AC radio: Men need not apply

[blueboy]

The trend in Adult Contemporary radio now seems to be the squeezing out of men. The Lite station in Chicago has all female jocks except overnights (vt) and one pt weekend guy. Bill Buchner gets axed from LTW in New York and is replaced by two women. Now Chris McCoy is fired and , if the rumors are true, will be replaced with a female jock to team up with Tiffany. McCoy and Buchner were not at the bottom of the ratings heap. I'm an AC morning guy looking for work but with a trend like this I'm considering a new career path.

 

[fred flintstone]

Maybe coming next - the new trend in morning drive radio....

Kim Douglas and Casey on the Radio.

Public radio is a little bit ahead of AC radio in getting rid of guys. Listen to the credits for Fresh Air and Radio Times and see if you can hear a guy's name. Meanwhile, Jane Fonda and Gloria Steinhem are signing up affiliates for their all girl talk network.

But they continue to whine about "the glass ceiling."

 

[making waves]

I'm actually surprised it took this long to realize the potential appeal of an all-female morning show. If a radio show can successfully replicate the chemistry between a group of female friends...most women will listen. The View has been really successful with that type of format, because most women associate with at least one of the personalities on the show...(now, it's just a media circus - and I think most people watch to see the train wreck - and it'll crash soon).

Do I think that everyone should "jump on the bandwagon" and start axing male air talent? No. I say if you have a good talent who's active in the community and built an audience, then you're nuts if you cut them loose just to follow the latest programming trend.

Fred, to refer to your comment about the glass ceiling - most women (and not just in radio, but in many industries) still make less than men for doing the same job. And sometimes we do it better, and we still get paid less. It's a fact of life - and it's getting better - but there's still inequality in pay.

 

[Vinny!]

I'm actually surprised it took this long to realize the potential appeal of an all-female morning show. If a radio show can successfully replicate the chemistry between a group of female friends...most women will listen. The View has been really successful with that type of format, because most women associate with at least one of the personalities on the show...(now, it's just a media circus - and I think most people watch to see the train wreck - and it'll crash soon).

Do I think that everyone should "jump on the bandwagon" and start axing male air talent? No. I say if you have a good talent who's active in the community and built an audience, then you're nuts if you cut them loose just to follow the latest programming trend.

Fred, to refer to your comment about the glass ceiling - most women (and not just in radio, but in many industries) still make less than men for doing the same job. And sometimes we do it better, and we still get paid less. It's a fact of life - and it's getting better - but there's still inequality in pay.

More women than men applying for RADIO gigs are single. If a good lucking single woman and a average looking male are applying, who do you think will get hired?

It's only going to get worse until you men grow some balls and not stand for this injustice.

 

[fred flintstone]

Fred, to refer to your comment about the glass ceiling - most women (and not just in radio, but in many industries) still make less than men for doing the same job. And sometimes we do it better, and we still get paid less. It's a fact of life - and it's getting better - but there's still inequality in pay.

And why is that? Women control most of the wealth in this country and live longer and still claim to be victims of discrimination.

Women are given preferential treatment in admissions to colleges and grad schools, and in hiring and promotion but still claim to earn less (on average) and to be less represented in the top levels of management. We are supposed to believe this is the result of discrimination and give women even more preferences, despite the evidence that any disparities are the result of choices women make.

Women tend to seek lower-paying occupations. Women are less single-mindedly devoted to work. They are less likely to work overtime and more likely to take time off to have and be with families and pursue personal interests. I'm not saying that's wrong. Maybe it's part of the reason women live longer and aren't dropping over with coronaries like men. But in the workplace, it puts women at a competitive disadvantage and women are not willing to accept the consequences of the choices they make. Life is trade-offs.

Women demand to get in the game with guys and then want to change the rules to favor themselves. I thought discrimination was wrong when it supposedly worked in my favor. I'm sure not going to endorse discrimination when it works against me.

Do I think that everyone should "jump on the bandwagon" and start axing male air talent? No. I say if you have a good talent who's active in the community and built an audience, then you're nuts if you cut them loose just to follow the latest programming trend.

Hey, this is radio. This is a business noted for irrational programming decisions - especially if others are doing the same thing. This site is filled with examples of "nuts" programming decisions.

I'm actually surprised it took this long to realize the potential appeal of an all-female morning show. If a radio show can successfully replicate the chemistry between a group of female friends...most women will listen.

Maybe you're right. Probably the same psychological mechanism that has women go to the bathroom together.
???

 

[blueboy]

waves: The point of this post isn't really about the age old problem of men/women and pay. It's about a guy who was doing his job very well and still gets fired. If B101 wants more women on-air or all women on-air, that's fine. It's their station.

What I wonder is where does a guy like Chris McCoy go now? Not New York or Chicago. The AC stations there have phased out men in mornings and in other dayparts. This has happened in other markets as well. I shrug my shoulders and wonder what to do.

After we male AC jocks have done our best to create family friendly/female friendly on-air personas and shows, we're no longer wanted. It's not going to easy shifting into another format, either because we're so closely identified with the AC format.

I only want the best for anyone in radio. If someone gets fired, male or female, it pains me to hear about. I've been there. In fact, I'm there now. After 20 years on the air even thinking about making a transition to a "real" job is difficult. To Chris and anyone else whose been "terminated", I'm pulling for you. Oh yeah, Happy New Year, too.

 

[fred flintstone]

Fred, to refer to your comment about the glass ceiling - most women (and not just in radio, but in many industries) still make less than men for doing the same job. And sometimes we do it better, and we still get paid less. It's a fact of life - and it's getting better - but there's still inequality in pay.

And why is that? Women control most of the wealth in this country and live longer and still claim to be victims of discrimination.

Women are given preferential treatment in admissions to colleges and grad schools, and in hiring and promotion but still claim to earn less (on average) and to be less represented in the top levels of management. We are supposed to believe this is the result of discrimination and give women even more preferences, despite the evidence that any disparities are the result of choices women make.

Women tend to seek lower-paying occupations. Women are less single-mindedly devoted to work. They are less likely to work overtime and more likely to take time off to have and be with families and pursue personal interests. I'm not saying that's wrong. Maybe it's part of the reason women live longer and aren't dropping over with coronaries like men. But in the workplace, it puts women at a competitive disadvantage and women are not willing to accept the consequences of the choices they make. Life is trade-offs.

Women demand to get in the game with guys and then want to change the rules to favor themselves. I thought discrimination was wrong when it supposedly worked in my favor. I'm sure not going to endorse discrimination when it works against me.

Do I think that everyone should "jump on the bandwagon" and start axing male air talent? No. I say if you have a good talent who's active in the community and built an audience, then you're nuts if you cut them loose just to follow the latest programming trend.

Hey, this is radio. This is a business noted for irrational programming decisions - especially if others are doing the same thing. This site is filled with examples of "nuts" programming decisions.

I'm actually surprised it took this long to realize the potential appeal of an all-female morning show. If a radio show can successfully replicate the chemistry between a group of female friends...most women will listen.

Maybe you're right. Probably the same psychological mechanism that has women go to the bathroom together.
???

 

[NewsNow]

Keep in mind that this thread could as easily be titled the following:

Rock radio: women need not apply
CHR radio: women stick to middays and morning "news" reader
Country radio: Only sidechicks need apply
Talk radio: are you kidding? Babes don't have gravitas

That last one (the format in which I work, BTW) is particualrly stupid. I hear GMs moan all the time that there's no new Laura (Schlessinger or Ingraham) out there, but they made their career when talk radio was still opening to opinions other than that of a perturbed white man. So no new female talk talent is coming up through the ranks except on the Jones lefty network shows.

 

[RunWithScissors]

Re: AC radio: Men need not apply, slight change

I would change your subject line to the plain and simple truth; All Radio: White men need not apply.

 

[NewsNow]

I'll let the white morning man, afternoon guy, and nite slammer on our Hot AC know, as well as our white male news director, PD, Ops Director, engineer, GM, and GSM. I should also probably shoot an e-mail to our network hosts, Glenn Beck, Rush, Hannity, and Colmes.

I'm a white guy who's worked steady for the past 18 years. Never been fired, never had a hard time finding a job, even in major markets. I would have to guess that if there are white males having a hard time making it in a white male dominated industry, they might be lacking talent or reliability. Shoot, even Sean Hannity sucks and he's risen to network star because he shows up every day.

 

[blueboy]

Remember: the title of my original post was about "AC". The Adult Contemporary format and the changing trend toward removing men (white, black doesn't matter) from the airstaff. The original point was specific to guys like Chris McCoy with a reputation for being "nice" and involved in their community where they've lived, by the way, most if not all of their lives. Finding another local job will be very difficult. Creating a new persona to fit in a new format would be silly. He's so identified with Philly and the AC format I can't imagine he will pop up in Cleveland wakin'ya up with Today's Hotest Music!