Burlington Cluster looking for a GM

[hmmm]

Anybody know who is looking? Ad appeared in "Inside Radio" the other day.

 

[MassMusicMan]

1-5 odds it's Champlain.

 

[wivol]

Yes, it's Champlain Radio. Thankless job.

 

[MassMusicMan]

Wivol = recently departed GM of Champlain. You'd think by now that everybody in the industry would post here. I guess not.

Ooh...$2.40 win payout. ;D

 

[wivol]

No, I'm not the recently departed GM, but familiar with the operation.

 

[jackandcoke]

Yeah, it's Champlain/Northeast. The email address is "browe"--Bob Rowe. Condolences to wivol.

But for a sharp, ambitious, young (that is, young enough to take a huge risk) AE or SM stuck in Consolidation World over at Hall or Vox, taking such a gig could be a very good resume-builder. There is a lot of serious future value ($$$) in having cluster-GM experience in the ol' track record. (Note to wivol--as grueling as it may have been, it wasn't a complete waste of time).

Fact is, they've got some good sticks. Sure, they're in the wrong formats and/or need a lot of TLC. But, ultimately, it's fixable--if (and that's a BIG "if") you have the authority to do what needs to be done. That is, if they'll get the hell out of the way and let you run the thing.

If not... well, then, you'd just be the next guy or gal in position to take the blame for Northeast's cockeyed notions of how radio is supposed to work.

But they've got some good sticks...

 

[True Grit]

Why the automatic assumption that a GM has to come from sales?

 

[jackandcoke]

Why the automatic assumption that a GM has to come from sales?

You're right, of course. There is no reason that a GM has to come from sales. In my own case, I had a decade-or-so in both programming & sales (& engineering) and that combination was very beneficial. The key is to understand all the pieces of the puzzle & to be able to juggle (manage) them all to optimum effect.

With all sincere respect to programmers without lengthy & successful sales experience, the deck is stacked against you. In a perfect world, responsibility for sales revenue would be the sales manager's. But the way it really works is that as a GM/Market Manager, you're responsible for the whole ball of wax. So getting hired without that kind of experience is difficult. And even if you manage to clear that hurdle and actually get the gig, you'd better be extraordinarily wise in order not to screw up the sales end.

Because programming (ratings) success aside, the real trick is to bring in a whole lot more than you spend. A whole lot more. So knowing how that "bringing in" thing works is real important.

 

[True Grit]

Why the automatic assumption that a GM has to come from sales?

You're right, of course. There is no reason that a GM has to come from sales. In my own case, I had a decade-or-so in both programming & sales (& engineering) and that combination was very beneficial. The key is to understand all the pieces of the puzzle & to be able to juggle (manage) them all to optimum effect.

With all sincere respect to programmers without lengthy & successful sales experience, the deck is stacked against you. In a perfect world, responsibility for sales revenue would be the sales manager's. But the way it really works is that as a GM/Market Manager, you're responsible for the whole ball of wax. So getting hired without that kind of experience is difficult. And even if you manage to clear that hurdle and actually get the gig, you'd better be extraordinarily wise in order not to screw up the sales end.

Because programming (ratings) success aside, the real trick is to bring in a whole lot more than you spend. A whole lot more. So knowing how that "bringing in" thing works is real important.

Of course. It's just that in my experience, with very few exceptions, GMs are clueless as to the nuts and bolts (and I don't necessarily mean engineering aspects) of day-to-day radio issues, outside of the financial aspects.

 

[jackandcoke]

Of course. It's just that in my experience, with very few exceptions, GMs are clueless as to the nuts and bolts (and I don't necessarily mean engineering aspects) of day-to-day radio issues, outside of the financial aspects.

Man, you have had a bad shake of the old dice, haven't you? I will acknowledge that most companies value the selling or sales management skill-set more highly in hiring General Managers than they value programming skills--often because they expect a GM to function as a Sales Manager, too. But, frankly, the most successful GMs I've known are people with strong skills in both sales management and programming/positioning/marketing.

FWIW, here's my own path. Good education (master's degree in Comm). Ten years as a jock & PD. Ten years as an AE & sales manager. And early in my career, I got curious enough about the technical side to earn an FCC "First Ticket," so I usually can tell when my engineer is lying to me. Anyway, it's all added up to 20+ years as a GM or market manager, and it's worked out okay. Life could be worse.

So don't write off all GMs. Some of us have a clue.

 

[True Grit]

Well, jackandcoke, you are definitely the exception to the rule Wish I'd worked with you.

 

[MassMusicMan]

Whomever gets the job, I hope they figure out how to run ESPN 1390. Somebody please explain to me why:

a) their stream doesn't work (it's not me, I was able to bring up other CR stations using the same platform)

b) their website doesn't list a schedule of live games that they'll air.

I know it's a skeleton operation, but Jesus, is is that difficult to get these things right? I hope they get this fixed before the D1 state championship next week.