• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

Dear WJRR & WHOG jocks,

R

Round Mound of Sound

If I come across as a dick...well...maybe somebody needs to in order to get the point across.

Please stop using jargon in your breaks.

The vast majority of your listeners don't think a "bit" is the same thing we think it is. You'd be better served saying "skit" or "sketch."

PSA doesn't mean "Public Service Announcement" to guys outside of radio. A PSA is a prostate screening in their minds. Why would you even say "PSA" or "Public Service Announcement" on the air? You don't start your stopsets by saying "...and this is a commercial," so why would you intro your PSA that way? Just give the info.

Phoner, sounder, cart (even a virtual one on your automation system), log, segue, sweeper, bumper, liner, etc., etc. All jargon. All of those things mean (1) nothing, or (2) something wildly different to your listeners. Don't use 'em. Talk like a regular person, about things that a regular person would talk about. Your Program Directors should have told you this somewhere around your first 20 minutes in radio.

And please NEVER play a phone bit into a song & then come back after the song & tell me how much you had to edit that phone bit before you played it. You know that "magic of radio" that captured our imaginations and made us want to be part of the industry? You just pulled back the curtain on that & showed me that there's a guy back there pushing buttons and turning knobs. You should have let the bit stand on its own.
 
Don't you mean, "you should have let the skit or sketch stand on its own?" ::)
 
DToTheJ said:
Don't you mean, "you should have let the skit or sketch stand on its own?" ::)
Click to expand...

Glad I wasn't the only one who thought that...

Byron
 
DToTheJ said:
Don't you mean, "you should have let the skit or sketch stand on its own?" ::)
Click to expand...

No.

I'm not talking to the general public here. I'm talking to people who should understand the jargon.
More importantly, they need to understand when and when *not* to use that jargon.
Understand your audience. Good advice for folks in radio.
 
Byron said:
DToTheJ said:
Don't you mean, "you should have let the skit or sketch stand on its own?" ::)
Click to expand...

Glad I wasn't the only one who thought that...

Byron
Click to expand...

His post wasn't nearly as witty as he thought.

Yours, even less so.

You guys must (A) work at one of the stations I called out or (B) be guilty of the same thing.

See response above. It's basic radio. Hell, it's basic communication.

Oh, and add WTKS to the list, too.
 
I logged off, but your replies worry me enough that I felt compelled to follow up.

Do you guys think it's good radio to use jargon on the air? Is that your point?

If so, and if you're typical representations of the state of talent in the industry, it's
no wonder our industry is in trouble.

Here's a challenge to both of you:

Instead of being cynical and sarcastic, post a response arguing the merits of my original post.
Explain why it's a good idea to open the mic & say things your audience won't understand.
 
How about the word "remote"?

I once had a guy at the station take me aside to talk to me! This guy had been in the market for 183 years...was a jock, newsman, salesman, GSM and GM. He figuratively said "to hell" with being GM and took a demotion to just sales. By that time he had all the good accounts locked up and had been there so long people thought he owned the place!

Anyway he took me to task (very diplomatically" for saying "so and so will 'appear' at such and such place" as when doing a remote. He was dead serious when he said using the word "appear" made it sound like the jock was going to suddenly show up in a vapor or as an aperrition (spelling?). He was a great guy who would find today's "radio" a complete joke
 
DXDXDX said:
How about the word "remote"?

I once had a guy at the station take me aside to talk to me! This guy had been in the market for 183 years...was a jock, newsman, salesman, GSM and GM. He figuratively said "to hell" with being GM and took a demotion to just sales. By that time he had all the good accounts locked up and had been there so long people thought he owned the place!

Anyway he took me to task (very diplomatically" for saying "so and so will 'appear' at such and such place" as when doing a remote. He was dead serious when he said using the word "appear" made it sound like the jock was going to suddenly show up in a vapor or as an aperrition (spelling?). He was a great guy who would find today's "radio" a complete joke
Click to expand...

"Remote" falls under the "etc., etc." I gave in my original post. Yes, it's jargon. It means something different to us than it means to the listener.

A "remote" to a listener is what they use to change channels on their TV, or to open their garage door.

What would be worse than saying "remote" is saying "remote broadcast." Of course it's going to be a broadcast; that's what we do in radio, not send smoke signals.

In all seriousness, your transgression wasn't horrible. That being said, I can completely understand why the guy critiqued your break. Common sense would dictate to most listeners (I hope) that the jock isn't going to suddenly show up in a vapor...*but*...it was completely unnecessary verbiage that made your break sound stilted and unnatural, as if he's just going to stand there and let people walk around him, soaking in the greatness of his presence. If "Joe" is going to be at "Family Auto Mart," why not just say "Joe's gonna' be at Family Auto Mart" and give the day/times (and any special offers the client's going to have / contests, prizes, etc. that the station will offer)? There's no reason to say "appear," "remote," etc., etc. It's like saying "degrees" or "outside" when you give the current temp; *of course" you're using degrees as the unit of measurement, and *of course* you're giving the outside air temp. Saying those things is unnecessary and makes you sound unnatural.

I heard WHOG do it again last night (Saturday, 7/23). The jock's trying to backsell some songs and, in the middle of his break, asks "...what did I do with my log? I can't find my log." The typical rock listener had no idea what he was talking about. Worse, that word conjured for them a vision of either (A) a length of a cut tree or (B) poop.

This is why Program Directors & even just more experienced jocks should be critiquing newer guys; it's how you improve.
 
One on-air phrase that makes my skin scrawl is when I hear the passive "A better Mix of Music". To me the aggressive or assertive "A Better Music Mix" sounds much better especially when the station in question has an active or foreground music format as opposed to a background music format.
 
Going into a commercial break.... "We'll be right back." Ummm, No sh*t. I didn't think you were going anywhere; however I wish half of these stations would... like off the air.
 
Gotta agree with you round mound. So sick of hearing about jocks having to "dump out" on calls. Talk about jargon that doesn't translate well in the real world! If someone claimed to be dumping out while you were on the phone with them...uh...well...you know...
 
I'm guessing at this point it's safe to assume DToTheJ and Byron have no argument *for* using jargon on the air?

If anyone does, I'd love to hear it.
 
Love it when a jock says something like "here's a little Zeppelin". What does that mean? As opposed to " a lot of Zeppelin". Shame to hear bad jocks who were never coached or even air checked....
 
rastro,
Another great example of jargon on the air. Thanks for sharing!

billalm & vadar,
While what you guys mentioned isn't jargon, it *IS* indicative of what I think is a common problem in today's radio industry that also leads to what I've been bitching about in this thread (and it really is one of my biggest pet peeves); Program Directors who (A) don't know how to critique, (B) don't have time to critique or (C) don't bother to critique.

I think we all know of PDs out there who aren't qualified to do what they're doing. They were in the right place at the right time to get the promotion, and typically blindly implement a consultant's vision to disguise the fact that they're in over their head. They're the (A) PDs, and their stations suffer for it.

Shame on us as an industry for making (B) PDs. I know several PDs who handle multiple stations, or even multiple markets. Holding aircheck sessions with their talent is something they all want to do, but can't squeeze in because of the bureaucratic hoops that corporate makes them jump through on a daily basis. There literally isn't enough time in their day to fit it in. The bean counters are making us shoot ourselves in the foot. Stations & companies may see short term gain from it, but we're hurting our industry in the long term.

I don't understand (C) PDs. The inmates run the asylum with these guys. I don't know if they're afraid to critique their (usually cynical young) staffs (who can't accept constructive criticism without acting out like spoiled pre-teens, much like a couple of previous posters), or if they've been neutered by management, or if maybe some of them are (A) PDs & just don't know how it's done.

That was a lot of venting, just like my prior posts, to say this:

We've lost sight of the basics.

Without a solid grasp of the basics, we're doomed.

We're putting a generation of guys on the air who don't even realize they're not effectively communicating with their audience. Even worse, we're not correcting them & guiding them into becoming more effective communicators.

Someone told me 15 years ago, when a lot of small market stations who had held out as long as they could started going satellite or automation, and when remote voice tracking started to be developed on a wider basis, that we would regret what was happening. They said "We're doing away with the farm team. We're getting rid of the minor leagues, where the 'bigs' would look to call up new players." They were absolutely right. It was on those 'farm teams' where guys would master the basics. Now that those are gone...now that we've effectively killed the farm team...are we destined to live in a world where guys like the 2 earlier posters don't even understand why the stupid thing their doing is a stupid thing to do?
 
on our local tv station every day at 5:58 pm one of the anchors says 'we'll be back with more news at 6:00". does she not know that's two minutes away ?!
 
radiobum said:
on our local tv station every day at 5:58 pm one of the anchors says 'we'll be back with more news at 6:00". does she not know that's two minutes away ?!
Click to expand...

Wow.

Just, wow.

I only addressed jargon with my original post, but yours is another good example of just plain ol' dumb stuff to say on the air.

Thanks for sharing.
 
My Complaint is with The Local News...when doing a Radio News Report on Monday say "Yesterday" not Sunday. When writing internet Copy or the Newspaper,yes you say on Sunday because that "News" tends to stay around a while,however the Radio is another story...Say "Yesterday" not "On Sunday". And how many listeners of the Rock Station care about the Halifax Advertising Board or whatever it is...give me murders,robberies and Fire Stories.
 
radiobum said:
why do people in radio news sometimes say i.e. "Monday"..when it is Monday..instead of saying "today" ?!?!?!?
Click to expand...

Radiobum,

I'm going to guess that the vast majority of those incidents are due to one of these two things:

(1) Jocks who have done absolutely no show prep, grabbing something at the last minute & reading it almost verbatim on the air.

(2) Jocks who have voice tracked a day or two (or more) ahead & still haven't figured out the proper frame of reference when canning their breaks. They're not thinking "It's Monday" when they're recording their Monday breaks on Friday...they're still in the "It's Friday" mindset. I've had more than a little experience voice tracking & can relate; it can be hard to keep track if you're tracking more than one day out or for multiple days. But that just means it's imperative that you *do* keep track, even if you have to write the name of the day for which you're recording tracks & tape it to the mic boom. You *must* track for that day as if it IS that day.
 
vadar said:
Love it when a jock says something like "here's a little Zeppelin". What does that mean? As opposed to " a lot of Zeppelin". Shame to hear bad jocks who were never coached or even air checked....
Click to expand...
Immigrant Song = a little Zeppelin.
Kashmir = a lot of Zeppelin. And a great song when it's time to use the bathroom.

Just kidding.

I completely understand your frustration. It's a trite phrase & shouldn't be used. Regular air check sessions would probably fix it tout suite.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom