Bub: the talk shows you speak of are the best way to go. The agencies squeeze you for price; local guys can be sold.
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Infomercials
- Thread starter Clayton Douglas
- Start date
Infomercials, for the most part, are poison. They set terrible precedents that often are hard to reverse. When I was PD of a medium market news-talk AM, we ran four these TSL busters each weekend. As if it would make them any better, we ran them on weekends and very early in the morning. Inexcusable. They sucked at any hour. As a PD, I could only imagine some listener getting up early on a Saturday to go to work, turning on the station at 5:30 expecting to hear the news, weather, sports and traffic reports we faithfullyu and professionally provided at that hour Monday through Friday, but instead hearing some charlatan trumpeting the benefits of his miracle elixer. The only people who benefit from these ridiculous shows are the AE who sold the time and the SM who gets an over-ride. The radio station bottom line may get a boost, but any benefit is short term. In the long run, the station loses listeners and credibility.
True story: We were airing one particularly despicable Medical Infomercial which I fought to keep off the station, to little avail. The host of the show insisted that patients who were taking legitimate prescription medication for treatment of certain cancers could go off their medication if they took the potion he prescribed on the informercial.
It took only two or three weeks before a real MD who happened also to be the Chief of Oncology at a local university hospital called me in a controlled outrage and read me the riot act about the quack's advice and show.
The Oncologist not only knew his medicine, he knew radio and media and was well connected. His brother was an attorney. Even though he played hardball, he was an absolute professional and no a raving power tripper. He was genuinely concerned about people who might have heard the quack's show and might be tempted to go off their real medication.
I immeditaley went to my GM and again told him of my objections to the show and my conversation with the Chief of Oncology. The GM says something to the effect of, "Can't we schedule the program on a different day and a little earlier in the morning? We get $500 for airing that show." I used all the arguments about ethics and protecting the station's license and avoiding lawsuits and potential bad press to make a case for getting the show off the station. I saved the best argument for last, "Suppose your wife was on prescribed cancer medication and she heard some quack on the radio or TV tell her that by taking his special elixer, she could go off her cancer medicine and be cancer free in a year? How would that sit with you?" The show was pulled that day. later that day, the salesman who sold the air me stomped into my office and demanded to know why the show was pulled. I calmly told him it was pulled in the interest of responsibly serving the public interest and not putting people's lives at risk for a lousy $500 per week.
Not all colon blow shows stoop to the level of irresponsibility cited here, but I dislike them nonetheless.
True story: We were airing one particularly despicable Medical Infomercial which I fought to keep off the station, to little avail. The host of the show insisted that patients who were taking legitimate prescription medication for treatment of certain cancers could go off their medication if they took the potion he prescribed on the informercial.
It took only two or three weeks before a real MD who happened also to be the Chief of Oncology at a local university hospital called me in a controlled outrage and read me the riot act about the quack's advice and show.
The Oncologist not only knew his medicine, he knew radio and media and was well connected. His brother was an attorney. Even though he played hardball, he was an absolute professional and no a raving power tripper. He was genuinely concerned about people who might have heard the quack's show and might be tempted to go off their real medication.
I immeditaley went to my GM and again told him of my objections to the show and my conversation with the Chief of Oncology. The GM says something to the effect of, "Can't we schedule the program on a different day and a little earlier in the morning? We get $500 for airing that show." I used all the arguments about ethics and protecting the station's license and avoiding lawsuits and potential bad press to make a case for getting the show off the station. I saved the best argument for last, "Suppose your wife was on prescribed cancer medication and she heard some quack on the radio or TV tell her that by taking his special elixer, she could go off her cancer medicine and be cancer free in a year? How would that sit with you?" The show was pulled that day. later that day, the salesman who sold the air me stomped into my office and demanded to know why the show was pulled. I calmly told him it was pulled in the interest of responsibly serving the public interest and not putting people's lives at risk for a lousy $500 per week.
Not all colon blow shows stoop to the level of irresponsibility cited here, but I dislike them nonetheless.
Jim: No offense, but this outlines the differences between sales and programming. Should top-tier stations avoid infomercials and paid programming? Sure. It just seems like you think money falls from the sky. You get paid one way or the other. The sales guy is out busting his hump to make a living, and if everything he brought in was found objectionable by you, he'd be living in a refrigerator box.
Many radio people who don't understand business think everything is about providing public service, great news, etc. This is an admirable goal and one reason I'm in the radio business rather than the paper business or the construction business. But there comes a time when it's also a businesses' responsibility to make money. To return a profit to its investors and pay its employees, including the idealistic programmers.
There's really no accountability any more. I've been hearing these infomercials for years, yet I haven't gone off my prescription. I haven't ordered anything from these shows, and when I had to go to the hospital and the doctor said to stop taking some (rather conservative) supplements, I did. If you have cancer, or a serious mental illness, or seizures, and you stop taking your medication, you're an idiot. There has, AFAIK, yet to be one successful lawsuit against a radio station for airing an infomercial that was bad. Seasilver got pulled, but did any station licenses?
And no, if you have a good station, listeners will not flee, never to return, just because you had an infomercial at 6 in the morning. They may tune out at that time, but chances are your competitor is doing the same thing. Personally, I've been toying with the idea of running more paid programming during the week when there's a lot greater competition, and having great shows all weekend when most of my competitors are airing garbage.
Many radio people who don't understand business think everything is about providing public service, great news, etc. This is an admirable goal and one reason I'm in the radio business rather than the paper business or the construction business. But there comes a time when it's also a businesses' responsibility to make money. To return a profit to its investors and pay its employees, including the idealistic programmers.
There's really no accountability any more. I've been hearing these infomercials for years, yet I haven't gone off my prescription. I haven't ordered anything from these shows, and when I had to go to the hospital and the doctor said to stop taking some (rather conservative) supplements, I did. If you have cancer, or a serious mental illness, or seizures, and you stop taking your medication, you're an idiot. There has, AFAIK, yet to be one successful lawsuit against a radio station for airing an infomercial that was bad. Seasilver got pulled, but did any station licenses?
And no, if you have a good station, listeners will not flee, never to return, just because you had an infomercial at 6 in the morning. They may tune out at that time, but chances are your competitor is doing the same thing. Personally, I've been toying with the idea of running more paid programming during the week when there's a lot greater competition, and having great shows all weekend when most of my competitors are airing garbage.
No offense taken, KJCB. It's a discussion, not an argument. I can appreciate others' opinions and have read your well thought posts on other boards. I understand your position.
Perhaps I should have made a distinction between the standard Colon Blow infomercials and the particular infomercial which I cited. While I dislike infomercials in a programming sense, an argument can be made for their value to the bottom line, especially in a small market applications.
In the case of the herbal cancer treatment infomercial that I cited, as OM/PD I felt that it was my responsibility to protect the station's license. Consequently, after I was contacted by the doctor from the medical center (one of America's finest cancer research hospitals) I took action to avoid the imminent threat of a lawsuit, bad publicity and a slew of letters in the station's public file. I also wanted to avoid gravely injuring one of our listeners.
I should have added that it was license renewal season. I was acting as a responsible steward of the station's license, the clusters' licenses as well as the public interest. Two things I neglected to mention: (1) The stations were being primed to be sold (I was unaware of this at the time) and (2) one of the cluster SM's brought this incident to the attention of the company COO who reviewed the case and commended me for acting responsibly.
I understand your point regarding free will and an individual's right to make choices. However, there may be those who are suffering from cancer or manic-depressive syndrome who are unable to make well-reasoned decisions about their medication.
Clearly, the self-proclaimed doctor who was making the claims on the infomercial was not being responsible. The University Hospital Oncologist who contacted me regarding the program informed me that the "doctor" on the infomercial was an OD, not an MD, nor was he a certified oncologist.
Clearly, money does not fall from the sky and your point is well-made. But with all due respect, the point doesn't apply to me. In my career, especially years ago while working news-talk, I've accompanied and assisted dozens of sales people countless (hundreds of) times in their proposals and accompanied them on client visits. I've explained the value of radio advertising, the value of news-talk and other formats to the point of praising our competition and complimenting the client's decision to use our competitor. Money spent on radio is better than money spent on newspaper and if radio works, we're one step closer to closing the deal.
I've helped countless sales people overcome client objections. I got a free dinner certificate or lunch on occassion, but never a cut of the commission. Nor did I expect a cut. I was doing my job.
Prior to becoming PD/OM of the station, I was the station's production director and familiar with nearly every sales person, some of the budgets and the station's goals and mission. Unlike some programming people, I know that selling radio isn't easy. Rarely is there any low-hanging fruit these days and the streets aren't paved with gold. It's hard work. So "money from the sky" isn't applicable to me. I mildly resent the reference, but I understand your point. Nothing personal.
As to the programming value of infomercials, I'd still rather have a live, local money-making person on the air. When a blizzard or hurricane hits, I want my station to be the go-to station because we never get a second chance to make a first impression. This applies to music radio (where I'm now employed) as well. Making sales and programming work cohesively can sometimes be a tough balancing act. As a programmer, my job was to protect and improve the value of the product being sold. I enjoy the give and take here.
Best regards,
Jim
Perhaps I should have made a distinction between the standard Colon Blow infomercials and the particular infomercial which I cited. While I dislike infomercials in a programming sense, an argument can be made for their value to the bottom line, especially in a small market applications.
In the case of the herbal cancer treatment infomercial that I cited, as OM/PD I felt that it was my responsibility to protect the station's license. Consequently, after I was contacted by the doctor from the medical center (one of America's finest cancer research hospitals) I took action to avoid the imminent threat of a lawsuit, bad publicity and a slew of letters in the station's public file. I also wanted to avoid gravely injuring one of our listeners.
I should have added that it was license renewal season. I was acting as a responsible steward of the station's license, the clusters' licenses as well as the public interest. Two things I neglected to mention: (1) The stations were being primed to be sold (I was unaware of this at the time) and (2) one of the cluster SM's brought this incident to the attention of the company COO who reviewed the case and commended me for acting responsibly.
I understand your point regarding free will and an individual's right to make choices. However, there may be those who are suffering from cancer or manic-depressive syndrome who are unable to make well-reasoned decisions about their medication.
Clearly, the self-proclaimed doctor who was making the claims on the infomercial was not being responsible. The University Hospital Oncologist who contacted me regarding the program informed me that the "doctor" on the infomercial was an OD, not an MD, nor was he a certified oncologist.
Clearly, money does not fall from the sky and your point is well-made. But with all due respect, the point doesn't apply to me. In my career, especially years ago while working news-talk, I've accompanied and assisted dozens of sales people countless (hundreds of) times in their proposals and accompanied them on client visits. I've explained the value of radio advertising, the value of news-talk and other formats to the point of praising our competition and complimenting the client's decision to use our competitor. Money spent on radio is better than money spent on newspaper and if radio works, we're one step closer to closing the deal.
I've helped countless sales people overcome client objections. I got a free dinner certificate or lunch on occassion, but never a cut of the commission. Nor did I expect a cut. I was doing my job.
Prior to becoming PD/OM of the station, I was the station's production director and familiar with nearly every sales person, some of the budgets and the station's goals and mission. Unlike some programming people, I know that selling radio isn't easy. Rarely is there any low-hanging fruit these days and the streets aren't paved with gold. It's hard work. So "money from the sky" isn't applicable to me. I mildly resent the reference, but I understand your point. Nothing personal.
As to the programming value of infomercials, I'd still rather have a live, local money-making person on the air. When a blizzard or hurricane hits, I want my station to be the go-to station because we never get a second chance to make a first impression. This applies to music radio (where I'm now employed) as well. Making sales and programming work cohesively can sometimes be a tough balancing act. As a programmer, my job was to protect and improve the value of the product being sold. I enjoy the give and take here.
Best regards,
Jim
B
bub
Guest
KCJB:KJCB said:Bub: the talk shows you speak of are the best way to go. The agencies squeeze you for price; local guys can be sold.
Need to respectfully disagree with you on that one based on my experience. You may be getting more than you bargain for with locally produced stuff. Some of these talk shows had high maintenance, out of control egos for hosts who insisted that I was responsible for their show prep AND thought that THEY were the reason why people tuned in to the radio station they're on. I can give you example after example of my experiences where I've literally had to do cartwheels and jump through hoops for these shows and it wasn't good enough for the hosts. Problem is I'll be here all night. A pre-recorded infomercial is low maintenance by comparison. On that basis alone, I'll gladly take the squeeze from the agency.
Let me be clear that when I said I don't have a problem with infomercials as long as agencies pay on time, that was in the context that I have to, basically, "kowtow" to whatever the powers that be want on their stations. If it was up to me, and me only,
FORGET IT! It's sharecropper radio...and it sucks!
Jim, I appreciate your reasoned response. I'm too tired to go line-by-line here, but I agree with a good part of what you say, or at least understand.
As to Bub, I also understand your point... you're exactly right. There are 40,000 mortgage brokers in California who all think they will add to my station with their mousy voices and horrible track record the past few years. If we would have taken their advice two years ago, we'd be 25% poorer now... some "experts". They are giant pains, many of them, but it's kind of like the guy who hates Mastercard and then applies for one. If you don't like someone, the most rewarding thing you can do is to take their money. It is more work to accomodate them, but that's why I have a great support staff who helps, and after all, call it a career, a profession, whatever... it's yours and my job, and I'd rather work hard and make a lot more money.
(If you're in Reno or Flagstaff or Abilene you're going to burn through people pretty quickly. I'm speaking from the point of view of having worked in and with stations in Phoenix, Tampa, and LA.)
As to Bub, I also understand your point... you're exactly right. There are 40,000 mortgage brokers in California who all think they will add to my station with their mousy voices and horrible track record the past few years. If we would have taken their advice two years ago, we'd be 25% poorer now... some "experts". They are giant pains, many of them, but it's kind of like the guy who hates Mastercard and then applies for one. If you don't like someone, the most rewarding thing you can do is to take their money. It is more work to accomodate them, but that's why I have a great support staff who helps, and after all, call it a career, a profession, whatever... it's yours and my job, and I'd rather work hard and make a lot more money.
(If you're in Reno or Flagstaff or Abilene you're going to burn through people pretty quickly. I'm speaking from the point of view of having worked in and with stations in Phoenix, Tampa, and LA.)
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