Coaching

[DarthDJ]

Hey guys, I'm just looking for some opinions here.

I was in radio for 10 years, and was the APD/MD of my station before I left it. And when I did leave, I left it tied for number one 12+. (Take that WPAP! HAHAHA)

Anyway, is it just me, or is it painfully obvious that PDs just don't care about coaching any personality out of their jocks? OR...sitting them down and saying "you could have said that in less than 10 seconds instead of 30 and here's how...?"

People listen for the music, but a good jock can make the listener smile that much more. People are a PDs biggest assest, and it's like they just don't care anymore. "Here, read this liner when you talk."

I think every PD in PC needs to step up and coach their jocks to be better, show them how to do it better, and make it fun to for the listener again. All I ever hear is liner cards and badly set up phone calls.

Am I alone, or do you hear this mindless crap as well?

 

[ShadowB]

I think it goes back a bit. See many of todays PD's never got set down for an air check so...Ask the PD and they will say they have no time to do it because they are doing so many jobs....

 

[Jenny Woo]

ShadowB is correct. I've talked to PDs in this market and larger ones and the tilt is towards sales and promotions and not talent. Back in my day, some markets were "farm teams." We took talent from other markets, groomed them, sent them up and waited for our big market pals to send us another night or overnight guy to tune up. I've helped overnight guys become hot night guys (hot enough that advertisers asked for him for remotes) and move to bigger markets to be afternoon drive guys. My afternoon drive guy became my morning guy and then went on to big markets to do mornings for them.
There is no grooming of talent any more and so people are trying to get stand up comics for shows and they are a very different breed - I know, I tried it too in the early 90's.....

 

[vadar]

Darth, its Vadar here. My son, you have learned so much in so little time. Move on and let the force take you away.............

 

[Tibbs4]

I have never heard of a PD not having time to listen to his/her/its potential air
talent. That makes as much sense as not listening or knowing the music on a format...
Er, never mind. Hell. I just came out of my fog to see that real radio really just doesn't exist
much anymore. That is sad...

 

[ShadowB]

[Er, never mind. Hell. I just came out of my fog to see that real radio really just doesn't exist
much anymore. That is sad...

Yes Tibbs it IS sad! I remember having an air check meeting every day the first few months I was in Little Rock! Even did the..oops I forgot to put a tape in....and the PD saying..." Thats ok lets go over the tape we went over yesterday" Don't remember Jeff Davis doing many but he would say if I sucked or not...And yes looking back I did from time to time!!! hahah

 

[calguy]

Yes, today's PD's are busy, but the real problem is that many of todays Program Directors were never air talent, so they never did sessions with an experienced PD. They don't have a clue. A great PD can not only tell you what you're doing wrong, but can tell you how to do it right.

 

[DarthDJ]

Darth, its Vadar here. My son, you have learned so much in so little time. Move on and let the force take you away.............

HAHA..nice! I did radio for 10 years, and unlike most of today's jocks, I WAS well coached. Can't thank my old PDs enough for that. I'm not saying I was the greatest jock, but I did put forth the effort to continuously get better. I'd love to do it again (the radio force runs strong in my blood!) but I have to make more money than what radio is paying. Unless....I can get a PD gig >=)

 

[vtown]

Hey guys, I'm just looking for some opinions here.

I was in radio for 10 years, and was the APD/MD of my station before I left it. And when I did leave, I left it tied for number one 12+. (Take that WPAP! HAHAHA)

Anyway, is it just me, or is it painfully obvious that PDs just don't care about coaching any personality out of their jocks? OR...sitting them down and saying "you could have said that in less than 10 seconds instead of 30 and here's how...?"

People listen for the music, but a good jock can make the listener smile that much more. People are a PDs biggest assest, and it's like they just don't care anymore. "Here, read this liner when you talk."

I think every PD in PC needs to step up and coach their jocks to be better, show them how to do it better, and make it fun to for the listener again. All I ever hear is liner cards and badly set up phone calls.

Am I alone, or do you hear this mindless crap as well?

Darth.... In some cases it is a simple PD's today don't know how to aircheck on top of the too busy factor. As a Dir of Prog from stations in PC I was so over loaded with pure crap that no pd should ever have to deal with. I have in my career coached talent that now are in major markets...and regret that I rarely had the time to do it here in PC. There was a lot of talent and still is in some cases in the building that will remain untapped due to the lack of coaching and from what I see some of the coaching may be all wrong. This industry is sick thanks to the rolled up sleeved heads of companys today....to much focus on that bottom line and too many non-radio people running the industry. There are still a lot of great people in the biz but that number is shinking fast. We need to have more PD's that know what they are doing and not just one person to run 5 stations....you can't do it.

That is my 2 cents

 

[DarthDJ]

From reading everyone's responses, it shows that my ears are still trained after two years of being out of the business. Nobody is coaching these guys, and it's quite obvious when listening. I had friends in large markets, so when my PD would give me the "I'm too busy to listen to yours right now" excuse (I found time to listen to everyone else's and coach them though), I'd throw a few breaks together on mp3 and email them to my friends for constructive criticism. Every little bit helps afterall. It's too bad that the jocks I hear everyday aren't as proactive in that regard to try to better themselves.

 

[DarthDJ]

Hey guys, I'm just looking for some opinions here.

I was in radio for 10 years, and was the APD/MD of my station before I left it. And when I did leave, I left it tied for number one 12+. (Take that WPAP! HAHAHA)

Anyway, is it just me, or is it painfully obvious that PDs just don't care about coaching any personality out of their jocks? OR...sitting them down and saying "you could have said that in less than 10 seconds instead of 30 and here's how...?"

People listen for the music, but a good jock can make the listener smile that much more. People are a PDs biggest assest, and it's like they just don't care anymore. "Here, read this liner when you talk."

I think every PD in PC needs to step up and coach their jocks to be better, show them how to do it better, and make it fun to for the listener again. All I ever hear is liner cards and badly set up phone calls.

Am I alone, or do you hear this mindless crap as well?

Darth.... In some cases it is a simple PD's today don't know how to aircheck on top of the too busy factor. As a Dir of Prog from stations in PC I was so over loaded with pure crap that no pd should ever have to deal with. I have in my career coached talent that now are in major markets...and regret that I rarely had the time to do it here in PC. There was a lot of talent and still is in some cases in the building that will remain untapped due to the lack of coaching and from what I see some of the coaching may be all wrong. This industry is sick thanks to the rolled up sleeved heads of companys today....to much focus on that bottom line and too many non-radio people running the industry. There are still a lot of great people in the biz but that number is shinking fast. We need to have more PD's that know what they are doing and not just one person to run 5 stations....you can't do it.

That is my 2 cents

Which is why my old PD asked me to come back a year after I quit..he just couldn't do it all by himself. I told him that I was donig the job of the PD for my station for years, so if I was going to come back, give me the postion/money, or I'd just come back M-F 8a-4p and pull a weekend shift to help get him back on his feet. He shot me down on both regards. Which cluster did you work at in PC? You can send me a private message if you don't wanna answer that.

 

[wkrpfm]

sometimes the part-timers slip through the cracks because PDs get busy..it happens..you can only spread yourself so thin...if a part-timer truly wants to improve and isn't getting a response, they can always ask another full-timer to help with some coaching...just another avenue to get feedback..some full-timers (that aren't PDs) who get asked to aircheck are flattered, and willing to do it in a second!

 

[radioatlantis]

MAYBE 2% OF THEM.....the others are just data entry twits who only act on things statistics, testing and research tell them. There is no gut in radio anymore - at least, if you have a good one, you can't use it. It's like the police using psychics..... they may try it but they usually don't admit it even if it works - because it's out of their CONTROL and something they can't comprehend..and they sure aren't going to run their business on that element.

In fact, most PDs aren't capable of coaching because they have never been in on the front line to know what it takes to win. Naturally, they quote from the two page "how to" manual but how can you LEAD if you have never DONE?

Lets put it this way...I bet if you place an add in All Access that says

I AM DEAF AND DUMB, HAVE HAD A LOBOTOMY, AM VERY FUNNY AND WILL WORK FOR ANYTHING YOU WILL PAY ME. I WOULD LIKE TO DO MORNING DRIVE.

You'd probably be the first candidate considered for a job.

 

[romer979fm]

MAYBE 2% OF THEM.....the others are just data entry twits who only act on things statistics, testing and research tell them.
In fact, most PDs aren't capable of coaching because they have never been in on the front line to know what it takes to win. Naturally, they quote from the two page "how to" manual but how can you LEAD if you have never DONE?

sounds like you've been shut out somewhere...

 

[radioatlantis]

ROMER979FM


Ain't we all?

I been up. I been down. I been squeezed in the middle. I been all around. Radio isn't the only business sector that is FUBAR but it has become a nasty, thankless business.

I see it every day in just the ads placed for jobs. "NO CALLS- in case you can't read, this means YOU and that means if you can't follow directions, don't apply anyway."

Not only do MANAGERS not want to speak with you (because they have no people skills) but these people are obviously low or no-skilled people who are rude and don't belong in the positions they have...that is, unless these big corporations want people like this representing them. I say THEY DO.

You get what you pay for and very rarely is education associated with talent in radio so it isn't often that you see ads wanting more than a few years experience for any positon and hardly ever, a DEGREE. Green and cheap. That's what the big boys who grossly overpay for their properties want.

But most segments of our society and the business world have become rude arrogant, and distant..why not the communications business too?

PEOPLE DON'T EVEN RETURN PHONE CALLS anymore and I am talking right on up the title scale.
They don't feel that they owe it to anyone to be courteous.

And the rest of us just walk around in this stupor and mumble, "well that's the way it is" We accept everything they dish out.

That's why I would hope that the writer's strike cripples the networks. Let's see Les Moonves show us some freakin talent by writing a few of those TV shows on his own to earn his 500 million a year!..... the only way these empirical hotshots are ever going to appreciate WHO CREATES THE PRODUCT is for the creators to quit doing it for dirt and disrespect.

Angry? No Greatly disappointed? YES.

 

[Jenny Woo]

ROMER979FM

I see it every day in just the ads placed for jobs. "NO CALLS- in case you can't read, this means YOU and that means if you can't follow directions, don't apply anyway."

Not only do MANAGERS not want to speak with you (because they have no people skills) but these people are obviously low or no-skilled people who are rude and don't belong in the positions they have...that is, unless these big corporations want people like this representing them. I say THEY DO.
You get what you pay for and very rarely is education associated with talent in radio so it isn't often that you see ads wanting more than a few years experience for any positon and hardly ever, a DEGREE. Green and cheap. That's what the big boys who grossly overpay for their properties want

PEOPLE DON'T EVEN RETURN PHONE CALLS anymore and I am talking right on up the title scale.
They don't feel that they owe it to anyone to be courteous.

OK, let's start with NO CALLS. There is a very good reason for that - WE'RE ****ING BUSY AND DO NOT HAVE TIME TO TALK TO 75 WANNABES A DAY.
We have people skills or we would never be made Managers - think that through.
Radio is not a degree-type business. I had one while I worked and it wasn't in radio-type shit because everyone who teaches that at the university level that I have met has, at most, six months' experience in AM.
PEOPLE don't return phone calls because they TOLD YOU not to call. For my entire managerial life I have requested No Calls and not returned applicant calls because I asked them not to call. Calling me put your resume out of the pile or at the bottom of it.
Radio will change as the market changes. Terrestrial radio now competes with satellite, ipod, CDs, etc. It will reinvent itself to meet the change or die.
I predict reinvention and if you want to be there, work on your craft. Personality radio is stand up comedy with discipline.
And get over being sorry for yourself. I wouldn't hire you as you stand on a bet.

 

[Tibbs4]

Hey Charlie Woo Lady dudette? Can I apply fur a job rite hear, online with you? I can sing, I can dance. I can make coffee from Starbucks. I have a BS degree, to boot. Call me --- 234-0000.

 

[ShadowB]

WOW looks like someone missed snack time!

 

[Brother Bear]

Jenny's right. If your stupid ass can't follow a simple direction like 'no calls', what hope is there when it comes time for a hands-on PD to steer you in the direction that he/she has dictated best for the station? There isn't a PD in the country that isn't looking for a certain sound or personality ... if it's not you, your audition and resume hit File 13 right away ... and if you can't follow instructions, abandon all hope.
Radio WILL change, and will reinvent itself to suit the marketplace. It will outperform satellite, I-pods, and whatever else pops up as long as it embraces a market and stays local. Even if you're the local station for East Podunk, love your Podunkians (?) and they will return the love with ratings and revenue. It may not be the seven figure salary I'm SURE you're worthy of, but it is what it is ... take or leave it.
It's up to jocks to check their egos and narcissism at the door, and actually WORK to get bacK the listeners Big Corporate radio pushed away.
If you think you're so hot and radio owes you for something you did 15 years ago, I will give you the profound advice Mr. T dispensed frequently on "The A-Team"...
"Fool, you better recognize!"

 

[Jenny Woo]

WOW looks like someone missed snack time!

It's a major pet peeve with me - I was a little harsh to radioatlantis but that assumption that "No calls doesn't apply to ME and they are rude jerks not to call ME back" annoys the crap out of me.
Have a Disney Day ;D