DFW EAS: FAIL

[dfaulkner]

Interesting thread. Have been following for awhile without commenting. I heard the national EAS on KRLD. It was the sounders with no annoucement that I could hear. JD Wells & BTurners comments have caused me to keep checking back.

 

[bturner]

Jon David and I got a bit off topic but shall we pick this up elsewhere in a new subject...but where? The business of radio? I'll start there.

 

[jondavidvox]

I'm not sure we were off-topic at all actually....

Radio has lost its way...Here's how:

• Long Ago....Businessmen saw the opportunity to profit on a superb, cost-effective product. They brought the opportunity to increase profitability to station owners. Programmers were confronted with a new paradigm where ratings had to translate to higher revenues, and for 30 years, (more or less) Radio existed in a near-perfect balance of Creativity, Profitability, and Public Service.
  
  
• Then, Businesssmen saw the opportunity to cut costs, and in so doing, maximize Profitability...at the expense of Creativity, and Public Service. In this, they were aided by Programmers who were seduced by bigger paychecks, and the opportunity to have a BMW....Just like the GSM.
  
  
• Suddenly, Radio needed "natural-sounding DJ's." Big-voiced, well-trained, hard-to-replace, licensed and EXPENSIVE On-Air Pros became a source of derision, and were replaced by easy to find, and even easier to replace "Regular-sounding people"....(Unless radio stations were struggling under the strain of lousy ratings.)
  
  
• Radio needed "More Music, and Less DJ Talk"...."No one thinks you're funny!" "Shut up and play the hits!" (Unless radio stations were struggling under the strain of lousy ratings.)
  
  
• Then...Radio became a tedious struggle for On-Air Pros who grew tired of being continuously derided, and made to look like foolish ego-centric buffoons whenever they stood up for their contributions to the Industry, and found other places to take their Creativity and make a living with it. ("Good Riddance!" "Idiots!")
  
  
• Then...Businessmen realized that all that was necessary to really profit from (what was left of) Radio, was to get rid of all the rules, and replace thousands of Radio Owners with 6 enormous Radio Corporations, and several other, smaller Radio Corporations. "Economy of Scale", Non-Traditional Revenue", "Consolidation", and..."Debt Service", became the new Realities of Radio.
  
  
• Tens of thousands of Radio employees were laid off...Joining former On-Air Pros in other professions, and meeting with their former colleagues in Lunches of Reminiscence where, for a little while, the critical mass of laughter, creativity, wit, and joy flourish...like the old days...in the hallways.

NOTE: At this point in the narrative, another serious pathology must be pointed out...These Business Giants were just as clueless about what happened in Programming Meetings, as Programming Giants were about what happened in Sales & Staff Meetings. The Business Giants could not hear the Talent involved in consistently providing those incredibly difficult, and breathtakingly effective, subtly nuanced brilliant pieces of On-Air Communication being crammed into ever-shortening breaks, that made the difference between winning and losing. ("Frankly, if I can't hear it, it doesn't exist...Perception is Reality!", says the all-knowing Cluster Manager.) Programming Giants failed in their obligation to educate them otherwise...(After all, their 528I was only 2 years old at the time...)

It was at that very moment when Radio Programming Professionals dealt themselves out of the game.

"And now, back to the countdown!..."

• Then...Radio became a tedious struggle for Program Directors, who found themselves being forced to maintain high-ratings...at 6 Radio Stations...without Promotions, Marketing, or well-trained On-Air Pros...And drove off into the sunset in their now-6 year old BMW's, looking for another way to get back into the game....No joy.
  
  
• And so now, Radio truly is a Business. A Business where when the President of the United States needs to tell We the People of imminent, and impending DOOM....RIGHT NOW....The brainless technical marvels that replaced thinking On-Air Professionals in a brilliant example of Radio cost-cutting...DON'T WORK!

Great, huh?

(Quick! Get the Prophet Nexgen system to play "One Thing Leads To Another"! "We can't?" "We have to wait for tomorrow's music log?" "You'll call the National Classic-Hits Music Director to see if we can?" "He's where?" "At the Jaguar Dealership?"...."Oh. OK."

How to get Radio back? It can recover, you know...Even better than the halcyon days of balanced days of Creativity, Profitability, and Public Service. But we had better hurry...the relentless destructive Radio Brain-Drain has long passed the critical phase.

Of course....This is all coming from a Big-voiced, well-trained, hard-to-replace, licensed and EXPENSIVE On-Air Pro. An "Idiot" who "just doesn't get it."

They couldn't hear it when I was doing it On-Air....I wonder of they'll hear it now writing about it Off-Air?

Jon-David Wells
The Wells Report

 

[davideduardo]

I'm not sure we were off-topic at all actually....

Radio has lost its way...Here's how:

The problem with just about all the points in that lengthy and well written post is that you are focused on the needs of the radio talent and support staff of yesteryear and not on the needs of entertainment consumers today.

One of the reasons why radio has given less importance to the big voices and chattering night rockers is that listeners have moved from not caring to, in some cases, rejecting all that stuff that worked when communications was decidedly one way and choices were limited.

Give some thought to what consumers want and how they want it. For example, we used to think that traffic and news mixed in with music in the mornings was the right thing... and it did work. But now, even I want traffic when I need it and about areas I am interest in. I want news in the same fashion, with emphasis on the areas I am concerned about. And when I want music, I don't want any of those other things. Oh, and I don't want Mr. or Ms. Jock telling me what I want and ranting about how great the station they are on is; I'll make those choices.

 

[jondavidvox]

David....

Great to hear from you again. Over the years, we've had some very good debates about Radio; its Past, Present, and Future. I've enjoyed them, and hope you have as well...

Between 1963, and 1996, the Emergency Broadcast System warned Americans over 20-Thousand times of Civil Defense issues. Radio had strict guidelines for its use, and while annoying, Americans knew that Radio was on the job. They could depend on Radio to warn them of Armageddon. Radio was a Public Trustee. This is Radio's Past...

In 2011, when the President of the United States asked Radio to help him practice warning our fellow Citizens of impending doom....Radio failed....AGAIN....(The EAS System still hasn't activated a warning in either New York, or Nationally about the 9-Eleven Attacks.)

The failed National Activation told Americans in unequivocal terms, that Radio is NOT on the job, and that when the Bell tolls....They should look elsewhere for official information. This is Radio's Present....

Your reply to another kind of warning....That Radio risks steepening its current death sprial of public irrelevance, is that Radio's product is insufficient as an entertainment vehicle....ignores the abject REALITY that Radio is blatantly IRRESPONSIBLE in discharging its chartered societal mission of "...Operating in the Public Interest, as a Public Trustee...."

Simply put, beyond the few true Broacasters still left in operation, (one of which I work for...Thank God!) The National EAS Inactivation has proved (to anyone still left listening) that Radio has become a selfish, inwardly-focused, irrelevant, unreliable Public Nuisance.

Radio has become an unwitting, but calculated ally of Terror. This is also Radio's Present....A Present you defend at every turn.

Who noticed? The President, and every other Politician with an interest in irradicating even the small slivers of accountabilityTalk Radio provides the People....(Make no mistake, they will react.)

Terrorists, who now know that anyone listening to American Radio will likely be blindsided by any attack they make....(They will simply add a few extra casualties to their evil calcuations.)

Advertisers, who should know that while Radio may provide an inexpensive advertising opportunity, the Audience will be dividing their attention between Radio, and their iPod, Smart Phone, and whatever App they use to warn them of relevant deviations from the status quo. (They will abandon the tatters of Radio as soon as they can find a replacement that can be advertised upon.) And, yes...

Listeners, who first discovered Radio's irresponsibility when a "Personality" was allowed to surprise them with a graphic description of 2 Lesbians making out on the studio floor....then reacted by dropping the gift of a transistor radio for their children, in favor of an iPod with strictly-controlled content. (As you pointed out, they're unsatisfied....and searching as well.)

The countless acts of silly irresponsibility continued to this year, when Radio failed them yet again....But THIS time in the Post 9-Eleven Era....

The Glaring Reality is that Radio serves only itself. It has become a stock and trade churn. It has destroyed its Product....Devoured its Young....Infuriated, then discharged its Creators....

And....It will change, or it will be changed. That is Radio's Future.

But really, who cares? Business is still good.

Right David?

Jon-David Wells
The Wells Report
Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas

 

[davideduardo]

David....

Great to hear from you again. Over the years, we've had some very good debates about Radio; its Past, Present, and Future. I've enjoyed them, and hope you have as well...

Most definitely do I enjoy these exchanges, as they get into the soul of what radio was, is and will be.

But I don't agree on the use of the EAS system to make blanket conclusions about broadcasting or the commitment to service by broadcasters. That is because EAS, like EBS and CONELRAD before it, is a government system which seizes control of stations.

If the EAS test failed in any way, it was the fault of the sytem (government) and the people running it (government). All radio is mandated to do is have the necessary, working equipment installed to receive and rebroadcast messages from government authorities at the various levels. With rare exceptions, the roughly 15,000 radio stations in the US did their part.

While stations are free to insert breaking news bulletins at any time and for any reason, stations don't initiate EAS tests... local, state or national government does.

So, if there was no EAS alert about 9/11, it was because the government authorities who could do this decided they shouldn't. You might want to discuss how radio and the media handled 9/11, but if you are discussing EAS activation on 9/11 you are discussing the government and it's actions, sense of need and responsibility and its competency.

As a broadcaster, EAS is a piece of gear inserted into my audio chain which allows the government to take over my station, no matter what I was doing at the time, and to issue a message. I can't control the content, issue my own "EAS" alert or, consequentially, take any blame for malfunctions in the system other than for the operation of my EAS receiver.

After the Minot incident, Clear Channel was blamed for not having staff on duty at 3 AM or thereabouts when a trainload of chemicals spilled. Yet Clear had working EAS gear at their stations and it was the local emergency response organizations who did not know how to activate the EAS system due to inadequate training and improper procedures that was at fault.

Again, a case of blaming radio for doing nothing when the fact is that the EAS system was designed specifically so radio would not do anything and would serve as a passive, automatic carrier for messages that government entities should decide to send.

The responsible government entities will have meetings, and if they have any sense of reality (a totally real question in my mind today) they will call in some radio engineering and operational people for some advice on how to improve the system. But, as we've seen before, they may proceed totally oblivious to the realities of broadcast stations since radio... and TV and cable... are just carriers for this government system.

Remember, even in the more manual EBS system, we had authenticator codes in every station, and a message would not be relayed unless the codes matched those in the colored envelopes. In other words, the EAS system was government controlled, too... much in the same way as launching nuclear weapons is controlled from the top with the military simply carrying out the instruction from a higher level.

 

[davideduardo]

David....

But really, who cares? Business is still good.

Right David?

This is a subject of itself. Business is not good... off 30% to 40% compared with 2005-2007 in most markets. Doing with less money, less staff and less profits. Cutting fixed costs by all kinds of means, from moving to lower rent facilities to slowing down capital expense budgets. Looking for revenue in new media, and not finding all that much. Trying to figure out how a push medium can survive in a pull-demanding environment.

 

[jondavidvox]

David....

In point of fact, I'm discussing EAS as a symptom of the problem....

Radio needs a better product....a better ethos....a better mission.

Radio needs better people.

Let's start at the top, shall we? If you're a CEO, COO, Cluster Manager, General Manager....Read Grant Tinker's book. "Tinker In Television; From General Sarnoff to General Electric".

If you think it's all a load of crap....Quit.

J-D
TWR

 

[davideduardo]

In point of fact, I'm discussing EAS as a symptom of the problem....

Radio needs a better product....a better ethos....a better mission.

Radio needs better people.

Let's start at the top, shall we? If you're a CEO, COO, Cluster Manager, General Manager....Read Grant Tinker's book. "Tinker In Television; From General Sarnoff to General Electric".

If you think it's all a load of crap....Quit.

David....

In point of fact, I'm discussing EAS as a symptom of the problem....

Radio needs a better product....a better ethos....a better mission.

Radio needs better people.

Let's start at the top, shall we? If you're a CEO, COO, Cluster Manager, General Manager....Read Grant Tinker's book. "Tinker In Television; From General Sarnoff to General Electric".

If you think it's all a load of crap....Quit.

EAS is NO part of the problem, as EAS is a government system for government notifications. Continuing to bring it up invalidates your arguement; industry advisors to the government on EAS haved often been ignored and the system test recently just proved that the government has no clue on how to do this sort of thing... despite the fact that nearly any half-competent broadcast engineer from the private sector could put together a repair plan in a few days.

Grant Tinker was a great and creative force, four or five decades ago. But instead of MTM and St Elsewhere, we have Survivor and Idol and, lest we forget that cable and fragmentation were not much of a force back then, Keeping up with the Kardashians and Pawn Stars.

Just like the feeling that the big-voiced jocks and the jingles with chimes in them and the High School Spirit contests have come and gone, so has that style of Television. It's not Newhart, it's Modern Family.

Radio's mission for about 80 years has been to sell advertising time. We do that by providing a desirable product to the listener. Today, listeners don't want 60's style jocks and all the trappings of 60's radio. They want something they feel is tailored to their needs, exactly when they want it...

When we have folks like Mason and Pittman in the business, the issue is not about committed, skilled, quality people... it's about changing audience needs and many many more entertainment options. The first step is recognizing radio's part in the new media world and adapting, not bringing back stuff from 40 or 50 years ago.

Radio has huge reach and a significant future life, both on FM and in new distribution channels. But the product has to adapt, fast.

 

[bturner]

I think we are skirting over a very basic service radio decided to ignore. There are 'needs' humans like to have fulfilled such as gathering information about what happened while you slept so you know what you are facing when you step out of the house. There is an emotional connection to the larger community that came through connecting with someone or something that represented the larger community. Radio used to own this but we gave it up.

You might argue there is so much competition doing the same things. You are correct. The advances in technology and long-time competitors raced in to fill the void.

Some have even argued that I'm a fool...that that WAS radio but it just won't work now. My question was what talk radio hosts did so well. I asked if they established that emotional bond with listeners. I asked if people tuned in because they liked the personality, felt like they knew the personality or felt they would be friends if they ever met. I asked if their regular listeners tuned in 'just to check in to get an update'. Does this sound like a Rush listener? A Jon David Wells listener? etc. etc.

My argument is Talk Radio's popularity is based on serving the basic human needs radio paid attention to in more successful years. True, content is king in talk radio and radio in general, but our primal needs must always be met. Our world has changed but our human needs have not. We still want to know our world is safe when we head out for the day. We still want to connect and feel a part of a greater community and we still want to connect with people. Radio once had a lockdown on this.

Should radio ignore this and head off the uncertain path ahead? No. We should head down the uncertain path while still serving the basic needs of our listeners. Best of all radio can utilize the 'competition' to regain that and some already do. We call it 'interactive' radio. Some might say the younger demos ignore radio but I contend radio is lurking in the shadows and still has a level of influence on these demos if we will come out of the shadows.

I might add marketing is important even if it is self-promotion. As a wise (in my opinion) Program Director told me, "If you say it enough, everybody will believe it and accept it as fact". I once spend 2 years tearing down the illusion one station spent 6 months building.

Voice tracking, unmanned, live, local, none of that matters unless you serve human needs. That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it.

 

[dfaulkner]

To bturner's last comment, Amen ! I think all the great talk shows become so by connecting with their listeners. Same with music radio. Ex: The heydays (should say years or decades) of KVIL.

This continues to be a fscinating thread.