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Coaching

FWIW, I manage a half-dozen stations and I take every call. For one thing, the most talented people tend not to be the ones who draw inside the lines. For another, when an AT Wannabe is on the other end, they're doing an impromptu audition, whether they like it or not. If they pique my interest, maybe I'll listen to their damn tape (or, more likely, force the PD or OM to do it); if they screw up the phone call, the audition is over.

Jenny is probably busier than I am. I just delegate everything.

BTW, edjumacation don't hurt nobody. And sometimes them coeds can really teach you sumpin. I recommend college for everyone, regardless of their career goals. Even jocks & engineers.
 
Well, I guess I had better tell you that I come unarmed and with no intention of picking a fight. Like everybody on the boards, I tell it like I see it and FROM experience.

Thank you REDNECKRIVIERA for understanding that I wasn't calling names when I made my statement AND that it had validity. I appreciate the common sense.

As for WOO, you certainly didn't hesitate to exemplify the kind of person I was talking about
and defend that position. I would find that rather difficult to do but you didn't seem to make it a struggle.

BEAR seems to be in the second row cheering section at a WWF smackdown night. I do follow directions. I just don't consider it very good for a business reputation to insinuate to people, in an ad for a job, that he or she is an idiot if they don't follow directions and post DON'T CALL in caps, leaving the impression that you think you are mostly talking to morons. It is just as easy to assume that everyone is intelligent and tell them that "you will not have time to personally respond to every application", instead. It makes all the difference -- wouldn't it to you, Mr. Bear?

This is the only industry with the kinds of "managerial" types (Program Directors and up) who don't believe that it is a part of their job to return phone calls FOR ANY REASON. I don't see ads posted for jobs by other business sectors, treating potential candidates like infantile morons - only radio. Just cruise through respectable job sites like INEED.COM. You don't find people in other businesses putting intimidating and degrading remarks like that in their job postings.

My point, I see, went almost entirely missed. IT IS A RUDE AND INCONSIDERATE PRACTICE BY ANYONE, ESPECIALLY IN A MANAGERIAL POSITION...and your time is no more valuable than mine.

What if I don't leave anything but my name and you don't call me back because you think I am just another "wannabe" and I am really calling to offer you a job?!

I have never worked for a company where my superiors didn't emphasize taking and/or returning every phone call. They always stressed the importance of the human connection.

Today, we have the convenience of hiding behind screen names and casually posting our thoughts and never having to engage in verbal discourse over issues. Guess that is why I enjoy amateur radio. You actually get to know the REAL people and hear their voices and there is still an congenial attitude of respect and courtesy. No one is "too ****ing busy" to take the time to talk or even to express contrasting views.

There is no doubt in my mind that the jobs with the same titles have been loaded down with more responsibilities as these corporations have eliminated positions, so I do know that people generally spend more time doing what they do. I do have respect for the positions and the people (well, maybe half of them) but I am afraid I do not agree with the notion that you cut lines with the outside. This is a COMMUNICATIONS business.

It is true that what goes around - comes around and on your way down you will meet someone on the way up, passing you, that you refused to give five minutes to - who will look at you and never remember your name again. It happens all the time.

It is even amusing how (woo) can actually discern that she would not hire me (as if my posting told all there is to tell about who I am and what I do or what kind of person I am). I can tell you, without hesitation, that you would have a bargain in a person such as myself. Ah, but now poor
radioatlantis is labeled and stigmatized.

Let me say a thing about degrees. Not all radio instructors (college level) are the kinds of people you described. Some have had distinguished careers - some have even owned radio stations.

Whether you believe it or not, education is a great thing to have in combination with radio. It gives one the dynamics of expression to be able to speak on other than a "Britney's panties" level.

I actually think (having been a manager and pd) that administrative levels of radio, dealing with the direction of people, should require a degree and that IF radio intends to reinvent itself, it will
need different and stronger leadership. No intent to slap anyone in the face. It's just the way I feel, instinctively.

I commend (Woo) for including the possibility that radio might "die" in your options because it isn't exactly attracting attention for it's brilliant innovations and we all would find it hard to refute the very ugly press it gets for it's replicated and over-manufactured state, or it's horrible treatment of employees. We all know that it has never installed a system for "coaching" or developing talent and has no farm team and that most of radio is the product of lame joke services and necrotic syndication. So, the prognosis for radio might very well be it's unfortunate demise if adventurous people with new ideas don't start breaking molds.

Let me do you all a favor by suggesting a book called BLUE OCEAN STRATEGIES......and another
book that was published in the early 90s but is packed with great inspiration for such a mission as saving radio. It is called IF IT AIN'T BROKE, BREAK IT.

Meanwhile, start a new trend. Take and return phone calls. You never know who might be on the other end or what kind of an exceptional reputation as the greatest person anyone has ever SPOKEN TO in radio programming! Rare indeed, to be spoken to by someone in radio programming.

EVERYONE IS IMPORTANT in this business until they have proven they are not.. That is what I have learned. Heck, I could be someone one of you works for anyway...then would it make a different in what manner you addressed me or if you responded to me at all??

Have a Merry Christmas

(and by the way, don't leave Santa a note asking for something special. He is much to f---king busy to pay attention to you. :>)
 
DarthDJ said:
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?
Click to expand...

Yes, I'm resurrecting the original post of this thread--DarthDJ's call for PDs to do more/better coaching. Radioatlantis brought "education"--the formal kind--into the conversation... but we're all really talking about the same thing: teaching and learning the craft of being an Air Talent aka Air Personality, Jock, et cetera.

To quote myself (I think), being an AT is very much like singing or dancing or carrying a football. There's only so much that can be taught. Basketball coaches say you can't teach height. Likewise, you can't teach a deep voice. But you can teach a short player how to jump better... and you can teach a jock with a lesser voice how to use it better. And, yes, you can teach an AT to be concise, to focus on certain (relatable) topics, and appropriate pacing for the format.

My bachelor's degree in communications & master's degree in communications never hurt me as a jock. They probably helped get me hired, several times. What they represent, though--conscious thought & effort to be a better communicator--undoubtedly helped on-air. You know, that relatability stuff.

A bachelor's degree today is what a high school diploma was forty years ago: basic evidence that a prospective employee can think. I would not recommend to anyone that they don't need a college education to be a jock.

Last point. This education thing isn't a one-way street. If a PD isn't actively offering to coach you, then it's up to you--the jock--to encourage him/her to do so. Or, find that coaching/teaching elsewhere. The student needs to be an active participant in the process. Nobody's going to drill a hole in your head and just pour the knowledge in. You have to seek it out and grab it.

Success isn't something that some else does to you. Success is something you earn. As Nike says, just do it.
 
radioatlantis said:
As for WOO, you certainly didn't hesitate to exemplify the kind of person I was talking about
and defend that position. I would find that rather difficult to do but you didn't seem to make it a struggle.

This is the only industry with the kinds of "managerial" types (Program Directors and up) who don't believe that it is a part of their job to return phone calls FOR ANY REASON. I don't see ads posted for jobs by other business sectors, treating potential candidates like infantile morons - only radio. Just cruise through respectable job sites like INEED.COM. You don't find people in other businesses putting intimidating and degrading remarks like that in their job postings.

My point, I see, went almost entirely missed. IT IS A RUDE AND INCONSIDERATE PRACTICE BY ANYONE, ESPECIALLY IN A MANAGERIAL POSITION...and your time is no more valuable than mine.
What if I don't leave anything but my name and you don't call me back because you think I am just another "wannabe" and I am really calling to offer you a job?!

It is true that what goes around - comes around and on your way down you will meet someone on the way up, passing you, that you refused to give five minutes to - who will look at you and never remember your name again. It happens all the time.

It is even amusing how (woo) can actually discern that she would not hire me (as if my posting told all there is to tell about who I am and what I do or what kind of person I am). I can tell you, without hesitation, that you would have a bargain in a person such as myself. Ah, but now poor
radioatlantis is labeled and stigmatized.

Let me say a thing about degrees. Not all radio instructors (college level) are the kinds of people you described. Some have had distinguished careers - some have even owned radio stations.

Whether you believe it or not, education is a great thing to have in combination with radio. It gives one the dynamics of expression to be able to speak on other than a "Britney's panties" level.

I actually think (having been a manager and pd) that administrative levels of radio, dealing with the direction of people, should require a degree and that IF radio intends to reinvent itself, it will
need different and stronger leadership. No intent to slap anyone in the face. It's just the way I feel, instinctively.

I commend (Woo) for including the possibility that radio might "die" in your options because it isn't exactly attracting attention for it's brilliant innovations and we all would find it hard to refute the very ugly press it gets for it's replicated and over-manufactured state, or it's horrible treatment of employees. We all know that it has never installed a system for "coaching" or developing talent and has no farm team and that most of radio is the product of lame joke services and necrotic syndication. So, the prognosis for radio might very well be it's unfortunate demise if adventurous people with new ideas don't start breaking molds.
(and by the way, don't leave Santa a note asking for something special. He is much to f---king busy to pay attention to you. :>)
Click to expand...
I listened to every aircheck I was sent when I was a PD. In some cases, where I saw potential, I told the applicant so and made reccomendations for improvement. That's a lot more than the PDs I trained under ever did. I sent nice rejection letters to everyone who applied with me. You didn't hang out there not knowing your status.
Many, many times you will see "no calls" as part of a job ad. For me, there are two reasons I make that request: (1) I am busy and (2) I will feel sorry for you and even if you sound like Kermit I will spend too much time being pleasant to you on the phone, possibly giving hope where there is none.
Dude, my degree is in European Intellectual History - I am using that degree in my current employment. It came in handy in radio but not all jocks need one. And if you met broadcast journalism professors who had a lot of time successfully in the biz you are very fortunate.
As to why I wouldn't hire you as you stand it is because of your attitude. I'd rather have someone with no pipes who was dedicated to learning and had a positive attitude that a jaded, negative person with experience and pipes. I can teach technique and teach someone how to use their voice like a musical instrument - but bad attitude is really difficult to eradicate and it is infectious.
You need to lighten up and you may need to change markets. And BTW, I would be happy to listen to your aircheck and give you an honest critique. You write intelligently so perhaps you sound the same - and that "to" in the Santa crack should be a "too."
Merry Christmas and if you want to take me up on the critique say so.
 
Talk about feeling sorry for yourself and getting over yourself. Sorry Ms. Woo, you're a pd in a not very large market in an industry that's going south. I'm sure you're busy, but I wouldn't want to work for you on a bet.

As far as coaching is concerned, it's always been a difficult art. A lot of program directors just use it as an excuse to belittle and beat up on their talents. Good coaching comes from a basis of mutual respect and it's more than just "do it this way." It's a matter of active listening by both parties and an exchange of ideas.

Yes, good people should want to hold regular aircheck sessions, but if part of your responsibility is to go over air checks with your talent and they avoid it or don't actively seek you out for that kind of coaching, you may want to think about the way you're going about those sessions. In today's environment, everyone is busy and no one wants their time wasted.
 
FiveStar said:
Talk about feeling sorry for yourself and getting over yourself. Sorry Ms. Woo, you're a pd in a not very large market in an industry that's going south. I'm sure you're busy, but I wouldn't want to work for you on a bet.

As far as coaching is concerned, it's always been a difficult art. A lot of program directors just use it as an excuse to belittle and beat up on their talents. Good coaching comes from a basis of mutual respect and it's more than just "do it this way." It's a matter of active listening by both parties and an exchange of ideas.
Yes, good people should want to hold regular aircheck sessions, but if part of your responsibility is to go over air checks with your talent and they avoid it or don't actively seek you out for that kind of coaching, you may want to think about the way you're going about those sessions. In today's environment, everyone is busy and no one wants their time wasted.
Click to expand...

I got out of the business some years ago (thank goodness) but have remained connected. I always had time to aircheck my jocks; and I always did so respectfully. If any corrections were necessary they were preceded by a whole lot of emphasis on what was good and every session ended on a positive note. I didn't have a big ego involved, I didn't want to be a "star," I wanted my jocks to be stars. I spent of good bit of time building them back up after every time our sorry consultant (not selected by me) had beaten them down. So, yeah, I was just horrible to work for.
My point is simply that RA needs to redirect his resentment for ads that state "No Calls" and stop hating on PDs who run those kinds of ads for not returning his calls.
 
Ok, so why did the claws come out when he made a point that a lot of people agree with? I think you way overreacted. Anybody in the business knows PD's are busy. Those of us who know that don't need a lecture. Those who don't get it, probably don't get a lot of other things and pitching a fit at them won't make a difference one way or another. I'm thinking specifically of a "big shot" who put a long rant in AllAccess's "help wanted" column aimed at a poor slob who mistakenly (I hope) posted a situations wanted ad there. This self styled big shot took who knows how many minutes of his precious time, explaining how his time was too valuable to read ads posted in the wrong place.

I have no reason to think you're telling anything but the truth about how you approached your talent. FWIW, I think that's exactly the right way to go about it and good on you for doing it that way. Also, good on you for getting out the business. You and your family are probably better off. (No I'm not being sarcastic, what this business has become ain't pretty and those who can use the fire escape should)

My apologies if I misjudged you, but that response really struck me as defensive and intemperate. I'm just a radio lifer and I have a great deal of respect for people who have climbed the career ladder, but I have no respect for those who feel that everyone else is part of the great unwashed.
 
I don't feel that "everyone else is among the great unwashed."
I have said the calls thing is my pet peeve - it doesn't bother some others, but it does bother me. I was also reacting to the negative tone I perceived in RA's post.
I am glad I am out as well; I doubled my salary in less than three years and earn over 3 times more now. My husband is still in the business but he's in what I consider the traditional money end - engineering.
I respect you for staying in the business (air talent, I presume?). The road to the devolution of local personality radio had been long and littered with the bodies of young talent kicked to the curb because of consultants, cost-cutting, and satellite.
It always strikes me as humorous when I see the big chains looking for personality talent when they have been so bent on not planting their own gardens, especially when that's so easy and cheap. Many already have board ops, they could easily hire people who want to learn for the same price and let them run live - read liners and little intros, groom them and work them up to a free-for-all overnight show.
I know voice tracking from other markets and buying some satellite shows is cheap but when do you reach the point of diminishing returns?
Bah!
Now, topic at hand, if the kid is part of a chain there should be a regional PD who may be useful in offering critique. If he/she has worked in more than one market, send the check to an old PD or fellow jock who has gone on to good things.
I have always loved radio people and will continue to open my home to the CC radio orphans (jocks far from home) who want a real home-cooked meal and a knowledgeable and sympathetic ear. I have more than one who call me "Mama Woo."
:D
 
If I say so myself, I would be considered a PD's dream...As long as there were recording resources available, I always made it a point to aircheck myself even to the point of playing to the recorder on every mic break. That way, when a PD was ready for an aircheck session (which weren't many), so was I. If I didn't aircheck, it was because either the cassette deck was broken or the recording software in the studio crashed. Besides, I was my own worst critic. Needed very little pressure to perform from the PD...I already had enough pressure from putting it on myself.
 
Well, another Internet spitting match devolves into a love-fest! Thanks for your kind words Ms. Woo, but really I deserve no special praise for sticking with radio. I'm an old line news hack and the big problem is more age than anything else. If I was about 20 years older I could just think about cashing in on Social Security, if I was 20 years younger I could say "radio sux" and look for something else to do.

I'm always open to other opportunities, but I'm becoming more and more convinced that the future for radio lifers is as a free-lancer, but that's a topic for another thread.
 
This is funny.
As FiveStar begins to humanize Woo and she softens, I see that WE have more in common than she would ever want to admit. I love the way she fesses up that radio is an ugly seven headed monster. I just don't think that she has that depth of years to relate to just how great radio used to be compared to the wasteland that it has become. Maybe then, she could understand what she perceives to be my "negativity". I just call it plain truth.

Like FiveStar, I have weathered this business a good number of years. My hair is grayer but my mind is sharp, I am well-read and articulate, and as informed and in the groove as I ever was. My presentation is still contemporary and vibrant. My maturity is in my content and experience, rather than in the aging of my voice. My "attitude" isn't gratuitous or phony. I am not going to "tell you what you want to hear" . I am about honesty and if people who continue to promote status quo,until they get out and find something better, than that is the legacy they leave and the prolonged effect of a deteriorating business.

I am actually saddened more than I am disgruntled but I still don't mind telling you that to write ads for employment that contain the assumption that candidates are morons that can't follow directions, is not only impolite, discourteous and rude but validates that there are too many people in management positions that shouldn't be. How busy you are is never an excuse. If it suddenly has to be, those doing it should examine if what they are doing for a living is worth the energy it depletes.

As for education - FIveSTar understood what I was saying and in addition, it is probably a requisite this business needs to push it into a better place than it is. We are bombarded with so much information from all directions these days that having on air talent who deliver some of that with high comprehension and brevity is a very desirable skill beyond the bitboard chuckles that are the standard fare.

It also doesn't hurt to have people on the air that are "smarter" and more well-rounded than the people they work for.

After all, on the programming side, management looks for this marathon multi-tasker who is good with this software and that program and is also a good leader, coach, creative example..
How many of these people REALLY exist?

In almost any other "professional" field, employers offer courses, seminars, continuing education, or some kind of supplemental training. RADIO DOES NOT.

Some people are good at assimilating things through osmosis to be proficient and self-taught..
others have the knack at knowing what is great programming or sound made by someone else
and they steal it and copy it to appear smart. Very few of us are good at all things and possess the kind of talent to be originators, innovators, leaders of people, and so on. This is why the owners and management of radio stations owe it to themselves to not only develop
talent but to invest in the talent they have to be more productive at what they do.

What you end up with now is people who need jobs who will, for the most part, work cheap and SAY they know everything there is to know, applying for positions that require 3 to 5 years experience.

They get hired, are given a title and the job equivalent of five people. They are in over their heads, stressed out, time-consumed, under-trained and overwhelmed. So these people end up being ineffective leaders and mentors -- and people are the most important asset in their product.

Jenny Woo. I don't know who you are and you certainly don't know who I am. It would be unfair to judge who you are by what you write on a radio message board but I can tell you that I have accomplished more than most in this business, have spent most of my radio life in large markets, and have worked with and for some legendary people. I am privileged to have worked under some outstanding programmers - most of whom are no longer in the business - but yes, are still very much alive.

I love the business but I dislike what consolidation, wall street, bean counters, data heads, and the lack of owners that are REAL RADIO PEOPLE, have done to bring the business down. THAT IS ABOUT AS LEGITIMATE A REASON FOR MY "ATTITUDE" AS IT GETS.

I will wager that you have no idea how many extraordinary radio legends are sitting on the bench right now, because they are either "too old", "know too much" or "want too much".
Those are radio's reasons for NOT hiring players that define the major league of radio.

I will pass on the critique from you.

Truly talented people in this business don't need "critiques". They need to be given guidance on what to DO, rather that what NOT to do. That is how most critiques are presented. They deserve mentorship, not a break-by-break bullet point session.

Well, times up. They just came in and told me that I have to have this rent-a-brain back by three or they'll tack on a late charge. It's been wonderful therapy here at the Old School.

(Too)
 
not necessarily in response to the one above mine...just a comment in general...but this whole topic is about coaching..why is the discussion such a disgruntled one about radio...it should be about advice for newcomers on how to improve their skills..all of us here may have some valuable skills to teach newbies...let's focus on that
 
To be honest about it, right now in good conscience I can't encourage anyone to make a career of radio. The money stinks for everyone but the super talents, the job market itself is constantly shrinking and the respect from management for anyone on the talent side is non existent.

I can and do help young people who want to get better, but unfortunately the work pressures are such today, that there is just barely enough to get all the work done if everyone is working at max efficiency and the computers don't crash (God for forbid anyone should get a case of diareah). It's not much of a learning environment.
 
As I read this thread I wonder if anyone is happy with their current career in radio ... other than me. For 26 years I have roamed it's landscape from the days of the Mom & Pop all the way to the belly of the beast, and while there have been horrible days at the hand of The Galactic Empire, some of the Mom & Pop days weren't so hot, either.
I despise what the suits, bean counters, and non-radio jerks have done to this vocation I love so well, and even though I have outwardly damned them to the fiery cauldrons of hell for what they have done to it, I
changed myself and my situation so I could keep doing it. I choose to light a single match rather than curse the darkness.
There's still a ton of fun radio out there ... not the old school fun it once was, but fun nevertheless. I tell youngsters that want to be in radio to be ready for the bitchiest, most cruel mistress you can dream of, as well as some of the smallest minded imbeciles around ... but also cherish those moments when it's just you and the listeners, sharing lives and connecting one on one ... and one at a time. I am blessed - after so many years I still wake up every morning and do what I love more than anything else, and I am respected by my PD, GM, and Owner.
I tell newbies to remember the words of RFK ...
"Some people see things as they are and ask,'Why?' ... I dream things that never were and ask 'Why not?'
 
to answer your question...yes, I am one that is happy with her current radio position..and would still encourage people to get into radio
 
This thread of coaching, or the lack there of, and its evolution into satisfaction from radio as a career are related because of the change brought to the industry by the Galactic Empires (thanks BB). The change forced by the bottom liners and profiteers was to turn radio into something it was not intended to be when the FCC was created in the 30's. In this day of cynicism we tend to make fun of politicians but please reflect on the intent from more that 70 years ago; "to serve the public interest".

When you cannot serve the public through broadcasting nobody stops you in the mall or grocery to say, "Thanks, job well done". We've all had that happen in the past, when a stranger apologizes for interrupting your day and gives you a pat on the back. That is worth more than any paycheck. That is what is missing. That is why coaching rarely exists today. PD's don't feel it'll lead to any of the good intangible's upon which we used to survive.

The world of broadcasting is turning away from the profiteers, keep hope ye true public servants. "The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it", John 1:5.

Hopeful Stewy :)
 
Well y'all lets face it...if you have been in the biz for atleast 15 years you know how radio was.... we have so quickly become a nation of the "bottom line" that our wall street owners have thrown the product right out the window. it is all about how much money will my stocks make me by friday because I've got vacation plans. What they don't understand is that this is a product that takes more then a week to see results. I recently was back home and got to listen to 3 major markets including a station I grew up listening to and yes it is a CC station and honestly as a person just listening to the radio.. BOORRRRRING.... it sounded like a GD college station not a top 40 market the jocks were lame... even this mid-day person that keep hearing about who pushes the line, seriously put me to sleep. and the rest of the station...we won't go there. but I also got to listen to another CHR that was in one of my travel towns and I know the PD... he is a great jock and the station sounds great but the jocks are weak except for him this also is a station that I know for a fact has corporate hands on. Point being I guess is that until the radio business takes it's next ownership turn which I predict will be in the next couple years. this is what we have and nothing will change it until the ownership does....and if the talented people of the biz are not too scared off they can help mold the next generation. Until then it is cut the expenses and make me money.....
hold your glasses high for a toast to the return of more local owners.

Happy Holidays
Jo Valentine
 
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.
Click to expand...

They don't take calls because 9 times out of 10 they have already filled the position, they run the ads to fool themelves, their investors, and others into thinking they are complying with EEO requirements. Proof that they are "rude and do not belong in the positions they have", however, that is what radio has become.....for now.
 
AttackPoodle!!!! I'm shocked that you would think that anyone with their sleeves rolled up would do something like that..... LMAO!!!!

JV
 
redneckriviera said:
DarthDJ said:
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?
Click to expand...

Yes, I'm resurrecting the original post of this thread--DarthDJ's call for PDs to do more/better coaching. Radioatlantis brought "education"--the formal kind--into the conversation... but we're all really talking about the same thing: teaching and learning the craft of being an Air Talent aka Air Personality, Jock, et cetera.

To quote myself (I think), being an AT is very much like singing or dancing or carrying a football. There's only so much that can be taught. Basketball coaches say you can't teach height. Likewise, you can't teach a deep voice. But you can teach a short player how to jump better... and you can teach a jock with a lesser voice how to use it better. And, yes, you can teach an AT to be concise, to focus on certain (relatable) topics, and appropriate pacing for the format.

My bachelor's degree in communications & master's degree in communications never hurt me as a jock. They probably helped get me hired, several times. What they represent, though--conscious thought & effort to be a better communicator--undoubtedly helped on-air. You know, that relatability stuff.

A bachelor's degree today is what a high school diploma was forty years ago: basic evidence that a prospective employee can think. I would not recommend to anyone that they don't need a college education to be a jock.

Last point. This education thing isn't a one-way street. If a PD isn't actively offering to coach you, then it's up to you--the jock--to encourage him/her to do so. Or, find that coaching/teaching elsewhere. The student needs to be an active participant in the process. Nobody's going to drill a hole in your head and just pour the knowledge in. You have to seek it out and grab it.

Success isn't something that some else does to you. Success is something you earn. As Nike says, just do it.
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I love your last two paragraphs. This is exactly what I did when I stopped being coached. I networked myself out to other PDs outside my market for opinions on improvement, plus I got myself a part time job at B97 in New Orleans to further my education and skill level. But then again, I'm not lazy.
 
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