourself to do it because it was the right thing to do. Now with practially one company owning all or most stations in a market there is no incentive to be compeditive as there is no competition anymore even against stations in your own cluster. Some jocks think that simply saying "I don't do public appearances" is OK, but if you are on the air you are subject to doing public appearances after all you are when you are on the air. This is a cop out, but all air talent should be required to do at least one public appearance during a year and even more so if it is your morning show team or your afternoon dirve person or any of your full time people. This is not rocket science here some try to make it harder than it is.
Car dealers are the only clients that spend the biggest money with the stations today and most talent want a talent fee if they go to any remote. In the old days you'd do a remote to promote and get the station out in the community without any talent fees at all you just volunteered yourself to do it because it was the right thing to do. Now with practially one company owning all or most stations in a market there is no incentive to be compeditive as there is no competition anymore even against stations in your own cluster. Some jocks think that simply saying "I don't do public appearances" is OK, but if you are on the air you are subject to doing public appearances after all you are when you are on the air. This is a cop out, but all air talent should be required to do at least one public appearance during a year and even more so if it is your morning show team or your afternoon dirve person or any of your full time people. This is not rocket science here some try to make it harder than it is.
J
Jockamo
Guest
Quote:
Gas is higher then any other state...housing in New Bern is worse then Raliegh. 1 bedroom crap hole will cost you 800-1000 bucks a month. Real estate is through the roof and the places you're speaking of to dine at are not really that good.
Quote:
The movie theaters suck (what movie theater?)
The dance clubs suck (what dance club?)
The bars suck (what bar?)
The locals are anti-social (only if they're under 60)
The night life makes me want to cry (damn straight)
I have relatives in Kinston and they seem to enjoy life there. Of course, they've been there over thirty years, so maybe that's the only life they know. I'm down here in Fairmont (Robeson County), which is basically the armpit of the state. Don't moan about New Bern when I'm in a town of a little over 2,600 with five restaurants and only three of them are worth eating in, if that many. And, when you talk about the surrounding communities...Maxton, Pembroke, Laurinburg, Red Springs and Lumberdump. The most exciting time is in Fayetteville, and that rates about half a yawn. And you want to talk about housing? A house in Lumberdump that I wouldn't even raise Arnold Ziffel in costs $750 a month.
Gas is higher then any other state...housing in New Bern is worse then Raliegh. 1 bedroom crap hole will cost you 800-1000 bucks a month. Real estate is through the roof and the places you're speaking of to dine at are not really that good.
Quote:
The movie theaters suck (what movie theater?)
The dance clubs suck (what dance club?)
The bars suck (what bar?)
The locals are anti-social (only if they're under 60)
The night life makes me want to cry (damn straight)
I have relatives in Kinston and they seem to enjoy life there. Of course, they've been there over thirty years, so maybe that's the only life they know. I'm down here in Fairmont (Robeson County), which is basically the armpit of the state. Don't moan about New Bern when I'm in a town of a little over 2,600 with five restaurants and only three of them are worth eating in, if that many. And, when you talk about the surrounding communities...Maxton, Pembroke, Laurinburg, Red Springs and Lumberdump. The most exciting time is in Fayetteville, and that rates about half a yawn. And you want to talk about housing? A house in Lumberdump that I wouldn't even raise Arnold Ziffel in costs $750 a month.
Z
ZAX Double J
Guest
allenv said:
It must be. But I think it has the opposite reaction on those at the station.
I lived in Wilmington, NC back in 1999 and 2000 and loved it. (I'm speaking lifestyle-wise...I'm not IN Radio). Beaches were great from Wrightsville Beach to Carolina Beach to Kure Beach just south of there.
It is (or was) very much a touristy and college town with UNC-Wilmington right there and, for a short time, UNC-Wilmington baseball became a farm team for the Boston Red Sox (which was great considering I am from New England) but I never made a game there before I left.
If you dont mind a hurricane or two, the weather is almost always beautiful (for me, it was ;D ). There were three hurricanes while I was there in '99 including the big one (Floyd) which flooded out alot of the small central-NC towns after coming up the coast, hitting Wilmington, and moving inland. And either Hurricane Irene or David hit the Outer Banks twice....hit it, went out into the ocean, stalled, then moved back and hit land again. But, other than THAT, it was beautiful.
I travelled to Fayette-Nam (sorry, Fayetteville) weekly and it was always interesting to hear the noise (as in...guns...target practice) coming from Fort Bragg. Or taking the shortcut through the base up in Jacksonville and seeing soldiers walking/running/marching/crawling/practicing along the side of the road as well as army jeeps and TANKS moving along the side of the road or along the dirt practice roads just off the road.
Some observations I made right away back then:
1) everything in NC is 2 hours away from everything else
2) anyone who owns a pickup truck keeps the tail door down even if the truckbed is full of stuff
3) drive along any road and you'll see every farm-type residence has a building (usually an old barn) that is in some state of collapse
4) there is ALWAYS traffic in Wilmington...ALWAYS
As for listening to radio back then in that market, I recall having problems finding a favorite radio station right in the Wilmington market (I would have settled for Top 40 or AC or Oldies...almost anything other than country or rap or hip-hop). I could usually find something when I was in Fayetteville (WQSM/Q-98), Myrtle Beach, even Jacksonville, but not Wilmington. For the most part, I think I probably settled on WGNI most of the time. I know it's what I was listening to the morning I got the heck out of dodge as Hurricane Floyd beared down on us.
Other than that, I enjoyed it there very much. There's a Hooters in Wilmington so it can't be that bad. ;D
It is (or was) very much a touristy and college town with UNC-Wilmington right there and, for a short time, UNC-Wilmington baseball became a farm team for the Boston Red Sox (which was great considering I am from New England) but I never made a game there before I left.
If you dont mind a hurricane or two, the weather is almost always beautiful (for me, it was ;D ). There were three hurricanes while I was there in '99 including the big one (Floyd) which flooded out alot of the small central-NC towns after coming up the coast, hitting Wilmington, and moving inland. And either Hurricane Irene or David hit the Outer Banks twice....hit it, went out into the ocean, stalled, then moved back and hit land again. But, other than THAT, it was beautiful.
I travelled to Fayette-Nam (sorry, Fayetteville) weekly and it was always interesting to hear the noise (as in...guns...target practice) coming from Fort Bragg. Or taking the shortcut through the base up in Jacksonville and seeing soldiers walking/running/marching/crawling/practicing along the side of the road as well as army jeeps and TANKS moving along the side of the road or along the dirt practice roads just off the road.
Some observations I made right away back then:
1) everything in NC is 2 hours away from everything else
2) anyone who owns a pickup truck keeps the tail door down even if the truckbed is full of stuff
3) drive along any road and you'll see every farm-type residence has a building (usually an old barn) that is in some state of collapse
4) there is ALWAYS traffic in Wilmington...ALWAYS
As for listening to radio back then in that market, I recall having problems finding a favorite radio station right in the Wilmington market (I would have settled for Top 40 or AC or Oldies...almost anything other than country or rap or hip-hop). I could usually find something when I was in Fayetteville (WQSM/Q-98), Myrtle Beach, even Jacksonville, but not Wilmington. For the most part, I think I probably settled on WGNI most of the time. I know it's what I was listening to the morning I got the heck out of dodge as Hurricane Floyd beared down on us.
Other than that, I enjoyed it there very much. There's a Hooters in Wilmington so it can't be that bad. ;D
Z
ZAX Double J
Guest
XTalker said:
According to the TV show Mythbusters that was not true. The tailgate up was more fuel efficient.
I'd be curious to see the data on that...I mean, how many farm trucks have you gotten behind at highway speeds anyway?Double J said:
Z
ZAX Double J
Guest
Stephen White said:I'd be curious to see the data on that...I mean, how many farm trucks have you gotten behind at highway speeds anyway?Double J said:
Quite a lot, but that's what the show said. I guess you could go to www.discovery.com/mythbusters and find out the details of their experiments. I saw the show that this was the topic of.
I was always too lazy to put mine up when I drove a truck.
Plus it was easier for me to climb up in there with it already down and it wasn't like I was carting around real animals or anything to keep in place.
Plus with it up it you could only check out the chicks in the cars behind you if they were giraffe-like tall.
Plus it was easier for me to climb up in there with it already down and it wasn't like I was carting around real animals or anything to keep in place.
Plus with it up it you could only check out the chicks in the cars behind you if they were giraffe-like tall.
As far as the rent goes in New Bern, when I moved there, I found the 800-1000 dollar crapholes and decided to look further. I ended up in a three bedroom apartment in a giant house built in 1765 across the street from Tryon Palace and right on the creek. I could hear the conerts from my balcony during the summer. I got a free plastic chair during a squall when it landed there.
$420 a month.
The owners of a lot of those downtown historic properties are always looking for renters, and they ask next to nothing.
$420 a month.
The owners of a lot of those downtown historic properties are always looking for renters, and they ask next to nothing.
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