This is a piece by Phillis Stark.. it's a good short read. If you missed it... enjoy... skipper B)
"Five things I've learned about radio" by Phillis Stark
For the last 20 years I’ve been covering the radio industry as a journalist. Now, as I’m embarking on a whole new career in the record business, it seems like a good time to look back on some of the things I’ve learned and observed about radio, both positive and negative.
1. Radio isn’t going anywhere.
The rise of each new technology over the years has been hailed as the beginning of the end of the radio business.
Nonsense!
Since the invention of television, radio has always found ways to adapt, innovate and survive. There will forever be new technologies and new delivery methods for radio, but there will always be radio. The smart broadcasters are those who see such innovations as opportunities, not threats.
2. Radio is simply not as much fun as it used to be.
Early in my career covering radio, one of the things I most enjoyed about my own job is that people who worked in radio were so in love with theirs. It was fun to call them and hear what their stations were up to because THEY were having fun, and it showed. In the last 10 years, however, that has become less and less true as consolidation has taken its toll.
As multi-tasking broadcasters get more overworked and more stressed out, it has become painfully apparent that radio has become more of a job and less of a lifestyle.
That’s not to say there aren’t still passionate broadcasters out there whose enthusiasm hasn’t waned and who still recognize that they’ve chosen a great profession, but since the Telecom Act, they have become increasingly hard to find.
3. Radio still matters.
Say what you will about radio’s declining audience, enough people still listen to and care about the medium that one boneheaded move; one racist comment or one contest fatality can (and often should) be a career ender. Just ask Don Imus, or the folks involved in the Sacramento, Calif., water-drinking contest.
4. Radio continues to be a great career.
It has been sad to watch the radio industry finding it harder and harder to attract young talent. This will continue to be a struggle since no one seems to be orchestrating any kind of campaign to draw in the next generation of broadcasters. It’s a pity, because even though its challenges have risen while some of its rewards have dwindled, radio is still a great career that provides an opportunity for creativity and self-expression that can be found at precious few other jobs. Couple that with a real opportunity to inform, provide public service and do some genuine good in the community, and a career in radio is hard to beat.
As syndicated morning man Moby said in my very first Radio-Info.com column last fall: “When I’m driving home from my studio and see men on rooftops spreading tar, or on the business end of a shovel sweating buckets, that keeps a passion in me for the kind of work I chose so long ago to do. When I get a listener on the phone in tears because they were moved by something they've heard me do, THAT keeps a passion burning as well.”
Hopefully, radio will find a way to continue to attract the characters, the innovators and the sharp-minded business people to its ranks.
5. I’ve loved every minute of it.
From the amazing personalities I’ve met and interviewed, to the innovative programming and new technologies I’ve covered to the fun contests and promotions I’ve gotten to write about and even – occasionally – be part of, covering the radio industry has never, ever been dull. I will certainly miss it.
"Five things I've learned about radio" by Phillis Stark
For the last 20 years I’ve been covering the radio industry as a journalist. Now, as I’m embarking on a whole new career in the record business, it seems like a good time to look back on some of the things I’ve learned and observed about radio, both positive and negative.
1. Radio isn’t going anywhere.
The rise of each new technology over the years has been hailed as the beginning of the end of the radio business.
Nonsense!
Since the invention of television, radio has always found ways to adapt, innovate and survive. There will forever be new technologies and new delivery methods for radio, but there will always be radio. The smart broadcasters are those who see such innovations as opportunities, not threats.
2. Radio is simply not as much fun as it used to be.
Early in my career covering radio, one of the things I most enjoyed about my own job is that people who worked in radio were so in love with theirs. It was fun to call them and hear what their stations were up to because THEY were having fun, and it showed. In the last 10 years, however, that has become less and less true as consolidation has taken its toll.
As multi-tasking broadcasters get more overworked and more stressed out, it has become painfully apparent that radio has become more of a job and less of a lifestyle.
That’s not to say there aren’t still passionate broadcasters out there whose enthusiasm hasn’t waned and who still recognize that they’ve chosen a great profession, but since the Telecom Act, they have become increasingly hard to find.
3. Radio still matters.
Say what you will about radio’s declining audience, enough people still listen to and care about the medium that one boneheaded move; one racist comment or one contest fatality can (and often should) be a career ender. Just ask Don Imus, or the folks involved in the Sacramento, Calif., water-drinking contest.
4. Radio continues to be a great career.
It has been sad to watch the radio industry finding it harder and harder to attract young talent. This will continue to be a struggle since no one seems to be orchestrating any kind of campaign to draw in the next generation of broadcasters. It’s a pity, because even though its challenges have risen while some of its rewards have dwindled, radio is still a great career that provides an opportunity for creativity and self-expression that can be found at precious few other jobs. Couple that with a real opportunity to inform, provide public service and do some genuine good in the community, and a career in radio is hard to beat.
As syndicated morning man Moby said in my very first Radio-Info.com column last fall: “When I’m driving home from my studio and see men on rooftops spreading tar, or on the business end of a shovel sweating buckets, that keeps a passion in me for the kind of work I chose so long ago to do. When I get a listener on the phone in tears because they were moved by something they've heard me do, THAT keeps a passion burning as well.”
Hopefully, radio will find a way to continue to attract the characters, the innovators and the sharp-minded business people to its ranks.
5. I’ve loved every minute of it.
From the amazing personalities I’ve met and interviewed, to the innovative programming and new technologies I’ve covered to the fun contests and promotions I’ve gotten to write about and even – occasionally – be part of, covering the radio industry has never, ever been dull. I will certainly miss it.