how does one become a Broadcast Consultant?

[Keith_Lake]

Where do I sign up for this job? What sort of training is required? It sounds like fun, traveling around the country delocalizing radio stations and turning them into jukeboxes with transmitters. Do you just hang your shingle and say "I'm a consultant now"?
I'm just curious because I've never seen "broadcast consulting" in any college catalogue I've looked through. I'm sure I will probably recieve a few flames from folks who majored in it. I'm also sure there are many cases where consultants were called in and real actual improvements were made. But in most of the cases I've personally witnessed, the consultant did nothing that couldn't have been done by the stations themselves if they weren't so horrified of the effort and risk of actual creativity. The consultants are long gone when the new format tanks, which usually happens within a year. What do the stations do? Hire another consultant.
I may have finally found my niche in this business.

KL

<a href="http://home.nc.rr.com/gttyson/lastradio.html">The Last Radio Station<a><P ID="signature">______________
</P>

 

[davideduardo]

> Where do I sign up for this job?

You do not even have to sign up. All you have to do is to have a few very big and highly publicized successes in significantly competitive marktes, and someone will call you and say, "can you give me some help on the side?"

Most consultants were not intent on becoming consultants. They found more stations wanted thier services than they could work for fulltime, so they decided to work with all of them as an advisor.

> What sort of training is
> required?

None. Just a track record of very significant ratings success.

> It sounds like fun, traveling around the country

After you see you have been in more aiports than you can count, woken up and wondered where you are, and find your kids don't recognize you, then you decide if you are having fun. Making Exectutive Platiinum by June is not fun, it is tedious and bad for the health.

> delocalizing radio stations and turning them into jukeboxes
> with transmitters.

Most consultants I know argue for more live local shifts, local research and local involvement. Of course, a consultant who advises the contray will be replaced by a satellite network and lose his or her gig. Consultants are the strongest proponants for localism.

> Do you just hang your shingle and say
> "I'm a consultant now"?

See above. Prohimbited in North Dakota, may cost extra in Puerto Rico and Hawaii.

> I'm just curious because I've never seen "broadcast
> consulting" in any college catalogue I've looked through.

This is because there are only a few dozen good programming consultants, and no university that has trained them.

> I'm sure I will probably recieve a few flames from folks who
> majored in it. I'm also sure there are many cases where
> consultants were called in and real actual improvements were
> made.

Sometimes it works. A consultant can give good advice, and have it not followed. Station tanks, consultant blamed. Or a consultant gives good advice, and the local staff takes credit... happens often, and many consultants don't care. Or, consultant can not make a dog run like a race horse, and everybody loses. There is no magic bullet, but consultants often make the difference by bringing out of the box and out of market thinking and vastly greater experience.

> But in most of the cases I've personally witnessed,
> the consultant did nothing that couldn't have been done by
> the stations themselves if they weren't so horrified of the
> effort and risk of actual creativity. The consultants are
> long gone when the new format tanks, which usually happens
> within a year. What do the stations do? Hire another
> consultant.

A station that hires a consultant for one report and does not retaint he consultant over the long haul will tank. That kind of attitude is tankism of the purist kind. I will not even touch a station without a guarantee of at least a year, and did one station for 20 straight years... and over 80 #1 books.

 

[OldiesCat]

Consultant?

Oh, ha ha ha. We're all rolling in the aisles.


> Where do I sign up for this job? What sort of training is
> required? It sounds like fun, traveling around the country
> delocalizing radio stations and turning them into jukeboxes
> with transmitters. Do you just hang your shingle and say
> "I'm a consultant now"?
> I'm just curious because I've never seen "broadcast
> consulting" in any college catalogue I've looked through.
> I'm sure I will probably recieve a few flames from folks who
> majored in it. I'm also sure there are many cases where
> consultants were called in and real actual improvements were
> made. But in most of the cases I've personally witnessed,
> the consultant did nothing that couldn't have been done by
> the stations themselves if they weren't so horrified of the
> effort and risk of actual creativity. The consultants are
> long gone when the new format tanks, which usually happens
> within a year. What do the stations do? Hire another
> consultant.
> I may have finally found my niche in this business.
>
> KL
>
> The Last Radio Station
>

 

[bossbill]

In some cases a programming consultant has emerged after being terminated by an employer, perhaps due to consolidation, or due to changes in format.

In business, we sometimes think that outside experts know more than we do inside the business. Sometimes it's true, many times not. But we tend to give more credibility to an "expert from afar", and we often are more likely to act on a consultant's plan than our own.

 

[SirRoxalot]

Simpler Answer

As usual, an informative and useful answer from David.

Now, here's a simpler answer:

1. Print business cards.

2. Print "resume" or flier extolling your own virtues. Accuracy not guaranteed. Results may vary. Member FDIC. Not intended for internal use.

3. Take out an ad in (insert favorite radio rag here).

 

[bobglen]

Re: Simpler Answer

> As usual, an informative and useful answer from David.
>
> Now, here's a simpler answer:
>
> 1. Print business cards.
>
> 2. Print "resume" or flier extolling your own virtues.
> Accuracy not guaranteed. Results may vary. Member FDIC. Not
> intended for internal use.
>
> 3. Take out an ad in (insert favorite radio rag here).
>

You left off # 4 on the requirements.

#4. Stick your head up your, or your prospective clients as*!
Note: the most successful consultants can stick their head up
both locations at the same time.

 

[valkyrie777]

Where Does One Get A Pornograph Player?

> I may have finally found my niche in this business.
>
> KL
>

Being a Radio Consultant is akin to sex: those who can get it...do; those who cannot get it...rely on porn.

True broadcasters are the former; radio consultants are the latter.

 

[KMRichards]

Re: Where Does One Get A Pornograph Player?

> Being a Radio Consultant is akin to sex: those who can get
> it...do; those who cannot get it...rely on porn.
>
> True broadcasters are the former; radio consultants are the
> latter.

Read David E.'s post to see how wrong that blanket statement is.

Many consultants found themselves in that business because they were so successful as broadcasters, stations in other markets approached them for help.

The reality is that good consultants have a track record (which translates into longevity), and bad ones create so many messes they don't stay consultants for long.<P ID="signature">______________


</P>

 

[KMRichards]

Re: Simpler Answer

> > As usual, an informative and useful answer from David.
> >
> > Now, here's a simpler answer:
> >
> > 1. Print business cards.
> >
> > 2. Print "resume" or flier extolling your own virtues.
> > Accuracy not guaranteed. Results may vary. Member FDIC.
> Not
> > intended for internal use.
> >
> > 3. Take out an ad in (insert favorite radio rag here).
> >
>
> You left off # 4 on the requirements.
>
> #4. Stick your head up your, or your prospective clients
> as*!
> Note: the most successful consultants can stick their
> head up
> both locations at the same time.

Boy, there sure is a lot of hatred for consultants here.

Does it occur to any of you that it is still local management which decides whether or not the consultant's advice is followed?

I have seen many stations where a consultant gave advice and the station PD or GM "didn't like" the resulting sound, so they "tweaked" the station themselves, with disastrous results.

Here's an example, which I heard from a colleague (thankfully, this was not a station I was consulting):

The station in question was one of five A/C signals in a smaller market (between #125 and #175). They were programmed as a soft A/C, similar to KOST in Los Angeles, and had another soft A/C, two hot A/Cs, and one modern A/C as their main competition. When the consultant's advice was being followed, the station was beating the other soft and one of the two hots. The PD, who came from a CHR background, thought the station was too "sleepy" and -- with the GM's blessing, surprisingly -- added songs that were playing on the hots, first in nights and then in other dayparts. The GSM reacted to this by selling spots that would have been banned under the "correct" format; the glaring addition was loud, screaming spots for a regional racetrack. The GM, seeing nothing but dollar signs, also went along with this.

The result was that, in one book, the station slipped from #3 among A/Cs to #5. The saddest part was that my colleague didn't know why it was happening, because the airchecks he was getting from the station were made with the loud spots off the log and hot music removed from the playlist, so the station sounded "right" to him. He didn't find out until, after the second down book, he made an unannounced visit to the market and listened to the station from his hotel room for three days before challenging the PD and GM.

Fortunately for the station, my colleague was hired by the corporate suits and not the local GM, and all of the "tweaking" was undone, at which point the station went back to being #3 among the local A/Cs, with the occasional rise to #2.

The preceding story is true. The names have been omitted in case that PD and GM are in the process of ruining your station.<P ID="signature">______________


</P>

 

[OldiesCat]

consultants

It's called jealousy. It's the same group of board-ops and wannabees who can't/ couldn't cut it in radio, so they pass blame around to everybody else- mostly "the consultants" or "the suits". Easy targets who are too busy helping radio stations to defend themselves.


> Boy, there sure is a lot of hatred for consultants here.
> Does it occur to any of you that it is still local
> management which decides whether or not the consultant's
> advice is followed?
>
> I have seen many stations where a consultant gave advice and
> the station PD or GM "didn't like" the resulting sound, so
> they "tweaked" the station themselves, with disastrous
> results.
>
> Here's an example, which I heard from a colleague
> (thankfully, this was not a station I was consulting):
>
> The station in question was one of five A/C signals in a
> smaller market (between #125 and #175). They were
> programmed as a soft A/C, similar to KOST in Los Angeles,
> and had another soft A/C, two hot A/Cs, and one modern A/C
> as their main competition. When the consultant's advice
> was being followed, the station was beating the other soft
> and one of the two hots. The PD, who came from a CHR
> background, thought the station was too "sleepy" and -- with
> the GM's blessing, surprisingly -- added songs that were
> playing on the hots, first in nights and then in other
> dayparts. The GSM reacted to this by selling spots that
> would have been banned under the "correct" format; the
> glaring addition was loud, screaming spots for a regional
> racetrack. The GM, seeing nothing but dollar signs, also
> went along with this.
>
> The result was that, in one book, the station slipped from
> #3 among A/Cs to #5. The saddest part was that my colleague
> didn't know why it was happening, because the airchecks he
> was getting from the station were made with the loud spots
> off the log and hot music removed from the playlist, so the
> station sounded "right" to him. He didn't find out until,
> after the second down book, he made an unannounced visit to
> the market and listened to the station from his hotel room
> for three days before challenging the PD and GM.
>
> Fortunately for the station, my colleague was hired by the
> corporate suits and not the local GM, and all of the
> "tweaking" was undone, at which point the station went back
> to being #3 among the local A/Cs, with the occasional rise
> to #2.
>
> The preceding story is true. The names have been omitted in
> case that PD and GM are in the process of ruining your
> station.
>

 

[Rocco]

Re: Simpler Answer

I'm not sure what a consultant is, but it sounds like the word could be a derivative of the prefix "con". Just a hunch.

 

[Musicradio]

The old saying is:
"A consultant is a PD who can't keep a job".

...or so they say.

 

[SirRoxalot]

Credit where credit is due

> I'm not sure what a consultant is, but it sounds like the
> word could be a derivative of the prefix "con". Just a
> hunch.
>
As Dogbert said in the Dilbert comic strip...

"I like to con people. I like to insult people. That's it! I'll become a CON-SULTANT!"

As for those who think that consultants don't get the respect they deserve, let me ask this question:

You've lived in place for years and gotten to know the people. You've been on the air at a station for years and involved in focus groups, music testing, and programming. Your station is Number 1 in its format, and has been for several years. The place gets sold, and the new corporate honchos send in a CON-SULTANT who tells you that everything needs to change (read that "cut costs BIGTIME"), and that the cookie-cutter format that's worked in "every other market" is right for your station. BTW, you, of course, will fire EVERYBODY who doesn't "get on board" with this new approach.

Two years later, you're gone because the station is now "underperforming". Since half your original airstaff has been replaced by VT, that's the understatement of the year.

Maybe my experience with consultants is atypical. Mostly, I think they're a cheap way to program a bunch of stations in a soul-less, generic format. That, and they're easier for a GM to throw under the bus than somebody he works next to and knows where he lives. Unless, of course, they were hired by corporate.

 

[Ed_Walker]

what you don't see...

> You've lived in place for years and gotten to know the
> people. You've been on the air at a station for years and
> involved in focus groups, music testing, and programming.
> Your station is Number 1 in its format, and has been for
> several years. The place gets sold, and the new corporate
> honchos send in a CON-SULTANT who tells you that everything
> needs to change (read that "cut costs BIGTIME"), and that
> the cookie-cutter format that's worked in "every other
> market" is right for your station.

The part you don't get is that the new company has likely hired
the consultant to cut costs. My guess is was their intent to do
so before the consultant was hired.

Tough decisions - and there's times when the decisions don't pay
off. But don't blame the consultants who were hired by the company
to make the cuts.

I know of some consultants who have told owners and management that
they'll do what they want - but they gone on the record to advise
the owners that it might not be the best course of action for the
situation.

But the management wanted it anyway.

 

[KMRichards]

Re: what you don't see...

> > You've lived in place for years and gotten to know the
> > people. You've been on the air at a station for years and
> > involved in focus groups, music testing, and programming.
> > Your station is Number 1 in its format, and has been for
> > several years. The place gets sold, and the new corporate
> > honchos send in a CON-SULTANT who tells you that
> everything
> > needs to change (read that "cut costs BIGTIME"), and that
> > the cookie-cutter format that's worked in "every other
> > market" is right for your station.
>
> The part you don't get is that the new company has likely
> hired
> the consultant to cut costs. My guess is was their intent
> to do
> so before the consultant was hired.

Also, consultants are often hired to fix an existing format, rather than implementing something entirely new. Many of my client stations (current and past) hired me to improve an existing A/C format, not throw it completely out.

I've only completely launched a format from scratch five times, and two of those was before I started consulting.

> I know of some consultants who have told owners and
> management that
> they'll do what they want - but they gone on the record to
> advise
> the owners that it might not be the best course of action
> for the
> situation.
>
> But the management wanted it anyway.

I presume you read the story I posted elsewhere in this thread. I'm sure some of the airstaff at that station thought the PD and GM were following the consultant's advice when they weren't, and thought the ratings tanked because of the consultant when the exact opposite was true.

<P ID="signature">______________


</P>

 

[davideduardo]

> The old saying is:
> "A consultant is a PD who can't keep a job".
>

Like many such sayings, there is no truth to this one. Most program consultants (there are sales, engineering, traffic, management and other kinds of consultants, too) are very successful and become consultants because there is a demeand for their expertise from many stations.

No station would file with the FCC without a legal consultant in the form of an FCC attorney. Nor would they submit a major engineering application without the assistance of a consulting engineer. Nor would they go to court without an attorney. Nor would they build a building without an architect. Or submit tax retruns without going through a CPA.

Most of us would not do a major medical procedure without consulting a specialist. We don't generally do major plumibing and electrical work in our houses, either.

Consultants are simply specialed experts and useful when we want some outside help. The vast majority are very good. The bad ones do not, as mentioned before, last long.

 

[SirRoxalot]

And what you don't get...

> > The part you don't get is that the new company has likely
> > hired the consultant to cut costs. My guess is was their intent
> > to do so before the consultant was hired.

Yup. Most likely because the paid way too much money for the station because it WAS successful. So, the consultant is hired to cut as much as possible while losing the least amount of audience as possible. I recognized the balancing act. That doesn't mean I have to like it.

> Also, consultants are often hired to fix an existing format,
> rather than implementing something entirely new. Many of my
> client stations (current and past) hired me to improve an
> existing A/C format, not throw it completely out.

Let me cut to the chase. I'm in favor of consultants who are hired to HELP local programmers by providing them with new ideas and research techniques. I'm in favor of bringing in a consultant to straighten out a station that's failing because it's poorly programmed due to a lack of talent and/or research.

I'm not in favor of hatchet men who come in with "This format, music list, and rotation have worked in other markets, so it will work in yours", and want to stamp out cookie-cutter radio stations that look, sound, and feel the same in lots of different markets.

I've worked with some very good consultants. Unfortunately, I've also worked with some pompous as*holes who wanted me to be their poop boy and work as their go-fer, not a programmer. May the latter group be forced to endlessly listen to Minnie Ripperton in Hell. Check that. Make it Yoko Ono.

PS - I'm sure that NONE of the consultants who participate in this board are in Group 2. Most of the guys in Group 2 don't want to hear what anybody except the voices in their heads and the guys with money are saying to them.

 

[Ed_Walker]

Re: what you don't see...

> I presume you read the story I posted elsewhere in this
> thread. I'm sure some of the airstaff at that station
> thought the PD and GM were following the consultant's advice
> when they weren't, and thought the ratings tanked because of
> the consultant when the exact opposite was true.

I did not read that KM; but I can imagine the scenario..and I'm
certain is happened in many situations.


>

 

[OldiesCat]

where credit is due

It is atypical. You're obviously bitter and resentful-- those may be the qualities that got you where you are vs. having an open mind and executing the game plan correctly. Often, there's this pre-conceived "if the ideas come from outside the station/market they must suck because they just don't understand us".


>
> Maybe my experience with consultants is atypical. Mostly, I
> think they're a cheap way to program a bunch of stations in
> a soul-less, generic format. That, and they're easier for a
> GM to throw under the bus than somebody he works next to and
> knows where he lives. Unless, of course, they were hired by
> corporate.
>

 

[OldiesCat]

typical radio

What you describe below is typical of radio in general- good, caring folks and also jerks. Has nothing to do with consultants but they get unfairly painted anyway, mostly by the most bitter and jaded in our industry who can't look in the mirror honestly to check if THEY may actually be to blame for their misfortunes.


> I've worked with some very good consultants. Unfortunately,
> I've also worked with some pompous as*holes who wanted me to
> be their poop boy and work as their go-fer, not a
> programmer. May the latter group be forced to endlessly
> listen to Minnie Ripperton in Hell. Check that. Make it Yoko
> Ono.
>
> PS - I'm sure that NONE of the consultants who participate
> in this board are in Group 2. Most of the guys in Group 2
> don't want to hear what anybody except the voices in their
> heads and the guys with money are saying to them.
>