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In case you were wondering...

> There is a blurb in Sunday's Star about the fate of the WTPI
> gang.
>
> Here's the link:
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?> AID=/20051016/COLUMNISTS04/510160480&SearchID=73223658089144
>
>
> Scroll down to second story.
>
Sad to see good talent go like that.
 
> > There is a blurb in Sunday's Star about the fate of the
> WTPI
> > gang.
> >
> > Here's the link:
> http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?>
> AID=/20051016/COLUMNISTS04/510160480&SearchID=73223658089144
>
> >
> >
> > Scroll down to second story.
> >
> Sad to see good talent go like that.
>

In the NFL, when a team is doing poorly, an owner or manager will often fire the coach. In radio, however...
 
Jerry Curtis didn't make "the cut"? That's an insult. Jerry is a great guy and is a very talent man. Another example of morons driving the bus. Best wishes to ALL of the TPI gang.<P ID="signature">______________
[email protected]</P>
 
> Jerry Curtis didn't make "the cut"? That's an insult.
> Jerry is a great guy and is a very talent man. Another
> example of morons driving the bus. Best wishes to ALL of
> the TPI gang.
>

Maybe Jerry and the others were not 20 years old and willing to work for the mimimun wage. Who knows? There might even be an intern out there willing to work for free!

I know radio is a business, but it still burns me in any business to see great seasoned talent be blown out the door for economic reasons. You get what you pay for! Of course, if the role of the music radio personality in 2005 has been reduced to merely reading station liners and occasionally giving the time and temperature...then you might as well advertise on the air for your talent since I guess the average 107.9 listener could really handle the gig after all!

I would contend that if you are promoting music from the 60's to the 80's as your primary music base, you might consider hiring someone who actually LIVED during those years.
 
> Jerry Curtis didn't make "the cut"? That's an insult.
To Tommy Hilfiger, right? But, seriously, you're right. WTPI's talent was all talented.
> Jerry is a great guy and is a very talent man. Another
> example of morons driving the bus. Best wishes to ALL of
> the TPI gang.
>
Hear anything about Julie Patterson? I know she has WISH-TV so she isn't jobless, which is good.
 
> > Jerry Curtis didn't make "the cut"? That's an insult.
> To Tommy Hilfiger, right? But, seriously, you're right.
> WTPI's talent was all talented.
> > Jerry is a great guy and is a very talent man. Another
> > example of morons driving the bus. Best wishes to ALL of
> > the TPI gang.
> >
> Hear anything about Julie Patterson? I know she has WISH-TV
> so she isn't jobless, which is good.
>
She quit her moonlighting on TPI PM Drive a couple weeks prior to the flip to the Track. So She was probly never asked in for a tryout for the Track.
 
> > > Jerry Curtis didn't make "the cut"? That's an insult.
> > To Tommy Hilfiger, right? But, seriously, you're right.
> > WTPI's talent was all talented.
> > > Jerry is a great guy and is a very talent man. Another
> > > example of morons driving the bus. Best wishes to ALL
> of
> > > the TPI gang.
> > >
> > Hear anything about Julie Patterson? I know she has
> WISH-TV
> > so she isn't jobless, which is good.
> >
> She quit her moonlighting on TPI PM Drive a couple weeks
> prior to the flip to the Track. So She was probly never
> asked in for a tryout for the Track.
>

I kind of wonder if Julie caught wind of the change and decided to leave at her own will as opposed to being forced out? WTPI's format change has been much speculated for quite sometime now, afterall. Although, I, along with many other people on this board perhaps, felt they would've at least put something a little more worthwhile on the frequency. It's too bad.

Hopefully the former jocks of WTPI will land on their feet soon. I know a few of them. Great people and great jocks. I definitely wish them all the best in their careers.
 
I got a feeling they wanted Cooper for name recognition, but everyone else was cut for financial purposes. I would imagine that Curtis and Kelly were making decent salaries due to their tenure.

As for Julie Patterson, she's like a daughter to Tim Medland. I have a sneaking suspicion he let her know what was up (18 in a row, low personality radio) and she decided to walk.



> > Jerry Curtis didn't make "the cut"? That's an insult.
> > Jerry is a great guy and is a very talent man. Another
> > example of morons driving the bus. Best wishes to ALL of
> > the TPI gang.
> >
>
> Maybe Jerry and the others were not 20 years old and willing
> to work for the mimimun wage. Who knows? There might even
> be an intern out there willing to work for free!
>
> I know radio is a business, but it still burns me in any
> business to see great seasoned talent be blown out the door
> for economic reasons. You get what you pay for! Of course,
> if the role of the music radio personality in 2005 has been
> reduced to merely reading station liners and occasionally
> giving the time and temperature...then you might as well
> advertise on the air for your talent since I guess the
> average 107.9 listener could really handle the gig after
> all!
>
> I would contend that if you are promoting music from the
> 60's to the 80's as your primary music base, you might
> consider hiring someone who actually LIVED during those
> years.
>
 
> Maybe Jerry and the others were not 20 years old and willing
> to work for the mimimun wage. Who knows? There might even
> be an intern out there willing to work for free!

And I would guess that management was not willing, nor could afford to pay large salaries for a mid 2 share either. Why would a business man pay someone $50K to deliver a the same share they can get by voice-tracking for $15K?

And tenure doesn't mean squat- Just because you've done something for 20 years doesn't mean you're good at it.

> I know radio is a business, but it still burns me in any
> business to see great seasoned talent be blown out the door
> for economic reasons.

If you want to do radio for art's sake, you'll have to go to public radio. Economics/business is what drives commercial radio. Is it right? That's a judgement call based on your frame of refrence. But it is what it is so you might as well accept it, understand it and make it work for you.

> You get what you pay for! Of course...

If that were true wouldn't WTPI have had better ratings? I mean, since we're assuming these guys were making good money, should'nt the station have been delivering better share? You don't always get what you pay for. Sometimes you get more, usually you get a lot less.

FWIW
 
"And tenure doesn't mean squat- Just because you've done something for
20 years doesn't mean you're good at it".

I agree with that statement. But this doesn't apply to the TPI jocks.
They are a talent group that delivered MyStar decent numbers.

In the 90's, TPI was ranked consistently around #6. After their format
adjustment to "Lite Rock" we saw the numbers erode.

Did the jocks change? No. Did the format change? Yes. So why punish the jocks. If the new format was dramatically different (eg: Country, Talk) then a staff change would make sense.

The TPI jocks will move on. The Track will sputter and stall and flip to a new flavor in a couple years. You can quote me on that.<P ID="signature">______________
[email protected]</P>
 
> > Maybe Jerry and the others were not 20 years old and
> willing
> > to work for the mimimun wage. Who knows? There might
> even
> > be an intern out there willing to work for free!
>
> And I would guess that management was not willing, nor could
> afford to pay large salaries for a mid 2 share either. Why
> would a business man pay someone $50K to deliver a the same
> share they can get by voice-tracking for $15K?
>
> And tenure doesn't mean squat- Just because you've done
> something for 20 years doesn't mean you're good at it.
>
> > I know radio is a business, but it still burns me in any
> > business to see great seasoned talent be blown out the
> door
> > for economic reasons.
>
> If you want to do radio for art's sake, you'll have to go to
> public radio. Economics/business is what drives commercial
> radio. Is it right? That's a judgement call based on your
> frame of refrence. But it is what it is so you might as
> well accept it, understand it and make it work for you.
>
> > You get what you pay for! Of course...
>
> If that were true wouldn't WTPI have had better ratings? I
> mean, since we're assuming these guys were making good
> money, should'nt the station have been delivering better
> share? You don't always get what you pay for. Sometimes
> you get more, usually you get a lot less.
>
> FWIW
>

Pure bottom-line reasoning in the short term often results in long-term problems. Jack has already begun to decline as people wander away from personality-free formats that feature a hodgepodge of genres. The best performing FM radio stations in Indy (Q, FMS, Gold - when it was still Gold, HHH)have either personalities front and center or an even balance of music and the human voice. 'TPI didn't know how to react to B, so they suffered in the face of what the audience found to be a superior product. I doubt that the onus lies squarely on the airstaff's abilities. Having your jocks shoulder the blame for a poor mix of music is merely scapegoating and avoiding the larger picture: the industry as a whole is no longer pro-active. Radio programming reacts to the whims of Wall Street. Numbers aren't there? Need to cut costs to improve the cash flow? Axe the airstaff. When all the iPod shuffle formats decide that they need people on the air RELATING to the audience to build numbers again, those people to fill that space behind the board will have been downsized out of existence.
 
> Pure bottom-line reasoning in the short term often results
> in long-term problems. Jack has already begun to decline as
> people wander away from personality-free formats that
> feature a hodgepodge of genres. The best performing FM radio
> stations in Indy (Q, FMS, Gold - when it was still Gold,
> HHH)have either personalities front and center or an even
> balance of music and the human voice. 'TPI didn't know how
> to react to B, so they suffered in the face of what the
> audience found to be a superior product. I doubt that the
> onus lies squarely on the airstaff's abilities. Having your
> jocks shoulder the blame for a poor mix of music is merely
> scapegoating and avoiding the larger picture: the industry
> as a whole is no longer pro-active. Radio programming reacts
> to the whims of Wall Street. Numbers aren't there? Need to
> cut costs to improve the cash flow? Axe the airstaff. When
> all the iPod shuffle formats decide that they need people on
> the air RELATING to the audience to build numbers again,
> those people to fill that space behind the board will have
> been downsized out of existence.
>

I'm not arguing whether personality radio or zero-personality radio is better... If I were, I would be squarely on your side. I think that the two things radio does better than any other media is promotions and establishing an emotional connection with the audience.

That being said, what I am trying to get across is;
1. The fact you have experience or talent does not mean you fit what a station is trying to do or that you will be able to generate an audience.

2. If you don't generate an audience, and one that is deirable by advertisers, not many companies are going to keep you around, whether or not it's your fault.

3. Finally, that's the reality, not only for radio, but virtually every other business. The people who will have great careers are not going to be those that wring their hands and cry about the unfairness of it all. It will be those that recognize the rules of the game and figure out a way to excel within those rules.
 
> I agree with that statement. But this doesn't apply to the
> TPI jocks.
> They are a talent group that delivered MyStar decent
> numbers.
>
> In the 90's, TPI was ranked consistently around #6. After
> their format
> adjustment to "Lite Rock" we saw the numbers erode.
>
> Did the jocks change? No. Did the format change? Yes. So
> why punish the jocks. If the new format was dramatically
> different (eg: Country, Talk) then a staff change would make
> sense.
>
> The TPI jocks will move on. The Track will sputter and
> stall and flip to a new flavor in a couple years. You can
> quote me on that.

Wow- I really need to be more clear. I'm not trying to convince anyone that the TPI format adjustment was a good one, or that the jocks were at fault for the station's dismal results over the past few years. Who's to blame? I don't work there so I really dn't know the inside story.

I'm just saying what I tell my kids when they complain about something not being fair. "Life's not fair- accept it, deal with it and you'll be a happier more successful person for the effort."

To your other point though.
> In the 90's, TPI was ranked consistently around #6. After
> their format adjustment to "Lite Rock" we saw the numbers erode.
> Did the jocks change? No. Did the format change? Yes. So
> why punish the jocks.

Certainly it can't be ALL the jock's fault, however, they have to take some of the blame. They were the front line people charged with executing the format plan. From the outside, how do we know that it wasn't a good plan that was poorly executed?

On this board, there is a knee jerk reaction extolling the virtues of wronged jocks and cursing mean, clueless management. Is it possible, from time to time, management's good efforts are foiled by clueless jocks who fail to execute the plan set before them? And could some of these jocks have 10-15-20 years of experience? I think it's possible, maybe even likely.
 
>
> On this board, there is a knee jerk reaction extolling the
> virtues of wronged jocks and cursing mean, clueless
> management. Is it possible, from time to time, management's
> good efforts are foiled by clueless jocks who fail to
> execute the plan set before them? And could some of these
> jocks have 10-15-20 years of experience? I think it's
> possible, maybe even likely.
>

If ALL the jocks are clueless - it was management who HIRED all of them;

If ONE jock or daypart is clueless, he, she or their show is usually canned;

But if a group of professionals who had great numbers once upon a time are summarily let go all at once, what is the reason? Did all of them coincidentally get dumb during the same book or books? Did the guys over at B pump stupid gas into the building?

I seriously doubt that the minds who are bringing us '18 songs in a row!' trump the intelligence of an entire airstaff.

20 years in radio doesn't make you a genius, but it does make you a professional with a wealth of experience. If management would set aside their research and their consultants just for a moment and ASK A JOCK WHAT'S WRONG WITH THE STATION, they might not find themselves driving toward a 1.5 share - which is where I'm predicting the Track will bottom out before they 'black flag' the whole format.

And by the way, I don't work over there and never have.
 
Certainly I think we all can agree that the firing of on-air station personnel is nothing new in the radio business. Why else would jocks as talented as Casey Kasem, Robert W. Morgan, Charlie Van Dyke and John Landecker have a resume a mile long?

Life is not always fair, but I think some of us on this board have a natural human reaction of sympathy for guys like Jerry Curtis, Mike O'Brien and Gary Havens since (a) it seems that true radio professionals and personalities are hard to find these days on music radio and (b) the jocks at WTPI were especially great guys on the air as well as off the air. Jerry Curtis was (and hopefully still is) a contributer to this very board. If nothing else, the job sure teaches you to be resiliant and these guys will land on their feet very soon.

Thanks for letting me vent in the other post...and with that, ENOUGH SAID!
 
Working at WTPI for over 15 years, nearly half of my total radio career, has been a sweet experience. Over time co-workers turned into friends and then a real family as we shared births, deaths, disease, weddings, divorces, winning and losing together - all the stuff of everyday life. What we take away from that place is far richer than any money we could have earned by staying.

It would be easy now to paraphrase Hunter S. Thompson: the radio business "is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free and good men die like dogs", but it isn't in me. I leave without any anger or bitterness knowing that I did the best job I could, every day, in an atmosphere that made it feel good to go to work, for much longer than most. Besides, being angry and bitter leaves you with just that; look at what happened to Dr. Thompson.

It's on to the next assignment for me which is appearing Monday at the Indiana Broadcasters Convention to pitch my voice work and copywriting business. If you're there, stop at my table and say hi.
 
Working anywhere in radio for 15 years is an accomplishment. Jobs rarely end the way you'd like them to or expect them to. It's the nature of this business, and I do mean business. It's more bottom line oriented than ever now that Wall Street is calling the shots for so many companies. You can't fight the wave, you have to roll with it.


> Working at WTPI for over 15 years, nearly half of my total
> radio career, has been a sweet experience. Over time
> co-workers turned into friends and then a real family as we
> shared births, deaths, disease, weddings, divorces, winning
> and losing together - all the stuff of everyday life. What
> we take away from that place is far richer than any money we
> could have earned by staying.
>
> It would be easy now to paraphrase Hunter S. Thompson: the
> radio business "is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long
> plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free and good
> men die like dogs", but it isn't in me. I leave without any
> anger or bitterness knowing that I did the best job I could,
> every day, in an atmosphere that made it feel good to go to
> work, for much longer than most. Besides, being angry and
> bitter leaves you with just that; look at what happened to
> Dr. Thompson.
>
> It's on to the next assignment for me which is appearing
> Monday at the Indiana Broadcasters Convention to pitch my
> voice work and copywriting business. If you're there, stop
> at my table and say hi.
>
 
Did anyone else fall out of their chair when they read this statement???!!! It's hard for me to believe that anyone could make such a statement. Anyone with a shread of creativity and intelligence would grab Jerry up in a heartbeat and be extremely grateful for such a talent on their team.

Thanks for your service, Jerry; I wish you all the best in the future.

--Bomba


> Jerry Curtis didn't make "the cut"? That's an insult.
> Jerry is a great guy and is a very talent man. Another
> example of morons driving the bus. Best wishes to ALL of
> the TPI gang.
>
 
Well said, Jerry...well said. Best wishes for the future; I am certain it will continue to be rewarding. Finally, thank you.

--Bomba


> Working at WTPI for over 15 years, nearly half of my total
> radio career, has been a sweet experience. Over time
> co-workers turned into friends and then a real family as we
> shared births, deaths, disease, weddings, divorces, winning
> and losing together - all the stuff of everyday life. What
> we take away from that place is far richer than any money we
> could have earned by staying.
>
> It would be easy now to paraphrase Hunter S. Thompson: the
> radio business "is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long
> plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free and good
> men die like dogs", but it isn't in me. I leave without any
> anger or bitterness knowing that I did the best job I could,
> every day, in an atmosphere that made it feel good to go to
> work, for much longer than most. Besides, being angry and
> bitter leaves you with just that; look at what happened to
> Dr. Thompson.
>
> It's on to the next assignment for me which is appearing
> Monday at the Indiana Broadcasters Convention to pitch my
> voice work and copywriting business. If you're there, stop
> at my table and say hi.
>
 
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