coping with the stress of losing a job in radio

[kmac]

I feel for the OP and I probably know who this person is, though I couldn't say for sure. Whoever you are, good luck. It's depressing I know, but my guess is that you'll be telling us all about the great new gig you have sometime in the near future, whether it be in radio or elsewhere.

I know every one of the people who got let go in that round personally. Some of them I really miss, and they were all very hardworking, very talented people. It's a sad fact of working in radio these days, no matter what company you work for. People get let go and radio is very performance-driven. I've even seen it happen at Mom n' Pop's. I hate to say this but it makes me glad I chose engineering over air talent early in my career. We may not be recognized very much as anything other than a money-pit, but unless you're really inept, we pretty much stay off the radar screen when it comes to the performance race.

KMAC

 

[nightfly61]

I know an engineer who built a cluster from the ground up & then was just as it was complete he was let go because of downsizing & still came out after he was canned to show the other engineer/s they kept how everything was hooked up. That's a real pro there.

 

[Mike Sheridan]

Engineers are the unsung heroes of radio. Many work 24/7 and they do it for more than just the money. People come at them with problems all day long. It's no wonder that some of them get cranky.

The man who cared enough to show those after him how things were hooked up has something called CLASS. I believe in karma, he will do fine in whatever comes after and he knows it. So there is no need to be petty. I just hope he got a good severance package, rare in radio but sometimes it happens.

I would have liked to have been an engineer but I didn't have the faith that I could conquer the hurdles like complex math. Now I know that if you want something bad enough you can do it!

 

[Element9]

CLASS, indeed! I'll bet that engineer conducts his life in an equally exemplary manner.

For as much abuse as radio takes for being "the bowels of the entertainment business," there are countless individuals like that classy engineer in all phases of the business. Such acts of class may not happen as often these days, but when they do, a bell rings. The very sad thing about acts of "forward payment" is that management, especially on the corporate level, does not appreciate such benevolent behavior.

-9-

 

[nightfly61]

He is doing fine, in fact has a couple people under him doing something similar to radio, but actually making a decent living now.

 

[Tom Wells]

As a radio engineer who stayed out of radio professionally, this sad thread is validation for the decision I made.
I have been in the printing industry for over twenty years now with never a threat or worry for my job security.
When people can't afford to buy a new press, they spend money to keep the old ones up to snuff.

I was able to decide to live in Chicago, and not have to work my way through multiple moves to get there.
I decided who I wanted to work for, and the 2 job changes I've made since 1980 were my choice to move up.

Several of my instructors back in radio engineering school told us back in the early 80's that those of us who really liked
radio were probably too late coming in to ever make a decent living at it, and we'd best find something commercially viable.

I only wish the best for those in this difficult situation, and hope that as the skill-set for RF engineers becomes
more scarce with time that those still in the industry can see the valuation and pay for engineers rise.

Where exactly are any new engineers coming from? Most tech schools today don't even teach radio concepts.
They sure don't teach vacuum tube technology.

It makes me feel ill that radio discounts the value of engineers, when plumbers and house wiring electricians earn more.

To go back and help for FREE after you've been shown the door is definitely high class and shows respect for those who remain.
If I were the one who didn't get axed, I'd be looking for a new job after seeing the engineer who set the cluster up get axed.

On the other hand, why shouldn't the cluster suffer? It would serve them right to have the trouble they invited.
It is fun to spend a few moments dreaming of ways to make short-sighted people suffer, but I can't think of any way to help those remaining without helping the management, who should somehow suffer.

I am reminded of a story about CNA insurance told to me by a landlord back in the 90's.
A mainframe computer programmer wrote a "switch" deep into the operating system where it couldn't be found.
When he was "let go", his *absence* on the system triggered the switch, and thenceforth, the computer systems at CNA
would not do any work AT ALL on April 1st of every year. In order to cover this up, CNA turned april 1st into a "family day" or
some feel good event. I don't know how long this went on before CNA changed to some newer system.
I'll bet that programmer celebrated every April Fool's day. ;D

 

[nightfly61]

On the other hand, why shouldn't the cluster suffer? It would serve them right to have the trouble they invited.
It is fun to spend a few moments dreaming of ways to make short-sighted people suffer, but I can't think of any way to help those remaining without helping the management, who should somehow suffer.

He got along great with all of us & he knew we were being sold & most of us would soon be in the same boat (which we WERE eventually)& he never had anything against us & likewise. If our old company hadn't sold us & he was just canned for the sake of firing, then he may not have been as cordial. He was let go with a handful of other on air staff that has become a yearly trend by this company. He also had a decent severance package he didn't wanna sabotage it by sabotaging any equipment.

 

[ErieDJGuy]

Back in 1981, I remember getting fired the first time and thinking it was the end of the world! 16 years later, in 1997, I walked away from the business on my own for self-employment. It was a sad moment, yet utter relief knowing what the business was becoming then.

11 years after walking away, I miss the way it used to be, but hey, don't we all?

 

[nightfly61]

On the other hand, why shouldn't the cluster suffer? It would serve them right to have the trouble they invited.
It is fun to spend a few moments dreaming of ways to make short-sighted people suffer, but I can't think of any way to help those remaining without helping the management, who should somehow suffer.

He got along great with all of us & he knew we were being sold & most of us would soon be in the same boat (which we WERE eventually)& he never had anything against us & likewise. If our old company hadn't sold us & he was just canned for the sake of firing, then he may not have been as cordial. He was let go with a handful of other on air staff that has become a yearly trend by this company. He also had a decent severance package he didn't wanna sabotage it by sabotaging any equipment.

(dream sequence music) Oh, but the fun I dream of having with my old Realistic handheld bulk eraser, an extension cord, & every hard drive & server in that building! 8)

 

[Mark Giardina]

Back in 1981, I remember getting fired the first time and thinking it was the end of the world! 16 years later, in 1997, I walked away from the business on my own for self-employment. It was a sad moment, yet utter relief knowing what the business was becoming then.

11 years after walking away, I miss the way it used to be, but hey, don't we all?

Even after four years away from the microphone and newsroom there are times that I miss the business and I admit it. However I feel fortunate that I was involved in broadcasting when it was still fun and not under the control of people who either don't know what they are doing, or think they know but haven't a clue.

 

[NeedsMoreCowbell]

I certainly sympathize with those who have lost a job, we all have been through it, but reading the recent comments here makes me wonder if people are yearning for their lost youth more than some utopian vision of what radio used to be, but perhaps never was.

It's easy to romanticize the past, I definitely do, but going back to 1981 wouldn't be all that everyone here says it was. Sure, most of the posters here could step into an overnight job somewhere that today doesn't exist thanks to automation; maybe your PD would let you talk more than you're allowed today - but there was just as much bad radio in the 80s as there is now. I was there.

Let the Clear Channel sale go through. It may take a while, but local radio ownership will be back, and then you'll see that just because it's local doesn't mean it's good. WECK is a good example of that.

 

[Element9]

Put me down for that "lost youth" thingie. 8) "I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now" -Roger McGuin

 

[Paul_Warren]

Sorry for bumping up this old thread. I just found the board, and want to share some personal experience in this area.

My last four radio gigs, going back to 1987, all ended after the stations were sold, sometimes multiple times. Now, at age 54, it just doesn't make sense to get in line for DJ jobs anymore. I got discouraged for a while, but finally had a career epiphany which helped turn things around...

I am not in the radio business. I am in the audio content creation business. There's a difference.

I did voicework over the web through a broker, www.internetjock.com. Bob Ancheta brings you work from small cable operators, small market TV, small agencies, and...surprise...jockless automated radio stations! Talent rates are relatively low, and you make it up in volume. (My best month was $2K, some people do better now.) Must have a clean home studio and be capable of quick turnaround. There are also other brokers for this kind of work.

I became co-host of an established one-hour, weekend talk program dealing with the economy. The show has aired in the Portland, OR market since 1990. I got it syndicated, first with Genesis Communications, later with TalkStar. I lacked the creative control to point the show in a direction that would make money, but I see how it could be done. I may try this again.

It should be possible, in some markets, to create, produce and sell your own morning radio show, and get a revenue-share deal for some underperforming local station to carry it. This isn't even a new idea. IIRC, Clint Buehlman bought brokered time from WBEN, and re-sold his own show to sponsors in 15-minute blocks, until sometime in the late 1960s. Do the same thing, but from your own studio. You take more of the risks, but you also won't fire yourself without plenty of notice.

If radio is losing listening to the internet, consider going there. About 18 months ago, I combined my acquired radio skill set with my more recently acquired interest in flying, and now produce 15 audio news and feature podcasts a week for Aero News Network. The pay isn't what I made in radio, but it's getting close, and growing. There are lots of variations on this you could pursue. Doing your own, independent podcast and building audience could take years. Finding a corporation which needs this done, and providing it for them for a flat monthly fee, could be an immediate income. I'm personally moving into the video side of this now, because that's where I believe it's all headed.

Will any of these things provide the same personal satisfaction as working the request lines, out-thinking a competing PD, or high-fiving coworkers when the trend comes out? No.

Does it beat selling insurance? Does for me!