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Consultants

XTalker said:
Purpose of the consultant is to give the PD someone to turn to for ideas and opinions of ideas. Most GMs are so sales oriented, and few have programming experience (particularly in today's atmosphere), they are not good sounding boards.
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If this is the case and you work for a small to medium group, why not use the resources at hand? Surely within your other stations, there would be enough people (read PD's/Promotions Directors/Production Directors) who could generate idears for other stations within your group. I know from previously working in a medium size group with stations around Australia, idears were/are regularly exchanged and/or modified to fit the market concerned.
 
Worked for Clear Channel and CBS Corporation - both encouraged communication between similar stations, but most all of the larger markets still hired consultants.

Don't get me wrong, I am not a big fan of consultants as they exist in many situations. That is why I say they would be hired by PDs who don't have access to those resources - not by GMs.

I guess my main point is the PD should be the expert and the consultant should be there for support and idea exchange. Consultants should NOT make the final calls - as many do!
 
XTalker said:
I guess my main point is the PD should be the expert and the consultant should be there for support and idea exchange. Consultants should NOT make the final calls - as many do!
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many do make the final calls cuz the PD and or GM are too gutless to do so themselves. consultants only have power when it's given to them or local mgmt.
won't stick their neck out so they give-it-up to the consultant to cya
 
There's an idea for a business ... the PD makes the decisions and can blame the bad ones on me! For a fee, of course!
 
My only experiance with a consultant was a couple of years ago. At the time I thought this could be a good learnning experiance, as this guy was consultant to Australia's biggest CHR's at the time. After the meeting I walked out thinking that it was the biggest waste of time. One thing I have noticed is that consultants here in Australia don't have any original idears. I listen to a lot of US radio, and when I tune into local radio, I find nothing that really grabs me.

Having said that, IF I was to get a consultant, I would get one to help introduce a new format, as I would love a fully fledged AAA down here. I would most likely import a PD in the format (from the US) as a consultant.
 
There are few new, original ideas in radio anymore. Only different versions of the old ones! There is a degree of kidding in that comment, but it is hard to beat tried and true elements.

I like your idea about finding a stateside PD to help with your AAA format! There are probably a lot of good ones who would love a trip to Australia to help a station get up and running! With today's digital world, it is easy to import imaging, etc from the US (an vice versa).
 
Seriously...in this day and age when there are corporate vp's of programming and RVP's...do we really need to look outside our own company for advice? If it's a CC, Emmis, Cumulus, CBS or any other "corp"...is a consultant needed?

If these companies fired all the consultants, then maybe they could keep some of the people they have been tanking lately.
 
radiofriend1 said:
if a pd isn't totally qualified to program his station--to the point he needs a consultant-- then he's not qualified or objective enuff to HIRE the consultant
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If a PD isn't totally qualified to program a station--to the point he/she needs a consultant--then he/she needs to find a new line of work.
 
Musicradio said:
"ANY STATION, who depends SOLELY on the advice of a consultant over the leadership of a LOCAL Program Director deserves every bit of failure that comes their way."

So true. What's that old saying that really ticks them off? Oh yeah --
"Consultants are PDs who can't find a job".

Laugh as you will -- sometime's it's true.
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Definition of a consultant: Someone who borrows your watch and then charges you to tell you what time it is. ;)
 
We use a promotions consultant (Paige Nienaber) and he's brilliant. A great resource to use when needed. No programming consultant although we do have a VP of programming at a corporate level, much like Paige...there when needed otherwise we're left to program our own stations locally. It's a rare treat.
 
There are consultants...and then there are consultants.

I've worked with some very good ones...and some I wouldn't give candy machine money to.

Some of the best consultants, I've learned, are the ones who don't necessarily always appear on a lot of convention panels, or are slapping you on the back in a record company "hospitality" suite.

These are quiet pros who get their reputation by ratings success. You learn who they are with time and experience.
 
Do record companies still DO hospitality suites?

I don't go to music-format-pertinent conventions, so I don't know.
But didn't The Napster Revolution whack the labels?
 
Sending well wishes out to Greg Gillispie, long time rock programmer and consultant, who's announced his retirement due to health issues... read your AllAccess for more.
 
I must be lucky or maybe I have a high threshold for pain. I worked with some good consultants over the years. Gary Guthrie, Classic Hits. His attitude was, "I bring you the suit, you tailor it so it fits and pick out the accessories." In other words, here's the format, do what it takes to make it a success in your market. I'll give you all the help you need. Fred Jacobs, Classic Rock, is outstanding. He listens twice as much as he speaks and when he speaks, he's always worth listening to. News-Talk? Ed Shane. Not bad for a guy whose primary business is consulting Country stations. Some groups lean too heavily on consultants, maybe it's to hedge their bets. I've consulted a few small market news-talkers over the years with moderate success, always trying to remember what the good consultants I worked with might do: Listen with both ears, speak with one voice, let the PD or GM make the decisions.
 
Consultants are NO GOOD.

How could guidance -- implementation of proven strategies and tactics for programming/promotion/marketing/management -- possibly have ANY value if they don't come from someone-who-happens-to-be-on the company health plan???

HC
www.HollandCooke.com
 
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