How will gas prices affect the future of radio?

[SirRoxalot]

My Bad

As for the rest of your b.s., you have quoted me, while attributing comments to me that I never said! : Radio can do whatever they want now! They are in my rear-view mirror now! And I ain't ever looking back! :

You are correct. I did mistakenly attribute the quote to you. For that, I apologize.

I'm happy that you've moved on to something that suits you better, and that provides a better living for you and your family. If radio IS in your rearview mirror, what are you doing hanging around here reading and writing about it?

Radio - not just a job, it's an infection...

 

[12 In a Row]

Re: Not to be mean-spirited...

You obviously didn't work where I did. The only "benefit" I got was insurance and vacation, and I obviously would have had to get sick in order to cash in on the insurance! Do you think the cash value of the insurance and vacation would have been enough to offset the (minimum!) 10-15 hours a week I was being stiffed? I made $220 a week when I left there in 1992. Divide that by 50, because I was having to work a minimum of 50 hours a week, and you'll see that I was making sub-minimum wage there to put up with that anal-retentive manager and his perfectionist demands! And I was having to work six days a week!

So, entry-level wasn't exciting. Perhaps that's why it's called "entry-level". That's not so different from a lot of other professions.

Now I'm getting all the benefits you mentioned, plus holidays off, and I "only" work five days a week now. And I'm making more in my post-broadcasting career than I ever would have made in radio! My beginning pay at my current job is more than I ever made, even at my last station, which I left last fall!

That may tell us more about your career that it does about radio. Not that corporate radio isn't doing its best to destroy itself by "saving" its way into oblivion.

Music isn't "product". Advertisers are not the customers. Listeners tune in for more than the same 200 songs over and over and over and over. 12 in a row with nothing in between doesn't work. Information and/or entertainment that are meaningful for the listener, and relatable personalities make radio relevant. Corporate radio doesn't understand that, preferring to listen to consultants who tout "their format" as the panacea that will save money and raise ratings.

Look at the ratings. How many of the top stations are heavily-formatted jukeboxes?

If your live and local radio sucks, blame formats that reduce jocks to liner-card readers, with fewer opportunities to perform than the canned voice guy/gal. Add to that PDs who spend more time with computer software than talent coaching - mostly because they're now forced to program multiple stations simultaneously.

And yet, you say "You can't blame corporate radio for sucking the life out of it."

Have another cup of kool-aid, Bub. Obviously you've drunk deeply from the big corporate punch bowl.

The tried a true market leader music formats date back almost 50 years. Listeners want more music, less talk.
Get on, keep your break SHORT and relevent, stay within the format and GET OFF!

All we hear is complaints about liner cards and jocks that want to give meaningful, thoughful breaks.
No one has yet to give examples.

How many of these meaningful, thoughtful breaks do the "live and local" talent want to do in a given hour?

Will listeners care?
They didn't before, whats different now?

 

[firepoint525]

Re: Entry Level

...I should point out that that was a rural area, and I still lived "at home" at the time. But I knew that when I left home, I would never be able to make it on the chicken feed they were paying me. And being "salaried," I couldn't make more money by working more hours!

I started out there a year earlier, making $180 a week for working the overnight shift in '91. But that was a flat 37 hours a week. When they moved me to days (and made me production director), I suddenly had to work about 15 hours more a week for the same money! Oh, I got raises, but not enough to offset the increase in hours and responsibility!

Hey, at least you didn't go home smelling like french fries.

Rural stations are entry level. They're not where you plan to have a successful career. Unless you want to work your way up to manager - just like Mickey D's.

Rural stations are where you get experience, improve your craft, then move on to bigger and better-paying jobs. If you're good, that is.

I did the McDonald's thing, too, but that was before I ever got into radio!

A competing station to ours once had the same news and sports director for ~30 years, and the same production director for ~20 years! And they, too, are in the same rural community, although in a neighboring town, only about 10-12 miles away at the most.

 

[firepoint525]

Re: My Bad

As for the rest of your b.s., you have quoted me, while attributing comments to me that I never said! : Radio can do whatever they want now! They are in my rear-view mirror now! And I ain't ever looking back! :

You are correct. I did mistakenly attribute the quote to you. For that, I apologize.
I'm happy that you've moved on to something that suits you better, and that provides a better living for you and your family. If radio IS in your rearview mirror, what are you doing hanging around here reading and writing about it?
Radio - not just a job, it's an infection...

Thanks. I was a little puzzled that you accused me of "drinking the koolaid" when I got the impression that you and I are on the same side of this issue. ???

As for your question (I think you almost answered yourself, anyway), you can take the broadcaster out of radio, but you can't (completely) take radio out of the broadcaster! 8)

You should go to www.krud.com, click on the cartoon archives, and read the one entitled, "the perfect production job." That cartoon describes (perfectly!) why I left that particular station. (There are other good ones in there, like "we work for psychopaths"!)

I discovered this board shortly before leaving my last station, and I'm a message board junkie anyway, so put two and two together! ;D

 

[12 In a Row]

The way I see it, radio's strength has been in-car listening.

Staying home one more day will decrease listenership.
Besides, if I'm working in the home, I have thousands of choices on the internet at my fingertips.
Do I choose the trek "at work live and local station" or something else.

In car is only around 30% to 33% of listening (In New York, it is significantly less, even). The biggies are in-home and at work. So, at work listening would stay the same, just be concentrated in fewer days.

But many jobs, like UPS delivery for one example, or retail, work 5 to 7 days a week. If each employee can be given more hours and fewer days, this will change drive times, leisure time, etc. But for it to be a facotr in radio listening and such, a huge percentage of jobs have to change.

I'm reminded that in most markets, as many people start work at 6 or 7 AM as at 9 AM, and 8 AM is often more than the 9 AM start, too. That's because shift work, and all kinds of things like construction and warehousing do not work 9 to 5.

The obvious problem with in-home and at work, the listeners aren't paying attention.
IF you're doing your job, radio serves as little more than background noise.

 

[adma]

Re: Not to be mean-spirited...

Will listeners care?
They didn't before, whats different now?

Alternatives to radio that didn't exist before.

And, perhaps, the epiphany that one can just abandon the radio habit/crutch and be no worse without it--that's how little the listeners "care", it turns out.

The obvious problem with in-home and at work, the listeners aren't paying attention.
IF you're doing your job, radio serves as little more than background noise.

And there, exactly, is the kind of readily abandoned habit/crutch I'm talking about.

 

[SirRoxalot]

Will Listeners Care?

All we hear is complaints about liner cards and jocks that want to give meaningful, thoughful breaks.
No one has yet to give examples.

How many of these meaningful, thoughtful breaks do the "live and local" talent want to do in a given hour?

Will listeners care?
They didn't before, whats different now?

There was a time when radio was a trend-setter. Radio was the presenter of new music, and an arbitrater of what was "cool". Guys like Cousin Brucie, Jack Armstrong, Larry Lujack, Charlie Tuna, Dick Biondi, and a host of others could make or break a record. Most of the time, they did it over the intro, without any long-winded diatribe.

There are still a few of those jocks around, but too many stations have clamped down on the number of talkovers per hour, and forced liners into those breaks so every time a jock talks he's delivering what the audience perceives as a "commercial message".

Once upon a time, jocks related to listeners, and listeners related to jocks. Their was an entertainment and companionship dynamic that made listeners feel like they were part of the show. Sadly, that component is now largely missing, which is why radio is not as compelling a medium as it once was.

Radio has always had competition. What saved it was its uniqueness and localization. Most of the leading stations still have some of that left. Their listeners DO care - because there's something there for them to care about.

People still crave human connections - which is why "social networking" sites like Facebook and MySpace do such big business. Radio needs to give people something to connect with if it's going to remain viable. Jukeboxes, "imaging", and liners don't do that very well.

 

[12 In a Row]

I agree, once upon a time radio was the ONLY place to first hear the newest songs, cool jocks, etc.
Radio's biggest weakness by todays standards, it's one-way.

You are correct, us humans crave connections and can now get it with the internet.

Entertaining, compelling content is still around.
Great morning shows, NPR, and for pop culture, I can see Seacrests show doing well.

 

[adma]

Re: Will Listeners Care?

There was a time when radio was a trend-setter. Radio was the presenter of new music, and an arbitrater of what was "cool". Guys like Cousin Brucie, Jack Armstrong, Larry Lujack, Charlie Tuna, Dick Biondi, and a host of others could make or break a record. Most of the time, they did it over the intro, without any long-winded diatribe.

However, especially when it comes to lasting legacy, perhaps we're prone to overrating radio here? After all, it's the Beatles and Stones and Dylan people wound up seriously remembering and revering over Brucie, Lujack, Biondi et al--as critical (and sometimes perhaps by accident) as the latter might have been.

Now, if we were talking about a musical universe dominated by Three Dog Night and the Grass Roots, it might be different--but unfortunately, when it came to the "cool factor" and "legacy factor", the music sphere came to terminally outstrip the DJ sphere, and I don't even know if the DJs or the industry quite knew what hit them. (And perhaps that long-lasting amnesia helps explain the present state of the industry, etc.)

 

[SirRoxalot]

It wasn't that the "music sphere" outstripped the "DJ sphere". The input of jocks was purposely reduced by consultants and formatics. Consultants sold music formats as the answer to jocks who demanded more money and more perks. Management who came up through the sales ranks bought into that line of thought because it meant reducing costs, meaning more profit.

Would the Beatles have made it without radio? Hmmmm. Would Rock & Roll exist without early adopters like Alan Freed, The Hound, and a few others who dared to play "race records" for white teenagers?

What we have now is the result of corporate decisions. Those who are allowed to entertain - morning shows and others who have transcended the system through sheer talent or force of will - still dominate. Too many of us have obligations that make challenging the system economically unwise, so we either work within the system or get out of radio. Listeners - and radio as an industry - are the losers.

 

[12 In a Row]

The input of jocks was reduced not by consultants and formatics, but by research long before CC came along.
With few exceptions, (mega-talent) the listeners feel d.j.'s are annoying.

Many years of programming, I found one common theme, the least talented was the highest maintenence.

 

[SirRoxalot]

Annoying DJ's

Research can be made to say almost anything. Results show differently. LOOK AT THE RATINGS.

I agree that "the least talented was the highest maintenance". GOOD managers spend the most time on their least talented employees, striving to either make them better, or helping them find something else that fits their talents. A pyschology degree isn't necessary - but it helps!

DJ's ARE annoying - when all they do is parrot the same liner card every hour because that's what they're taught, and what the format demands. It isn't easy to teach someone how to entertain, and few PD's have the time or the skills to do it well these days. They're too deeply involved with scheduling people and tweaking Selector clocks for multiple stations. Research becomes an end, not a means to an end.

Most of all, IT'S NOT WORKING. It's time to revamp thinking about radio programming.

 

[adma]

It wasn't that the "music sphere" outstripped the "DJ sphere". The input of jocks was purposely reduced by consultants and formatics. Consultants sold music formats as the answer to jocks who demanded more money and more perks. Management who came up through the sales ranks bought into that line of thought because it meant reducing costs, meaning more profit.

Would the Beatles have made it without radio? Hmmmm. Would Rock & Roll exist without early adopters like Alan Freed, The Hound, and a few others who dared to play "race records" for white teenagers?

However, this still overlooks the fact that there came a point where rock's mythos did get too big for radio's britches. Sure, radio broke the Beatles; however, I'm not so certain that radio was prepared for what the Beatles would become, or moreover, beget. And that fundamental myopia remains to this day when radio's own champions speak in terms of "mass entertainment" with little or no consideration of the "art" or "culture" element--it's like they decided at a really early stage that whatever the likes of Rolling Stone spawned in the name of "serious" conoisseurship was more pointy-headed than they could handle. (Perhaps because the rise of Rolling Stone *was*, to some extent, the first serious "reaction" to radio's supposed failings--and it wasn't just a "consultants and formatics" issue, either.)

 

[firepoint525]

Re: Annoying DJ's

Research can be made to say almost anything. Results show differently. LOOK AT THE RATINGS.

I agree that "the least talented was the highest maintenance". GOOD managers spend the most time on their least talented employees, striving to either make them better, or helping them find something else that fits their talents. A pyschology degree isn't necessary - but it helps!

DJ's ARE annoying - when all they do is parrot the same liner card every hour because that's what they're taught, and what the format demands. It isn't easy to teach someone how to entertain, and few PD's have the time or the skills to do it well these days. They're too deeply involved with scheduling people and tweaking Selector clocks for multiple stations. Research becomes an end, not a means to an end.

Most of all, IT'S NOT WORKING. It's time to revamp thinking about radio programming.

The production director who took my place at the station that I left (that I mentioned earlier in this thread) was a liner-card reader. I noticed him doing that, and told him that we really weren't required to read those liners (they were corny as hell!), but he did so anyway. Truth of the matter is that those slogans were coined by our PD, who was all of 19 at the time! (I told you we had high turnover!) He came up with those liners for some of his friends at the station (whom he had gotten jobs there) when he noticed them saying the same things over and over every time they cracked the mic. Now I could question the wisdom of getting one's own friends jobs at the station, but that is a topic for another place and time. One of them had potential, and a good voice, but he needed someone to coach him (obviously). The other one was also a nice guy, but he didn't have a good voice, and sounded about 15 on the air!

As for the production director who took my place, I knew him from college, so I knew that he was professional, and knew his stuff, so I knew he would be an able replacement for me (if the manager didn't burn him out the way he burned ME out!). What I apparently didn't count on was that this new production director was more of an "order-follower" than I had been. On one hand, that might serve him well, but on the other, it might lead to faster burnout, especially with the atmosphere at that particular station. I knew him to be a self-starter, but he apparently needed that crutch to know what to say when he opened the mic.

 

[icycool7227]

Re: Annoying DJ's

That's nice, maybe he can include me as one of his friends for jobs. I would appreciate it if you wouldn't mention mickey d's as like it's such a horrible job. There are many wonderful people who work there and every time I read a post like that proves it's thought of as a worthless job.

Research can be made to say almost anything. Results show differently. LOOK AT THE RATINGS.

I agree that "the least talented was the highest maintenance". GOOD managers spend the most time on their least talented employees, striving to either make them better, or helping them find something else that fits their talents. A pyschology degree isn't necessary - but it helps!

DJ's ARE annoying - when all they do is parrot the same liner card every hour because that's what they're taught, and what the format demands. It isn't easy to teach someone how to entertain, and few PD's have the time or the skills to do it well these days. They're too deeply involved with scheduling people and tweaking Selector clocks for multiple stations. Research becomes an end, not a means to an end.

Most of all, IT'S NOT WORKING. It's time to revamp thinking about radio programming.

The production director who took my place at the station that I left (that I mentioned earlier in this thread) was a liner-card reader. I noticed him doing that, and told him that we really weren't required to read those liners (they were corny as hell!), but he did so anyway. Truth of the matter is that those slogans were coined by our PD, who was all of 19 at the time! (I told you we had high turnover!) He came up with those liners for some of his friends at the station (whom he had gotten jobs there) when he noticed them saying the same things over and over every time they cracked the mic. Now I could question the wisdom of getting one's own friends jobs at the station, but that is a topic for another place and time. One of them had potential, and a good voice, but he needed someone to coach him (obviously). The other one was also a nice guy, but he didn't have a good voice, and sounded about 15 on the air!

As for the production director who took my place, I knew him from college, so I knew that he was professional, and knew his stuff, so I knew he would be an able replacement for me (if the manager didn't burn him out the way he burned ME out!). What I apparently didn't count on was that this new production director was more of an "order-follower" than I had been. On one hand, that might serve him well, but on the other, it might lead to faster burnout, especially with the atmosphere at that particular station. I knew him to be a self-starter, but he apparently needed that crutch to know what to say when he opened the mic.

 

[firepoint525]

Re: Annoying DJ's

You've gotta be kidding, right? Consider the following:

1. I wasn't the first one to mention McDonald's on this thread.
2. I didn't derogatorily refer to them as "Mickey D's"! :
3. I don't mind saying I worked there once. Many people have worked for McDonald's. But...
4. It's still considered the epitome of entry-level jobs. And no diatribe by you will ever change that. If you want people to stop thinking of McDonald's as an entry-level job, you will have an uphill battle on your hands!
5. I could have made more (per hour) at McDonald's than I did as production director at the station I mentioned in this thread.
6. I still eat at McDonald's every once in a while. But I don't eat there as much as my parents do. I think they must be going through a second childhood or something! ;D Or maybe the fact that McDonald's hosts senior citizens bingo there every Monday afternoon has something to do with that! ;D I don't care; mom and dad have a lot of friends there! 8)

You don't need to know anyone to get a job at the station I mentioned here. Just show up and apply! Assuming they have an opening, you should have no problem getting on there! The PD that I mentioned is still there, but his friends are long gone from that station.

That's nice, maybe he can include me as one of his friends for jobs. I would appreciate it if you wouldn't mention mickey d's as like it's such a horrible job. There are many wonderful people who work there and every time I read a post like that proves it's thought of as a worthless job.

Research can be made to say almost anything. Results show differently. LOOK AT THE RATINGS.

I agree that "the least talented was the highest maintenance". GOOD managers spend the most time on their least talented employees, striving to either make them better, or helping them find something else that fits their talents. A pyschology degree isn't necessary - but it helps!

DJ's ARE annoying - when all they do is parrot the same liner card every hour because that's what they're taught, and what the format demands. It isn't easy to teach someone how to entertain, and few PD's have the time or the skills to do it well these days. They're too deeply involved with scheduling people and tweaking Selector clocks for multiple stations. Research becomes an end, not a means to an end.

Most of all, IT'S NOT WORKING. It's time to revamp thinking about radio programming.

The production director who took my place at the station that I left (that I mentioned earlier in this thread) was a liner-card reader. I noticed him doing that, and told him that we really weren't required to read those liners (they were corny as hell!), but he did so anyway. Truth of the matter is that those slogans were coined by our PD, who was all of 19 at the time! (I told you we had high turnover!) He came up with those liners for some of his friends at the station (whom he had gotten jobs there) when he noticed them saying the same things over and over every time they cracked the mic. Now I could question the wisdom of getting one's own friends jobs at the station, but that is a topic for another place and time. One of them had potential, and a good voice, but he needed someone to coach him (obviously). The other one was also a nice guy, but he didn't have a good voice, and sounded about 15 on the air!

As for the production director who took my place, I knew him from college, so I knew that he was professional, and knew his stuff, so I knew he would be an able replacement for me (if the manager didn't burn him out the way he burned ME out!). What I apparently didn't count on was that this new production director was more of an "order-follower" than I had been. On one hand, that might serve him well, but on the other, it might lead to faster burnout, especially with the atmosphere at that particular station. I knew him to be a self-starter, but he apparently needed that crutch to know what to say when he opened the mic.

 

[icycool7227]

Re: Annoying DJ's

You're right. At first I read only the first page or so of this thread and then what was said after I posted so please forgive me. That part of the post I made actually goes to Sir Rox then or whoever first mentioned it. The problem with McDonald's is that it is indeed a very well known restaurant that can get bad publicity at times which is not the fault of any poster here - more so the media.

I read all your posts on this thread but don't see any station you mentioned specifically you outlined in number 5 here below. What are the call letters? Thank you for your explanation and clearing that up.

You've gotta be kidding, right? Consider the following:

1. I wasn't the first one to mention McDonald's on this thread.
2. I didn't derogatorily refer to them as "Mickey D's"! :
3. I don't mind saying I worked there once. Many people have worked for McDonald's. But...
4. It's still considered the epitome of entry-level jobs. And no diatribe by you will ever change that. If you want people to stop thinking of McDonald's as an entry-level job, you will have an uphill battle on your hands!
5. I could have made more (per hour) at McDonald's than I did as production director at the station I mentioned in this thread.
6. I still eat at McDonald's every once in a while. But I don't eat there as much as my parents do. I think they must be going through a second childhood or something! ;D Or maybe the fact that McDonald's hosts senior citizens bingo there every Monday afternoon has something to do with that! ;D I don't care; mom and dad have a lot of friends there! 8)

You don't need to know anyone to get a job at the station I mentioned here. Just show up and apply! Assuming they have an opening, you should have no problem getting on there! The PD that I mentioned is still there, but his friends are long gone from that station.

That's nice, maybe he can include me as one of his friends for jobs. I would appreciate it if you wouldn't mention mickey d's as like it's such a horrible job. There are many wonderful people who work there and every time I read a post like that proves it's thought of as a worthless job.

Research can be made to say almost anything. Results show differently. LOOK AT THE RATINGS.

I agree that "the least talented was the highest maintenance". GOOD managers spend the most time on their least talented employees, striving to either make them better, or helping them find something else that fits their talents. A pyschology degree isn't necessary - but it helps!

DJ's ARE annoying - when all they do is parrot the same liner card every hour because that's what they're taught, and what the format demands. It isn't easy to teach someone how to entertain, and few PD's have the time or the skills to do it well these days. They're too deeply involved with scheduling people and tweaking Selector clocks for multiple stations. Research becomes an end, not a means to an end.

Most of all, IT'S NOT WORKING. It's time to revamp thinking about radio programming.

The production director who took my place at the station that I left (that I mentioned earlier in this thread) was a liner-card reader. I noticed him doing that, and told him that we really weren't required to read those liners (they were corny as hell!), but he did so anyway. Truth of the matter is that those slogans were coined by our PD, who was all of 19 at the time! (I told you we had high turnover!) He came up with those liners for some of his friends at the station (whom he had gotten jobs there) when he noticed them saying the same things over and over every time they cracked the mic. Now I could question the wisdom of getting one's own friends jobs at the station, but that is a topic for another place and time. One of them had potential, and a good voice, but he needed someone to coach him (obviously). The other one was also a nice guy, but he didn't have a good voice, and sounded about 15 on the air!

As for the production director who took my place, I knew him from college, so I knew that he was professional, and knew his stuff, so I knew he would be an able replacement for me (if the manager didn't burn him out the way he burned ME out!). What I apparently didn't count on was that this new production director was more of an "order-follower" than I had been. On one hand, that might serve him well, but on the other, it might lead to faster burnout, especially with the atmosphere at that particular station. I knew him to be a self-starter, but he apparently needed that crutch to know what to say when he opened the mic.

 

[firepoint525]

Re: Annoying DJ's

It's WCMT in Martin, Tennessee, which if you don't know, is up in the northwest part of Tennessee. I now live about 150+ miles away in Nashville, yet WCMT still comes here to Nashville to participate in job fairs when they are held here in Nashville. That one has me scratching my head, because (1.) no one from around here is going to pack up and move to Martin, Tennessee, and, more importantly, (2.) they are already in a college town, so all the talent they will ever need is right there under their noses! So why do they come here to recruit? ???

I read all your posts on this thread but don't see any station you mentioned specifically you outlined in number 5 here below. What are the call letters? Thank you for your explanation and clearing that up.

You've gotta be kidding, right? Consider the following:

1. I wasn't the first one to mention McDonald's on this thread.
2. I didn't derogatorily refer to them as "Mickey D's"! :
3. I don't mind saying I worked there once. Many people have worked for McDonald's. But...
4. It's still considered the epitome of entry-level jobs. And no diatribe by you will ever change that. If you want people to stop thinking of McDonald's as an entry-level job, you will have an uphill battle on your hands!
5. I could have made more (per hour) at McDonald's than I did as production director at the station I mentioned in this thread.
6. I still eat at McDonald's every once in a while. But I don't eat there as much as my parents do. I think they must be going through a second childhood or something! ;D Or maybe the fact that McDonald's hosts senior citizens bingo there every Monday afternoon has something to do with that! ;D I don't care; mom and dad have a lot of friends there! 8)

You don't need to know anyone to get a job at the station I mentioned here. Just show up and apply! Assuming they have an opening, you should have no problem getting on there! The PD that I mentioned is still there, but his friends are long gone from that station.

That's nice, maybe he can include me as one of his friends for jobs. I would appreciate it if you wouldn't mention mickey d's as like it's such a horrible job. There are many wonderful people who work there and every time I read a post like that proves it's thought of as a worthless job.

Research can be made to say almost anything. Results show differently. LOOK AT THE RATINGS.

I agree that "the least talented was the highest maintenance". GOOD managers spend the most time on their least talented employees, striving to either make them better, or helping them find something else that fits their talents. A pyschology degree isn't necessary - but it helps!

DJ's ARE annoying - when all they do is parrot the same liner card every hour because that's what they're taught, and what the format demands. It isn't easy to teach someone how to entertain, and few PD's have the time or the skills to do it well these days. They're too deeply involved with scheduling people and tweaking Selector clocks for multiple stations. Research becomes an end, not a means to an end.

Most of all, IT'S NOT WORKING. It's time to revamp thinking about radio programming.

The production director who took my place at the station that I left (that I mentioned earlier in this thread) was a liner-card reader. I noticed him doing that, and told him that we really weren't required to read those liners (they were corny as hell!), but he did so anyway. Truth of the matter is that those slogans were coined by our PD, who was all of 19 at the time! (I told you we had high turnover!) He came up with those liners for some of his friends at the station (whom he had gotten jobs there) when he noticed them saying the same things over and over every time they cracked the mic. Now I could question the wisdom of getting one's own friends jobs at the station, but that is a topic for another place and time. One of them had potential, and a good voice, but he needed someone to coach him (obviously). The other one was also a nice guy, but he didn't have a good voice, and sounded about 15 on the air!

As for the production director who took my place, I knew him from college, so I knew that he was professional, and knew his stuff, so I knew he would be an able replacement for me (if the manager didn't burn him out the way he burned ME out!). What I apparently didn't count on was that this new production director was more of an "order-follower" than I had been. On one hand, that might serve him well, but on the other, it might lead to faster burnout, especially with the atmosphere at that particular station. I knew him to be a self-starter, but he apparently needed that crutch to know what to say when he opened the mic.